WSJ Debate: Should the Government Require You to Purchase Health Insurance?

In today's Wall Street Journal, I debate ObamaCare's individual mandate. Here's the teaser:

Should Everyone Be Required to Have Health Insurance?

Yes, says Karen Davenport of George Washington University, because it's the key to making health care more affordable and accessible. No, says Michael F. Cannon from the Cato Institute, because it will make health care more costly and scarce.

I did not write that unfortunate title, which uses the passive voice to conceal who's doing the requiring. Hint: we ain't talking about your conscience. I like to say that if we banned the passive voice--e.g., doctors are paid on a fee-for-service basis--it would take two minutes to realize that government creates most of our health care problems, and we would repeal all subsidies, mandates, and regulations within two hours.

Davenport's article makes one claim to which I was not able to respond: that under ObamaCare, "global payment approaches and other payment changes are designed [gaa! passive voice!] to improve care for patients with chronic illnesses." Fortunately for humanity, I already dispatched that claim last week in a blog post titled, "Oops, Maybe ObamaCare’s Cost Controls Won’t Work after All."

So here are your assignments for today. Read both articles. Don't forget to take the quiz. Then, watch the related 2008 video I posted under the title, "Does Karen Davenport Owe Me $40?", and decide for yourself whether Karen Davenport does indeed owe me $40. If you think yes, be sure to tell her so in an email to the address provided at the end of her article.