1. The courts played the role of "rights protector" is in the case of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius where on June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court determined the expansion of state Medicaid programs mandated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) unconstitutional (Cornell Law School, n.d.). In this landmark decision the Supreme Court heard the appeal from the NFIB regarding their constitutional rights to decide whether to expand their Medicaid coverage to those individuals who fell below the eligibility status for subsidies granted in the ACA but did not meet the financial qualifications for Medicaid eligibility as it was previously established. The Supreme Court in this case protected the constitutional rights of the states and therefore forced the ACA to be amended to not offer additional funding for states choosing to expand rather than completely revoking federal funds that had already been granted to the states.

Cornell Law School (n.d)., National federation of independent business v. Sebelius, Secretary of health and human services., Retrieved January 2, 2018

from https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/11-3…

What are some other laws that protect the rights of the people? 150-200 words

2. Discuss one of the key stakeholders that have significantly influenced influence health care policy since 1950. Your examples to pick from are listed below 150-200 words

a) The public in general as health care consumers

b) Health care providers and institutions

c) Health care private and public insurance carriers

d) The responsible congressional committees and members at large

e) The presidential administration

f) Special interest groups and lobbyists