Dismantling the Affordable Care Act: The Obama Supreme Court Argument + 51 Republican Senators

I have no idea which way the Supreme Court will rule this year on the Affordable Care Act. Let me go out on a limb and predict a 5-4 vote on the question of whether the individual mandate is Constitutional. Just don’t ask me which way the vote goes.I found the recent Obama administration brief submitted to the Court on the mandate question somewhat ironic. Not surprisingly, the Obama Justice

Will the Congress Change the Health Care Law During the Next Two Years?

No. But I expect the Patient Protection and Affordability Act to be “relitigated” in 2013, to one degree or another.I recently posted on the controversy over the individual mandate. I suggested a number of alternatives to the mandate—including my own ideas.I was asked if I really thought the Congress would change the individual mandate in the short term.As I have posted before, it will be the

Alternatives to the Individual Mandate—Some Are A Lot Better Than Others

With Constitutional challenges to the individual mandate now threatening the very life of the new health care law, Republicans aren’t the only ones that would like to see it jettisoned and replaced with something better.And it isn’t just the Constitutional challenges that are prompting a second look. The mandate doesn't work politically and it doesn't maintain the integrity of the market because

The Democrats Had Better Hope the Supreme Court Overturns the Individual Mandate Before the Middle Class Understands How Bad It Is For Them

This post first appeared as a column at Kaiser Health NewsIs The Individual Mandate Really A Lynchpin In The New Health Law?If the Supreme Court does rule the individual mandate unconstitutional will it really bring down the whole law?I don't see it.First, the individual mandate isn't even close to what it has been made to be -- a provision that would protect the integrity of the health insurance