Affordable Care Act Constitutionality of the Affordable

Affordable Care Act Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act: What Would Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson Say? The cornerstone of the recently-passed Affordable Care Act is the requirement that all Americans must buy some form of health insurance. This is necessary, given the new requirements put upon health insurance companies to cover the uninsured with preexisting conditions, so people cannot simply wait until they are sick to buy health insurance.

The constitutional question at stake is if Congress can compel citizens to purchase a 'product' in the form of health insurance from private industry. This hinges upon the Supreme Court's interpretation of the scope of the Commerce Clause.

With respect to this clause, advocates of the bill state that Congress has a right to "regulate the insurance industry" to make the ACA effective, "or can do so by using its authority under the clause permitting it 'to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution' its enumerated powers" as well as its ability to regulate interstate commerce (Mariner et al. 2011). Today, the debate over healthcare is often painted in shades of 'red' and 'blue' or conservative Republican vs. liberal Democrat.

Although the party lines have been redrawn many times since the nation's founding, the Founding Fathers were similarly divided in terms of how they viewed the ideological orientation of the new nation. Alexander Hamilton might be what is called today an advocate of 'big' government. Hamilton "sought a strong central government acting in the interests of commerce and industry. He brought to public life a love of efficiency, order and organization" (Hamilton vs. Jefferson, n.d., U.S. Department of State).

He was an advocate for commercial interests and a strong hand of government which he believed was necessary to exercise authority over the will of the people. In America today, there is a popular upsurge against the idea that the government can 'make' anyone do anything, including buy health insurance. Hamilton would point to the dire consequences of not doing so: continuing medical bankruptcies and spiraling healthcare costs. Only with government regulation of healthcare can the nation run efficiently.

Given his support of industry, Hamilton would also likely support the compromising nature of the Affordable Care Act. It forces businesses to act with greater compassion, but does not turn over the administration of healthcare solely to the government. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson "advocated a decentralized agrarian republic. He recognized the value of a strong central government in foreign relations, but he did not want it strong in other respects" (Hamilton vs. Jefferson, n.d., U.S. Department of State).

Jefferson would likely see the requirement that all citizens purchase healthcare to be an unwarranted intrusion into individual liberty. Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, viewed the liberty to make decisions to be the cornerstone value of the new nation, and viewed a nation that governs best to be the one that governs least. However, it is somewhat dubious to strictly adhere to either Hamiltonian or Jeffersonian philosophy when making decisions about.