This week, the big players in American democracy, media players, candidates, politicians, even passionate voters got a lesson in intelligent civic democracy from the quiet intensity of measured debate and smart talk from nine justices and a couple of top notch lawyers. John Hockenberry reflects on the week of debates in the Supreme Court. It wasn't just about the health care law this week, argues Hockenberry. It was the way the Court handled the issue – regardless of your political persuasion. The court made a real point about the value of a civic space free of noise and full of intelligence.

In the biggest Supreme Court cases, Justice Anthony Kennedy, more often that not, is the key swing vote. As the Supreme Court deliberates over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, once again all eyes are on Justice Kennedy. Adam Liptak is the Supreme Court Correspondent for The New York Times.

This week the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of President Obama’s signature piece of legislation dominated the headlines, but it wasn’t the only story out there. Anger over the perceived lack of justice in the Trayvon Martin shooting case continues to sweep the nation, and the controversial film "Bully" got bullied by the ratings board. These stories and more are covered by our panel of Kai Wright, Editor of Colorlines, Ron Christie, Republican political strategist, and Art Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania.

Although Massachusetts’s health coverage program has been largely seen as a success, there are still considerable disparities in coverage among different demographics, according to Renee Landers, professor of law at Suffolk University. Massachusetts resident Silvia Romero also joins the show to share her story about how the state's health care law came to her aid when she lost health care coverage through her employer.

Yesterday was the second of three days of hearings in the Supreme Court's review of Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The session was devoted to one key question: Is Congress overstepping its Constitutional power by requiring nearly all Americans to carry health insurance? Jeffrey Rosen is back to break it all down for us, and to give us a preview of what will happen in today’s third and final day of hearings. Rosen is professor of law at George Washington University, and he’s been following the arguments closely. He joins us from Washington, D.C.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is now in the Supreme Court's hands, but it seems that the health care reforms then-Governor Mitt Romney implemented in Massachusetts will continue to haunt the GOP contender for the remainder of the campaign. MIT economist Jonathan Gruber joins us to discuss the economics of health care reform, in Massachusetts and on the national level. Professor Gruber also penned a graphic novel on the subject, titled "Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works."

The Supreme Court begins three days of oral arguments today on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care overhaul. People lined up outside the Supreme Court building in Washington beginning on Friday hoping to get the chance to see the proceedings today. Kathie McClure is a trial lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia, and Reverend Rob Schenck is the President of the National Clergy Council, a network of pastors and denominational leaders.

Next week the Supreme Court will hear Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, the case that will decide the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, or health insurance reform. The case includes a number of questions about states' rights, federal jurisdiction, and individual liberty. In addition, it shines a spotlight on the institution that will decide the constitutionality of President Obama's signature legislation. 

A fight over abortion in Texas could lead to a shutdown of a major women's health care program. Texas’s federally-funded Women's Health Program serves 130,000 women who don’t meet strict Medicaid eligibility requirements. The program also supports many clinics, including branches of Planned Parenthood. But Republican lawmakers who don’t want Planned Parenthood to get any funding say they will give up 35 million dollars in federal money — effectively shutting down the program. For many low-income Texas women, that would mean the loss of access to the only health care services they have.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken issue with the Obama administration's healthcare bill, which requires all university and hospital insurance plans to cover contraception. Archbishop Timothy Dolan wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial that this provision infringes on personal freedoms, "coercing religious ministries and citizens to pay directly for actions that violate their teaching." However, two new recently released polls reveal that American Catholics are more supportive of contraception coverage in employer-provided insurance than non-Catholics.

There's no question that our American health care system needs fixing. Dr. Donald Berwick, the man who was in charge of Medicare and Medicaid until last Thursday, was committed to ending waste. "Much is done that does not help patients at all," Dr. Berwick recently told The New York Times, "and many physicians know it." Dr. Berwick's quest to reform Medicare and Medicaid, the result of a temporary appointment made by President Obama last year, came to an end after just 17 months.

Tuesday was Election Day across the country and voters in several states cast ballots on issues with national dimensions. Ohio voters struck down a law that restricts the collective bargaining rights of public workers. The landslide 62-38 result was setback for Republican Governor John Kasich, who implemented the law as a budget-cutting measure and campaigned across the state to prevent its defeat. Mississippi voters rejected the so-called "Personhood Amendment," which sought to outlaw abortions. In Arizona, voters defeated the main architect of that state's controversial immigration law.

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center will close its doors, after more than a century of care. The historic medical center first opened it's doors to offer care to soldiers and their families in 1909. The hospital treated Presidents Nixon and Eisenhower. and housed a number of other Washington notables. But it also had its share of scandals. In 2007, a Washington Post investigation uncovered appalling conditions there, including neglected patients, unsanitary living facilities, and what the paper described as "a messy bureaucratic battlefield."

Millions of children in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid and should receive the same access to health care as families with private insurance. But a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests those families are finding it harder to make appointments with doctors and are waiting longer for care. The study carried out by the University of Pennsylvania is the first of its kind and looked at the experiences of parents making appointments at specialty clinics in Cook County, Ill. With Medicaid facing a reduction in funding the question of access to care is more important than ever.

On Thursday, Vermont will become the first state to boast a single-payer health care system. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin will sign the bill that would enlist a panel to figure out how to pay for a new system — and reduce rising health care costs. The goal is to offer a health care solution for the state's 65,000 uninsured.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called a vote on Representative Paul Ryan's Medicare plan Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to take sides on what has become a defining issue for the 2012 campaign. The vote comes one day after Democrat Kathy Hochul's upset victory in New York's heavily Republican 26th Congressional District. The vote was seen as a chance to test the air on Medicare reform, and Hochul's victory made one thing clear: the winds have changed. Jennifer Steinhauer, congressional correspondent for The New York Times, says that with an election year on the horizon, Democrats are using the opportunity to puff up their sails — while some Republicans are scrambling to change tack.

President Barack Obama arrives in Ireland today, as he begins is week long trip to Europe. His stops include the UK, France, and Poland. Jason Stallman, editor for the national desk at The New York Times, looks at what we can expect in the week ahead on this trip. 

As the president journeys through Europe, a number of key economic indicators is set to be released, including GDP figures. Charlie Herman, economics and business editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, crunches the numbers for us and tells us if good things are ahead for our economy.

How do you define the right to free speech? Some would argue it means being allowed to say what you believe, even when it's not popular. Others would say it means getting a good look at what kind of prescriptions that your doctor has given you. At least, that's the argument being made in a Supreme Court case today, in which company IMS Health will make a case for allowing pharmaceutical companies to get a gander at just what kind of prescriptions you're picking up at the pharmacy for marketing purposes. 

The New York state health department released a report this week saying that an organ transplant recipient contracted HIV from a kidney donation at a New York hospital. It’s the nation’s first documented case of HIV transmission via a living donor transplant since the 1980s. How did this happen? And what are the repercussions? 

District courts across the country are passing judgement on the Obama administration's health care reform legislation. Yesterday Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled the "individual mandate," that requires everyone to purchase health insurance, was unconstitutional. He says the government overstretched its powers under the Constitution's "Commerce Clause," which allows Congress to regulate individual conduct that affects the economy. Judge Hudson's ruling opens up the debate further, but how will it play in higher courts?