Why Might the Supreme Court Overturn the Health Care Reform Law?

In an interesting article at The Atlantic, Megan McArdle speculates about what might happen if the Supreme Court declared the Health Care Reform Law unconstitutional.

What Would Happen if the Supreme Court Struck Down Health Care Reform?

(Excerpt Below)

This weekend, I had a conversation with someone non-crazy who thinks there is a not-insignificant chance that the Supreme Court will overturn health care reform, or at least the individual mandate (it’s not clear what happens to the rest of the law if the mandate goes down; there’s some possibility that this would invalidate the entire law).  Mind you, this person was not suggesting that the chances were, say, 85%; more like 25%.
But in a case like this, 25% is a big chance.  So we spent a bit of time speculating about what would happen next.

At one point in the article, there’s an interesting link to a discussion of insurance and risk that touches on the issue of moral hazard.

(Excerpt Below)

The problem of moral hazard also affects government programs that insure people against misfortune. A variety of programs help people who suffer the misfortune of poverty. Aid to dependent children helps people who suffer the misfortune of having children to raise that they cannot financially support. Unemployment compensation pays people who suffer the misfortune of losing their jobs. Food stamps and public housing help the poor. Yet all these programs also suffer from problems of moral hazard. They increase children born out of wedlock, unemployment, and poverty.

Moral hazard is the result of maximizing behavior. A person weighs the costs and benefits of an action, and when benefits exceed costs, he takes the action.

This idea of moral hazard and maximizing behavior is one very good reason why the U.S. goverment should stay out of the healthcare (and charity) business. Bureaucracies are notorious for allowing the perpetuation of fraud, abuse, and scams.

But even more striking is the idea that if the penalty for not carrying health insurance were lower then the cost of purchasing a plan, and one didn’t qualify for significant assistance in the purchase of health insurance, then many people might choose to forgo coverage altogether. Therefore, the reasons given for the necessity of including within the law a mandate that everyone have approved coverage don’t hold up. If everyone must have coverage to keep rates affordable, but people can opt out by paying a lower-cost penalty instead, then the rates won’t be affordable, because the moral hazard is that people will choose the option that is best for them—not the option that’s best for everyone else—and who can blame them when it’s merely human nature and valid self-interest?

But back to my point.

By declaring the Healthcare Reform Law unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court could redraw the lines marking the boundary of the Federal government’s power. The mandate, to me, seems the most likely area where the Federal government has overstepped its bounds. There’s also the issue of the Federal government using the commerce clause as the authority that gives it the power to regulate the health care insurance market. I think this is a clear stretching of the clause’s intent and purpose and I have high hopes that the Supreme Court will agree.

Would the entire law be thrown out if the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated any particular part of the law? I don’t know, but I would certainly hope so.

States Suing Federal Government Over Health Care Reform

Arizona and Nevada to Sue Federal Government Over Health Care Reform

A significant percentage of the states, 32% in fact, are challenging this law. I have hopes that this challenge will result in this law being completely thrown out. However, in case this doesn't happen, we need to continue the push for repeal of this law.

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker Disappointed in House Passage of Health Care Reform Bill

Corker Disappointed in House Passage of Health Care, Says Cost Will Hit Tennessee and Future Generations Hard

March 21 2010 – WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., made the following statement Sunday evening after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of health reform legislation.

“Tonight’s vote is disappointing, and its cost will hit our state and future generations very hard,” said Corker. “On Friday, Governor Bredesen let me know this bill will cost Tennessee an estimated $1.1 billion in Medicaid expansion over five years – a huge unfunded mandate that creates a very difficult situation for our state.

“Beyond that, I think what bothers me most about the bill are its disingenuous accounting mechanisms. It’s insulting to the American people. First, the bill applies 10 years of new taxes to finance six years of spending, resulting in huge deficits over the next decades. Second, even President Obama’s own Medicare officials have determined that Medicare savings are counted TWICE in the bill, hiding the legislation’s true cost. This comes down to elementary school logic; you can’t spend the same dollar twice. And finally, almost as soon as the ink dries on this legislation, a new bill will come forth to deal with all or part of what is called the ‘doc fix’ to ensure that physicians who treat Medicare recipients do not receive a 21 percent cut. The cost of that over 10 years is more than $200 billion, proving that Americans have not been dealt with squarely on the true accounting associated with this bill.”

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint to Introduce Bill to Repeal “ObamaCare”

DeMint to Introduce Bill to Repeal ObamaCare

(Complete Press Release Follows)

March 21, 2010 – WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) announced that he will introduce legislation this week to repeal President Obama’s government takeover of health care. House Democrats voted this evening to pass the Senate version of the health care bill and it will likely be signed into law by President Obama later this week.

“This bill is unconstitutional and it cannot be fixed. It must be repealed,” said Senator DeMint. “The battle for health care freedom is not over and I will introduce legislation this week to repeal this health care takeover.

“Unless this trillion-dollar assault on our freedoms is repealed, it will force Americans to purchase Washington-approved health plans or face stiff penalties. It will fund abortions, raise taxes and insurance premiums, while reducing health care choices and quality.”

“This arrogant power grab proves that the President and his party care more about government control than the will of the American people. Americans told Washington to keep its hands off their health care in opinion polls, at public protests, and at the ballot box, but their pleas were ignored.

“If the President and Democrats were serious about true health care reform, there were many free-market solutions we could have easily passed. Americans support commonsense reforms such as purchasing coverage across state lines, stopping frivolous medical lawsuits, and giving the same tax breaks to Americans who don’t get their insurance at work. Unfortunately, Democrats refused to listen.”

The bill passed in the House today raids $52 billion from Social Security, cuts nearly $500 billion from Medicare, and doesn’t account for the hundreds of billions Congress must pass to pay doctors who treat elderly patients.

TEXT of Senator DeMint’s bill to Repeal ObamaCare:

To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPEAL.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the amendments made by that Act, are repealed.

House Passes Healthcare Reform Bill

House sends Senate healthcare bill to Obama's desk in 219-212 vote

(Selected Excerpts Follow)

The House late Sunday approved the Senate's healthcare bill in a 219-212 vote.

The House made history with the passage of comprehensive national healthcare reform Sunday, giving President Barack Obama a major legislative victory after more than a year of intense debate.

The Senate healthcare bill passed the House a vote of 219-212. Thirty-four Democrats voted against their party, and against the legislation. As expected, the Republican opposition was unanimous.

The 34 Democrats to vote against the Senate bill were: Reps. John Adler (N.J.), Jason Altmire (Pa.), Michael Arcuri (N.Y.), John Barrow (Ga.), Marion Berry (Ark.), Dan Boren (Okla.), Rick Boucher (Va.), Bobby Bright (Ala.), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Artur Davis (Ala.), Lincoln Davis (Tenn.), Chet Edwards (Texas), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), Tim Holden (Pa.), Larry Kissell (N.C.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Dan Lipinski (Ill.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Jim Marshall (Ga.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Michael McMahon (N.Y.), Charlie Melancon (La.), Walt Minnick (Idaho), Glenn Nye (Va.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Mike Ross (Ark.), Heath Shuler (N.C.), Ike Skelton (Mo.), Zack Space (Ohio), John Tanner (Tenn.), Gene Taylor (Miss.) and Harry Teague (N.M.)

A bloc of pro-life Democrats linchpin to passage

House Votes to Pass Health Care Bill, Send 'Fixes' Back to Senate

A bloc of pro-life Democrats turned out to be the linchpin to passage of the Senate's massive health insurance overhaul Sunday night, as President Obama cemented a 219-212 victory with a pledge to issue an executive order "clarifying" abortion language in the Senate bill.

Source: FoxNews.com