Ruling Against Obamacare Mandate Shakes Things up

“Judge Henry E. Hudson of Federal District Court in Richmond wrote with conviction that the law’s requirement that most Americans obtain insurance goes ‘beyond the historical reach’ of Supreme Court cases that limit federal regulation of commercial activity. During the last two months, however, two other federal judges ruled with equal force that the provision fell squarely within the authority Congress was granted under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.” (New York Times)

Forcing consumers to buy insurance doesn’t look like regulation of commerce.

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“The Mandated Health Insurance Outrage” by Sheldon Richman

The Goal Is Freedom | Sheldon Richman
The Mandated Health Insurance Outrage
How can they make us buy coverage?
Posted November 20, 2009
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With the introduction of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 2,074-page health insurance nationalization bill, we can be thankful for one thing at least. It will most likely be the last bill of its kind introduced this year. Who’d have time to wade through another?

This doesn’t mean there is anything in the bill to be thankful for. Like its Senate predecessors and House counterpart, it should offend any advocate of liberty and good economic sense.

First and foremost among its defects is the individual health insurance mandate: Every individual would be forced to buy government-defined comprehensive medical coverage (or to have it bought by one’s employer). A fine up to $750 awaits anyone who defies the mandate.

... http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/tgif/the-mandated-health-insurance-outrage/