The List of the Obamacare Taxes

"Life-saving medical procedures and drugs allow Americans to live longer and healthier than ever before. But for a growing number of uninsured Americans, paying for that care hasn’t kept pace.

It’s been nearly a century since President Teddy Roosevelt tried to re-capture the office on a progressive platform that included the then-radical notion of universal health care. The debate over...

According to Peter Suderman, the AARP endorsement of Obamacare seemed like a good idea at the time, but is increasingly growing less appealing to AARP's members and employees. One reason for the increased dissatisfaction with the law is the fact that AARP...

A commentary timeline on the history of health care reform from President Franklin Roosevelt to George W. Bush.

"Two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. Supreme Court should throw out either the individual mandate in the federal health care law or the law in its entirety, signaling the depth of public disagreement with that element of the Affordable Care Act.

This ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that Americans oppose the law overall by 52-41 percent. And 67 percent believe the high court should...

"President Obama's national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law."

"President Obama has called Rep. Paul Ryan's budget 'an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country,' but as this week's chart illustrates, if something radical doesn't happen, entitlement spending will nearly double by 2050. The amount of spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Obamacare subsidies will soar over the next 38 years, leaving future generations with an alarming...

"Americans who feel overtaxed already are in store for a shocker: Obamacare will add 17 new taxes or penalties for a whopping cost of $502 billion over its first 10 years."

"The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, formerly the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)) was created by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, enacted Title XXI of the Social Security Act, and has allocated about $20 billion over 10 years to help states insure low-income children who are ineligible for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. States receive an enhanced...

"An April Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll found that only 51 percent of respondents believed they had enough information about how the law would affect them personally. However, when asked their opinion about specific provisions of the law -- 'the law will prohibit insurance companies from charging women higher premiums than men' -- typically a strong majority approved. When voters...

This piece provides an interesting analysis on the unintended consequences of the individual mandate. Goodman discusses the problem of "free riders" and then shows how the individual mandate could actually encourage "free riders" rather than eliminate them. Furthermore, Goodman explains the flaws with the current system and then briefly describes a...

Responding to a column by Peter Orszag in which he declared that Obamacare "is an essential element to keeping future health care costs down," Veronique de Rugy argues that "ObamaCare has nothing to do with cutting costs." Ms. de Rugy then uses a...

"Five days ago, Democrats were cheering the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's choice for Vice President. Democrats thought that Ryan's efforts at Medicare reform would terrify seniors (with their encouragement, of course), thereby handing the election to President Obama. Contrary to their expectations, however, it has been the Obama campaign that has been forced to defend its $716...

This brief article reports on public opinion polling for Obamacare. From March 2010 to March 2011, public support for repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act only dropped 1% (from 55% to 54%). However, as...

"If the health care reform vote succeeds today, the $940 billion bill would be the biggest change to domestic policy in a generation. The rich and the health industry would pick up most of the tab."

Commenting on the court battle over the constitutionality of Obamacare, Doug Bandow declares that "we all have much at stake in maintaining the Constitution's limits on federal power." Bandow uses this article to briefly discuss state vs. federal jurisdiction, while also...

"A pivotal moment in the health care debate came when the president went before Congress and said this: 'Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. The time has arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and that protection.'

"There are 600,000 physicians in America who care for the 48 million seniors on Medicare. Of the $716 billion that the Affordable Care Act cuts from the program over the next ten years, the largest chunk—$415 billion—comes from slashing Medicare's reimbursement rates to hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors. This significant reduction in fees is driving many doctors to stop accepting new...

"President Obama's health care reform law, which expands preventative care and lets young people remain on their parents' health insurance plans well into their 20s, is a central part of his election year pitch to college students.

And perhaps nowhere are students more critical to the president's re-election chances than in North Carolina, a state jam-packed with colleges and...

Although Jonathan Turley believes that "strong arguments can be made for health care reform and the individual mandate," he also declares that "these are matters that should not be decided by mere fiat of Congress but rather by the courts." This...

Describing the court decision in which Judge Roger Vinson struck down the individual mandate portion of Obamacare, Thomas Miller notes how the Obama administration's lawyers unintentionally backed themselves into a corner with their argument. Miller also describes the clear court...

According to Julian Pecquet, "Maine is the first state to get a[n Obamacare] waiver. Three other states — New Hampshire, Nevada and Kentucky — have pending waiver...

"If states choose to accept Obamacare's huge expansion of Medicaid, it would burden both federal and state budgets. States are already struggling to afford the program."

Comparing the single payer health care system to the Wizard of Oz, Bob Moffit suggests that "some in Congress want to make the Wizard even more powerful." Moffit demonstrates this assertion by describing the changes that Congress wanted to make to Medicare payments during the Summer of 2009. According to Moffit, these changes...

"Obamacare has suffered a devastating blow. On Friday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the individual mandate in President Barack Obama’s signature health care legislation is unconstitutional. With its ruling, the court affirmed the principle that the Constitution means what it says—Congress does not have unfettered power to force the American people to comply with any and all...

"The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that Obamacare will reduce the deficit, by coupling a multi-trillion-dollar expansion of federal health spending with cuts to Medicare and higher taxes. Now, a new study by a Medicare trustee suggests that the law will actually increase deficits, over the next ten years, by between $346 and $527 billion. Why do the trustee's numbers differ from...

This article describes how the implementation of Obamacare effects ethical and moral issues. Donovan specifically discusses the impacts of PPACA on abortion procedures and funding. Among other things, Obamacare "fails to adequately...

As evidenced by lawsuits and other legal maneuvers, many legislators across the country are committed to repealing Obamacare. As Michael Cannon notes, however, many of these same, repeal-minded authorities are actually aiding and abetting the implementation of Obamacare...

"Negative signs abound for the medical community today, as the House Oversight Committee prepares to hear testimony on the impact of ObamaCare on doctors and patients. First, there's the recent Doctor Patient Medical Association poll, which found 90 percent of doctors say the medical system is on the wrong track and 83 percent are thinking about quitting...:

KEY FINDINGS...

"Last week, a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report updated the amount of money Obamacare robs out of Medicare from $500 billion to a whopping $716 billion between 2013 and 2022."

According to Warner Huston, "111 companies and organizations were granted waivers by Obama’s Dept. of Health and Human Services so that they could get out of having to comply with Obamacare and unions were...

According to Robert Moffit, senior citizens will especially experience an increased burden through the changes made to Medicare under the PPACA. Moffit lists increased taxes, funding cuts, and fewer doctors as some of the different changes...

"In anticipation of the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision, it is important to remember that the constitutionality of the individual mandate isn't the only problem with the law. Here's a list of Obamacare's five most destructive impacts on America's seniors."

This brief article offers several charts which detail the basic operating costs of a normal hospital. The charts give a breakdown of costs and include information regarding salaries, benefits, and other expenses that hospitals deal with.

"Private-sector job creation initially recovered from the recession at a normal rate, leading to predictions last year of a 'Recovery Summer.' Since April 2010, however, net private-sector job creation has stalled. Within two months of the passage of Obamacare, the job market stopped improving. This suggests that businesses are not exaggerating when they tell pollsters that the new health care...

According to this piece, the court ruling that struck down the individual mandate central to the PPACA brings constitutional liberty and fiscal savings to the...

According to this article, the provisions of Obamacare will greatly swell the ranks of those on Medicaid. Due to this fact, Kathryn Nix examines how an increase in Medicaid participants will...

In discussing the Senate portion of the PPACA, Robert Book notes that the bill "include[s] provisions that could put private health plans out of business." Book goes on to say that the bill would specifically create the following scenario:

• "Give federal regulators the power to define minimum benefit packages;
• Specify by law the...

This piece gives a brief, three-page summary of the key aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The PPACA specifies the following:

• "Most individuals will be required to have health insurance beginning in 2014...

As the title suggests, Ezra Klein uses this piece to make a case for the necessity of the individual mandate. Klein declares, "Kill the individual mandate and you're probably killing the bill, too. The mandate is what keeps average premium costs low,...

"Since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Action Forum (AAF) has tracked the state of its regulatory implementation. To date, the ACA has imposed a total of $27.6 billion in new regulations – at least $20.4 billion in lifetime costs on private entities and $7.2 billion in increased burdens on state budgets. In this paper AAF examines how this $27.6 billion in new costs...

Commenting on the newly elected leaders of 2010 and their reform-minded approach to governing, Peter Orszag presents his beliefs on why the health care law should not be repealed. According to Orszag, the Obamacare law focused on "cost-effectiveness and...

Commenting on Nancy Pelosi's statement on the need to pass the PPACA, Marguerite Higgins declares that her comment revealed the condescension the 111th Congress felt toward the American people. However,...

This article reports on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's views on the constitutionality of Obamacare's individual mandate provision. When CNS News posed the constitutionality question, Speaker Pelosi responded, "Are you serious?" According to a Pelosi spokesperson, the Speaker responded...

"DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz described the Medicare reforms proposed by GOP Vice-Presidential nominee and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) as 'literally a death trap for seniors.' White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that Ryan's reforms would 'change Medicare as we know it.'

But it was Obamacare that already changed Medicare as we know it,...

"The first category, the cuts to government spending, accounts for $741 billion of the health law's financing. It's mostly changes to how the government pays the doctors and hospitals who provide care to Medicaid and Medicare patients. Here's how those changes break down, per the CBO...."

"The average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2012 are $5,615 for single coverage and $15,745 for family coverage. Compared to 2011, the average premium for single coverage ($5,429) is 3% higher and the average premium for family coverage ($15,073) is 4% higher. Since 2002, average premiums for family coverage have increased 97% (Exhibit A). The growth in premiums has...

"The average price of an inpatient facility stay was $15,674 in 2011, a 5.3 percent annual increase (Appendix A). As seen in Figure 6, the highest average prices paid to a facility were for surgical admissions ($29,858, an 8.5% rise from 2010) and medical admissions ($13,023, a 5.9% increase over 2010)."

"The average price of a professional procedure increased 3.3 percent from 2010 (Appendix A). As seen in Figure 10, the highest average prices paid to a health professional were for anesthesia ($714, a 3.2% increase from 2010) and administered drugs ($396, an 11.1% increase from 2010)."

This interactive chart details the cases challenging the Obamacare law, the date of their argument, the type of court argued in, and the parts of the Constitution that each argument was based on.

"In 2010, the CBO estimated that Obamacare's tax increases would amount to $626 billion from 2013-2019, and $631 billion over ten years. In 2011, the CBO estimated totals of $624 and $968 billion, respectively.

In the most recent report, the CBO projected a 2013-2019 total of $672 billion, and a ten-year total of $1,221 billion.

Note that these totals exclude the impact of the...

"An individual mandate will result in an increase in government spending of about 1–6 percent, as shown in Table 1. Because the subsidy cost is all borne by government, as the size of the subsidy increases, so will government spending. Medicaid increases are insensitive to the size of the subsidy, since people who are eligible for Medicaid cannot take advantage of the subsidy. For Medicaid,...

This interactive chart lists the various Constitutional sections and amendments on which the Obamacare law has been challenged. Article 1 is used most frequently in the Obamacare cases.

"Overall, PPOs are by far the most common plan type, enrolling 56% of covered workers. Nineteen percent of covered workers are enrolled in an HDHP/SO, 16% in an HMO, 9% in a POS plan, and less than 1% in a conventional plan (Exhibit E). Enrollment in HDHP/SOs did not increase significantly in 2012 over the previous year, but over time it has risen to 19% of covered workers from just 8% in 2009...

"The estimated effects of the Affordable Care Act on overall national health expenditures (NHE) are shown by the 'net total' curve in the ... [above] chart. In aggregate, we estimate that for calendar years 2010 through 2019, NHE would increase by $311 billion, or 0.9 percent, compared to prior law. Year by year, the relative increases are largest in 2016, when the...

"'If you've got health insurance through your employer, you can keep your health insurance, keep your choice of doctor, keep your plan,' Obama insisted on Oct. 15, 2008.

But two years after signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, Obama gave many Americans a false sense of security that Obamacare won't change the status quo.

Four reputable research...

"Health care costs for a family of four have doubled in less than a decade from $9,235 in 2002 to over $19,000 in 2011."

"Using Congressional Budget Office (CBO) data, the chart ... shows that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 have left the cost curve of federal healthcare spending virtually unchanged over the next 25 years.

The data for this chart comes from the...

"Total Medicaid expenditures (Federal and State expenditures combined) for medical assistance payments and administration are projected to grow 6.9 percent in FY 2010 to $404.9 billion and to reach $840.4 billion by FY 2019, increasing at an average rate of 8.3 percent per year over the next 10 years. … Federal government spending on Medicaid medical assistance...

"By establishing both an excise tax on high-value health plans and a minimum MLR, the bill creates an implicit maximum legal premium that insurers can charge. With an 85 percent MLR and a 40 percent excise tax on the 'excess' premiums, simple algebra shows that if the premium exceeds 1.6 times the taxable threshold, then it is impossible for insurers to both meet...

"Beginning in 2014, employers must offer minimal essential coverage to full-time employees or pay a penalty. When this provision takes hold, 88% of surveyed employers are either definitely, or likely, to play by continuing to provide health benefit coverage. But as the law’s administrative and financial implications become clearer, employers can’t rule out the...

"In the examples in the Tables 1 through 5, all couples are assumed to have no dependent children and have no employer-provided health insurance. Each married and unmarried couple’s earned income is assumed to be split equally between the partners; for example, if a married couple has an income of $50,000, the husband is assumed to earn $25,000 and the wife $25,000...

"Doctors may agree to limit what they charge patients to the Medicare-approved amount for the services they provide, or they may charge a higher amount. Those who do agree to accept Medicare's rates for services are said to 'accept assignment'. A doctor may choose to charge a higher amount than the Medicare-approved amount for service. They do not...

"Implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 will have a major effect on Medicare spending and policy. … Most of the Medicare provisions in the ACA will reduce program spending, but some will increase it, and on net, Medicare spending will be reduced by an estimated $424 billion for the 10-year period from fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2019, a 6...

"Thanks to Obamacare, the uninsured rate in the U.S. dropped in 2011 to 15.7 percent from 16.3 percent in 2010, and 1.4 million Americans have health insurance now who did not have coverage a year ago, according to data from the Census Bureau. 2011 was the first year in more than a decade in which the number of people with private health insurance remained steady. 'Our main finding is coverage...

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that 54% favor repeal of the law, including 44% who Strongly Favor repeal. Thirty-nine percent (39%) oppose repeal of the law, including 31% who are Strongly Opposed. (To see survey question wording,...

"A majority of voters still supports repeal of President Obama's national health care law and believes it will increase the federal deficit and the cost of health care.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters favor repeal, while 43% are opposed. This includes 45% who Strongly Favor repeal of the health care measure and 33% who are...

"The Affordable Care Act is designed to provide Americans with affordable, high-quality coverage options – while ensuring that those who like their current coverage can keep it. Unfortunately, today, limited benefit plans, or 'mini-med' plans are often the only type of insurance offered to some workers. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act will end mini-med plans when...

"Anyone expecting to see major changes to the health care system in the next few months or years is liable to be disappointed. Although some insurers and businesses have begun raising rates and taking other preemptive actions in anticipation of changes to come, most of the major provisions of the legislation are phased in quite slowly. As Table 2 shows, the most...

In this particular poll, respondents were asked, "On a scale of zero to 100, what do you believe is the probability that the SCOTUS majority will find the individual mandate unconstitutional?" 65% believed the Supreme Court would find the individual mandate constitutional.

"The HIE was a large-scale, randomized experiment conducted between 1971 and 1982. For the study, RAND recruited 2,750 families encompassing more than 7,700 individuals, all of whom were under the age of 65. They were chosen from six sites across the United States to provide a regional and urban/rural balance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five...

"The HIE was a large-scale, randomized experiment conducted between 1971 and 1982. For the study, RAND recruited 2,750 families encompassing more than 7,700 individuals, all of whom were under the age of 65. They were chosen from six sites across the United States to provide a regional and urban/rural balance. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five...

"Between 2010 and 2011, beneficiaries saw their out-of-pocket spending rise by 4.6 percent from $703 to $735 (Table 3). Per capita, beneficiaries paid $46 out of pocket for inpatient care, $183 for outpatient care, $319 for professional services, and $187 for prescriptions. Out-of-pocket spending rose fastest for outpatient facility claims (9.9%), and declined 2.8 percent for prescriptions....

"Twenty states will lose the equivalent of 300 full-­‐time employees' worth of work to filling out ACA regulatory red tape. (See Figure 3) Additionally, 27 states have a burden of over $300 million in new regulatory costs.

For perspective on the size of these numbers, $27.6 billion in new regulatory costs exceeds the GDP of Jamaica. The $24.4 billion of costs for the top ten most...

"AAF examined the ten most expensive ACA regulations (see Figure 1). To date, there are 85 new rulemakings as a result of this law. The top ten most expensive regulations account for 88 percent of the total regulatory costs – a total of $24.4 billion. In each non-Medicaid regulation, federal agencies listed the regulated industries. Agencies will typically provide a North American Industry...

"Within two months of Obamacare’s passing, the recovery stalled. Figure 1 shows net private-sector job creation from January 2009 onward. The red line shows the trend in job creation before and after April 2010. Private-sector job creation improved by an average of 67,600 jobs per month before April 2010. ... That month, private-sector employers added 229,000 net jobs.

In May 2010, the...

"The CBO does not provide formal budget analysis beyond the 10-year window, pointing out that any calculation made beyond 2020, 'reflects the even greater degree of uncertainty' regarding those years. ... However, since program costs will be on an upward trajectory through 2019 (see Figure 9), it expects the cost of the program to continue to grow rapidly after...

"The annual Milliman Medical Index (MMI) measures the total cost of healthcare for a typical family of four covered by a preferred provider plan (PPO). The 2012 MMI cost is $20,728, an increase of $1,335, or 6.9% over 2011. The rate of increase is not as high as in the past, but the total dollar increase was still a record. This is the first year the average cost of healthcare for the typical...

Calling Obamacare "the most significant transformation of the American health care system since Medicare and Medicaid," Michael Tanner declares that the health care law of 2010 "will fundamentally change nearly every aspect of health care, from insurance to the final...

"This poll was a bipartisan collaboration between the American Action Forum and the Blue Dog Research Forum. It was designed to gather expert insight into the probable outcomes of the Supreme Court case involving the Affordable Care Act."

"Employer-sponsored insurance is the leading source of health insurance in America, covering about 149 million nonelderly people. ... To provide current information about the nature of employer-sponsored health benefits, the Kaiser Family Foundation (Kaiser) and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) conduct an annual national survey of nonfederal private and public employers with...

"Critics have alleged that the health care reform bill set to be voted on by the House Sunday is a job killer. What's the reality? It could affect some businesses heavily but many others not at all."

Admitting that a majority of Americans hate the current, expensive, detached health care industry, Paul Howard sets out to show how innovation and entrepreneurship can cure some of the system's problems. This piece gives several examples of medical entrepreneurs who are providing their patients with better care for a lower cost while operating their practices and companies like a for-profit...

In pondering the title question, Simon Lazarus determines that the individual mandate is definitely constitutional. According to Lazarus, this "paper reviews the relevant features of the [health care] legislation, Congress' rationale and record supporting...

"This paper provides a detailed overview of Medicare spending and financing, beginning with a review of the factors contributing to the growth in Medicare spending, including the effects of the 2010 health reform law." At this point in time, projections suggest that the PPACA will decrease Medicare spending overall.

Anticipating the passage of Obamacare, Aaron Yelowitz decided to examine how the law would affect young people, the age demographic most responsible for putting President Obama into office. According to Yelowitz, young adults are the largest uninsured age group, mainly because they...

"The hodgepodge of new taxes that have already or will soon take effect as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may not all show up in the income tax tables, but their huge cost is still very real. This cost will become most apparent in lost wages and international competitiveness, and it reduces middle- and low-income families' wages just as surely as an income tax hike...

"Doctor Patient Medical Association Foundation conducted a faxed survey
of random doctors in May 2012. ...

Overall Conclusions:

• Almost unanimous that medicine is on the wrong track, and overwhelmingly blame the government;
• Government-imposed solutions (PPACA, electronic health information)
destined to fail;
• Highest numbers ever opting out of...

This paper offers an overview of Obamacare’s effects on Medicare. Among other things, the paper describes the implementation of the "Independent Payment Advisory Board," the relationship between prescription drugs and Medicare under PPACA, and the type of care Medicare patients will be eligible for under PPACA.

"Does free medical care lead to better health than insurance plans that require the patient to shoulder part of the cost? In an effort to answer this question, the authors studied 3,958 people between the ages of 14 and 61 who were free of disability that precluded work and had been randomly assigned to a set of insurance plans for three or five years. One plan...

Although the new Obamacare law has been touted as a way to decrease the burden on small business owners, this paper demonstrates how the opposite tends to be more likely. According to Hadley Heath, the bureaucratic burden imposed by increased taxes and...

"Arnold Kling of EconLog talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of health care and his book, A Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care. Kling discusses whether we get what we pay for when we spend money on...

In this podcast, Russ Roberts and Henry Aaron discuss the implications of a single-payer health care system. They also discuss whether or not administrative costs play a large role in driving up insurance and other health care costs.

"Steven Lipstein, President and CEO of BJC HealthCare--a $3 billion hospital system in St. Louis, Missouri--talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of hospitals. They discuss pricing, the advantages and disadvantages of specialization in...

As the title implies, this podcast discusses the many unfortunate regulations that are occurring with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Ms. Turner also describes some of the unappetizing changes that Americans are experiencing in their health care plans under Obamacare.

This podcast discusses the Commerce Clause and Obamacare and whether or not the latter's individual mandate is constitutional. To paraphrase Robert Levy, this is the first time that the government has mandated the purchase of anything, and if they can do it in one place, they can do it anywhere.

"Amid intense public interest, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which became effective March 23, 2010. The ACA sought to address the fact that millions of Americans had no health insurance, yet actively participated in the health care market, consuming health care services for which they did not pay.

The ACA contained a minimum coverage provision by...

According to Reason TV's Nick Gillespie, the three reasons why Obamacare won't cut the deficit are "legislative trickery," "higher premiums," and "bad accounting." Overall, Gillespie argues that high costs are a regular "feature of government health care plans."

"States can require people to buy insurance for automobiles and health care. So why can't the federal government? According to Professor Elizabeth Price Foley, the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government limited and enumerated powers that confine it. The Constitution gives different powers to the states than it does to the federal government. Just because states have the power to...

"Are you aware that over 1,000 temporary healthcare reform waivers have been granted by the Administration to organizations around the country? The reason: they can't meet the limited annual coverage without significantly increasing premiums or decreasing access to benefits. That leaves us with some looming questions: What about us, the individuals? What about the people who can't afford to be...

"Senator Max Baucs addresses what Obamacare really is about after the Democrats passed the 'fix' bill and sent it back to the House."

"We ask moms on the street what they know about the Constitution. Can you answer the questions? Does it matter?"

"Reason's Damon Root was in attendance for the third and final day of oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which focused primarily on the issue of severability, which brings into question whether the individual mandate be excised from the law, or if the law in its totality must be struck down.

Now that the case is in the hands...

"Reason's Damon Root got a coveted seat for the Supreme Court oral arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Day one of this epic judicial showdown focused primarily on whether or not the individual mandate constitutes a tax. If the justices rule that the penalties associated with the mandate should be considered a tax, the challengers to ACA would have to wait until...

"Obamacare expands government-controlled health care -- passing the cost to future generations of taxpayers -- and weakens families' choice of coverage. Larry Patterson describes the impact Obamacare will have on his family and the concerns he has with the new law."

This video offers the President's and Vice President's remarks at the signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March of 2010. Lauded as a historic day, the signing was received with jubilation by the many who labored endlessly to bring the President's healthcare reform to pass.

In March of 2011, Representative Michele Bachmann revealed that the PPACA had a hidden implementation fund of 105 billion dollars. In this interview, Bachmann argues that it is necessary to cut funding for this provision immediately in light of national budgetary problems.

"On the Senate floor today, Ranking Member Sessions announced that a new Budget Committee analysis has found that the long-term, unfunded liabilities associated with President Obama's health care law will reach $17 trillion. The Committee's analysis is based on the Obama Administration's own numbers as well as those from the Congressional Budget Office. It is a modest, conservative estimate...

This video provides clips of President Obama's address to Congress on his health care plan. Among other things, the President promised the American people that they could keep their insurance if they liked it and that his plan would not add more to the deficit.

"In a complex decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that the individual mandate component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is constitutional under Congress's taxing power. What is left of the idea that the Constitution creates a government of limited powers? What does this case-of-the-century mean for both the Constitution and our health care system and what are next steps for...

"In a complex decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that the individual mandate component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is constitutional under Congress's taxing power. What is left of the idea that the Constitution creates a government of limited powers? What does this case-of-the-century mean for both the Constitution and our health care system and what are next steps for...

According to this video, one of the leading challenges of Obamacare has to do with the individual mandate and its relation to the Commerce Clause in the Constitution. This video describes the background of the Commerce Clause and whether or not the Obamacare law violates the Clause.

One of the prominent supporters of...

"FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to provide for an individual mandate to adult citizens to provide for the self defense of themselves and others.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:

Section 1. Not later than January 1, 2012, each citizen residing in the state of South...

“In this case, the Commonwealth of Virginia …, through its Attorney General, challenges the constitutionality of the pivotal enforcement mechanism of the health care scheme adopted by Congress in the Patient Protection...

The oral argument for the first day of Supreme Court hearings on the Obamacare law.

The transcript of the second day of oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Obamacare law.

This hearing concerned the Anti-Injunction Act issue of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cases and whether it applies to the individual mandate or not.

"Milliman, Inc. (Milliman) was retained by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) to perform analysis related to changes to the Medicaid program resulting from federal healthcare reform. This report documents the results of our financial impact review of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by H.R. 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010. Our results calculate Mississippi...

After being asked about the constitutionality of the individual mandate requirement in the Obamacare bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office issued this press release. According to the press release, the...

Heavily promoted by the Clinton administration in the early nineties, the Health Security Act was a precursor to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This Act was cited as "A BILL To ensure individual and family security through health...

"As you requested, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have estimated the direct spending and revenue effects of H.R. 6079, the Repeal of Obamacare Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on July 11, 2012. This estimate reflects the spending and revenue projections in CBO's March 2012 baseline as adjusted to take into account the...

This article lists the names of lawsuits challenging the Obamacare law and gives a brief description about each case.

Before holding the final House vote which would eventually pass Obamacare, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave this speech. Pelosi urged her colleagues to vote in favor of the PPACA, noting the historical nature of the vote and declaring that “[t]he best action that we can take...

"The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care act signed into law by President Obama in late March is a complicated bill that overhauls the nation's health care system over a period of five years.

It sometimes is mentioned in the same breath with the United Kingdom's National Health Service Act of 1946 which set up that country's government-run health-care system.

But that...

This brief document lays out the fines that will be expected from those who refuse to buy health insurance under the PPACA. According to this document, “[t]hat penalty will be the greater of a flat dollar amount per person that rises to $695 in 2016 and is indexed by...

The Anti-Injunction Act declares that "no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed." In other words, pay first, sue later.

In an address to the American Medical Association, President Obama discussed some of the many problems with the American health care system. The President then went on to lay out his plan for health care reform,...

In this short speech, President Obama delightedly recognized the support and endorsement given to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by the AARP and the AMA. President Obama concluded by "urg[ing] Congress to listen to...

In January 2011, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declared that "'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' [is] unconstitutional." Judge Vinson's decision was carefully thought out and related to the Constitutional "Commerce Clause." Vinson also made an...

"The federal government has no constitutional authority to dictate how Americans shall pay for their medical care. It has no right to force them to turn over their earnings for the profit of private insurers or for the 'public use,' such as providing 'free' services that a federal agency dictates people should have."

During the debate preceding and following the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, many opponents of the PPACA pointed to a CBO report that emerged during the health care proposals under President Clinton. This report noted the "unprecedented" nature of forcing American citizens to buy health insurance. Opponents of the PPACA...

In this testimony before the House Budget Committee, Richard Foster describes some of the costs and implications the PPACA could have on Medicare and other health expenditures. In regards to these issues, Foster declares the following:

"The...

"The fight against ObamaCare is just beginning. The new health law, signed on...

"This study is a comprehensive review of the Act and an early appraisal of its likely effects. It is the second report by the author on Obamacare, the first being a critique of bills still being debated by Congress in August...

"CMS Provides Health Coverage for 100 Million People...

...through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. And with health insurance reforms and health care exchanges, we are improving health care and ensuring coverage for all Americans."

This link provides readers with Department of Justice information pertaining to the PPACA. The page provides a list of court cases on the law and groups them according to the outcome of each case.

"A project of the Heritage Foundation," this website offers a myriad of research, commentary, documents, and public opinion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The government's official website for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act where Americans can learn how the PPACA affects their lives.

This link provides readers with the Heritage Foundation's entire collection of PPACA coverage. The topic includes a vast variety of reports, multimedia, commentary, and testimony.

"The United States spends $2.6 trillion on health care, roughly 17 percent of the gross domestic product. Additionally, government is responsible for approximately 50 cents out of every dollar spent on health care because of the huge and rapidly growing government health care programs: Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and state and public health care programs. The result of so much government...

A variety of articles and information from the White House on the Affordable Care Act.