Editorial: Health Law Will Survive

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today published an editorial in which they argue that the health reform law will survive the legal challenges. They say:

The majority of Americans who have health insurance pay a higher price because of our broken system. Every insured family pays an average of $1,000 more a year in premiums to cover the care of those who have no insurance.

Everyone wants health care to be affordable and available when they need it. But we have to stop imposing extra costs on people who carry insurance, and that means everyone who can afford coverage needs to carry minimum health coverage starting in 2014.

If we want to prevent insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions, it's essential that everyone have coverage. Imagine what would happen if everyone waited to buy car insurance until after they got in an accident. Premiums would skyrocket, coverage would be unaffordable, and responsible drivers would be priced out of the market.

The same is true for health insurance. Without an individual responsibility provision, controlling costs and ending discrimination against people with preexisting conditions doesn't work.

Because this unfair cost-shifting of the expense of paying for the care of people who don't purchase insurance affects the marketplace, it is within Congress's power to regulate, say Holder and Sebelius. Read their whole editorial here. Jennifer