Congress Is TRYING to Bypass Filibuster-Proof Senate to Pass Insurance Mandate

(Jan. 25, 2010)—The Cato Institute warns that even though most Americans oppose ObamaCare and a majority of Massachusetts' residents don't want it (43% of MA voters support it, 48% oppose it; some 80% of Brown voters oppose it), Democrats are still pushing for ObamaCare to become the law of the land. And that could happen if the House approves the already-passed Senate bill (the bill would then go directly to the Oval Office, without having to break another filibuster in the Senate). Many think it's a long shot, but Cato's Michael Cannon explains:

Why a Federal Health-Insurance Mandate Is Unconstitutional

(Jan. 2010) As Congress began reconciling the House and Senate health “reform” bills, legal scholars and pundits were debating the constitutionality of the individual insurance mandate included in both bills. Advocates of the mandate say Congress has the power to require the purchase of insurance under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

But Sheldon H. Laskin, an attorney and adjunct professor of law at the University of Baltimore's Graduate Tax Program, says for that to be true, “the purchase of health insurance must constitute ‘commerce’ within the meaning of the Commerce Clause. It does not.” . . . (continue reading)

What Every American Should Know about the Federal HIPAA Medical Privacy Rule

Did you know that under the federal HIPPA privacy rule, your personal health information—including past records and genetic information—can be disclosed without your consent to more than 600,000 organizations such as the following?

• Data-processing companies
• Insurers
• Researchers (in some instances)
• Law enforcement officials
• Public health officials
• Federal government

Under the HIPAA rule all of the above are legally permitted to access your personal health and genetic information without your permission. . . . (continue reading)

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