The Unaffordable Health Act - A Response to Professors Bagley and Horwitz
Michigan Law Review First Impressions, 2011
FSU College of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 549
U of Michigan Public Law Working Paper No. 245
U of Michigan Law & Econ, Empirical Legal Studies Center Paper No. 214
12 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2011 Last revised: 14 Oct 2011
Date Written: August 1, 2011
Abstract
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 has stirred considerable controversy. In the public debate over the program, many of its proponents defended it by focusing on what is sometimes called the “free-rider” problem. In a prior article, we contended that the free-rider problem has been greatly exaggerated and was not likely to have been a significant factor in the congressional decision to adopt the Act. In a recently published article, Professors Nicholas Bagley and Jill Horwitz responded to our article. In addition to addressing the free-rider issue, they also made a number of points in defense of the Act. In this reply, while we concentrate on responding to those items that were discussed in our prior article, we also deal with some of their other points. In addition, we raise the question of whether the cost of the Act outweighs its benefits, and whether that is especially pertinent in light of the country's current fiscal problems.
Keywords: Individual Mandate, Mandate, Healthcare, Obamacare, Free Rider, Health Reform, Health Insurance
JEL Classification: I00, I10, I11, I18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation