The Constitutionality of Mandates to Purchase Health Insurance

[usregimechange]

Best one I have found:

CONCLUSION:
The Constitution permits Congress to legislate a health insurance mandate. Congress can use its Commerce Clause powers or its taxing and spending powers to create such a mandate. Congress can impose a tax on those that do not purchase insurance, or provide tax benefits to those that do purchase insurance. If Congress would like the states to implement an insurance mandate, it can avoid conflicts with the anti-commandeering principle by either preempting state insurance laws or by conditioning federal funds on state compliance. A federal employer mandate for state and local government workers may be subject to a challenge; however, such a challenge is unlikely to be successful. Individual rights challenges under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause or RFRA are unlikely to succeed, although a federal insurance mandate should include a statement that RFRA does not apply or provide for a religious exemption. Fifth Amendment Takings Clause challenges are also unlikely to be successful. The legal analysis presented is likely to endure, as the Supreme Court’s current position and approach to interpreting relevant Constitutional issues appear to be stable.

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/oneillinstitute/national-health-law/legal-solutions-in-health-reform/Executive_Summaries/Individual_Mandates_ExecSum.pdf

[Fumesucker]

1. Congress can also then mandate that we buy broccoli, flat screen TV's, crotchless underwear...

Accordions, pearl necklaces or any other product of free market capitalism you can imagine.

[sabrina 1]

10. And from companies that have 'donated' large sums

of money to help get them elected! Or you could call that money 'bribes'. So, the winning Corps are the ones who paid out the most money. They did bet on Democrats this time, donating three times more money to Obama's campaign than McCain's. I think that was NOT because McCain wouldn't have tried, but his party had lost the trust of the American people, and Democrats are better salespersons for something so unpalatable.

So, what's next, if this is Constitutional?

And what is the precedent for forcing citizens to buy from a private business? I don't think there is one. All it's going to take is for a few people to refuse to do so, as Keith Olbermann has said he would, to take it all the way to the SC.

[county worker]

18. Wow! When is that vote coming up?

[Fumesucker]

21. Right after the SCOTUS says it's cool to mandate private insurance..

This is a trick question, right?

[Skink]

2. MmmKAY.

[stray cat]

3. Is it constitutional to require people to work without pay? ie treat patients who don't pay?

I know its the law but is it really constitutional to mandate care without reimbursement?

[Oregone]

4. huh? wtf?

What is this relevant to? Who provides care without reimbursement?

[county worker]

19. I do!

My department serves indigent without reimbursement.

[truedelphi]

6. That's why over a full decade ago, so many geriatric doctors left

The practices they had when they were catering to everyone.

MediCare wasn't paying enough fifteen years ago - I have no idea what the incentive will be after the 500 billion bucks in cuts to MediCare takes effect, but it won't be good.

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. It's part of the physcian's oath.

"First do no harm..."

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

5. the constitution also does not mandate that the emergency room treat you

[LaydeeBug]

7. The mandates are the vehicle to the public option, and you know it

at least I do. :)

[SnoopDog]

8. Sorry... the Commerce Clause regulates Commerce.....and not

'customers'...

The Mandate, even if it makes sense, is totally unconstitutional.

The only way to make it Constitutional, is to provide a government
provided health security...

[Citizen Kang]

9. i wonder what the next mandate will be?

You can only buy your food from Wal Mart and Taco Bell?

Where will the corporate fascism end?


Forced to buy a product from a private corporation simply because you exist. I'm sure that's exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned when they created the Constitution. And that's what people are cheering about around here?

Make no mistake. Employers are going to start dropping coverage and pay the $750 fine and then YOU will be mandated to buy some crap insurance product that will do nothing to keep you healthy or out of bankruptcy if you get sick.

YAY, US!!!!!!!

[Davis_X_Machina]

11. Deleted. Slow server dupe..

[Davis_X_Machina]

12. Here's another...

....more from Jack Balkin, Yale prof and an anti-torture, anti-wiretapping stalwart of the law-blogging community:

However, Congress also has the power to impose the tax under the Commerce Clause. The test in this case is whether Congress could reasonably conclude that the economic activity it regulates has a substantial effect on interstate commerce when all individual instances of the regulated activity are added together. The Supreme Court says that economic activities include buying and selling, borrowing money, agriculture, services, manufacturing, and consumption.

Even if an activity is local and not economic, Congress can regulate it if it reasonably believes that doing so is necessary to make its regulation of commerce effective...

To strike down the individual mandate, it would have to reject decades of precedents. It is very unlikely that there are five votes on the current Court for staging such a constitutional revolution.

[Rilgin]

13. HCR can be used for other issues

The HCR mandate gives us a model to use for other chronic US problems

For example, unemployment.

We could pass a bill called "Employment Reform" which boils down to each person in the US must apply for and work for one of the many validly established Corporations in the various states. Corporations will be required to accept each of these applicants but may pay them whatever they wish. So that our opponents will not say its a total fraud, we will require these employers by law to allow their employees bathroom breaks and will allow them time off to Vote.

I realize this is not a perfect bill but it will absolutely end unemployment in America.

For those who need to defend the bill against progressive objections, please use one or more of the following:

1. Are you against solving unemployment.
2. Are you against allowing Employees to go to the bathroom.
3. Its just a start, we will fix it later.
4. Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good or well the not so good.
5. If you reject it, we will never never never never never ever ever ever ever do anything again to fix unemployment even though it will continue being a problem under the status quo.
6. Last but not least, why are you agreeing with Republicans when you say the above is a bad bill.

Sarcasm definitely intended but Im sure people will see the similarities.

[Fumesucker]

14. Brilliant.. May I post your idea as an OP?

You'll get flamed big time since you are a n00b, but I have over seven thousand posts.. Of course I'll get flamed too but I don't care, in fact I enjoy it.

Oh, by the way, welcome to DU, I hope you make a lot of people uncomfortable..

[Rilgin]

16. Feel Free to repost or use it.

Feel free. I do hope it makes people feel uncomfortable.

[Fumesucker]

17. Done..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7978981

[Roland99]

15. +1

Excellent.