Is the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Unconstitutional? December 9, 2009

Host: The Heritage Foundation. Can Congress require all Americans to by a new Buick every year or pay a tax equivalent to the price of a used LeSabre? Some Members of Congress claim that power in the health care debate. Indeed, all the leading health care bills being debated in Congress require Americans to either secure or purchase health insurance with a particular threshold of coverage, estimated to cost up to $15,000/year for a typical family. Such a purchase mandate has never been attempted. Senator Orin Hatch and a growing number of Congressmen argue the mandate is unconstitutional. The Heritage Foundation has assembled a panel of distinguished constitutional scholars to discuss the issue and its ramifications for the larger bill. Professor Randy Barnett will explain why the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Professor Eugene Volokh will probe that view to see if there is some way that the Congress or the courts might be able to save it. Join us for a most interesting and important debate.