Abstract:

Lost in the rhetoric about the supposed government takeover of health care is an appreciation of the inherently federalist approach of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This federalist tradition, particularly with regard to health insurance, has a history that dates back at least to the 1940s. The new legislation broadens federal power and oversight considerably, but it also vests considerable new powers and responsibilities in the states. The precedents and examples it follows will guide federal and state policy makers, stakeholders, and ordinary citizens as they breathe life into the new law. The challenges ahead are formidable, and the greatest ones are likely to be political.