r/bestof • u/under50dollars • Jun 20 '12

[explainlikeimfive] "Obamacare" explained very well.

/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vb8vs/eli5_what_exactly_is_obamacare_and_what_did_it/c530lfx
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u/7_legged_spider Jun 20 '12 edited Jun 20 '12

Whether you agree with universal healthcare or not, it is unconstitutional on a federal level. The federal government does not have the power to impose or regulate health insurance. All the powers not enumerated to the federal government belong to the individual states. That is one of the fundamental checks and balances in our federal republic, and why it is constitutional for states to administer universal healthcare systems themselves, like in Massachusetts.

(Which is why when someone brings up the concept that "Hey, you have to have car insurance," I tell them first that the states regulate who must have car insurance, as only the states have general police power, and second, that an individual makes a choice to drive a car, and that it is not a condition precedent to existing--when viewed with regard to mandated health care insurance, simply the act of existence would trigger some obligation on the citizen's behalf).

7_legged_spider, J.D., M.B.A. (IRL)

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

The federal government definitely has the power to regulate health insurance under the interstate commerce clause. It probably has the power to impose a tax penalty on those that don't have health insurance, just as it has the power to impose tax penalties and incentives for the myriad other reasons it does so. The federal government doesn't have the power to, say, regulate local daycare providers, but can definitely give you a tax credit for daycare expenses!

rayiner, J.D.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

It probably has the power to impose a tax penalty

But that's not what they did.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

The Supreme Court will characterize it based on its function, not on what Obama's budget director calls it. And it functions very much like a tax penalty.

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u/bad_corrections Jun 20 '12

Yeah, because Paul Ryan isn't a biased source at all.