MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'individual mandate'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:55:58 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125681&cid=t_238295_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fcourt-appeals-strikes-individual-mandate-obamacare%2F In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Appeals Court has ruled against the provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to buy health insurance. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125681 Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:00:46 +0100 5125681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984423&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQL0YdFRN6Hw%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s 2-1 Sixth Circuit Obamacare decision was an exercise in unwarranted judicial deference, not by the author of the majority opinion, Judge Boyce Martin, who regularly rubberstamps misuses of federal power, but by concurring Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who avoided the logical implications of this ruling and punted the main issue to the Supreme Court.  Under a document establishing a government of enumerated and therefore limited powers, the burden is on that government to prove that it has the power to do something, not on the plaintiffs to disprove that power.  Never has the Supreme Court ratified the federal power to force someone to buy a product in the marketplace under the guise of regulating commerce.  Indeed, never, not even during the height of the New Deal, h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984423 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:18:31 +0100 4984423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934119&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzYWU6uQ_uAY%2F This article chronicles the (first) year I spent opposing the constitutionality of Obamacare: Between debates, briefs, op-eds, blogging, testimony, and media, I have spent well over half of my time since the legislation’s enactment on attacking Congress’s breathtaking assertion of federal power in this context. Braving transportation snafus, snowstorms, and Eliot Spitzer, it’s been an interesting ride. And so, weaving legal arguments into first-person narrative, I hope to add a unique perspective to an important debate that goes to the heart of this nation’s founding principles. The individual mandate is Obamacare’s highest-profile and perhaps most egregious constitutional violation because the Supreme Court has never allowed – Congress has never claimed – the power to requir... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934119 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:06:01 +0100 4934119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911448&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcoS8mNzb_mg%2F By Ilya ShapiroATLANTA — In the most important appeal of the Obamacare constitutional saga, today was the best day yet for individual freedom.  The government’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, spent most of the hearing on the ropes, with the judicial panel extremely cautious not to extend federal power beyond its present outer limits of regulating economic activity that has a substantial aggregate effect on interstate commerce. As the lawyer representing 26 states against the federal government said, “The whole reason we do this is to protect liberty.” With those words, former solicitor general Paul Clement reached the essence of the Obamacare lawsuits. With apologies to Joe Biden, this is a big deal not because we’re dealing with a huge reorganization of the health car... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911448 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:34:39 +0100 4911448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841437&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLrWEFtQ-Q3Q%2F By George Scoville Next up for marriage equality: Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Please join us at 12:00 p.m. Eastern today as co-counsels for the plaintiffs Theodore Olson and John Boies join Center for American Progress president John Podesta and Cato chairman Robert A. Levy for a panel discussion on marriage equality, exploring legal and moral questions dating back to the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision that ended state bans on interracial marriage. If you cannot join us here at Cato, please tune in to watch a live stream of the event. “Republicans have an opportunity for a much more important debate, which will frame the election campaign next year.” In President Obama’s next speech, Cato director of foreign policy studies Christopher Preble hopes “that the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841437 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:29:53 +0100 4841437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813260&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTRqxGl4BsSo%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday, the Fourth Circuit became the first appellate court in the nation to enter the Obamacare fray.  It heard two very similar cases back-to-back, Liberty University’s, in which the government won in the district court, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s, in which Judge Henry Hudson struck down the individual mandate back in December.  Going into the hearing, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s legal team had done a wonderful job setting out the reasons why Hudson was correct and why Congress went too far in asserting the unprecedented power to compel people to enter into contracts with private insurance companies.  I was proud to sign Cato’s brief supporting that position and continue to maintain that the federal government cannot require people to buy g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813260 Tue, 10 May 2011 17:57:12 +0100 4813260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676753&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXPS5OEq8Kyk%2F By Ilya ShapiroA recent poll showed that 22% of Americans believe Obamacare has been repealed and 26% aren’t sure.  Yet here at Cato, we're all too aware that the massive, unconstitutional, and fundamentally unworkable overhaul of our health care system still looms on the horizon. While two lower courts have struck down Obamacare in whole or in part, three others have ruled it constitutional, including a D.C. District Court opinion that claimed for the federal government the right to regulate the “mental activity” of decision-making.  As litigation progresses to the appellate level, this latter decision has proven to be more a hindrance to Obamacare’s supporters than a help, its Orwellian pronouncement being hard to ignore while the government downplays the significance of the po... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676753 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:54:33 +0100 4676753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631466&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FslZ7eoyDMdE%2F By George Scoville There is a growing gap between Washington policymakers, and the taxpayers and troops who fund and carry out those policies. Why do budget and deficit hawks keep sidestepping growing entitlements? Don't forget to join us on Monday, March 28 at 1pm ET for a live video chat with Julian Sanchez on the growing surveillance state. The individual mandate in Obamacare is another example of the growing congressional power under the Commerce Clause: Thursday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631466 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:05:07 +0100 4631466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560239&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv6c52HjzVwM%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Washington Post's Ezra Klein writes: It's put-up-or-shut-up time for Republicans. They managed to make it through the health-care debate without offering serious solutions of their own, and - perhaps more impressive - through the election by promising to tell us their solutions after they'd won. But the jig is up. They need a health-care plan - and quickly. The GOP knew this day would come. Say what?  Exactly what political factors are forcing the GOP to put up or shut up?  Their base is happy; it wants an all-out assault on ObamaCare, and congressional Republicans are giving it to them.  Republicans are even winning the ObamaCare debate among the broader public: So why should Republicans all of a sudden stop attacking ObamaCare and start talking about their own... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560239 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:06:02 +0100 4560239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560250&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fk_9bm4uY9ic%2F By Michael F. CannonThat's the title of my latest Kaiser Health News column, which addresses President Obama's offer to accelerate the waiver process that would allow states to replace many of ObamaCare's most offensive provisions: If you think that means the president was himself exhibiting flexibility, you would be wrong. Despite the rhetoric about compromise, what the president actually did was offer states the option of replacing his law with a single-payer health care system three years earlier than his law allows... HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has written that ObamaCare gives states "incredible freedom" to implement the law. We now know what she meant: states are free to coerce their residents even more than ObamaCare requires. What's incredible is that she calls that freedom. A... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560250 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:44:45 +0100 4560250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549738&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FamnxoVJRyRA%2F By Michael F. CannonThe latest federal judge to declare ObamaCare constitutional claimed that Congress can regulate "mental activity," like the mental activity of choosing not to purchase health insurance.  Or shoes and ships and sealing wax.  Or my book. National Review editor Rich Lowry has an excellent column explaining why this latest, ahem, legal victory for ObamaCare "delivered a more telling blow against the law in the course of ruling it constitutional than critics have in assailing it as a travesty...It's the most self-undermining defense of the constitutionality of a dubious statute since then–solicitor general Elena Kagan told the Supreme Court that under campaign-finance reform, the government could ban certain pamphlets." I’m Not So Sure I Like Your Mental Activity i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549738 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:32:51 +0100 4549738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544945&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7DYMODlxezk%2F By Michael F. CannonJudge Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida has just responded to the Obama administration's "motion to clarify" his prior ruling, which declared ObamaCare unconstitutional and void.  That "motion to clarify" essentially asked Vinson, "Didn't you really mean that we can keep implementing ObamaCare while we appeal your ruling?"  Today, Vinson answered, "No." The attorneys representing the plaintiffs, who include Florida and 25 other states, argued that the administration's "motion to clarify" was actually a veiled request to have Vinson stay (i.e., set aside) his original order blocking implementation.  Vinson agreed, and therefore treated the Obama administration's "motion to clarify" as a motion to stay, which he granted.  Vin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544945 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:32:21 +0100 4544945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532193&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiHDgr4lwp2s%2F By Michael F. CannonThe New York Times reports: Seeking to appease disgruntled governors, President Obama plans to announce on Monday that he supports amending the 2010 health care law to allow states to opt out of its most burdensome requirements three years earlier than currently permitted. It's significant that the president is finally acknowledging that ObamaCare is unworkable and will impose enormous burdens on the states.  Or is he? A closer look shows that the president is not lifting the burdensome requirements ObamaCare imposes on states.  All he's doing is proposing to move up, from 2017 to 2014, the date on which states can apply for federal permission to impose a different but equivalently or more coercive plan to expand health insurance coverage.  Here's what the Times s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532193 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:53:27 +0100 4532193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495186&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKezm3WhuHEE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Associated Press reports that Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce that he will not be implementing ObamaCare: "The state of Alaska will not pursue unlawful activity to implement a federal health care regime that has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court," Parnell told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, to applause, Thursday. The AP included a couple of interesting comments from ObamaCare supporters Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington & Lee University, and Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. Jost described Judge Roger Vinson (to whom Parnell referred) as "one renegade judge," when in fact two federal judges have struck down ObamaCare's individual mandate as unconstitutional.  (Since only two federal jud... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495186 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:01:58 +0100 4495186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489644&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLmalmxDrURo%2F By Michael F. CannonIn yesterday's Providence Journal, my colleague Ilya Shapiro and I argue that, since a federal court has voided ObamaCare as unconstitutional, the Obama administration should immediately cease all efforts to implement ObamaCare: Federal courts do not issue advisory opinions. The parties to any lawsuit are bound by any resulting judgment. At minimum, then, the government lacks authority to implement ObamaCare where the case was decided, in the Northern District of Florida, and the 26 state plaintiffs need take no action to do so. Likewise, members of the National Federation of Independent Business, another plaintiff in the case, may now be entitled to the same protection from Obamacare’s requirements. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to argue that Vinson’s ruling app... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489644 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:45:22 +0100 4489644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445783&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuwoBo14pwyo%2F By Ilya ShapiroJimmy Margulies Obamacare, Part 2 is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445783 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:27:17 +0100 4445783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419107&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeyTor-NgoPM%2F By Michael F. CannonFederal Judge Roger Vinson has struck down the entire so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional.  Excerpts from the opinion: It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place… The individual mandate is outside Congress’ Commerce Clause power, and it cannot be otherwise authorized by an assertion of power under the Necessary and Proper Clause. It is not Constitutional. [O]n the unique facts of this particular case, the record seems to strongly indicate that Congress w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419107 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:47:43 +0100 4419107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419109&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoNQ89pOnlxQ%2F By Roger PilonJudge Vinson’s ruling today that Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, following on the heels of Judge Hudson’s similar ruling in the Fourth Circuit, should give the new Congress all the confidence it needs to rescind this provision and more. Indeed, the idea that government could order a person to buy a product from a private vendor, or be fined for failing to do so, is so foreign to our Constitution for limited government that it’s a wonder that Congress ever imagined it had such a power to begin with. The Congress that passed Obamacare is now gone. It will be an early test for members of the new Congress, including those many Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2012, whether they will study these well-reasoned opinions and come to a ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419109 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:15:52 +0100 4419109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399511&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRHFAqiVb69Y%2F By Michael F. CannonThe following chart shows that ObamaCare‘s unfavorables reached 50 percent in the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll.  That’s higher than at any point since KFF started tracking ObamaCare’s unfavorables in January 2010.  The KFF poll also found that opposition is much more intense than support; 19 percent view the law very favorably, while 34 percent view the law very unfavorably.  Despite the availability of the these nuggets, KFF’S press release chose to deemphasize the surge: “Americans Remain Divided Over Health Reform With An Uptick In Public Opposition As GOP Ramped Up Repeal Campaign.” Even more entertaining was this chart, which purports to show that Americans oppose defunding ObamaCare by nearly 2-to-1. Dig a little d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399511 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:07:52 +0100 4399511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372028&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhyPt9a6SJJI%2F By Michael F. CannonObamaCare requires each state to open its Medicaid program to all legal residents earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.  Supporters estimate this mandate will cost state governments little: the Kaiser Family Foundation’s worst-case-scenario estimates suggest that state Medicaid spending would rise by just 1.2 percent in New York and 5.1 percent in Texas between 2014 and 2019. In a new working paper titled, “Estimating ObamaCare’s Effect on State Medicaid Expenditure Growth,” Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale shows that those estimates are generally far too low.  Gokhale finds that the five most-populous states — California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas — will struggle to cope with the rising Medi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372028 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:09:43 +0100 4372028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265688&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOh8V9LhskYs%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s hearing in Pensacola built on Monday’s ruling out of Richmond: Judge Roger Vinson is likely to hold the individual mandate unconstitutional. And such a decision would be the most significant development possible at the district court level because the Florida case involved 20 states, with more joining the lawsuit when new governors and attorneys general assume office in January. It is unprecedented for this number of states — again, soon to be a majority — to sue the federal government and it shows the singular and extreme nature of the government’s assertion of raw power here. As Judge Vinson said during the hearing, the Supreme Court has held that the outer bounds of Congress’s regulatory power under the Commerce Clause (as exerc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265688 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:04:15 +0100 4265688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258786&cid=t_238295_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fvirginia-federal-judge-strikes-individual-mandate-obamacare%2F Federal district judge Henry Hudson has ruled against one of the keystones of the Affordable Care Act requiring all individuals to purchase healthcare insurance by 2014. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258786 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:41:24 +0100 4258786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258846&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcqJi_9XNSCc%2F By Michael F. CannonObamaCare has always hung by an absurdity.  ObamaCare supporters claim that the Constitution’s words “Congress shall have the Power…To regulate Commerce…among the several States” somehow give Congress the power to compel Americans to engage in commerce.  This ruling exposes that absurdity, and exposes as desperate political spin the Obama administration’s claims that these lawsuits are frivolous. This ruling’s shortcoming is that it did not overturn the entire law.  Anyone familiar with ObamaCare knows that Congress would not have approved any of its major provisions absent the individual mandate.  The compulsion contained in the individual mandate was the main reason that most Democrats voted in favor of the law.  Yet the law still passed Congres... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258846 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:16:45 +0100 4258846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233184&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-law-state-courts-pose-a-threat%2F2010.12.06 Flush from their big win in the midterms, the Boehners are vowing to repeal and replace the Big O’s health reform law. They pose a legitimate threat, but an even larger one lies in the courts, where suits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been popping up like fireflies on a late August night. In Virginia for example, Republican-appointed Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson has indicated that the Individual Mandate — a key provision of the law that has been challenged in a suit filed in his court by the state’s Republican Attorney General — might not pass his sniff test. Hudson said he’d rule on the matter this month. If he deems the provision to be unconstitutional, he might (it’s unlikely, but he might) enjoin the law altogether until higher courts rule o... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233184 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:00:41 +0100 4233184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219727&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9kep2BBo55o%2F By Ilya ShapiroNo, not the lawsuit brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (in which Cato has been filing amicus briefs), but rather one brought by Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.  Most notably, the district judge found the individual mandate to be a lawful exercise of Congress’s powers under the Commerce Clause because individuals’ decisions about how and when to pay for health care are activities that in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate health care market….  Far from ‘inactivity,’ by choosing to forgo insurance, Plaintiffs are making an economic decision to try to pay for health care services later, out of pocket, rather than now, through the purchase of insurance. As Congress found, the total incidence of these economic decisions... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219727 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:14:29 +0100 4219727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175679&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTi9NNMChUIY%2F By Michael F. CannonAccording to the Boston Herald: The state’s health insurance connector — the highly touted agency that aims to bring cheap medical care to the masses — has turned into a legal pit bull by aggressively going after a growing number of Bay Staters who say they can’t afford mandated insurance — or the penalties imposed for not having it. The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is cracking down on more than 3,000 residents who are fighting state fines, and has even hired a private law firm to force the health insurance scofflaws to pay penalties of up to $2,000 a year. All told, more than 7,700 people have appealed state fines for not having health insurance, according to connector spokesman Richard Powers. The agency has hired several private attorne... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175679 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:45:55 +0100 4175679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159212&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSkzPBmX6bQY%2F By Michael F. CannonThe following exchange took place yesterday on the Christian Broadcasting Network between host David Brody and Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer. Brody: Mitt Romney…on the Massachusetts health care situation, you’re going to tell me that’s going to fly in the Tea Party movement? Kremer: Absolutely not…I’m being honest here…You can’t get away from that.  And that’s the thing is, the days of people being able to do one thing in their state in front of a microphone, and then going to Washington and doing something else. I mean, the Internet, and 24-hour news cycles changed it all, and these people don’t have short memories, they’re digging up everything from the past, and they’re not going to let go o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159212 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:37:57 +0100 4159212 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133676&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv6S0IWgwA-E%2F By Michael F. CannonIt wasn’t just the party of ObamaCare or its champion that took a “shellacking” at the polls yesterday.  The law took a shellacking as well.  One pollster reports: This election was a clear signal that voters do not want President Obama’s health care plan.  Nearly half (45%) of voters say their vote was a message to oppose the President’s plan…. Arizona and Oklahoma passed constitutional amendments designed to block ObamaCare’s individual mandate.  Many new governors either plan to join the 22 states already challenging ObamaCare in court, or to block its implementation in other ways.  Congressional Republicans appear determined to use every tool in their arsenal to repeal it. President Obama is striking a conciliatory note, saying... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133676 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:32:48 +0100 4133676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082063&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdkxMlyki25c%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’m fond of saying that lawsuits don’t proceed at Internet speed — meaning that people are disappointed when I tell them that a new constitutional challenge to uphold property rights or free speech or individual liberty generally will take years to get through the courts, or that we’ll have to wait several months for a court to issue an opinion in some front-page case.  But lately it does seem that developments from the ongoing legal challenges to Obamacare are coming faster and faster, as if the train has now left the station and, to badly mix metaphors, it’s snowballing to an eventual collision at the Supreme Court. That “gaining speed” phenomenon is mainly coincidence — given the more than 20 Obamacare lawsuits out there, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082063 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:21:16 +0100 4082063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074035&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fose_yPcDZb0%2F By Ilya ShapiroYes, Speaker Pelosi, the constitutional concerns people have with the health care legislation you rammed through Congress despite overwhelmingly negative public opinion are serious. The Florida court’s ruling, denying the government’s motion to dismiss the challenge to the new health care law brought by 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business, mirrors the one we saw in July in Virginia’s separate lawsuit. These have been the most thoroughly briefed and argued lawsuits, so these significant and lengthy opinions conclusively establish that the constitutional concerns raised by the individual mandate and other provisions are serious. Nobody can ever again suggest with a straight face that the legal claims are frivolous or mere political g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074035 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:12:59 +0100 4074035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045037&cid=t_238295_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F10%2Ffederal-court-rules-forcing-patients-buy-health-insurance-constitutional%2F Federal judge George Steeh has ruled that the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) that requires all citizens to buy health insurance does not violate constitutional rights. The ruling was in a case brought by the Thomas More Law Center. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045037 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:10:04 +0100 4045037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040545&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6J0EkrSNDVE%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe passage of Obamacare heralded an important discussion on whether the Constitution places any effective limits on federal power and, in particular, where Congress gets the constitutional warrant to require every person to enter the private marketplace and buy a particular good or service.  This is a healthy discussion to have, including in the courts.   Today’s ruling in Michigan, dismissing the Thomas More Law Center’s challenge to the individual mandate, while disappointing to those of us who believe that the government lacks the power to commandeer people to engage in transactions — “economic mandates,” as it were — is but one of many legal decisions we can expect on the way to the Supreme Court’s ultimate resolution of this important issue.  I... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040545 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:50:17 +0100 4040545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031225&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTDorV3GQshc%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe legal battle against Obamacare continues. In June, a district court in Richmond denied the government’s motion to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit (in opposition to which Cato filed a brief).  Despite catcalls from congressmen and commentators alike, it seems that there is, after all, a cogent argument that Obamacare is unconstitutional!   Having survived dismissal, both sides filed cross motions for summary judgment—meaning that no material facts are in dispute and each side believes it should win on the law.  Supporting Virginia’s motion and opposing the government’s, Cato, joined by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Georgetown law professor (and Cato senior fellow) Randy Barnett, expands in a new brief its argument that Congress has gone beyond its deleg... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031225 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:59:01 +0100 4031225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3972906&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRJz0v7DMT98%2F By Michael F. CannonHere’s my contribution to a “one-minute debate” on ObamaCare in the Christian Science Monitor: The new health-care law’s mandates are already causing health insurance premiums to rise 3 to 9 percent more than they otherwise would. Its price controls are pushing insurers to abandon the market for child-only coverage and will soon begin rationing care to Medicare patients, partly by driving nearly 1 in 6 hospitals and other providers out of the program. Starting in 2014, when the full law takes effect, things will get really ugly. ObamaCare’s “individual mandate” will drive premiums even higher – assuming the courts have not declared it unconstitutional, as they should. Because the penalty for violating the mandate is a fraction of those premiu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3972906 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:00:23 +0100 3972906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920823&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCp_UiLbX0do%2F By Michael F. CannonThe political science blog Rule 22 has a post discussing the likelihood of repealing at least some part of ObamaCare.  Author Jordan Ragusa finds: If “the Republicans regain only the House in the upcoming election…the estimated likelihood of at [least] some repeal during the 112th Congress is 52 percent.” If “Republicans regain both chambers in the upcoming midterm…the estimated likelihood of at [least] some repeal is 59 percent.” If “Republicans regain unified control of government in 2012…the estimated likelihood of some repeal in the 113th Congress is 69 percent.” Ragusa is predicting only that the odds are better than 50-50 that Congress will repeal some part of the law, such as the expanded 1099 reporting, wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920823 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:14:57 +0100 3920823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902884&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhnFOiq83nwU%2F Earlier this year, Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama signed legislation that threatens U.S. residents with prison if they fail to purchase health insurance. This week, his administration told the United Nations that this legislation shows the United States is making progress on human rights. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902884 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:57:09 +0100 3902884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3889072&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvRa2WL-7944%2F Politico has obtained and published a confidential messaging-strategy presentation that essentially admits ObamaCare supporters are losing the battle for public opinion.  The presentation was delivered to professional leftists by the left-wing Herndon Alliance, based on public opinion research by Democratic pollsters John Anzalone, Celinda Lake, and Stan Greenberg, in a forum organized by the left-wing group Families USA,  “one of the central groups in the push for the initial legislation.”  It is a stark admission that the public has not warmed to the new health care law, despite predictions that they would do so.  Here’s how Politico describes the presentation and its implications: Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3889072 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:04:57 +0100 3889072 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885333&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fo8ac4oADjV0%2F Financial Times writes: The federal government will step in to ensure that the Obama administration’s health care reforms are implemented in every state, Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, said, amid growing resistance to the changes in some parts of the US and an inability to act in others. The article quotes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: The way the bill is written, it really is a state-based programme with the federal government providing the back-up.  So if a state opts not to set up a risk pool, we do it here at the department. If the state opts not to regulate their insurance market, we do it… It is not a federal takeover, it’s really a partnership. Yes, a partnership not unlike that between the Soviet Union and, say, Czechoslovakia. The Obam... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885333 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:01:22 +0100 3885333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3827052&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUrvRaODwuSU%2F By Ilya ShapiroElena Kagan’s confirmation represents a victory for big government and a view of the Constitution as a document whose meaning changes with the times.  Based on what we learned the last few months, it is clear that Kagan holds an expansive view of federal power — refusing to identify, for example, any specific actions Congress cannot take under the Commerce Clause.  She will rarely be a friend of liberty on the Court. It is thus telling that Kagan received the fewest votes of any Democratic nominee to the Supreme Court in history, beating the record set only last year by Sonia Sotomayor.  Even several senators who had voted for Sotomayor voted against Kagan, including Democrat Ben Nelson — as did Scott Brown, the darling of these high-profile Senate votes. It... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3827052 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:03:38 +0100 3827052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812957&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-M3KhQMh-T0%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom The Los Angeles Times: RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s health care reform law has cleared its first legal hurdle. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson on Monday denied the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli claims that Congress does not have the authority under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to require citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this year exempting state residents from the coverage mandate. More than a dozen other state attorneys general have filed a separate lawsuit in Florida challenging the federal law, but Virginia’s lawsuit is the first to go before a j... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812957 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:32:16 +0100 3812957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786125&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQCiySqC-Xb0%2F By David BoazCato senior fellow Randy Barnett is the subject of the Wall Street Journal’s nearly-full-page Weekend Interview. Randy talks about interpreting the Constitution with “a presumption of liberty,” the subtitle of his book Restoring the Lost Constitution; about the Supreme Court’s expansion of government power from Wickard v. Filburn to Gonzales v. Raich; and especially about the constitutionality of the new health care bill and its individual mandate. Randy wrote an amicus brief with Cato in support of the Virginia attorney general’s challenge to the health care mandate. “What is the individual mandate?” Mr. Barnett says. “I’ll tell you what the individual mandate, in reality, is. It is a commandeering of the people. . . .... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786125 Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:38:11 +0100 3786125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3772221&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTd_FKFd6zk4%2F By Michael F. CannonYou know things aren’t going well in Massachusetts when supporters of RomneyCare write “there’s some evidence that the reforms signed into law by Mitt Romney in 2006 are struggling.”  That’s how The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein puts it in a post defending RomneyCare.  The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn offers a similar defense. Klein mentions only a few of the difficulties confronting Massachusetts.  Here are a few more: The Commonwealth Fund reports that even though Massachusetts already had the highest health insurance premiums in the nation, premiums rose faster post-RomneyCare than anywhere else; 21-46 percent faster than the national average. A recent study estimates that RomneyCare has so far increased employer-sponsored... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3772221 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:24:31 +0100 3772221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767064&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLLkKlgoFHPs%2F By Ilya ShapiroThis Sunday’s New York Times had a fascinating story about how the defense of the individual mandate has shifted from the Commerce Clause — even though the law itself is replete with boilerplate about “economic activity” — to Congress’s taxing power.  Here’s the first paragraph (h/t Jonathan Adler): When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.” This is huge.  After months of arguing that cases like Wickard v. Filburn (Congress can regulate the wheat farmers grow for personal consumption) an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767064 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:42:09 +0100 3767064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718376&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcUEUruzNO4Q%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a recent post on how RomneyCare is increasing health insurance costs in Massachusetts (by encouraging healthy residents to purchase coverage only when they need medical care) and how ObamaCare will do the same, I linked to a Boston Globe article where an insurance-company spokeswoman made this odd claim: We believe…the gaming in the system…is adding as much as $300 million dollars to the health care system in Massachusetts. It’s hard to know what she meant. Taken literally, this claim is obviously untrue.  The gamers aren’t adding revenue to “the system” — they’re withholding revenue.  Nor are they adding costs, in the sense of additional medical spending.  If anything, overall spending falls because the gamers are less often in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718376 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:59:49 +0100 3718376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714162&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJrToVIiLFjE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Massachusetts health care law that Gov. Mitt Romney signed in 2006, and the nearly identical federal law that President Obama signed this year, create perverse incentives that are causing health insurance costs to rise and could eventually cause health insurance markets to collapse. A report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance shows that process is well underway. Massachusetts requires health insurance companies to sell to all applicants, and imposes price controls that require insurers to charge all applicants the same premium, regardless of their health status.  ObamaCare would do the same. Those price controls have two principal effects on healthy people.  First, they increase the premiums that insurers charge healthy people (the addit... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714162 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:15:27 +0100 3714162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690824&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnpKPkDAc_wE%2F By Michael F. CannonAmong the many ways ObamaCare will increase the cost of health insurance, it will require all Americans to purchase unlimited annual and lifetime coverage.  The latter requirement takes effect this September.  The former will require consumers with non-grandfathered health plans (i.e., about half of the market) to purchase coverage with an annual limit on claims of no less than $2 million by 2014, and unlimited annual coverage thereafter. In interim final regulations and a “fact sheet” released this week, the Obama administration claims that the mandate to purchase unlimited annual coverage will increase the cost of employment-based and individually purchased coverage by an average of about 0.1 percent.  That average glosses over the fact that these manda... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690824 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:50:06 +0100 3690824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3676653&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoDmd4rrQokE%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe very day President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, Virginia’s attorney general filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the health care overhaul. Virginia’s complaint alleges, in relevant part, that the PPACA’s requirement that every individual purchase health insurance or pay a fine — the “individual mandate” — is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the power to enact it. The U.S. Government filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that Virginia lacked standing to bring this suit but also that the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and Congress’ taxing power all justify the individual mandate. Virginia responded, in relevant part, that t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3676653 Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:42:49 +0100 3676653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665953&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPz2sF1lCrPs%2F By Michael F. CannonHouse Republicans say they will force a vote to repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate, which will subject nearly all Americans to fines and/or imprisonment if they do not purchase a government-designed health insurance plan.  They are soliciting public feedback on their America Speaking Out website, which explains: We need to repeal and replace the health care law with common sense reforms that will actually lower health care costs and let Americans keep the plan they have and like. That’s why Republicans are offering a proposal to repeal the requirement forcing Americans to buy government-approved health insurance. Twenty states and the nation’s leading small business organization agree that this law is unconstitutional and that’s why they are suing to ove... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665953 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:10:20 +0100 3665953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592197&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOdetYO-VnLg%2F By Michael F. CannonJohn Goodman is correct that ObamaCare’s individual mandate — and Kathleen Sebelius’s power to make the mandate more burdensome at whim — threaten the continued existence of health savings accounts (HSAs).  But ObamaCare’s price controls are no less a threat. The new law requires insurers to charge enrollees of the same age the same average premium, regardless of health status.  That’s a price control, and it will cause premiums for healthy people to rise dramatically and thus lead to massive adverse selection.  Healthy people will gravitate to less-comprehensive insurance — in particular, HSA-compatible high-deductible plans — where the implicit tax is smaller. As premiums for comprehensive plans spiral upward (ulti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592197 Mon, 24 May 2010 13:55:02 +0100 3592197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556076&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFPICtrnihH4%2F By Michael F. CannonThe New York Times‘ Kevin Sack reports on the legal challenge to ObamaCare’s individual mandate launched by 20 state attorneys general: Some legal scholars, including some who normally lean to the left, believe the states have identified the law’s weak spot and devised a credible theory for eviscerating it… Jonathan Turley, who teaches at George Washington University Law School, said that if forced to bet, he would predict that the courts would uphold the health care law. But Mr. Turley said that the federal government’s case was far from open-and-shut, and that he found the arguments against the mandate compelling. “There are few cases in the history of the court system that have a more significant assertion of authority by the government,” s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556076 Tue, 11 May 2010 20:55:17 +0100 3556076 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420444&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi7lTLQjYZf8%2F By Michael F. CannonAs the nation contemplates the new health care entitlements that Congress and President Obama just created, it is worth noting an article in today’s Washington Post, which reports on the performance of past efforts to eliminate fraud in another health care entitlement: More than a decade ago, Congress set out to squeeze the fraud out of Medicare billing at nursing homes, requiring more precise justifications for costs. It created new “ultra-high” billing categories intended to be used for only 5 percent of the patients needing highly specialized care and rehabilitation. But within a few years, nursing homes flooded the ultra-high categories with patients, contributing to $542 million a year in potential overpayments, federal analysts found. Since then,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420444 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:48:23 +0100 3420444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398886&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv1kB49EVIb0%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Do the 13 state attorneys general have a case against ObamaCare? My response: Absolutely.  It will be an uphill battle, because modern “constitutional law” is so far removed from the Constitution itself, but a win is not impossible.  There are three main arguments.  (1) Under the Constitution, as properly interpreted, Congress has no power to enact such a plan.  (2) The plan conscripts state governments into carrying out and paying for federal mandates.  And (3) the individual mandate amounts to an unlawful capitation or direct tax. The first argument will almost certainly lose, because under post-1937 readings of the Commerce Clause, Congress can regulate anything that “affects” interstate commerce, which at some level ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398886 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:44:57 +0100 3398886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378463&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoUsfeofrzc0%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom the invaluable Tim Carney: The Obama team regularly dismisses opponents as industry lackeys. The Democratic National Committee blasted out e-mails this week warning that “for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill” and “Congress is under attack from insurance lobbyists.” But drug industry lobbyists, according to Politico, spent the weekend “huddled with Democratic staffers” who needed the drug lobby to “sign off” on proposals before moving ahead. Meanwhile, we learn that the drug lobby is buying millions of dollars of ads in 43 districts where a Democratic candidate stands to suffer for supporting the bill. The doctors’ lobby and the hospitals’ lobby are also ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378463 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:20:44 +0100 3378463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370390&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fpt1aCcLKyHM%2F By Michael F. Cannon…are we under any obligation to obey it?  The answer may be no. Democrats are considering a scheme that would “deem” the Senate health care bill to have passed the House if a separate event occurs (specifically: House passage of a budget reconciliation bill).  That strategy has been named after its contriver, House Rules Committee chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY).  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says of this scheme: “I like it because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill” (emphasis added). Not so fast, says former federal circuit court judge Michael McConnell in The Wall Street Journal: Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another. The Slaughter solution attempts to allow the H... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370390 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:10:48 +0100 3370390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239554&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FI0Kos49r1FA%2F By Michael F. Cannon"Father of the Individual Mandate" Mitt Romney The former nickname came from National Journal or The Wall Street Journal, I’m not sure which.  The latter nickname comes from Institute for Health Freedom president Sue Blevins. See here for details on an upcoming event in Dallas where Goodman’s National Center for Policy Analysis will play host to Romney. It should be an interesting event.  With all 40 Republican members of the U.S. Senate, including moderates like Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), voting to declare an individual mandate unconstitutional…with 35 states moving legislation to block an individual mandate…with the Heritage Foundation rebuking an individual mandate…and with Virginia’s Democratically controlled Senate ap... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239554 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:52:45 +0100 3239554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171884&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1ypg4QUiWbQ%2F By Chris Moody A real stimulus: To create jobs, repeal the corporate-income tax. As if times weren’t hard enough: The individual mandate on health insurance would impose high implicit taxes on low-wage workers. For more on this, read the new Cato study on burdens the health care legislation will place on the poor. Hot off the press: New issue of Regulation magazine looks at lessons from the financial crisis and property rights. Even though the government is running massive deficits, interest rates and inflation are low. So, what’s the problem? Podcast: “Bernanke’s Conceit” featuring Mark A. Calabria. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171884 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:23:48 +0100 3171884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171889&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqfHgYHyCgPg%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a new study titled, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums,” I show that the House and Senate health care bills would impose implicit tax rates on low-wage workers that exceed 100 percent.  Here’s the executive summary: House and Senate Democrats have produced health care legislation whose mandates, subsidies, tax penalties, and health insurance regulations would penalize work and reward Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance. As a result, the legislation could trap many Americans in low-wage jobs and cause even higher health-insurance premiums, government spending, and taxes than are envisioned in the legislation. Those mandates and subsidies would impose effective marginal tax rates on lo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171889 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:52 +0100 3171889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082394&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr8AbxoYesdI%2F By Michael F. CannonAlong the lines of my oped with Bob Levy in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer explaining why an individual mandate is unconstitutional, here’s a poor, unsuccessful letter I submitted to the editor of the Washington Post: To the Editor: In one column, Ruth Marcus [“Health scare tactics,” Nov. 11] says it is “not true” that the House-passed health care overhaul “raises taxes for just about everyone.”  The same column, however, explains that anyone who doesn’t comply with the bill’s mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, or the associated fines, “could, in theory, be prosecuted — just like others who cheat on their taxes” (emphasis added). A subsequent column [“An ‘Illegal’ Mandate? No,” Nov. 26] notes, “The individual ma... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082394 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:10:31 +0100 3082394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082395&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fkyl4ASKzwvw%2F By Michael F. CannonCato chairman Bob Levy and I have an oped in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer explaining why the individual mandate in Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) health care bill is unconstitutional.  (Our colleague Ilya Shapiro blogs about a similar piece by our colleague Randy Barnett.) In sum, supporters of an individual mandate claim that two powers granted to Congress by the states in the Constitution — the Commerce Clause and the taxing power — give Congress the legal authority to force Americans to purchase health insurance.  We reject both theories. First, the behavior that Congress seeks to regulate — the non-purchase of health insurance — is neither interstate, nor is it commerce.  Unfortunately, under the Supreme Court’s tortured interp... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082395 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:05:43 +0100 3082395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079324&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9Wm7DUG7tSI%2F By Ilya ShapiroYesterday the Heritage Foundation released a new paper on the unconstitutionality of the proposed health care mandate.  Think tanks aren’t normally in the habit of promoting their peer institutions’ work, but this paper is incredibly timely and its lead author is Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett.  You really should go read it. Interestingly, at the event unveiling the paper, Eugene Volokh (of UCLA Law School and the Volokh Conspiracy blog) at one point wanted to quote the Constitution and realized he wasn’t carrying one! Eugene asked if anyone had a Heritage Constitution.  Former Attorney General Ed Meese, now chairman of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, saved the day by passing Eugene his… handy, dandy, Washington Post-bestsel... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079324 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:16:36 +0100 3079324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2973906&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbHBenHALa9c%2F The fat lady hasn’t even started to warm up yet. The narrow 220-215 victory in the House on Saturday night was a step forward on the road to a government takeover of the health care system.  But as close and dramatic as that vote was, that was the easy part.  The Senate must still pass its version of reform—which will not be the bill that just passed the House.  Nancy Pelosi was, after all, able to lose the votes of 39 moderate Democrats.  Harry Reid cannot afford to lose even one.  A conference committee must reconcile the two vastly different versions.  And then, Pelosi must hold together her 3 vote margin of victory (if it gets that far).  Yet several House Democrats who voted for the bill on Saturday said they did so only to “advance the process.” Their vote is far from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2973906 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:18:15 +0100 2973906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939277&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNgrfiHFqwnM%2F Let’s simplify things and say there are essentially two parts to the health care bills moving through Congress: an individual mandate that would effectively nationalize health care, and a government-run program that would explicitly nationalize it slowly, over time. One explanation for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) including the government-run program — supporters call it a “public option”; I prefer Fannie Med — in the Senate bill is that Fannie Med’s popularity is on the rise.  Another explanation is that Reid had to include it to remain majority leader and get left-wing Nevadans to work for his re-election. But a third explanation, not inconsistent with the others, is that the savvier Democrats know that all they need to nationalize health care is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939277 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:36:41 +0100 2939277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2820204&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fu4DpfiwkIDU%2F As my colleague Jeffrey Miron noted earlier today, when grilled by George Stephanopolous on whether the so-called “individual mandate” is a tax increase, Obama replied, “Nobody considers that a tax increase….You can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase…My critics say everything is a tax increase.” Where do Obama’s critics get these wacky ideas?  From a bunch of nobodies, that’s who! Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt, quoted by Larry Summers (1987): [Just because] the fiscal flows triggered by mandate would not flow directly through the public budgets does not detract from the measure’s status of a bona fide tax. Economist Larry Summers, Obama’s National Economic Council chair (1... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2820204 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:05:14 +0100 2820204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803887&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUJEALC3pR_E%2F In their attempt to defeat Obamacare, Republicans have focused their criticism on the public option, painting it as the most objectionable feature of existing proposals. Senator Max Baucus, (D-Mont.), has now proposed a plan without the public option. This leaves the Republicans in an awkward position, especially since Baucus’s plan is projected to cost less than earlier proposals. If Republicans oppose the Baucus plan, they surely risk the ire of voters who will be told during the mid-term elections, “The Republicans blocked a plan that would have covered the uninsured and reduced the deficit.” The problem is, the public option was never the crucial issue; instead, it was the mandate to purchase insurance. Once government mandates insurance coverage, it gets to define wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803887 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:26:45 +0100 2803887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2645265&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRsxZ4OyyBg4%2F Here’s a poor, unsuccessful letter to the editor I sent to The Washington Post: “Like Car Insurance, Health Coverage May Be Mandated” [July 22, page A1] paints a misleading picture of proposals to require Americans to purchase health insurance – i.e., an “individual mandate.” First, the article lacks balance.  It cites three politicians who support an individual mandate but none who oppose it, a group that includes a majority of Republicans.  The article claims an individual mandate “has its roots in the conservative philosophy of self-reliance,” even though most conservatives, including the movement’s flagship magazine National Review, oppose the idea.  The closest the article comes to offering an opposing perspective is one conservative who has supported an indiv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2645265 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:15:36 +0100 2645265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2637781&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff4feIYZbkZg%2F Mark Pauly is usually an ally of those who support free-market health care reform.  But, occassionally, he strays off the reservation.  Recently, he and I debated the merits of an individual mandate for health insurance on publicsquare.net.  Click here to listen. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2637781 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:18:23 +0100 2637781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630050&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FncC9gk5xDgw%2F President Obama will hold a press conference tonight to answer questions about his health care reform proposal. This is what I would ask him: Mr. President, during your campaign, you said, “I can make a firm pledge…Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”  You also said that “no one will pay higher tax rates than they paid in the 1990s.” Your National Economic Council chairman, Larry Summers, has written that employer mandates “are like public programs financed by benefit taxes.”  Under the House health reform bill, an uninsured worker earning $50,000 per year, with no offer of coverage from her employer, would face a 15.3-percent federal payroll tax, a 25-percent federal marginal income tax rate, an 8-percent reduction i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630050 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:41:12 +0100 2630050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605945&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6_XbFFeVUIM%2F House Democrats released their 1,018 page health care reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, yesterday. This bill is a dog’s breakfast of bad ideas paid for by more than $500 billion in new taxes. The reform would impose an individual mandate on individuals, requiring every American to buy a government designed insurance package or pay a new tax equal to 2.5 percent of their income. At a time of rising unemployment, businesses would be required to provide health insurance to workers or pay a new tax equal to 8 percent of workers wages. These new taxes could drive the total cost to taxpayers much higher than the $500 billion in direct taxes in the bill. In addition, the bill includes a host of new insurance regulations that will drive up the cost of insurance ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605945 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:24:02 +0100 2605945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464094&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3Syu3NVOyAI%2F A draft of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s health care reform bill is finally available, and it is difficult to overstate how far he would move us to a government-run health care system. An initial read-through reveals among the key provisions: An individual mandate, requiring that every American purchase a “qualified” insurance plan. (Sec. 161(a)) The mandate will be enforced through the tax code with Americans required to pay a penalty if they fail to comply.  In an extraordinary delegation of congressional authority, the Kennedy bill would give the Secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services the power to determine what this penalty should be. Individuals would be required to submit information on their insurance status over the previous year to the Secretary of HHS, along with “a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464094 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:40:52 +0100 2464094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441164&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fbz5bpMFLQqA%2F Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun circulating drafts of his proposed health care reform legislation. Initial reports, including an op-ed in the Boston Globe by Kennedy himself, suggest that the bill will contain every one of the bad ideas that I outlined in my recent Policy Analysis on what to expect from Obamacare. Among other things, the Kennedy bill will call for: An employer mandate; An individual mandate; A so-called “Public Option,” a Medicare-like plan that will compete with private insurance; The use of comparative-effectiveness/cost-effectiveness research to restrain costs; Subsidies for families earning as much as 500% of the poverty level ($110,250 for a family of four). Insurance regulation, including guaranteed issue and community rating. (He would also establish a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441164 Fri, 29 May 2009 18:39:29 +0100 2441164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380737&cid=t_238295_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoAqNmoBztts%2F I am reliably informed that the rumor that I perpetuated to which I responded here is untrue: House Republicans will not be endorsing an individual mandate. Now let’s hope that Senate Republicans (and House Democrats, and Senate Democrats) show similar good sense. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380737 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:20 +0100 2380737