For readers who may be interested, I will be on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal from 8 to 8:30 AM tomorrow to talk about the upcoming Supreme Court oral argument on the Anti-Injunction Act, and whether or not it precludes the individual mandate lawsuit. The AIA issue is somewhat technical. But it does tie in to one […]
Archive | Individual Mandate
Public Opinion, Sympathetic Plaintiffs, and the Individual Mandate Case
By Ilya Somin on March 23, 2012 8:44 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
In a comment on my recent post on public opinion and the individual mandate case, University of Richmond law professor Kevin Walsh suggests that the anti-mandate forces might need sympathetic plaintiffs in order to prevail in the court of public opinion: Some say that the challengers to the individual mandate can win even if they […]
The Individual Mandate Case is Not Easy
Linda Greenhouse and Dahlia Lithwick have attempted to resuscitate the claim that the individual mandate is so obviously constitutional that only ignorance or political bias can lead anyone to believe otherwise. Such claims were perhaps understandable back when this litigation began. But even then, there was no expert consensus on the constitutionality of the mandate. […]
The Politics of Mandates
In a recent post, co-blogger Orin Kerr suggests that polls showing the unpopularity of the individual health insurance mandate prove that slippery slope concerns about upholding the mandate case may be unfounded, because “mandates are just political losers.” Some mandates are indeed political losers. But as I explain in the forthcoming article that Orin kindly […]
Holtz-Eakin and Smith on the Individual Mandate
Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Nobel Laureate economist Vernon Smith had an op-ed in today’s WSJ on the “flawed economic foundations” of the Affordable Care Act. On the individual mandate, they write: The Obama administration defends the mandate on the ground that a person’s decision to not buy health insurance affects commerce by materially increasing […]
The Unpopularity of the Mandate — And How It Cuts Both Ways
In a recent post, my co-blogger Ilya Somin points out the polls showing that the individual mandate is very unpopular. The mandate polls just terribly. Few people like it, and most people would be happy for it to go. Ilya suggests that the unpopularity of the mandate gives the Court more freedom to strike down […]
Public Opinion, the Individual Mandate, and the Supreme Court
By Ilya Somin on March 19, 2012 6:10 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
A recent Washington Post/ABC poll shows that 68% of the public want the Supreme Court to strike down the individual health insurance mandate. That includes 42% who want the Court to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act and 26% who want it to strike down the mandate alone. If forced to choose, 52% of those […]
A Possible Shift of Emphasis in the Federal Government’s Defense of the Individual Mandate
By Ilya Somin on March 16, 2012 3:46 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
The Hill has a story claiming that the federal government has changed its defense of the individual mandate to emphasize the Necessary and Proper Clause more: The Obama administration has shifted its legal arguments as it prepares to defend the president’s healthcare law before the Supreme Court. Written briefs in the landmark case increasingly have […]
C-SPAN Video of my WLF Debate on the Individual Mandate Litigation with Andrew Pincus
For readers who may be interested, C-SPAN has posted the video of my recent debate on the individual mandate litigation with Andrew Pincus of Mayer Brown, a well-known appellate litigator who has argued many Supreme Court cases. The event took place at the Washington Legal Foundation, on whose behalf I wrote an amicus brief in […]
Washington Legal Foundation Debate on the Individual Mandate Litigation
Next Tuesday, March 13, from 9:30 to 10:30, I will be taking part in a debate on the individual mandate litigation at the Washington Legal Foundation. Joining me will be Andrew Pincus of Mayer Brown, counsel for a group of constitutional law professors who filed an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of the mandate. I […]
“The Uneasy Case for the Affordable Care Act”
Duke law professor Stephen Sachs has a new essay. “The Uneasy Case for the Affordable Care Act,” responding to Erwin Chemerinsky on the constitutionality of the individual mandate. Here is the abstract from SSRN: The constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is sometimes said to be an “easy” question, with the Act’s opponents relying more […]
UCLA Law School Debate on the Individual Mandate Litigation
By Ilya Somin on February 28, 2012 2:42 pm in Federalism, Federalist Society, Health Care, Individual Mandate
This Thursday at 12:15 PM, I will be debating the individual mandate case at UCLA Law School with UCLA professor Jonathan Varat. The event is sponsored by the UCLA chapter of the Federalist Society.
Los Angeles Federalist Society/Stanford Law School/Libertarian Law Council Event on the Individual Mandate
This Thursday, March 1 at 6 PM, I will be speaking at an event on the individual mandate litigation with Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer. The event is sponsored by the Los Angeles lawyers’ division chapter of the Federalist Society, Stanford Law School, and the Libertarian Law Council. Location and registration information is available […]
Administration Again Admits Individual Mandate’s Penalty Is Not a Tax
Testifying today before the House Budget Committee, Jeffrey Zients, acting Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, acknowledged that the penalty provision used to enforce the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is not a tax. Philip Klein has details (and video) here.
Briefs by VC Authors in the Individual Mandate Case
By Ilya Somin on February 15, 2012 10:45 am in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
Regular VC readers might be interested in knowing just how many briefs in the individual mandate case have been authored by your humble Conspirators. In this post, I try to summarize all of them. Not surprisingly, they all urge the Court to strike down the mandate. Pride of place goes to Randy Barnett’s coauthorship of […]