Mandated Health Care: Constitutional Analysis

The health care reform debate raises many complex issues including those of coverage, accessibility, cost, accountability and quality of health care. Underlying these policy considerations are issues regarding the status of health care as a constitutional or legal right. This book analyses constitutional and legal issues pertaining to a right to health care, as well as the power of Congress to enact and fund health care programs. Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, legal issues have been raised regarding the power of Congress to mandate that individuals purchase health insurance, and the ability of states to nullify or opt out of such a requirement.