Run for cover

摘要

Obamacare's individual "mandate", or requirement to buy health insurance, has been the most controversial part of a bitterly controversial law. The Supreme Court's decision on June 28th to uphold it was historic. But the reality of the mandate fails to live up to the rhetoric. The penalty for not buying insurance is less a stick than a noodle. The fine is fairly small, and those who do not pay it face no further punishment. Arguably much more important, in purely practical terms, was the Supreme Court's ruling on Medicaid.