Mandating Insurance: The Federal Government's New Role

Perhaps one of the reasons that the new health care proposal - and its provision that mandates health insurance - hasn't riled people up is because we're used to being told to buy insurance.  Mandatory auto insurance has been on the books in most states for years now, and even homeowner associations require many to buy into general insurance policies.  But the health insurance mandate is unique in that it's the first federally mandated insurance.  Does the federal government have to power to mandate insurance, and - perhaps more importantly - should it?

Selling Omnibus Bills: The Health Care Example

Omnibus bills - enormous pieces of legislation that include numerous and often unrelated issues - have long been vilified for containing countless amounts of pork. They've also been criticized for being so long that no congressperson could reasonably read them in their entirety.

Now those in Congress - who benefit from omnibus spending bills precisely because of those vilified earmarks - may have to think twice about using them for other issues. The Health Care bill - once a lavish package of health care reforms (and still so, to a lesser extent) - has become a certifiable public relations disaster. To be sure, the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe we're better off with no change in health care at all than with the Democratic proposal - whatever that is. So is the large, pre-packaged "reform" bill a poor public marketing tool?