“Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness,” Roberts wrote.
Had Obama been forthright that his radical remake of U.S. health care was based on a massive new punitive tax it would never have passed. It barely passed even as it was, and now is hugely unpopular with much of the population. Pelosi notoriously said at the time that Congress would have to pass the law in order for members and the public “to know what’s in it.” And now that the public has had 829 days (as of Thursday) to get to know it, it’s fair to say that for most Americans, to know Obamacare is not to love it.
The court having certified that Congress can mandate Americans buy a certain product (health insurance), it shouldn’t be long before Congress starts adding to the list of such items.
The four conservative dissenters on the court (Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy and Alito) predicted the new law will mean higher costs for insurance companies and higher premiums for consumers, and “could threaten the survival of health-insurance companies, despite the Act’s goal of ‘effective health insurance markets.’”
“In our view, the act before us is invalid in its entirety,” Kennedy wrote.
Added their dissent, in a slam at the majority’s flawed reasoning: “One would expect this Court to demand more than fly-by-night briefing and arguments” before reaching such a momentous decision.
And momentous is it. The new law is expected to make it so expensive for employers that many choose to stop offering health care benefits to employees, shunting them into the government’s arms. So much for Obama’s promise that if you like your present health plan, you can keep it.
It also contains a punitive new tax on every medical device manufactured or sold in this country, with the exceptions of eyeglasses, contact lenses and hearing aids. If your dad needs to buy a walker, or your diabetic teen needs an insulin pump, or you need a pacemaker, the cost will be higher, thanks to Obama. And providers will be taxed more for everything from tongue depressors to X-ray machines.
It’s a law that throws the notion of limited government on its ear, undermines the strength and independence of our health-care system and will be ruinously expensive. And it’s a law that opens the door to government rationing of health care, although you won’t find the “R-word” in there anywhere.
And though there are a few aspects of the law that should be incorporated in its Republican successor, such as the refusal to allow insurance companies to deny coverage to children with health problems, the refusal to let insurance companies put lifetime caps on insurance payouts, and the refusal to let insurers deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions; most Americans would be better off had the Court ruled the other way.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans vowed Thursday to fight for Obamacare’s overturn, and we would urge them to do so.
Most Democrats were in full-fledged celebratory mood after the ruling, but it came as a clunker to many others. Indeed, the more people have learned about what Obamacare may mean for them and how much it will cost, the less popular it has become.
Mr. Obama now has his health care law, and he will have to live with it. Unfortunately, so will the rest of us — at least for now.
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Do you support stopping insurance comapanies from dropping you when you are sick?
Are you tired of people not buying insurance then showing up at the ER and sticking you with the bill?
Are your fed up with insurance companies taking your money, but using it for investor dividends and big salaries and bonuses instead of using it to give you health care?
Do approve of insurance companies denying coverage or charging outrageous rates because you or your kids have a preexisting condition?
Would you like to keep your college age kids on your policy?
Do you think people who refuse to buy insurance and still use medical services should pay a fine when they stick you with the bill?
So how about it, MDJ, really report on the issue instead of passing on republican and insurance lobby lies? Read Wendell Potter's book, Deadly Spin and get informed or you're look as dumb as CNN and FOX. He was in charge of Cigna and Humana's distorted lies abut health care and he is now blowing the whistle.
...since the Supreme Court announcement yesterday, the Dow has SHOT UP by 400 points, almost 4%...NASDAQ up 120points or 4%. So, please, enough of the hyperventilating about this law destroying the economy. It is clear, big business and Wall Street have spoken with their MONEY....not just the endless blather from right wing punditry. Oh yes and while stocks go up, stocks go down it is clear that this decision was not the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back relative to our economy.
Stock prices up 22% since the signing of this law?...why, what a horrible disaster for the economy! With this trend in hand, Obama should sign all sorts of things the GOP claims will be a disaster and we can all get rich on stocks like the top 1-percenters who apparently have all been crying crocodile tears all the way to the bank the past 3 years!
I don't know anyone who agrees that the government can provide better services than a free enterprise system. When providers can no longer operate the business and are forced to close their doors, the government will gladly pick up the slack and pass along the increasing costs to consumers.
This is not to say that universal healthcare is a terrible notion. Surely there is a way to make it work and provide care to all citizens at a reasonable cost without bankrupting the nation. The ACA is expected to erode the federal deficit. How do you reduce deficits? You either cut spending (which is definitely not happening...this bill has a $1T pricetag)or you raise taxes. There is no other way. So to offset the cost of this bill and simultaneously shrink the deficit, American citizens will have to pick up the tab.
Take a look at what's going on in Europe today. Massive unemployment, crumbling currency values and desperate uncertainty. It's a preview of what happens when a nation operates with a heavy handed government.
Personally, I think we should cease all foreign aid to non-third world countries until the United States of America is free of debt.
Further, do you really know what was in the Mass law, or do you just assume it was the same as Obamamcare.
You point to a Republican plan...where were they when a plan was needed?, nowhere..they were all bickering on how best not to cooperate with Obama, and in Mcconel's stated goal of seeing Obama not get elected...now, they are hoisted on their own petard. And by the way, if you read Justice Robert's ruling, it is not a tax, as the Supreme Court cannot rule on tax matters until someone has actually had to pay it ( which has not happened yet )..the constructs of collection resemble a tax, but it is a penalty.
Well sorry MDJ editorial board and GOPers writ large, stupidity is simply stupidity...and no, the affordable health car act will not cure you of this affliction. Ha, you were duped -- so MOVE ON!
Oh, and here's a novel idea...if you disagree so strongly with the insurance mandate, don't buy insurance and deal with it April 15th.
They also seem to need doctors there.
Thailand or Mexico and offer their services to Americans.
The fact of the matter is that the US remains (yes, even since the signing of the Affordable Care Act) a net IMPORTER of physicians. A real problem in many parts of the world are that their trained physicians are leaving their home countries to practice in the US.
For me, I'd be glad to take an enthusiastic and thankful international physician than your disloyal and unpatriotic physician whose sense of entitlement outweighs any obligation he may feel towards his community.