Personal Freedom and Prosperity 109: Subsidiarity In 1991, Pope John Paul II wrote in the Centesimus Annus that the Welfare State contradicts the principle of subsidiarity by usurping and relieving society of its responsibility to their neighbors and community. This “leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending.”

The 16 states with ObamaCare exchanges have each had access to hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money from the federal government to help establish a successful marketplace. And yet, many are finding themselves struggling with high deficits and low enrollment.

As the Supreme Court mulls over arguments in the King v. Burwell case that could unravel key portions of the president’s signature health care law, the Obama administration has adopted an attitude that is remarkably cavalier.

Arkansas' experiment with Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare is quickly becoming a train wreck for taxpayers. State officials have failed to determine that beneficiaries of the program are still eligible to participate in the government health insurance program, potentially wasting millions of dollars. Knowing how government operates, it is likely that Arkansas is not the only state to fail to do its due diligence.

It’s been difficult not to notice that a lot of states are having terrible experiences with their ObamaCare exchanges. In fact, a recent Washington Post article reports that “Nearly half of the 17 insurance marketplaces set up by the states and the District under President Obama’s health law are struggling financially.”

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on King v. Burwell in June. At issue is whether the Affordable Care Act as written only allows for federal subsidies to go to enrollees in states that operate their own exchanges. Right now, 34 states rely on the federal government to operate the exchanges, meaning a significant amount of subsidies are on the line.

By passing a budget through both the House and the Senate, Congress has moved one step closer to sending a repeal of ObamaCare to the White House. The process to get there is still marked by hurdles, but nothing that can’t be overcome. However, for Congress to take the trouble, they’re going to have to hear from you all the way through the process, lest they choose the path of least resistance – that of doing nothing.

ObamaCare was supposed to reduce the cost of insurance, hence the Affordable Care Act. But is this really what it did? States with less regulations before the law was enacted had more affordable health care costs. Take, for example, North Carolina and Nevada. They saw individual premiums for people in their twenties rise over 150 percent after the law was enacted.

Whew, it’s been a tough week. Looking back on the last five years and all the harm ObamaCare has done to this country is a real downer. In order to head into the weekend on a slightly lighter note, let’s conclude our series with a little frivolity, the five best quotes about ObamaCare.

And the week-long spotlight on ObamaCare’s fifth anniversary keeps rolling right along! Passing the ACA was no easy feat, and Democrats had to make all sorts of outlandish promises to voters and politicians alike in order to advance the president’s government takeover of health care.