States argue the feds can't force purchase of health insurance Washington Post
These challenges are not frivolous. The states argue that the individual mandate -- forcing individuals to purchase health insurance -- stretches and distorts Congress's constitutional power "to regulate Commerce . . . among the several states." A person who declines to buy insurance is not engaged in interstate commerce and should therefore lie beyond the reach of Congress, they say.
This contrasts, in two ways, with a consumer who is forced to buy car insurance. First, states have power to regulate activities within their borders that the Constitution does not grant the federal government. Second, a consumer must choose to enter the car market; only then does a state place a condition on that choice by requiring insurance. If the courts acknowledge the legitimacy of the individual mandate, the states argue, the federal government's power to order purchases of other products or services -- or any number of other directives -- would be unlimited.
The Supreme Court has given Congress wide but not unfettered latitude in regulating interstate commerce. It barred federal efforts to promulgate laws that ban guns near schools and those addressing violence against women, ruling that these activities have nothing to do with commerce. But health insurance is a commodity, and a consumer who sits on the sidelines has a significant impact on the market. And the federal government's interest in that market functioning efficiently to provide health-care access to all is undoubtedly a legitimate public purpose. So the case is not as clear-cut as many legal scholars have argued, but the federal government has a strong defense.
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The GuardianCompensation culture 'raising car insurance premiums'BBC NewsMr Douglas said he expected car insurance premiums to rise in 2010, although this should level off in the second half of the year. Proposals on New Motor Insurance Scheme – Let there be transparencyall 60 news articles »
