Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care

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😃 my point exactly.

Seekerz as I said before, insurance does not equate medical care. You can have a gold plated insurance card but it’s not going to help you get well.

Lisa
Now what are you talking about? 🤷

Medical care for most, does not exist with out healthcare insurance.

ATB
 
I disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Previous court rulings held that Congress has almost limitless power under the Commerce Clause, and now they have limitless power under the Taxing power. So now it is far easier for the Federal Government to become totalitarian.

With the Court’s ruling the mandate is a tax, another constitutional problem arises. The constitution says that all revenue raising bills are to originate in the House. Obamacare originated in the Senate. Since it is a tax, it originated in the wrong chamber and thus is unconstitutional.
 
I disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Previous court rulings held that Congress has almost limitless power under the Commerce Clause, and now they have limitless power under the Taxing power. So now it is far easier for the Federal Government to become totalitarian.

With the Court’s ruling the mandate is a tax, another constitutional problem arises. The constitution says that all revenue raising bills are to originate in the House. Obamacare originated in the Senate. Since it is a tax, it originated in the wrong chamber and thus is unconstitutional.
Weird huh.
 
I know that! I was just responding to seekerz’s continued assertion that the poor are not getting medical treatment or care. Yes, they are. At our expense. Nothing will change with Obamacare.
I can also attest to this. I have worked with the management (read: the people who care about the financial implications of serving the poor) of several Catholic hospitals (read: not-for-profit), and I have NEVER seen any hint of an attitude toward the poor. Looking at their patient mix year-over-year, the poor in these hospitals’ areas are very well-served.

Anyway, to the point of the thread, after reading a synopsis of the opinion, I agree with it for the following reasons:
  1. The opinion stomps out the idea that the commerce clause can be used to punish refraining from entering into a class of transactions
  2. Congress DOES have the power to tax, and it is a broad power indeed. Because of #1, the debate over the individual mandate is reframed (among honest people, anyway) with the understanding that the mandate involves a tax. So the argument SHOULD be “is this tax a good idea?”
  3. As Roberts said, it is NOT the Court’s job to protect the electorate from the consequences of their electoral decisions. This, I think, was the most important. One can only hope that from here on out (or at least for another election cycle), people will pay closer attention to who they are voting for.
Now, having said all that, the fact that the NY Times had on the front page the other day, “Romney says individual mandate is a tax under criticism from other Republicans” rather than “Romney agrees with the Supreme Court that the individual mandate is a tax” gives me a clue as to how this will be spun in the media. :rolleyes:
 
I used to watch a show called “Trauma: Life in the ER.” It was set in different cities all over the US. It showed actual footage from ERs and the people they treated. I saw gang members that had been shot, people who were high on drugs and/or drunk and who had been stabbed, drunk drivers as well as people struck by drunk drivers, all treated EXACTLY the same regardless of their ability to pay. There was no “ER Lite” for people who didn’t have the means to pay, and no “Concierge Floor” for people who had money. EVERYONE is treated exactly the same. People who need emergency surgery, get it, even if they don’t survive and the bill is never paid.

Having worked in the medical field for a number of years, I can also attest to this. It is the propaganda that tells people that the poor are not getting care. It is NOT TRUE.
Emergency rooms are meant for emergency care, not routine health care. There is no follow-up, which is what most people with significant health conditions need. More importantly, there are no routine preventive checks, so some health conditions are not even discovered until they cause complications…so yes, some poor people are going without health care, but thanks for sharing your expertise anyway.
 
That’s interesting, but people without insurance also get care. Now, they generally can’t pay for it, but they still get care.
They may be seen in an emergency department. But, thats not what we in the 21st century consider appropriate medical care. Anywhere else, no cards, no care.

ATB
 
I know that! I was just responding to seekerz’s continued assertion that the poor are not getting medical treatment or care. Yes, they are. At our expense. Nothing will change with Obamacare.
Grab the next uninsured person you encounter and ask them if they get follow-up, non-emergency tests or medications from the ER. No they don’t. Health care involves all of the above.

If you define care by the lowest common denominator - then sure, EVERYBODY gets care. If you define care by basic medical care (not cadillac care) and ongoing treatment (including medication) for non-emergency conditions, then my assertion remains true, many uninsured and under-insured people are going without care. And yes, I know there are free clinics, but in most places I’m aware of, demand outstrips supply.
 
They may be seen in an emergency department. But, thats not what we in the 21st century consider appropriate medical care. Anywhere else, no cards, no care.

ATB
You’re right, meanwhile we subsidize basic (non-emergency, ongoing, prevention-included) health care - including free childhood immunization - for a myriad of Third World countries. How about the needy right here?
 
Now what are you talking about? 🤷

Medical care for most, does not exist with out healthcare insurance.

ATB
Boloney…medical care certainly does exist without insurance. And even those with insurance still have to come up with the money to cover the deductibles and uncovered expenses. No insurance covers 100% of care.
 
I can also attest to this. I have worked with the management (read: the people who care about the financial implications of serving the poor) of several Catholic hospitals (read: not-for-profit), and I have NEVER seen any hint of an attitude toward the poor. Looking at their patient mix year-over-year, the poor in these hospitals’ areas are very well-served.

Anyway, to the point of the thread, after reading a synopsis of the opinion, I agree with it for the following reasons:
  1. The opinion stomps out the idea that the commerce clause can be used to punish refraining from entering into a class of transactions
  2. Congress DOES have the power to tax, and it is a broad power indeed. Because of #1, the debate over the individual mandate is reframed (among honest people, anyway) with the understanding that the mandate involves a tax. So the argument SHOULD be “is this tax a good idea?”
  3. As Roberts said, it is NOT the Court’s job to protect the electorate from the consequences of their electoral decisions. This, I think, was the most important. One can only hope that from here on out (or at least for another election cycle), people will pay closer attention to who they are voting for.
Now, having said all that, the fact that the NY Times had on the front page the other day, “Romney says individual mandate is a tax under criticism from other Republicans” rather than “Romney agrees with the Supreme Court that the individual mandate is a tax” gives me a clue as to how this will be spun in the media. :rolleyes:
Newsflash: health care that BEGINS in a hospital is a symptom of social neglect. Standard, modern health care for most human beings begins with routine visits to a regular provider.
 
Newsflash: health care that BEGINS in a hospital is a symptom of social neglect. Standard, modern health care for most human beings begins with routine visits to a regular provider.
Newsflash: There are revenue streams at every hospital I have worked with that include regular clinical care. Even the clinic components have self-pay and Medicaid care provided below cost.
 
Newsflash: health care that BEGINS in a hospital is a symptom of social neglect. Standard, modern health care for most human beings begins with routine visits to a regular provider.
And I don’t know about the “most human beings” part. I know plenty of insured people (read: 99% of the people that I work with) who neglect routine visits. And I don’t even think I would call it “neglect” per se since most of them are pretty healthy.
 
Emergency rooms are meant for emergency care, not routine health care. There is no follow-up, which is what most people with significant health conditions need. More importantly, there are no routine preventive checks, so some health conditions are not even discovered until they cause complications…so yes, some poor people are going without health care, but thanks for sharing your expertise anyway.
So SOME people are going without health care. So billions of dollars that we don’t have are going to be wasted so these SOME people can get some kind of health care.

:mad:
 
Actually, I started in on defining what “poor” people have so we could form a baseline from which could ascertain why a “poor” person couldn’t afford $60/ healthcare.

A figure you ignored and spun into how it doesn’t include outpatient visits.:rolleyes:
You defined poor by what I assume is a personal standard. To my knowledge, poverty is defined by people living below something called a ‘poverty line’.

But tell me, what exactly do you define health care as. Because in reading the plan you linked to, I see nothing that would provide for, say a diabetic who needs frequent doctor visits and multiple daily medications (I believe it says there is a discount card, but no medication coverage). I choose diabetes because as of now, it is an increasingly common health condition. What would someone on your plan have to do to access covered services and get affordable daily medication - fall into a coma and get admitted to hospital?
 
So SOME people are going without health care. So billions of dollars that we don’t have are going to be wasted so these SOME people can get some kind of health care.

:mad:
Indeed. And as I pointed out earlier, many insured people are going without care as well. Humans in general aren’t the best long-term planners, which results in greater costs when they DO seek care, both for the taxpayers and the insurance companies, who then turn around and raise costs for everyone paying premiums.
 
So SOME people are going without health care. So billions of dollars that we don’t have are going to be wasted so these SOME people can get some kind of health care.

:mad:
Billions of your dollars and mine are already being ‘wasted’ (your words) in keeping such people alive - we could simply be spending smarter by catching illness before it requires $100,000 treatments.
 
Indeed. And as I pointed out earlier, many insured people are going without care as well. Humans in general aren’t the best long-term planners, which results in greater costs when they DO seek care, both for the taxpayers and the insurance companies, who then turn around and raise costs for everyone paying premiums.
Yeah, I watch my own bills and wonder how much ‘long-term’ planning can be done by a person who can’t afford regular care. For people who are so concerned with economics and spending, the economic effect of an unhealthy workforce doesn’t ever seem to enter the conversation or perhaps it is though that the poor don’t work anyway…? Strange I hardly ever seem to meet unemployed poor - maybe it’s just the company I keep.
 
Other than the fact that many doctors are already leaving their practices, resulting in less choice and a shortage of doctors, Catholics could still opt out of this government “health” plan…There are Christian medical share plans which are not insurance but do result in your bills being paid, as you also pay others’ medical bills. Catholics could and should form such associations so that we are not inadvertently paying for someone’s abortions and ABC.

However, since I have not read the entire bill, it is also possible that these associations are going to be illegal.
 
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