Health care reform bill 101: Who must buy insurance?

What will make this very interesting is whether a number of state governors/attorney generals follow through on their threat to file suit against the federal government on constitutional grounds. Then the case(s) must go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

LOL!!!

don't sound so glum chum!

Gotta go walk the dog! See ya later jorge

 

There is a very good chance that this goes to the SC one way or another. How they will rule is the question. Could go either way because both sides have compelling arguments. It will probably be a 5-4 vote either way. Time will tell.

 

Article 1, Section 5 of the United States Constitution:

Based on this, it would be a huge overreach and a warping of the balance of powers for the SC to rule against a House rule.

Still, I will admit that when it comes to abiding by the Constitution, this court has strayed before (Bush v. Gore).

 

Article 1, Section 7 of the United States Constitution:

The challenge would be does the language in Section 5 allow the language of section 7 to not be followed exactly as long as a procedure is in place. I don't know. There are also several states threatening to file lawsuits. One way or the other, I think the courts will decide. There may actually be two separate court decisions if they say the "deem rule" is Constitutional then they may have to rule on lawsuits from the sates. This could be very interesting to watch.

 

what religion do I have to be so I don't have to pay the tax. Might as well get certified now.

 

It is ironic how 9 old mostly white catholic men educated at harvard or yale will decide the fate of 50-60 million Americans who most likely aren't any of the above.

 

There are a lot of very opinionated people on this forum. While it is true I fall a little right of the center on the political spectrum, I have not lost sight of the center which is where this country desperately needs to be. The country is pretty much evenly divided and when the political pendulum swings too far one way then a whole lot of people get upset. When we keep close to the center no-one is alienated too much. Personally I don't like any bills that upset so much of the country whether they come from the left or the right.

 

To this I will add that the Republicans had control of the government for 6 years and during that they alienated too many people which is why they were thrown out during the last 2 election cycles. Because the Reps shut out the Dems it caused a large shift to the left. Now the Dems shutting out the Reps will cause a shift to the right over the next few election cycles. If they could work together it would be better for all of us.

 

It was not because they "shut out the Dems". It was because they did not do what they promised to do. I wish I could be confident that Republicans will remain faithful to their promises when they regain power. Truth be told, I am not confident of that at all. This is no small part of the reason that I stopped calling myself a Republican about 19 years now.

But compared to the outrageous acts of irresponsibility we are seeing played out in Washington right now, the Republicans do seem preferable to the current crown in power. If we could just get some responsible leaders up in Washington that were committed to doing what was right for BOTH their constituents and the country in a completely responsible and unselfish way, that would of course be ideal. Unfortunately, I do not see even a small group of human beings in our country that are ready and able to do any such thing.

 

Assuming this bill passes, most polls show a majority oppose this bill in it's current form and/or the processes that are being used to push it through (not healthcare reform in general). If enough people want this changed then it is not out of the question the the Republicans could have a super majority and control of the White House by 2012 and thus repeal this bill. If this were come to pass, it would be ironic that the Democrats fatal flaw would be that they set the main parts of this bill to take place in 2014 thus giving the Republicans a chance to repeal it. Once 2014 roles around the bill has no chance of being repealed.

I will also add that if this happens, I hope the Republicans don't get power happy and do things that will cause the political pendulum to swing so far back to the left in future elections. They need to keep things closer to the center and they could stay in power. They need to remember how it feels being shut out like they are, and allow Democrats at the table and actually listen to them.

 

I agree with your sentiment regarding governing from the center, but I question your sincerity given your propensity to frame things in exactly the same way as Glenn Beck.

When you look at the actual numbers, not that many people in America are "upset" about this bill. There are plenty on the left who complain that it isn't single payer and there are plenty on the right with various complaints, some of which are valid (costs, scope, effectiveness) and some of which are dubious (communism, socialism, government takeover). At any rate, it isn't perfect, but was the best that could be crafted given the obstructionist nature of the opposition.

I hope you continue to seek the center, it is nice here and I love feeling free to lambaste the idiots of both parties.

 

I agree 100% with the highlighted parts as both parties have a lot of idiots. There are a few issues like guns and abortions for which I take a hard right stance but most of my opinions are near the center. For most issues I look at both sides and see some good in both.

BTW- I do believe this bill would have some bipartisan if it would have only included tort reform. There is no question that this issues would decrease the cost of healthcare.

 

Because it's communist and as soon as it passed people in black masks would break into your house take away your guns, your job, your freedom and anything else that wasn't nailed down.

 

I believe Scientologists and a few other fringe religions/cults do not believe in doctors. It's a dicey issue because is it negligent to not see a doctor and allow your child to die? As a parent you have the right to raise your kids as you see fit including without healthcare.

Anyway Scientology is not cheap better off to not be irresponsible and just purchase insurance.

 

I figured no one would respond so I googled it mofo. Scientology is not a religion so that will not work. I think my best bet is Christian Scientist. If you allow your kid to go without healthcare you will go to jail.

 

So its best to just let that person die? I dont wish Leukemia on anyone sir, but if you got it, I hope the insurance leaves you on your ass to pay for it yourself.

 

No, what the Republican Party did was both. They broke their promises to the American people and shut out the Democrats.

 

For me it is very strange that there are actually people not insured in the USA. And people are withheld of treatment because they do not have insurance. I do not understand how anybody can think that is a good system.

Furthermore it is kinda funny to see the panic people are making about health care reform. Some people actually act like it is the end of the world, even though in many countries there is a socialized health care, and it is working.

 

More likely what will happen will be the following:

Insurance company will be forced to accept person with really super expensive disease.

Insurance company will then tell the doctors treating said patient they will only pay for treatments type A, B & C when the better or cheaper or treatments that have not signed some contract to be gotten cheaper by the insurance company cannot be used by the insurance company.

Patient and doctor try to use appeal process to get other treatments, but due to red tape and the time it takes to get them, patient does not get treatment in time or at all.

You know there is a problem when doctors have to ask patients, "What health insurance do you have?" before deciding what drug/treatment to provide for them (no matter whether that treatment is for asthma, a urinary tract infection, or something much more serious) instead of just giving them the drug they should use.