Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)

"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...

Despite a few recent rulings declaring the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, Ian Millhiser insists that the Act is not outside constitutional bounds. Millhiser argues that Congress has power to tax, "regulate the...

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...

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...

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...

In studying the House and Senate health care bills, Michael Cannon found that Obamacare would affect the wages of the poor as well as the wealthy. According to Cannon, the individual mandate would discourage hard work and economic progress. Cannon also notes that the...

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...

"Many states are waiting for a Supreme Court decision or even the November election results, to see whether central elements of the new [Health Care] law might be overturned or repealed. But that will be too late to start work. By Jan. 1, 2013, the Obama administration will decide whether each state is ready to run its own exchange or whether the federal government should do the job instead...

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...

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...

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...

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...

In this piece, John Vinci explains the six types of waivers that companies and individuals are receiving under the new health care law. According to Vinci, "Obamacare waivers not only evidence a poorly conceived law, but the very...

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,...

"We examined the public cost (subsidies plus Medicaid spending) of expanding coverage under an individual mandate. Table 2 shows the pattern we observed across all scenarios with a subsidy option. The government cost per newly insured falls as the income level at which...

"Figure 15 presents another way of viewing the effects of reform on family income. The figure shows family income under the case of no reform and with successful cost growth reduction of various degrees. The figure makes clear that family income will be substantially higher with reform than without. One can view the difference between the no-reform case and each of...

"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...

"The income statement (also referred to as the Profit and Loss Statement or Comparative Statement of Operations) focuses on performance over a designated period of time, usually one year. This statement provides important information about the profitability of a hospital, including information on how the hospital gets its money and how the hospital spends its money...

"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...

"The ACA [Obamacare] includes a number of provisions that are expected to reduce Medicare spending. (See Appendix A [above chart] for the cost estimate for the major Medicare provisions in the ACA.)"

"Passage of health care reform was heralded by some in the media as providing 'near universal coverage.' ... Indeed, President Obama made it clear that one of the primary reasons he was pushing for health care reform was 'it should mean that all Americans could get coverage.' ... But by this standard, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act falls far short...

"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,...

"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...

"PPACA² contains 18 separate tax increases that will cost taxpayers $503 billion between 2010 and 2019. ... Three major tax hikes make up nearly half of the new revenue raised by PPACA:

1. Section 1401 imposes a 40 percent excise tax on 'Cadillac' health insurance plans. This new tax will apply to health plans valued in excess of $10,200 for...

"CBO officially scored the bill as reducing the budget deficit by $138 billion over 10 years. Putting that in perspective, if true, it would amount to roughly 62 percent of the total deficit that the federal government incurred in February of 2010 alone. ...

As Figure 10...

A large component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the "Individual Mandate." This analysis by the RAND Corporation defines the Individual Mandate as "[a] requirement that individuals have health insurance, either through an employer, an individual plan, a purchasing pool, or by enrolling in a public insurance program (such as Medicaid)." Among...

In this piece, Jonathan Gruber contends that those who wish to repeal the PPACA are severely misguided. In Gruber’s eyes, repeal would bring increased costs, deaths, and budget deficits. On the other hand, Gruber views the health care law in the following way:

"The...

This paper discusses the constitutional implications of health care reform's individual mandate requirement. The authors discuss the "unprecedented nature of an individual mandate," and then describe various legal provisions under which the individual...

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...

"The Affordable Care Act establishes a national framework for near-universal health coverage. Under the law, beginning in 2014, a new individual mandate will require most individuals to obtain coverage. At the same time, access to affordable health coverage will be...

As the title implies, this piece gives a brief overview of Friedrich Hayek's economic principles and then relates them to the regulations imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The author declares that "[t]his Outlook ... will apply Hayek’s analysis to regulation, the modern substitute for planning, focusing on the two major initiatives...

This piece finds Brian Blase offering a one year assessment of Obamacare. Blase reviews the many promises that politicians declared the PPACA would bring and concludes that many of them have fallen to pieces. The study concludes by stating that "Obamacare falls...

This report combines a variety of the Heritage Foundation’s WebMemo pieces on Obamacare. The anthology covers everything from the constitutionality of Obamacare, to the tax burden imposed by the law, to the financial effects Obamacare...

"After decades of evolution and experiment, the U.S. health care system has yet to solve a fundamental challenge: delivering quality health care to all Americans at an affordable price. In the coming years, new solutions will be explored and older ideas revisited. One idea that has returned to prominence is cost sharing, which...

According to Robert Rector, "[o]ne bizarre feature of the Senate-passed health care bill is its pervasive bias against marriage. Under the bill, couples would face massive financial penalties if they marry or remain married. Conversely, couples who cohabit without...

In this podcast, Roberts and Cogan declare that rising health care costs have grown because people expect free care for their small infirmities. Cogan suggests that health care would not be so expensive if individuals were required to pay for the small...

"Arnold Kling of EconLog talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the death of his father and the lessons to be learned for how hospitals treat patients and our health care system treats hospitals."

According to Michael Tanner, many of the things opponents of health care reform predicted would happen with the passage of the PPACA are most certainly happening only one year later. Tanner describes several of these occurrences and...

On October 22, 2009, a CNS News reporter asked Speaker Pelosi about the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As this brief audio clip demonstrates, Speaker Pelosi condescendingly responded, "Are you serious?"

This podcast discusses some of the early lawsuits and rulings against the Obamacare law. Despite the rulings, some states are still attempting to implement the law in preparation for the 2014 deadline. Cannon subsequently makes the...

"Reason's Damon Root attended the pivotal second day of oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which he described as a 'Constitutional Thunderdome.' The debate over the legality of the mandate to purchase insurance at the heart of ACA was, says Root, a rough-and-tumble colloquy about the 'the role of government in our lives' and 'what...

"The 'Individual Mandate' section of the new healthcare reform bill introduces a paradigm shift in the role of the federal government. For the first time in American history, citizens will be forced to purchase something (in this case health insurance approved by the government) against their will or else pay a fine. Some legal scholars worry that this is an egregious form of constitutional...

"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...

"Down on the boardwalk, we interview a few young Americans to find out what they know about the Constitution of the United States. Can you answer the questions? Does it matter?"

"The 'Individual Mandate' section of the new healthcare reform bill introduces a paradigm shift in the role of the federal government. For the first time in American history, citizens will be forced to purchase something (in this case health insurance approved by the government) against their will or else pay a fine. Some legal scholars worry that this is an egregious form of constitutional...

"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has set forth an individual mandate that requires all Americans to have health insurance. The justification for the law rests on the idea developed since the New Deal in the 1930s that any economic activity an individual engages in could impact the national economy and therefore can be regulated by the Federal Government based on its...

This brief and amusing video describes Obamacare as a medication with millions of negative side effects.

"It's official, trillion is the new billion. No longer is government spending talked about in terms of a mere ten digits. With the recent flurry of government spending, we are going to need another three zeros to make sense of it all. One trillion dollars is a number that few people can comprehend, let alone your standard nine digit calculator. So what does one trillion dollars look like?"

"After unveiling the Senate health insurance bill to Congress, Nevada Senator Harry Reid hailed the legislation's efforts to 'save lives, save money and save Medicare.' Without adding a dime to the deficit, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make it easier for businesses to provide working Nevadans with health insurance, while strengthening our...

This five second clip presents Speaker Pelosi's famous remark about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, namely, "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

This video gives the Obama administration's opinion on how much Obamacare repeal would cost the country. Ms. Cutter explains the savings families of different income levels will enjoy under the law and also describes how many jobs could be lost if the healthcare reform law is not implemented as planned.

"The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment is the first study ever to measure the effects of health insurance by randomly assigning subjects to receive Medicaid coverage or no coverage. At this forum, lead investigator Katherine Baicker will present the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment's first set of results and discuss further data that this revolutionary experiment will produce. The panelists...

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.

"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.

Using an anecdote to describe how important Obamacare health coverage is to Americans with pre-existing conditions, the U.S. Attorney General and Health and Human Services Secretary bemoan a court ruling that declared the individual...

This document explains the components of the increasingly growing waiver system under Obamacare. The document includes a chart listing the 729 organizations that had been approved for waivers as of January 26, 2011. Among the organizations...

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...

In a speech before the National Association of Counties, Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the economic need for more jobs and health care reform. Pelosi emphasized the need to insure Americans with pre-existing...

After an extensive debate in Congress, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed both the House and Senate. The transcript of the presidential signing of the PPACA legislation reflects the...

Marking the three month anniversary of the signing of PPACA, President Obama addressed the subject with a group of guests at the White House. The President focused his remarks on the positive outcomes that the PPACA was beginning to provide for Americans, while also condemning those who urge the repeal of Obamacare.

"This report first analyzes the authority of Congress to enact the minimum essential coverage requirement contained in PPACA, as well as how a court might analyze this provision if challenged based on various provisions of the Fifth and Tenth Amendments. This report discusses whether there must be exceptions to a requirement to purchase health insurance based on...

In August of 2011, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declared that parts of the PPACA were unconstitutional. This decision addresses the constitutionality of the Individual Mandate portion of Obamacare, as well as the difference between a tax and a penalty in relation to the PPACA's implementation.

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...

"Reforming America’s Health Care System offers a critical assessment of important parts of the newly enacted health care law. Specifically, this book analyzes the individual mandate to buy insurance, threats to medical innovation, the lack of choices for consumers, and the complexities of medical malpractice reform. The authors also examine lessons learned...

"In her new book, The Truth About Obamacare, Sally C. Pipes—president of the Pacific Research Institute and an acknowledged expert on health care reform—reveals what Democrats in Congress and President Obama don't want you to know:...

"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.

This site offers the White House's official opinion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Among the many resources offered are "myths and facts" about PPACA, personal health care anecdotes, and information on how much it would cost to repeal the PPACA.

This link contains the Heartland Institute's PolicyBot research collection on Obamacare.

"This calculator allows you to see how Obamacare would affect important issues—like insurance premiums, government health spending, deficits and health coverage—if CBO projections don't materialize. The Obamacare Impact Calculator demonstrates how sensitive the Congressional Budget Office...