The Health Care Law - Hits the Supreme Court March 26 (premium, solution)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Only if you see liberty as the ability to make decisions which are reckless and dangerous. If you saw the 400 pound ballerinas I see rolling in doing WHATEVER they wish and then getting you and I to pay for them when their body fails perhaps you would view it differently.
Short-term customers boosting health costs - The Boston Globe
Thousands of consumers are gaming Massachusetts’ 2006 health insurance law by buying insurance when they need to cover pricey medical care, such as fertility treatments and knee surgery, and then swiftly dropping coverage, a practice that insurance executives say is driving up costs for other people and small businesses.
..
“These consumers come in and get their service, and then they leave because current regulations allow them to do it,’’ said Todd Bailey, vice president of underwriting at Fallon Community Health Plan, the state’s fourth-largest insurer.
BHI Study: Massachusetts Health Care Reform drives up insurance costs both public and private 6/27/2011
The landmark Massachusetts Health Care Reform law is responsible for a dramatic increase in health care spending over the period since it was enacted. The law did not bring about a promised reduction in health care expenditures. Rather, it permitted the state legislature and governor to expand health insurance coverage to almost all residents, while imposing more than $8 billion in new health care costs to the federal government and on state residents and businesses.
..
* State health care expenditures have risen by $414 million over the period;
* Private health insurance costs have risen by $4.311 billion over the period;
* The federal government has spent an additional $2.418 billion on Medicaid for Massachusetts;
* Over this period, Medicare expenditures increased by $1.426 billion.
This law will shape the future of our country. The supreme court has dedicated 3 full days to hear the arguments. The last time this happened was 1966 in the challenge to Voting Rights Act which supported fair elections. It should be clock stopping.
As an individual who has worked in health care for thirty years the most recent twenty as an emergency and intensive care nurse I would like to convey how important this law is for our country.
People object to it on the grounds that it forces people to pay for insurance or to pay for opting out. Most patients who are treated in the emergency room and intensive care and cost you and I millions upon billions. Most of these people don not have any insurance so we pay for it and the hospitals lose money. Our insurance costs go up. That is not the function of the law but the insurance companies covering their costs.
If the law is upheld the uninsured must pay for insurance. They must contribute. Liberty aside, the idea that someone can be reckless enough to drive without insurance is akin to this. I take care of hundreds of people who don't give a damn about your bill or your costs. They feel entitled to not pay. This law cures that ill over time and places these people in front of a doctor. Not only must they contribute but they must work with a doctor to control their bad habits which lead them to the ER and the ICU..for weeks.
So the person who sees this law as governmental control of liberty is the exception and the argument while holding water holds only a few drops. If you don't want to buy insurance who will pay for you when you have a crash, or a heart attack? Thats right. The price for your freedom is costing me and others. This laws promotes a healthy population. If you want your complete freedom you had better have the funds to pay for care.
This law fixes the issues. It really does and over time will make us a stronger nation.
If you are going to respond try to form an argument not just a label. K?
I understand your point, and I agree, the problem lies with the unfunded 1986 law that Reagan signed into law.
But this law, IMO, is not the way to fix it. I won't decide, 9 people will if its constitutional for the government to force you to buy insurance simply because you will be part of the health care market sooner or later.
I think we needed a single payer system. It would have been constitutional under current standards, and it didn't put the government in the business of telling people what they have to buy. This is a reckless expansion of the federal government, and it goes a step to far. I understand the good intentions, and there is a definite need to rectify the rapid expansion of healthcare costs, but this is not the way to do it, IMO.
It may be deemed constitutional, but if so, its a dangerous precedent.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,143,759 times
Reputation: 2677
Quote:
Originally Posted by AADAD
Only if you see liberty as the ability to make decisions which are reckless and dangerous. If you saw the 400 pound ballerinas I see rolling in doing WHATEVER they wish and then getting you and I to pay for them when their body fails perhaps you would view it differently.
As a health care provider that you said you were in the original post, I hope this statement isn't any indication of the quality of care your patients receive. I'm a huge proponent of self-responsibility, but since when do you or any of us get to decide what is or isn't reckless and dangerous? I don't think jumping out of a perfectly good airplane sounds safe, but there are those who enjoy it. Do we next start outlawing skydiving?
Not to mention that as a health care provider you of all people should know that there are tons of reasons for obesity including genetic predisposition, medicines, thyroid problems etc. Laziness and overeating are not the only reason for a lot of folks...
As a health care provider that you said you were in the original post, I hope this statement isn't any indication of the quality of care your patients receive. I'm a huge proponent of self-responsibility, but since when do you or any of us get to decide what is or isn't reckless and dangerous? I don't think jumping out of a perfectly good airplane sounds safe, but there are those who enjoy it. Do we next start outlawing skydiving?
Not to mention that as a health care provider you of all people should know that there are tons of reasons for obesity including genetic predisposition, medicines, thyroid problems etc. Laziness and overeating are not the only reason for a lot of folks...
The large obese people whose habits predispose them to life threatening illness receive the same care as anyone would in those circumstances.
We get to decide when we are paying for it and yes if they jump out of a PGA and get smashed up and then expect us to foot the bill YES we get to say you can't do that anymore.
I think I've done that anf HappyTexan has provided similar example of what is happening in Mass., any response?
It is my understanding that the new law addresses these abuses. In addition the highest % of cost is sustained by the people who have poor health care practices and then enter the sysem running up guzzillions of dollars in costs. While not perfect this law addresses that most important issue.
Is the entire bill going before SCOTUS, or just the mandate part?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
