The mandate is constitutional: In Plain English

Published: Thursday, June 28 2012 1:06 p.m. MDT

Our take: The Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may lead to Congress regulating more than just health care.

Defending the constitutionality of the mandate, the government's primary argument was that Congress can require everyone to buy health insurance using its power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, because the failure to buy insurance shifts the costs of health care for the uninsured to health care providers, insurance companies, and everyone who does have health insurance.

The most important part of the Courts opinion on the mandate came from the Chief Justice, John Roberts. He acknowledged that Congress has a broad power under the Commerce Clause, but he emphasized that Congresss power to regulate commerce assumes that there is commercial activity to regulate. In his view, the mandate creates activity, rather than regulating it.

Read more about The Healthcare mandate on The Scotus Blog.

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Irony Guy

Bountiful, Utah

Contra Hatch, I predict ACA will lower health costs, reduce the debt, and get capricious insurance companies off my back.
I know as much about it as Hatch does.

3:04 p.m. June 28, 2012
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LDS Liberal

Farmington, UT

I called United Healthcare to ask what Hospital I needed to take my daughter to to get stiches.

The person I talked to was outside of Utah, and could've even been out of the U.S.

For that fact alone [and there are 1,000s More..

1:45 p.m. June 28, 2012
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Tolstoy

salt lake, UT

@procuradorfiscal

the regime? really I don't remember any forceful takeover. try rolling back the rhetoric a little, people may actually bother reading your post.

3:53 p.m. June 28, 2012
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