Would an individual mandate work at the state level?

[Narkos]

I have a friend who thinks we should allow the states to decide for themselves if they want an individual mandate. I guess my point would be, there are plenty of people who come and go across state borders for various reasons, not to mention that many might decide to leave a state if the mandate were uneven. Are there other reasons why it might or might not work.?

[Enrique]

1. it's not a hypothetical

just need to look at Massachusetts

[KamaAina]

3. That's right!

Who was it who got that passed, again?

[AZ Progressive]

2. The question here has been about federal power, but states undoubtly have the right

I hear Norman Goldman, a lawyer for 25 years and now talk show host, talk about this.

[Enrique]

5. Goldman might just be protecting Romney

you can see how that analysis works in Romney's favor, right?

[LiberalFighter]

4. What happens when a citizen moves from a state with an individual mandate to one without?

If they move what happens to any ongoing treatment? Or if treatment isn't determined until after they move out of state?

How soon must new residents wait until they are covered?

Why is it called a mandate. Listening to the Diane Rehm show last week and a caller had this to say:

At the 46:50 mark

Listener asked why it is talked about as forcing people to buy something they don't want to buy. Instead of saying it was about forcing people to pay for something they are already getting. Because it seems clear that every American in a sense has a form of insurance. Because if I am in a car wreck tomorrow and I haven't chosen to pay for insurance or don't have employer provided insurance. I am going to get care in the hospital. In fact if two people were involved in that collision and we both need the same kind of care and one of us has insurance and one of us doesn't. It is going to be hard to at least initially to distinguished between the care that the person who holds insurance against the person who doesn't hold insurance. So we all have a form of insurance as Americans it seems that the Affordable Care Act just forces people to pay for it.

Panel: Why call it a individual mandate?

Why not call it Universal Participation or Universal Responsibility?

[link:http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=15836|
Diane Rehm Program]