"you got a bunch of idiots in congress". Isn't that what is happening right now?
Just cause or not, this law is still a bad policy. Individual liberty and freedom are founding principles of this country. The point Justice Scalia made with broccoli, or Chief Justice Roberts made with diet, is that government should not force individuals to give up individual liberty, to buy something that they do not want. This is the problem of expanding government powers. If today they can regulate healthcare insurance, who knows what they will do tomorrow?
This law is also a bad policy because healthare insurance is not really an insurance, but a social service plan. We all buy insurances. Fire insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, car insurance, etc. Insurance by definition, is for something that is unpredictable, highly-risky, expensive, and voluntary. When you get people to sign up for this healthcare plan, particularly people with pre-existing conditions, which predictable and involuntary, it is not an insurance anyway but a social service like social security. The problem is, it costs money. Just like we pay payroll tax to support social security, we must pay tax to support this healthcare. Everybody getting insurance is just like nobody getting insurance. Take a look at Canada and you would understand what I mean. The insurance industry will not shoulder the cost. It must pass down to individual consumers like you and me. Insurance will enroll people with pre-existing conditions for it cannot violate the law. But the insurance companies will limit the quality of the care. It can specify, for example, ultrasound instead of MRI, preventative service once a year instead of biannually, generic drugs instead brandnames, etc. Oh yeah, the law does not say they cannot do that. Who will be hurt? Of course ordinary consumers like you and me. This does not affect rich people a bit, including those guys in Congress who have a special plan for themselves. Have you seen or heard movie stars flying from Hongkong to the US for a weekend just to see a specialist? I have. This does not affect them a bit.
Hospitals cannot shoulder the cost for they have already been in crisis. Hospitals churn out millions of dollars in unpaid medical services to poor people without insurance each year anyway. Many hospitals go bankrupt or get closed. Staff got laid off. Just yesterday, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center announced it would eliminate 120 staff members.
Employers will not shoulder this cost. Medical insurance premiums are on the rise in recent years. When this law is implemented, the cost will likely go higher, partially because of the passage of cost from insurance companies, people will be forced to change to more basic plans and get less quality care. Again, we as ordinary consumers have to pay dearly at the end.
From what I heard, Wall Street was anticipating the strike down of the individual mandate, if not the law in its entirety. This is why the dow was down more than 150 points this morning. The reason is simple, the cost of this plan will hurt business and hurt the economy.
This is anything but good cause.
