The other trail was too long such that you may not be able to see it.
You were asking why obamacare would have an effect on hospitals right now. The implementation in 18 months from now is for the key provisions of the law. Since its passage two years ago, many parts of the law have already been in effect.
Here is a page written in 2010 regarding the adverese effect of the law and the big impacts on hospitals:
http://www.wnd.com/2010/05/153941/
The Heritage Foundation did a check up earlier this year on the effect of the law and found the law has already failed in many ways:
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/28/seven-of-obamacares-biggest-failures-from-the-last-two-years/
While healthcare is a social service, healthcare insurance is not. This law will effectively change the healthcare insurance industry into a social service.
Although I do not have recent data, a Rand report on healthcare in the nation, written in 2005, did show the precentage of uninsured was about 18% of the total population under age 65. Obama said this morning that about 30 million people who do not have insurance could get insurance under the new law. I have no idea where that idea of 30-40% people without access to healthcare was coming from.
In Scalia's words, the healthcare insurance industry was not the problem of this ever rising medical cost of the nation. Nobody is arguing medical cost is insanely high nowadays. But mandating a healthcare insurance for everyone is not the solution, even though BHO firmly believes in that. in a 2008 CNN interview Obama stated, if mandate is a solution, we can try that to solve homelessness problem by mandating everyone to buy a house. Actually, I do not even know what he believes. In 2007-2008 democratic primary race BHO himself opposed the idea of individual mandate. He said in South Carolina debate, "A mandate means that in some fashion, everybody will be forced to buy health insurance. ... But I believe the problem is not that folks are trying to avoid getting health care. The problem is they can’t afford it."
One would be naive to think the passage of this law is for the general welfare interest, not political reasons. If so, can somebody tell me why in the law birth control products and services get preferential treatment than drugs for cancer and heart disease? The law requires providers to pay 100% for contraceptives. No co-pay. No deductibles.
Congressional budget office estimated the implentation of Obamacare would result in a 770 billion dollars in tax increase, and 540 billion dollars in government spending from 2012 to 2021.
One more thing to prove Obamacare would fail to solve the nation's healthcare problem. The state of Massachussets has implemented a similar program statewide. Many people chose to pay penalties rather than buy insurance, thus remain uninsured.
I am doubtful whether healthcare insurance is a basic human right, like you said. Assuming you are right, it is a basic human right like food. Does the government tell you what to eat everyday? Do you want the government to tell you what to eat everyday? If no, why healthcare insurance? A recent Gallup poll found that 72 percent of Americans, including 56 percent of Democrats, believe that the individual mandate is unconstitutional because it would infringe upon personal liberty. In fact, when asked by the SCOTUS if the individual mandate is passed what the limit to the governmental power would exist, if any, the solicitor general who argued for the govenment, could not provide an answer. We want to keep the government out of our bedroom. If the government can compel people to do things when the government deems good for them, what nation will we become?
