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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

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?

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

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

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

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

And editorial in The Oklahoman concisely describes the risk and threats to small businesses from ObamaCare. The bottom line: For Oklahoma workers, Obamacare is a minefield. Work at too small a business, you might get taxed. Work for a firm with more than 50 employees, you might get fired and then taxed. Work for a large firm with “insufficient” coverage, you might get dumped into your state's … [Read more...] about Small businesses sees ObamaCare as a minefield

You’ve been hearing a lot of talk in the last few months about whether or not Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. The Affordable Care Act bills the mandate as an “individual responsibility requirement” whose alleged purpose is to prevent “free-riders” from burdening the system with uncompensated emergency-room care. But all of this talk about the Commerce Clause has obscured the … [Read more...] about Avik Roy: Obamacare’s Dark Secret: The Individual Mandate is Too Weak