If the Supreme Court decides the so-called "individual mandate" requiring everyone to buy health insurance is an unconstitutional extension of federal authority, the law starts unraveling. But with a bit of political jujitsu, President Obama could turn that defeat into a victory for a single-payer health care system -- Medicare for all. ...
This dilemma is the product of political compromise. The administration couldn't get the votes for a single-payer system such as Medicare for all. Not a single Republican would even agree to a bill giving Americans the option of buying into it.
But don't expect the Supreme Court to address this dilemma. It lies buried under an avalanche of constitutional epistemology.
Those who are defending the law in court say the federal government has authority to compel Americans to buy health insurance under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Washington the power to regulate interstate commerce. They argue that our sprawling health insurance system surely extends beyond an individual state.
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