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Supreme Court to Review Health Care Law

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Posted on Sep 28, 2011
Flickr / borman818 (CC-BY)

President Obama gives a speech during a rally in support of the health care law in 2009.

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review whether Congress overreached its constitutional power by passing the 2010 health care law, which would require almost every American to have health insurance.

The justices would review the decision of the only U.S. Court of Appeals to find the law unconstitutional, the 11th Circuit court in Atlanta, and likely come to a decision by next summer during the height of the presidential campaign.

So the Supreme Court’s decision could have an important political effect, especially because the law is one of the most contentious points between President Obama and his Republican presidential rivals. —BF

The Washington Post:

“Throughout history, there have been similar challenges to other landmark legislation such as the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act, and all of those challenges failed,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “We believe the challenges to Affordable Care Act — like the one in the 11th Circuit — will also ultimately fail and that the Supreme Court will uphold the law.”

The suit is brought by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Those two groups have also asked the justices to accept the case, because while the appeals court panel struck down the individual mandate for health insurance, it upheld other parts of the law.

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By the worm, September 28, 2011 at 4:44 pm Link to this comment

Here’s the history and background on “health reform” passed by Democrats and
signed by Obama.

“Obama’s” health care “reform” was first suggested by Republican Nelson
Rockefelle­r; then resurrecte­d by the Heritage Foundation­; passed by Republican
Governor Mitt Romney; re-package­d for national use by Blue Dog Max Bauccus,
health insurers and the pharmaceut­ical industry; adopted by Democratic majorities
in both houses of Congress; then, signed by Barak Obama. In other words, no one
can say “We didn’t know what was in it!” It has a 50 plus year history.

What’s ‘in it”? The most offensive measure for many is that Congress has made you
purchase. But for me, there’s a more offensive section.

The ‘reform’ assures a taxpayer-p­aid overhead rate of 20% for private, for-profit
insurance companies. That is 20% of ?our premium can be spent on administra­tion,
CEO salaries, bonuses, sitting on Boards ?to set rates and deciding who’s covered,
lobbying for the insurers’ benefit, ?advertisi­ng and propagandi­zing to redefine
more and more as ‘health care ?service’ while delivering fewer and fewer services
—- essentiall­y, we’re just ?giving our tax money to insurers to do with it what they
will.

The Republican­s can only kill this ‘reform’ by promising the private for-profit­s a
better deal, more money out of your pocket and into health insurers and
pharmaceutical industry pockets.

The Democrats can’t kill ‘reform’ because it’s admitting ‘their’ baby’s ugly.

Irony of ironies, At this time, only the Supreme Court can free us of this folly.

If you wonder why people think that neither the Democrats and Obama nor the
Republicans and the Tea Party have their interests at heart, review the above.

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