Excellent article on Politico.com about the unconstitutionality of Barack Obama’s health care bill, which Congress will vote on this Sunday. If the bill passes, the government will force Americans to purchase health insurance even if they don’t want it. It will be like forcing people to buy car insurance when they don’t even own a car.
The bill will likely pass as Democrats buckle under the pressure from Obama. But individual states will pass legislation blocking the bill (if it passes). So there is still hope.
Read it and weep:
By now, most Americans know the dirty details of Obamacare. It raises taxes. It will force Americans to pay for other people’s abortions. It will put the government in charge of more than 18 percent of our private sector economy. It may provide benefits to up to 6.1 million illegal immigrants. It diminishes liberty and gives government more power.
Most egregiously, it is not constitutional. The Congressional Budget Office weighed in on an individual mandate to buy health insurance in 1994. The CBO stated:
“A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government.”
We can expect lawsuits across the country challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare — if it passes. The Virginia General Assembly has already passed legislation prohibiting the federal government from forcing Virginians to purchase government-approved health insurance. Other states are sure to follow suit should the bill pass — setting up legal battles that will further drag out the debate.
If this bill passes, health care will cost far more than it does now, or ever did in the past. It will be more expensive for individuals and more expensive for businesses — and it will provide less service.
how is it like buying car insurance when you don’t have a car??
EVERYBODY got health, if it’s good or bad is another story…I’m sick of everybody downing Democrats, they’re all the same…Democrats/Republicans/Independents/Green Party, WHOEVER!…they all got the same agenda. I’ll save that for another day.
I never hear anybody talking about forcing ppl to buy health ins even if they don’t want to but Sandra. I have heard so many other news sources say this isn’t true. I don’t think anybody shld be forced to buy healthcare ins if they don’t want to and I don’t believe this is what the Prez is doing but I cld be wrong
It’s about the headline. You clicked on it so mission accomplished. Blogs like Sandra, huffpost, politico can put whatever they want in a headline with minimal consequence. I don’t know what’s in this bill, neither do you, and and no one really wants us to.
Ok I just read the linked article. It’s an opinion piece by perhaps the craziest right-wing motherfuckers in congress. (as opposed to the craziest left-wing, who op-ed for huffington post)
90% of you will not read the linked article and continue looking for young money pics.
Umm Greg hush. That 90% stat you just pulled out of nowhere can go right back where it came from.
The US should have universal health care in my opinion. The US also needs to control the costs of medical care. When people are sick & can’t afford to get proper healthcare we pay in some way or another. Obamacare isn’t perfect, but its a start. At least this goverment is attempting to change some things, that can be improved upon in the future.
Sandra *side eye* its not like forcing folks to buy car insurance, as soon as you’re a fetus whether your mother decides to carry you to full term or not, you will need medical care.
IT WILL PASS, THOSE STATES THAT ARE PROTESTING, WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. PERIOD! I’M SO GLAD THAT BARACK IS OUR PRESIDENT FOR SO MANY REASONS. HE’S A GOOD AND HONORABLE MAN, AND HE TRULY WANTS TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE. BUT, THE THING I LIKE MOST ABOUT HIS PRESIDENCY IS THAT THE PURE RACISTS ARE SHOWING JUST HOW EVIL THEY REALLY ARE. AND WE, BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, GET TO SEE WITNESS THEIR PURE HATRED AND FEAR OF THE PROGRESS THAT COMES ABOUT BECAUSE A GREAT, BLACK MAN! THANK YOU BARACK, AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU JESUS!
Luci Liu Says:
IT WILL PASS, THOSE STATES THAT ARE PROTESTING, WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. PERIOD! I’M SO GLAD THAT BARACK IS OUR PRESIDENT FOR SO MANY REASONS. HE’S A GOOD AND HONORABLE MAN, AND HE TRULY WANTS TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE. BUT, THE THING I LIKE MOST ABOUT HIS PRESIDENCY IS THAT THE PURE RACISTS ARE SHOWING JUST HOW EVIL THEY REALLY ARE. AND WE, BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, GET TO SEE WITNESS THEIR PURE HATRED AND FEAR OF THE PROGRESS THAT COMES ABOUT BECAUSE A GREAT, BLACK MAN! THANK YOU BARACK, AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU JESUS!
From that day forward he is my husband, let’s also give our President the same respect. My husband didn’t call me “his old lady”.
Since you’re wondering my son got a PO for skipping school. Don’t take me to seriously, I am mad. I took my car to the shop because my breaks went out, it’s going to cost me $600 to get them fixed. I was saving that money to get my other car fixed now that the weather broke. I have two cars so I will always have a back up. Oh well, it is what it is. The cable is on, the mtg. is paid and tomorrow is another day.
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Not sure that I agree with your comment, but that’s just my opinion. Just one Footnote: Can we call him Mr. Obama or “President Obama”. I was married for over 7 yrs.(married 12 yrs now), I use to say “my old man”, until my sons Probation Officer said “he is not your old man, he is your husband”. I was not going to argue with a 7′ black man.
as tax payers, we r foced to pay taxes. this is an IMPOSED DUTY on all Americans, we r forced to pay for the health of the uninsured. how do you think the uninsured pays for health care? We pay. all people should have health care. they should be required to have health insurance. hell, why should i pay for these people when they choose not to pay. insurance companies will no longer have the right to deny preexisting conditions for children. this is only the first step in needed health care reform. sad, that people cant see these arguments are not legitimate, but pure hatred of our president and a desire to have this man fail at all cost.
Well I am undecided on this Healthcare issue but I am proud that Obama is even trying to tackle the issue of insurance for everyone.
I really do hope they start putting they foot ont he necks of these insurance companies because they need to be regulated more!!!
*Sigh* Ok Sandra….for the record though, what is the problem with forcing people to buy car insurance? You should be liable if you hit someone else, it shouldn’t fall on the other person, but that’s irrelevant.
How many people actually listened to President Obama’s speech? A lot of these so-called protesters don’t even know what they’re protesting because they are too bigoted to actually research an issue for themselves. I said to my friend last night and I will say it again. It truly shows how small minded some Americans are that they would block the progress of our country simply because they don’t like the color of the skin of OUR PRESIDENT, OUR meaning AMERICA, because whether I liked it or not when Bush was Pres he was still my President. People need to wake up, ignorance isn’t always bliss.
When you have a protester talking about, “Keep the government out of my Medicare”, then you know people are very uninformed. It is very selfish thinking to say that because you have health care that others do not deserve that same right. Get out of here. I don’t have children, so should I stop paying property taxes that benefit schools? The answer is hail naw.
I’m not the biggest Obama fan, but I do agree that everyone deserves(affordable) health care. Repubs don’t want people to have abortions, but refuse to help take care of the needy. They oppose abortion, but are pro war and death penalty. And I’m gone. *Steps off of my soap box*
If they would put this much focus on the unemployment or all the spending on the war, 1st then worry about health care, i am so over Obama,..How can people afford this if they don’t have a job to start with
TheRealAshland Says:
How can people afford this if they don’t have a job to start with
great point. I literally just got done SMH after reading you comment. Who are we trying to insure again? :confused:
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I am so tired of the healthcare bill. I hope it passes just so it will stop being on the front page every day. There is so much more to the bill than just healthcare. From what I can decipher from all the talk is that even if it passes economic analysts say that it’s unlikely to actually go into effect because there’s no money to pay for it let alone the unconstitutional merits of it. The US dollar isn’t worth a nickel. China has threaten to cut the USA off a couple of times in the past year. And if China stops accepting the US dollar, we will go bankrupt faster than anyone can say healthcare. Let’s not even go into all the deals (which probably won’t happen) that were made to get it passed. I’m just SMH at it all.
My two cents…
Most of the people in our community are uninformed and inclined to believe what a Democrat tells them, which is equally as ridiculous as the McCain voters who though Obama was an Arab Muslim. This bill demands nothing from the insurance companies in cost containment, which was supposed to be the real purpose of reform. It will still just as expensive going forward, with premiums garaunteed to increase. The added cost will get passed back to you and me. It will also definitely cost jobs. Whether that’s okay with anyone depends on if it is THERI job that is a casualty.
Here is the truth about the HRC bill. It will put mandates in place for every citizen to have healthcare, and regulate insurance companies to not deny preexisting illness or serious conditions. You want to know what the insurance companies are saying “Who gives a s**t!? With taxpayer money subsidizing 30 million Americans who are new policy holders AND several million illegals, we’ll still clear revenue in the tens of Billion$, and then some”. Why do you think the stock of Kaiser, UHC, Blue Cross/Blue Shield has been through the roof since the House passed the first version of the bill in November? Because this bill is nothing more than a bailout for the insurance company. This time last year, Obama already cut a deal with them, so they can care less about him demogouging them as greedy villains. They will get richer. And if the bill is so great, why are Congress and unions exempt? Because it sucks that’s why.
Accepting this bill because “We must do something!” is like me burning down my house because I have termites. The effect is far more extensive than the problem.
Here are some good suggestions to answer the current problem with healthcare.
1. Have a transitory public option to replace Cobra, for people who lose their jobs (and coverage). Set up a limit of 1 year, with re-ups every year. Once a person gets a job (whenever that is in this economy), they will roll off the public option benefit list. Mandate that preexisting condition must still be covered if the job is lost, or make that company settle up with the gov’t to transfer coverage to the public option.
2. Have the self-insured purchase a bare-bones plan which covers catastrophic injuries.
3. Apply anti-trust statutes to insurance companies. It’s common knowledge they price fix, and “mob” the industry to keep out competition. This creates regional and national monopolies. Smaller companies that want in, have to go through them which kill competition. Anti-trust laws will make the game more honest by making it a true “free market competition”. Blue Cross offers family coverage for $1,000/month (with half paid by the employer), I’ll cover you for $600.00/month.
4. Open up policy sales so that insurance companies can compete across state lines. Currently, state law regulates who gets to operate where. Federal law expressly exempts state law as it relates to interstate commerce or federal regulation(Supremacy Clause of the Constitution). While the federal gov’t can’t make states carry out federal regulations (10th Amendment), they can regulate commerce across state lines. In this case, with more companies competing for business within a state, prices will plummet to keep market share… or at least will be more elastic to market demand.
5. Put tort reform in the bill. Some doctors estimate that 30% of their diagnostic work is associated with preventing malpractice. That insurance company passes that cost back to the policy holder in increased premiums. Put a cap on damages, and have cases litigated before an arbitration board panel of average citizens and doctors. And we are talking reasonable damages. Aside from death, paralysis, loss of limb, or senses, no lotto settlements. We also need to look at how the patients lifestyle contributed to his condition. My cousin was a Type II Diabetic, alcoholic, and drug addict. He never took his insulin regularly. He was taken into a trauma center, where the doctor treated him with a drug to address his alcohol poisoning, but it conflicted with his diabetes. As a result, he died and his family got millions in settlement. I still have a problem with how much was on the doctor, and how much was on him.
6. Give states incentives to formulate their own plans to cover the uninsured and have the gov’t give them grants for implementing favorable policies, as they do for education and highways.
7. Expand Medicare to cover the truly uninsured, and people who have been dropped by insurance companies. Let the insurance companies drop serious/preexisting conditions if they like. However, fine them $5 Million for each dropped policy holder, and $500K for each denied claim for treatment.
8. Give tax credit incentives or policy discounts for health and wellness efforts, checkups, gym memberships, etc. If I’m saving you money, put some of it back into my pocket.
Sorry for the typos… thee kids spilled juice in the keyboard.
@CubZ
That explanation is worth far more than two cents. Very well put.
I’m sure the dems were aware of far more practical solutions to healthcare. Of course, it wouldn’t have been an historical event with all the fanfare.
HEY ANNA:
NO DISRESPECT TO THE PRESIDENT, I JUST LIKE THE NAME BARACK. WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, HE SAID HE WOULD WORK TO REFORM HEALTHCARE. THIS IS WHAT BOTHERS ME SO MUCH WHEN PEOPLE PROTEST. MOST OF THE PROTESTORS ALREADY HAVE HEALTHCARE THROUGH THEIR EMPLOYERS, AS DO I. I KNOW I’M BLESSED! THAT’S WHY I WANT OTHER AMERICANS WHO DON’T HAVE IT GET SOME TYPE OF COVERAGE. I KNOW THE BILL’S NOT PERFECT, BUT IT’S A START THAT WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHHOUT THE DETERMINATION OF OUR PREDIDENT. AND, WHEN I SPOKE ABOUT RAMPANT RACISM SINCE HIS ELECTION, I WAS RIGHT. DID YOU READ ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SHOUTED THE N-WORD TO REP. JOHN LEWIS? SHAME ON THEM. AND, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I JUST SPENT FIVE-HUNDRED PLUS DOLLARS ON NEW BRAKES FOR MY JEEP…OUCH! LMBAO!
Luci Liu Says:
HEY ANNA:
NO DISRESPECT TO THE PRESIDENT, I JUST LIKE THE NAME BARACK. WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, HE SAID HE WOULD WORK TO REFORM HEALTHCARE. THIS IS WHAT BOTHERS ME SO MUCH WHEN PEOPLE PROTEST. MOST OF THE PROTESTORS ALREADY HAVE HEALTHCARE THROUGH THEIR EMPLOYERS, AS DO I. I KNOW I’M BLESSED! THAT’S WHY I WANT OTHER AMERICANS WHO DON’T HAVE IT GET SOME TYPE OF COVERAGE. I KNOW THE BILL’S NOT PERFECT, BUT IT’S A START THAT WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHHOUT THE DETERMINATION OF OUR PREDIDENT. AND, WHEN I SPOKE ABOUT RAMPANT RACISM SINCE HIS ELECTION, I WAS RIGHT. DID YOU READ ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SHOUTED THE N-WORD TO REP. JOHN LEWIS? SHAME ON THEM. AND, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I JUST SPENT FIVE-HUNDRED PLUS DOLLARS ON NEW BRAKES FOR MY JEEP…OUCH! LMBAO!
about your car/ Jeep.
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LOL. I want health care for all , but this plan will never be for all, this health care is a perm. fix until the real one takes place in 2014.