Is the health care bill unconstitutional?
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M$3 Answers
In essence, the Supreme Court has two threads that apply here. The court has agreed that Congress has wide latitude to regulate health and insurance under the Commerce Clause, and it has agreed that Congress has latitude to enforce an individual mandate under its tax and spend powers.
Here is what David Orentlicher, a law professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health says in part:
" The taxing power is a well-established basis for enacting an individual mandate. Indeed, this country has had a tax-based mandate to purchase health care insurance for nearly 45 years. The Medicare program imposes a payroll tax on Americans as a way to fund coverage of their hospital costs once they reach age 65. People cannot opt out of Medicare; it is an obligatory system of health care insurance for one's senior years. Similarly, Congress can use a payroll tax to implement a mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance before they reach age 65. Under the House bill, for example, people will pay a 2.5 percent tax on their income unless they have health care coverage.
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Under the commerce clause, Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce, and the health care insurance industry clearly falls within the Supreme Court's understanding of interstate commerce.
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Here is another expert, law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law:
" First, they say the requirement is beyond the scope of Congress' powers. And second, they say that people have a right to be uninsured and that requiring them to buy health insurance violates individual liberty. Neither argument has the slightest merit from a constitutional perspective.
Congress has broad power to tax and spend for the general welfare. In the last 70 years, no federal taxing or spending program has been declared to exceed the scope of Congress' power. The ability in particular of Congress to tax people to spend money for health coverage has been long established with programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
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Conservative politicians invariably bring up constitutional issues when health reform is brought up, see the legal analysis defending the 1993 attempt cited. However, for the above reasons, they do not have a leg to stand on. There simply is no right in the Constitution to remain uninsured, and there is settled law that Congress can mandate insurance. Should a future Court reverse its position this would have huge impact, including overturning Medicare and Medicaid, and probably state laws requiring car insurance. It just won't happen, and there is no reason for it to happen.
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M$-quote-
"Senator Mike Johanns today voted in favor of a Point of Order declaring that the Senate health care reform bill is unconstitutional, and that Congress lacks the authority to pass the bill into law. The Constitutional Point of Order was introduced by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) in response to concerns that certain provisions exceed the federal government’s constitutional powers. The Point of Order failed, 39-60.
The question of constitutionality arises from whether the individual mandate included in the Senate bill–which penalizes individuals for not having health insurance–falls outside this jurisdiction by regulating economic inactivity and forcing individuals into commercial activity."
-end of quote-
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M$You are welcome and have a terrific holiday season too!
Very good point with the difference between the two programs..Great job
Interesting but I think Social Security would then also be unconstitutional by the same Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution. The feds force me to purchase something, social security, and in this case not only do I have little chance of ever benefiting but the penalty phase would be severe for non participation.
Maybe the Republicans are stalling for time to spin the health care bill to the public in a negative way. Maybe the are just trying to stall because they can. I would not be surprised at either outcome of this encounter.
Really this is the Article of the constitution the source mentioned in your answer states as the basis for the Point of Order. It really seems a bit stretched on face value.
~quote
Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3
Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
~endqoute
http://www.house.gov/house/Constitution/Constitution.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Clause
If the coverage mandated by this bill is unconstitutional the so is the mandatory purchase of Social Security both are Federal mandates for the act of commerce.
However the Republicans would never admit/concede that as it would interfere with the people who vote Republican .. the ones who either have parents who are on Social Security or are on Social Security themselves.
I have seen nothing that would tell me this health care bill is unconstitutional.
Social Security (mandatory coverage)~~Government mandated, citizen paid for coverage for our older or disabled years.. I would agree this is Constitutional.
Health Care Bill (mandatory coverage)~~Government mandated, citizen paid for coverage for our *younger and possibly not disabled years*.. I would agree this is Constitutional as well
If one is not then the other is the same.
This will not be brought to the Supreme Court unless something unexpected comes out of the House-Senate compromise. The points raised so far are frivolous, they will not make it past the lowest level of Federal court. Congress has legal advisers to warn them about unconstitutionality. Sometimes they ignore the advice and wind up losing in court. But in this case it is just grandstanding for the conservative base, which does not understand constitutional law.
Thanks for the tip, buddawiggi. Merry Christmas!!!
What makes it unconstitutional is you are being forced to be covered. They should instead make it voluntary.
The main thing for that matter is that with regards to Social Security, it was never declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, while the Health Care Bill is not signed as a law.
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M$An uninformed and uninformative answer.
I quite sure you are wrong about the Congressmen or Senators not knowing what is in the bill. If you would like to read the bill I have it here for you~~>Senate Health Care Bill
Here is the US Constitution to compare so you can make a case for or against the Constitutionality of this bill.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

This is exactly how I see this, an attempt do derail or stall this bill by frivolous lawsuit. I am not professor of constitutional law or any law for that matter but the similarities in mandated coverage in both medicare, medicaid and the new plan were just one second's thinking away from coming to my mind.