Federalism and Health Care

President Barack Obama proposed a major overhaul of the American healthsystem, and in 2010 the U.S. Congress enacted his proposal, the PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act. Opponents of the Act challenged itsconstitutionality in federal court, claiming that it exceeds the powers grantedto the federal government under the Commerce Clause and the NecessaryProper Clause of the federal Constitution. Some courts have upheldthe law, but others have agreed with the critics, in particular ruling thatthe provision requiring citizens to buy health insurance is unconstitutional.Eventually the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the issue. This article tracesthe controversy, surveys the interpretation of pertinent constitutional provisionsin past cases, analyzes the constitutional arguments presented byproponents and opponents of the Act, and concludes that the Act is constitutional.