This week the US Supreme Court is hearing three days of oral arguments surrounding challenges to the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as “ObamaCare”). Discussions have focused particularly on the Commerce Clause and the individual mandate.
In 2011, we hosted VA Gov. Bob McDonnell and former PA Gov. Ed Rendell for a discussion on the legal issues surrounding health care reform. Questions addressed included can the federal government require citizens to purchase health insurance from private carriers in the interest of the public good, and is this a matter of partisan politics or one about the power of the states versus the power of the federal government?
Health care reform was also a topic of discussion at the 2011 Aspen Ideas Festival, particularly in this conversation between David Leonhardt of the The New York Times and Stanford University economist Paul Romer:
