by Tim Kelly
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” has undergone oral arguments before the Supreme Court, and its constitutionality is now being pondered by the nine justices. The court’s decision is due out sometime in June.
While the 2010 health-care law is atrocious public policy and clearly an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government, there is no guarantee ... [click for more]
by Sheldon Richman
The Obama administration argued to the U.S. Supreme Court this week that people must be compelled to buy medical insurance (designed by the government) or the national medical-insurance market will fail. Thus, Obamacare advocates say, the insurance mandate is consistent with the powers delegated under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The argument, however, contains a fatal flaw. If ... [click for more]
by Rich Schwartzman
Mitt Romney’s recent comment about how he would repeal Obamacare if elected president was almost laughable. After all, Romney was the man who brought the same type of mandatory health coverage to Massachusetts when he was that state’s governor.
Government healthcare has been a political issue for generations, and interest accelerated during the Clinton years, when it was called “Hillarycare.” ... [click for more]
by Fergus Hodgson
Pharmaceutical drugs are in scant supply in the United States relative to their demand — a “serious and growing threat to public health,” says President Obama’s latest executive order. The number of prescription-drug shortages, the order continues, has almost tripled in the past five years, and half of pharmacists and purchasing agents are utilizing “gray-market” dealers.
According to ... [click for more]
by Laurence M. Vance
The new term of the Supreme Court has just begun. All eyes are on the court, as it is expected to hear for the first time a case against Obamacare.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more popularly known as Obamacare, passed the Senate on Christmas Eve of 2009, passed the House on March 21, 2010, and was ... [click for more]
by Rich Schwartzman
There are interesting parallels between those in the libertarian movement and some people involved in the health industry. I’m referring to those who no longer pledge allegiance to formal Western medical traditions run by the AMA and Big Pharma through the federal government.
The parallels arise naturally. Both of us are involved in challenging an incomplete, and inconsistent mainstream orthodoxy. ... [click for more]
by Wendy McElroy
Gov.Rick Snyder of Michigan wants doctors to track the body mass index (BMI) of children through a database that currently tracks immunizations and then to report the collected data to the state. (BMI is the ratio between a persons weight and the square of his height; it is viewed as an indication of whether that persons weight ... [click for more]
by Fergus Hodgson
Proponents of the latest federal mandates on medical insurance, targeted solely at women, defend them with claims that they will save money, improve health, and reduce unwanted pregnancies. Such confidence in this lopsided government coercion is either naive or disingenuous.
A shift toward “preventive care” and fewer subsequent treatments is the supposed mechanism for cost savings. But that ... [click for more]
by Jacob G. Hornberger
The New York Times’ account of Cuban cyclist Damian Lopez Alfonso could help Americans regain their faith in a free-market healthcare system.
When he was 13, Lopez was electrocuted while trying to retrieve a kite caught in some power lines. Doctors were able to save his life but not his forearms. His face was also horribly disfigured.
Notwithstanding the loss of both ... [click for more]
by Laurence M. Vance
Capitol Police recently arrested 89 protesters from the disability rights group ADAPT for occupying the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building. They were demonstrating against the proposed changes in Medicaid in the recently passed House budget resolution that would reduce the program’s funding and turn it into block grants to the states. “Block grants kill,” read ... [click for more]
by Sheldon Richman
The medical system does need reforming — radical reforming. It’s more expensive than it ought to be, and powerful interests prosper at the expense of the rest of us. The status quo has little about it to be admired, and we shouldn’t tolerate it.
Thus, the American people should be fed up with Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid ... [click for more]
by David R. Henderson
Few of us relish paying for health care, but when we do, amazing things happen: Strangers listen to us and try to give us what we want. Theres a simple economic rule that what we pay for, we control. Insurers, hospitals, doctors, nurses, and drug companies listen to us when their livelihood depends on it. ... [click for more]