Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2013

Journal Title

Yale Law & Policy Review

ISSN

0740-8048

Abstract

Last term, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in a landmark decision. It is a forceful reminder that America’s oldest question — how power should be shared between federal and state sovereigns — retains powerful political salience. Critics have reflexively attacked the decision as an assault on states’ rights, while supporters have celebrated the result. Regrettably, insufficient attention has been paid to how, in actuality, health care regulatory authority has been and will be divided between federal and state governments. In this Article, we fill that gap. To do so, we apply “federalism-in-fact,” a theory that seeks to measure the real-world, as opposed to theoretical, apportionment of power between sovereigns. We conclude that the Affordable Care Act has in important ways increased states’ power to regulate private health insurance when viewed in proper contrast to the previously exclusive ERISA regulatory regime. In addition, we offer recommendations on how states can use their freedom under the Affordable Care Act to grow their regulatory markets, and we explain why collateral forces are likely to increase state regulatory power even if states do nothing.

First Page

275

Last Page

307

Num Pages

33

Volume Number

31

Issue Number

2

Publisher

Yale Law School

File Type

PDF

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