Like allowing the market to dictate costs, as opposed to bureaucrats. But, having said that, perhaps government has a place in this to subsidize health care for people with uninsurable conditions, for example.
Anyway, here's the scoop:
Texas and other states sued to declare the individual mandate unconstitutional because in the recent tax reform the penalty for failing to pay the mandate was removed. With the removal of the mandate penalty, the mandate no longer was a function of Congress’ taxing power, which was the basis upon which John Roberts and the liberal Justices on the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the mandate in 2012. The Court conservative and Roberts had ruled the mandate violated the Commerce Clause, but Roberts broke with the conservatives on the tax power issue.
But there’s more.
The district court ruled that the mandate was an essential and inseverable part of Obamacare. Because the mandate was held to be unconstitutional and inseverable, the judge held the remainder of Obamacare to be unconstitutional.
This will be appealed, and it will have to survive that, but certainly this is a promising step, especially after the huge disappointment of the failure of the Repubs to repeal it, thanks to that - insert expletive here - John McCain.
John McCain, a RINO in all circumstances, left this plane of existence as a bitter, nasty, unpleasant old man. To say more would be to speak ill of the dead and there is no need. His actions speak loudly enough.
ReplyDeleteHawaii judge grants injunction in 3... 2... 1...
ReplyDeleteSadly, your call for Republicans and Democrats cooperating to solve the problems of healthcare won't happen.
ReplyDeleteThere's an unofficial one-way street in the halls of Congress: R's can cooperate with D's to make things worse for America, but you'll never see any D's cooperating with R's to make things better.
Congress has no business dealing with healthcare. They have no constitutional authority to legislate in the area.
ReplyDelete