Cochrane on ObamaCare’s Contraceptive-Coverage Mandate

By Michael F. Cannon

My Cato colleague John Cochrane – who is way smarter than I am — has a generally excellent op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal on ObamaCare’s contraception mandate: Salting mandated health insurance with birth control is exactly the same as a tax—on employers, on Catholics, on gay men and women, on couples trying to have children and [...]

Cochrane on ObamaCare’s Contraceptive-Coverage Mandate is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

But, But…Price Controls Poll Well!

By Michael F. Cannon

Politico‘s Jason Millman writes: How much does Rick Santorum hate President Barack Obama’s health care law? So much that he even opposes the parts a lot of Republicans like. The Republican presidential candidate, talking health care across the street from Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic Monday morning, blasted parts of the Affordable Care Act that poll well [...]

But, But…Price Controls Poll Well! is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Side Effects: Obamacare Encourages Employers to Drop Coverage for Sick Workers

Over the course of the campaign, President Obama repeatedly promised: “If you like your current insurance, you can keep your current insurance”—despite any reforms his Administration would implement. This claim is far from true, as Amy B. Monahan and Daniel Schwarcz illustrate in their 2011 study “Will Employers Undermine Health Care Reform by Dumping Sick Employees?” published in the Virginia Law Review. Schwarcz presented the study on Capitol Hill last week. Obamacare mandates that employers provide health insurance for their employees or pay a fine. With the increasing cost of … More

The Ethos of Universal Coverage

Associated Press photojournalist Noah Berger captured this thousand-word image near the Occupy Oakland demonstrations last month. Many Cato@Liberty readers will get it immediately. They can stop reading now. For everyone else, this image perfectly illustrates the ethos of what I call the Church of Universal Coverage. Like everyone who supports a government guarantee of access to medical care, [...]

The Ethos of Universal Coverage is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Don’t Blame Heritage for ObamaCare Mandate

Is the individual mandate at the heart of “ObamaCare” a conservative idea? Is it constitutional? And was it invented at The Heritage Foundation? In a word, no. The U.S. Supreme Court will put the middle issue to rest. The answers to the first and last can come from me. After all, I headed Heritage’s health work for 30 years. And make no mistake: Heritage and I actively oppose the individual mandate, including in an amicus brief filed in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the … More

Two Thoughts on Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood

I’m sure that many of you are following the controversy over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s decision to suspend its partnership with and funding of Planned Parenthood. Two thoughts on this: First, this controversy provides a delightful contrast to the Obama administration’s decision to force all Americans to purchase contraceptives and subsidize [...]

Two Thoughts on Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Contraceptives Mandate Brings ObamaCare’s Coercive Power into Sharper Focus

By Michael F. Cannon

President Obama is catching some well-earned blowback for his decision to force religious institutions “to pay for health insurance that covers sterilization, contraceptives and abortifacients.” You see, ObamaCare penalizes individuals (employers) who don’t purchase (offer) a certain minimum package of health insurance coverage. The Obama administration is demanding that coverage must include the aforementioned reproductive care [...]

Contraceptives Mandate Brings ObamaCare’s Coercive Power into Sharper Focus is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Podcast: RomneyCare Free Riding and Fact Checking

By Michael F. Cannon

In this podcast, I discuss the flap between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum over RomneyCare‘s effect on free riding. I also talk about how some fact checkers misfired when looking into …

Podcast: RomneyCare Free Riding and Fact Checking is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

WSJ Debate: Should the Government Require You to Purchase Health Insurance?

By Michael F. Cannon

In today’s Wall Street Journal, I debate ObamaCare‘s individual mandate. Here’s the teaser: Should Everyone Be Required to Have Health Insurance? Yes, says Karen Davenport of George Washington University, because it’s the key to making health care more affordable and accessible. No, says Michael F. Cannon from the Cato Institute, because it will make health [...]

WSJ Debate: Should the Government Require You to Purchase Health Insurance? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Obamacare Set for Oral Argument

Today, the Supreme Court released the oral argument schedule for the consolidated Obamacare challenges.  The Court will hear oral argument on March 26, 27 and 28, 2012, with a nearly unprecedented amount of time allotted for argument. First up on March 26, the Court will hear argument on the Anti-Injunction Act, which bars suits to stop a tax before it has been imposed.  The second day, the Court will hear two hours of argument on the minimum coverage provision, also known as the individual mandate.  On the third and final … More