Two court rulings on taxpayer subsidies for The Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) underscore that President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment is still a hotbed of controversy—one likely to show up again in the Supreme Court's chambers.
"What this really about is not healthcare, not Obamacare," says Michael Cannon, director of health policy at The Cato Institute. "it's whether the president of the United States is in fact the president of the United States and subject to the Constitution or an autocrat that can impose taxes on his own."
Cannon, along with Case Western law professor Jonathan Adler, is the architect of the current legal challenge to Obamacare. Read their Wall Street Journal op-ed on the Halbig ruling.
Unlike many Republican politicians and conservative pundits, Cannon is no apologist for the pre-Obamacare status quo. Read his excellent 2009 policy study on how "a free market can fix health care policy" for a bracing alternative to both the Affordable Care Act and the muddle that existed before its passage.
About 12 minutes. Interview by Nick Gillespie, cameras by Amanda Winkler and Joshua Swain. Edited by Swain.
Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?