Saturday, March 31, 2012

The red herring that could kill Obamacare

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the individual mandate in President Obama's national health care law, it will be because one of the central justifications for it was exposed as a red herring. - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the individual mandate in President Obama's national health care law, it will be because one of the central justifications for it was exposed as a red herring.

Both in the political arena and in court, the Obama administration has defended its mandate forcing individuals to purchase health insurance by arguing that when uninsured people show up at emergency rooms, they impose a cost on society. As described in the legislation, the mandate is merely an "individual responsibility requirement."

In reality, the mandate has always been about forcing healthy people into the insurance pool, to offset the distortion in the market created by the related provision requiring insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions.