Healthcare UPHELD by Supreme Court

Huge Victory for Obama and those of us fighting for healthcare for all Americans. The Supreme Court has upheld the individual mandate and this is a WIN for Obama. With a conservative SCOTUS this is a best example of our two branches seeing eye-to-eye on the desired outcome. The mandate really was a brief first step toward the sigle-payer system that us progressives ultimately want, but the fight continues for another day, another 4 years.

GO Obama !!1 Thank you Supreme Court !! Even with Clarence Thomas' conflict of interest....

Progressive Ohioan wrote:

Huge Victory for Obama and those of us fighting for healthcare for all Americans. The Supreme Court has upheld the individual mandate and this is a WIN for Obama. With a conservative SCOTUS this is a best example of our two branches seeing eye-to-eye on the desired outcome. The mandate really was a brief first step toward the sigle-payer system that us progressives ultimately want, but the fight continues for another day, another 4 years.
GO Obama !!1 Thank you Supreme Court !! Even with Clarence Thomas' conflict of interest....

Actually, the mandate was held unconstitutional unless construed as a tax. And the court has held that individuals can refuse to pay such tax.

Thanks for starting the thread. I just looked at the clock and was getting ready to see if the verdict was in yet. Here's a link. Haven't read it so I don't know how good it is. Amazingly enough not much popped up when I googled.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/suprem...

From the Liveblog: "The Court holds that the mandate violates the Commerce Clause, but that doesn't matter b/c there are five votes for the mandate to be constitutional under the taxing power."

Just wow.

America, the Land of the Free, died today.

Kennedy, reading the dissent:

"In our view, the entire Act before us is invalid in its entirety."

As a cancer patient who will be deeply affected by being forced to purchase the most expensive plan available through the exchanges in order to get adequate coverage - and remember that only the lowest coverages (similar to catastrophic care) qualifies for the subsidies - I would like to give a big XXXX you to people who supported this ideal. Now fork up part of my expensive premium because yes, not only will I be forced to purchase the most expensive plan in order to get good coverage but I will have to pay more because of my age and I WON'T QUALIFY FOR SUBSIDIES ON THE EXPENSIVE PLANS THAT I WILL NEED REGARDLESS OF MY INCOME.

Bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Read up, and good luck to those who are older and sick and don't work for a company who will provide coverage. You're utterly and royally screwed.

tip wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually, the mandate was held unconstitutional unless construed as a tax. And the court has held that individuals can refuse to pay such tax.

Liveblog corrected the above statement.
Either you follow the mandate or you pay the tax.

So, yes...the U.S. Constitution died today.

dpx55 wrote:

America, the Land of the Free, died today.

And all because of a bumper sticker mentality. Unfrigginbelievable. Is this really the country I grew up in? Oh, wait...

I'm on record now - ANYBODY BUT OBAMA.

tip wrote:

<quoted text>
Liveblog corrected the above statement.
Either you follow the mandate or you pay the tax.
So, yes...the U.S. Constitution died today.

Hey, Progressive Ohioan, Reader, et al....it is unlikely I will be able to afford the platinum plan which I will need to support my cancer treatments. So now what? I have no coverage and get taxed? And you have the audacity to cheer that?

Plainly stated, from the SCOTUS blog:

Amy Howe:
In Plain English: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn't comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding.

Bronze, silver, gold, platinum - and Kasich's administration decides what each will cover. Not each state will cover the same things. My cousin's health care in Indiana may be better than mine here.

And they cheer.

Insurance companies stock prices are already dropping like a rock.

Market down 123 points already

Wait what wrote:

Bronze, silver, gold, platinum - and Kasich's administration decides what each will cover. Not each state will cover the same things. My cousin's health care in Indiana may be better than mine here.
And they cheer.

Collectivism. It sucks.

You should see this as a beginning to where it is we need to go. It's called PROGRESS. Do those of us who believe in Universal Health Care think this plan is perfect??? Absolutely not!! We want to totally take the insurance companies out of the mix and use the power of our Federal government to offer healthcare to all payers, all Americans.

It is however, a huge step in a longer conversation. It protects what was started years ago under the Clintons and what Obama was able to legislate. It's a HUGE win for him and for us.

This is why the Supreme Court was never granted Judicial Review Authority.

Vote went along lines.

Either our elected representatives repeal this piece of anti-American BS, or the government is dissolved.

It's a win-win for those who love America.

Wait what wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey, Progressive Ohioan, Reader, et al....it is unlikely I will be able to afford the platinum plan which I will need to support my cancer treatments. So now what? I have no coverage and get taxed? And you have the audacity to cheer that?

Then I'm thinking you won't be able to afford the cancer treatments either.

Next.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

<quoted text>
In a way, I'm glad it was upheld because this keeps health care as an issue in the fall. Just another reason to give Barry his walking papers.

It would have continued to be an issue regardless of the decision.