Doctors Debate the Individual Mandate

All this week, we’re talking about Department of Health and Human Services vs. Florida, the health care case at the Supreme Court. Today the Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires Americans to purchase health insurance. Failure to purchase health insurance could result in a fine. We’ve heard from constitutional scholars and economists for their take on health care reform and the individual mandate, and today we’ll hear from doctors who actually provide the care. Once it’s fully implemented, how will the Affordable Care Act affect physicians? How do doctors think the individual mandate might change patient care? We turn to three doctors this morning who have very different perspectives on the individual mandate. Dr. Rachel Nardin  is  a neurologist at Cambridge Health Alliance and an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kevin Pho  is a primary care physician in Nashua, New Hampshire, and a blogger at  KevinMD.com. Dr. Hal Scherz  is a pediatric urologist and a professor of urology at Emory University School of Medicine. He is also the founder and president of Docs4PatientCare.