Why the individual mandate holds the key to health-care reform

This is an opinion item.

Author(s)	The Washington Post editorial board
Source	The Washington Post
Date	March 26, 2012
URL	http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-the-individual-mandate-matters-so-much/2012/03/23/gIQA8zCacS_story.html
Quote	Yet [the Supreme Court] has upheld Congress’s Commerce Clause power to reach individuals who were not obviously involved in commercial activity — most famously, the Depression-era farmer who grew wheat for his own consumption. The court concluded that his decision to grow — rather than purchase — wheat interfered with the government’s ability to regulate wheat prices. The same logic should hold true for individuals able but unwilling to buy health insurance: Their absence has a significant impact on the market, especially because it is virtually inevitable that they will need health-care services at some point in their lives.

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This item argues against the position Act is unconstitutional on the topic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.