"Federalism and the End of Obamacare" by Nicholas Bagley
 

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2017

Abstract

Federalism has become a watchword in the acrimonious debate over a possible replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Missing from that debate, however, is a theoretically grounded and empirically informed understanding of how best to allocate power between the federal government and the states. For health reform, the conventional arguments in favor of a national solution have little resonance: federal intervention will not avoid a race to the bottom, prevent externalities, or protect minority groups from state discrimination. Instead, federal action is necessary to overcome the states’ fiscal limitations: their inability to deficit-spend and the constraints that federal law places on their taxing authority. A more refined understanding of the functional justifications for federal action enables a crisp evaluation of the ACA—and of replacements that claim to return authority to the states.


Plum Print visual indicator of research metrics
PlumX Metrics
  • Usage
    • Downloads: 1224
    • Abstract Views: 174
  • Mentions
    • Blog Mentions: 1
    • News Mentions: 1
see details

Share

COinS