CBO: Forcing Americans To Purchase Health Insurance (Like Obamacare Does) Is Unprecedented
“The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money.” - Alexis de TocquevilleAN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE WOULD BE UNPRECEDENTED
A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.
Federal mandates typically apply to people as parties to economic transactions, rather than as members of society. For example, the section of the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires restaurants to make their facilities accessible to persons with disabilities applies to people who own restaurants. The Federal Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from paying less than the federal minimum wage. This prohibition pertains to individuals who employ others. Federal environmental statutes and regulations that require firms to meet pollution control standards and use specific technologies apply to companies that engage in specific lines of business or use particular production processes. Federal mandates that apply to individuals as members of society are extremely rare. One example is the requirement that draft-age men register with the Selective Service System. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not aware of any others imposed by current federal law.
An individual mandate would differ from the requirement in the Administration’s Health Security Act that employees, self-employed individuals, and those not connected to the labor force make payments to health alliances. The Administration’s bill would establish a new federal entitlement to health insurance. Health alliances would function as agents of the government in administering the provision and financing of the entitlement. Therefore, in CBO’s view, the mandatory payments that employers and individuals would make to the alliances would represent federal receipts.
By contrast, other proposals that would impose an individual mandate would require individuals and families to make payments to qualified health plans, which would be unaffiliated with the federal government, rather than to alliances or their equivalents.
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