Now that the Supreme Court has decided that ObamaCare’s mandate to buy health insurance is a tax, will the IRS be able to collect it? Generally speaking, if you owe the IRS, it will get the money from you—with the possible exception of the ObamaCare tax. Though ObamaCare’s individual mandate imposes a tax on people who do not purchase government-approved health insurance, the law explicitly … [Read more...] about Joseph Antos and Michael R. Strain: If You Don’t Buy Insurance, Will You Really Pay the Tax?
Archives for July 2012
James C. Capretta and Yuval Levin: The Mandate After the Court
Last month’s Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare left champions of that law breathing a sigh of relief, while its opponents — a majority of the public — were left frustrated. It seemed at first glance as though the chief justice’s tortured opinion had saved the individual mandate, and with it the broader statute. But Obamacare’s champions should take a closer look at what the Court left them with, … [Read more...] about James C. Capretta and Yuval Levin: The Mandate After the Court
Keith Hennessey: Why not expand Medicaid?
Last week former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) argued that any Governor who rejected the Affordable Care Act’s new Medicaid expansion was either stupid or evil. This is a common refrain from the law’s defenders, that only an irrational or uncaring Governor would reject the ACA’s new Medicaid subsidies to provide health insurance to poor adults without kids. This question is now … [Read more...] about Keith Hennessey: Why not expand Medicaid?
Jonathan H. Adler and Michael F. Cannon: Taxation Without Representation: The Illegal IRS Rule to Expand Tax Credits Under the PPACA
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of qualifying health insurance plans on state-run insurance exchanges. Contrary to expectations, many states are refusing or otherwise failing to create such exchanges. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule purports to extend these tax credits and subsidies to the purchase of health … [Read more...] about Jonathan H. Adler and Michael F. Cannon: Taxation Without Representation: The Illegal IRS Rule to Expand Tax Credits Under the PPACA
Avik Roy: Why States Have a Huge Fiscal Incentive to Opt Out of Obamacare’s Medicaid
Eight state governors have stated that they will take advantage of the recent Supreme Court ruling, allowing them to opt out of Obamacare’s dramatic expansion of Medicaid. Their actions have been dismissed by liberal columnists as mere partisan posturing. After all, argue the liberals, the federal government is picking up most of the tab, so what’s the problem? Don’t governors have every incentive … [Read more...] about Avik Roy: Why States Have a Huge Fiscal Incentive to Opt Out of Obamacare’s Medicaid
Seeking to Preserve Obamacare, Chief Justice Roberts Eviscerated It
In his tortured effort to preserve the health overhaul statute, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has eviscerated it. Conservative lawyers consoled themselves in defeat by focusing on the silver linings in Roberts’ legal rationale, but there is no such consolation from the conservative policy perspective. And while liberals were initially elated that the court had left the law … [Read more...] about Seeking to Preserve Obamacare, Chief Justice Roberts Eviscerated It
Merrill Matthews: No One Would Miss ObamaCare, but the Window for Repeal Is Two Years
The minute the Supreme Court upheld most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, Republicans cranked up the "repeal and replace" volume. The House voted again Wednesday to repeal the entire law. Meanwhile, President Obama has repeatedly warned that Americans will be hurt if part or all of the legislation is rolled back. "People's lives are affected by the lack of … [Read more...] about Merrill Matthews: No One Would Miss ObamaCare, but the Window for Repeal Is Two Years
Gov. Scott Walker: Obamacare is an unhealthy prescription
Since the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health-care mandate, there has been exhaustive discussion about the philosophical basis of this federal law. As Election Day approaches, debate will surely grow about the proper role of our federal government. But while much attention has focused on Congress’s intention to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act, too few are studying the law’s … [Read more...] about Gov. Scott Walker: Obamacare is an unhealthy prescription