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Small Steps Toward a Better Tax Code
November 17, 2011 | 11 comments
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Obama “Can’t Wait” to Target Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Health Entitlements
November 15, 2011 | 3 comments
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Supercommittee Would Rather Change the Rules Than Make Budget Cuts
November 14, 2011 | 7 comments
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As Supercommittee Faces Failure, Both Parties Have to Deal With Defense Cuts
November 11, 2011 | 4 comments
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It’s About More than Marginal Tax Rates
November 10, 2011 | 4 comments
The Spectacle Blog
The word on the AP wire is that, if the Supreme Court considers Obamacare’s mandate severable and unconstitutional, the Obama Administration will go forward with implementation as planned.
But privately, there’s a Plan B: If the court strikes down the law’s unpopular linchpin — the so-called individual mandate requiring most Americans to carry health insurance — the administration would take whatever’s left and try to put that into in place.
I cannot emphasize the title of this post enough: Obamacare is a step in the wrong direction for the U.S. health care system - but Obamacare without a mandate would absolutely decimate it. There was a lot of conservative consternation about how a death spiral - in which fewer and fewer people bought health insurance and drove the price higher and higher as the insured pool becomes only sick people - would occur in the event Obamacare would be passed in full. This is mainly true because the mandate penalty is currently set too low. But without a mandate penalty at all, this is an inevitable reality: why would anyone buy health insurance if insurers can’t discriminate on price and health of the insured? Just wait to get sick, buy it at the same price you’d have bought it at when healthy, and presto: cheap health care.
I know the Obama Administration isn’t exactly itching for another health care fight, but if the mandate goes down, the only responsible thing to do is also repeal community rating and guaranteed issue. They can keep the expansion of Medicaid (also up for the constitutionality debate) and the premium supports for low-income Americans as the “centerpieces” of the law. However, if there’s no mandate, other Obamacare provisions must be repealed. There is simply no other responsible move here.
View all comments (9) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Kevin Glass
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/11/16/the-only-thing-worse-than-obam
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Sean| 11.16.11 @ 10:31AM
Time to move away from health insurance. There is no reason why health care should be so expensive. Get government out of it and prices will fall to where people can pay for it out of pocket.
R2P2| 11.16.11 @ 11:35AM
There's only one candidate who would do exactly that. Ron Paul wouldn't just repeal Obamacare, he'd get the government out of the healthcare business completely.
JeffC| 11.16.11 @ 2:11PM
the Mandate penalty could be set at any level and it still causes a death spiral ... Why ? Because the penalty is not paid to the insurance industry. Heads the government wins and the insurance industry loses, tails the insurance industry loses.
MikeN| 11.16.11 @ 4:18PM
The insurance companies were big supporters of the law. No reason for Republicans to go to bat for them.
R2P2| 11.16.11 @ 4:58PM
The insurance companies did what they could to make Obamacare less bad for their bottom line than it might have been, but is there any doubt that they'd much prefer not to have to work under so many government regulations?
Which candidates have the resolve and the unshakable commitment to principle to resist pressure to compromise on things that are popular with voters like requiring insurance companies to ignore pre-existing conditions? Romney certainly doesn't. I wouldn't trust Cain or Perry to do something politically unpopular in their first term.
Ron Paul without question has the right kind of commitment to principle, and he's the only candidate who would not just repeal Obamacare entirely but get the government out of the health care business completely.
Nite| 11.16.11 @ 7:32PM
Do not underestimate Perry. He is every bit as hard headed as Paul and a lot less dangerous.
Oldefarte| 11.16.11 @ 4:39PM
Fact flash: WELFARECARE was legislated in order to replace Medicare with same, to the benefit of the young over that of the elderly. With the control of health insurance, the Democrats can gut/eliminate Medicare and transfer its governmental expendatures to WELFARECARE. Since their is no age restrictions for same [as there are with Medicare, ie 65-67], the average beneficiary will be much younger. Also, Medicare recipients pre-pay [before reaching 65-67] throughout their working lifetimes for their health insurance coverage, whereas WELFARECARE'S recipients will be required to do likewise [which will further add to the government's fiscal defecit/debt woes]. This legislation was all intended by Democrats to benefit the young at the expense of the elderly, and therefore to provide even more youth voting for Democratic candidates!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 11.16.11 @ 4:41PM
PS/typo above: WELFARECARE'S recipients will '''''NOT'''' be required to do likewise!!!!!
Nite| 11.16.11 @ 7:31PM
Some of this junk would have to pass the House and it won't. If part of this is unconstitutional, then it would become a different law. So they might be able to toss it.