Thoughts On Today’s Supreme Court Decision
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., ObamaCare.) In a twist, rather than finding that the law’s mandate was constitutional under the Commerce Clause (as both the government and plaintiffs asserted) the majority determined that the government’s power to tax — here, to tax not having insurance — saved the law.
In a surprise conclusion to a constitutional showdown, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Supreme Court’s four liberals Thursday to uphold the linchpin of President Barack Obama’s health plan, the individual mandate requiring citizens to carry insurance or pay a penalty.
By a 5-4 vote, the court held the mandate valid under Congress’ constitutional authority “to lay and collect Taxes” to provide for “the general Welfare of the United States.” The penalty for failing to carry insurance possesses “the essential feature of any tax,” producing revenue for the government, Chief Justice Roberts wrote.
It is difficult to understate the importance of this ruling, now and for the future. In the short term, the core of the Affordable Care Act stands, meaning Americans will still be subjected to one of the most coercive and leviathan government programs enacted in recent memory. Tens of millions will likely lose their current insurance plans, and young people will be especially affected by the law’s provisions. But the Court has also found that the mandate is a tax, meaning that repeal of the law could be as easy as passing a budget bill without the mandate, or the law, in it.
The long-term effects, however, are not irrelevant here. The Supreme Court also found that there was no constitutional basis for the mandate under the Commerce Clause. There are, as it turns out, limits to what the government can regulate under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. That is a positive thing. Also, the provisions that forced states to expand their Medicaid programs were deemed impermissible under Congress’s spending power, meaning states will not have to choose between expanding their Medicaid eligibility or losing federal funding for their entire Medicaid programs. Those two findings from a policy standpoint are successes, although under the current disappointing circumstances may not seem all that apparent.
This outcome stands as a huge disappointment, but this is not over. Now the solution for turning ACA back has moved in a decidedly legislative direction. Elected officials will have plenty on their plates to consider over the next year when it comes to keeping or spiking the health care law.
After all, according to the justices, Congress enacted a gigantic tax when they implemented ObamaCare. The question now is whether Americans want to pay it.
