To understand the stakes and debates around the current fight to tear down the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare — you must be able to wrap your head around the twisted the logic that Republicans are using in court.
At the center of the legal battle is the infamous “individual mandate,” the piece of Obamacare that required Americans to purchase health insurance. Advocates for the law backed this provision because of a collective action problem. They feared that without the mandate, too many people would opt to go without health insurance and make the system worse for everyone.
Some claimed this provision was unconstitutional. But in the Supreme Court case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded in an opinion for the majority that the mandate was a permissible application of Congress’ taxing power. If you didn’t get insurance under Obamacare, you had to pay several hundred dollars extra in your taxes — that’s how the mandate was enforced. Roberts decided this was legitimate. Continue reading