Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Health Care Act in its entirety

[KrazyK923]

In a decision of 5-4, the Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Health Care Act ("Obamacare"), noting that the Individual Mandate is actually a tax.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1585131.html

I can say, personally, I'm more relieved that it wasn't struck down and I wasn't removed from my parents Health Insurance as due to it no longer being required (I'm 23).

[Tinykong]

So it begins, the government forcing you to do business with a private enterprise that offers a service you may not want or need, is labelled as a tax.

[Deleted]

People will wail now... until they realize that there's no such thing as 'no insurance due to pre-existing condition'...

Congratulations with the healthcare we used to have :/

[Reeve]

Woot! I'm shocked, but happy to hear it.

Now the Republicans will throw a shit fit and try to figure out how to repeal it legislatively. Not because it's a bad idea, but because they need to win.

[KrazyK923]

Woot! I'm shocked, but happy to hear it.

Now the Republicans will throw a shit fit and try to figure out how to repeal it legislatively. Not because it's a bad idea, but because they need to win.

Unless they swing large majorities in the Senate, won't happen. For not at least 6 years.

And while I'm happy of this decision, I have a strong feeling Roberts sided with the moderates if for no other reason than to make sure his court doesn't look any more like a partisan entity than it already does.

[Xeones]

Phew. This is really good, I was worried they were going to play politics instead of doing what was right.

[KDSwain]

Very strange that they upheld it on what the government said it wasn't.

The great news is that they struck down the Commerce Clause argument. This will end up very badly for Obama in November. This will charge up the Republican base like nothing else ever has. This law will be repealed in January.

[Dakia]

The rest of the law aside, quite frankly I'm shocked that the individual mandate was upheld.

[Xeones]

So it begins, the government forcing you to do business with a private enterprise that offers a service you may not want or need, is labelled as a tax.

Everyone needs health care, this isn't even an argument. There are tons of taxes out there you get breaks on for various things, this is literally no different.

[KDSwain]

Unless they swing large majorities in the Senate, won't happen. For not at least 6 years.

They will repeal it the same way it was passed, as a budgetary item that cannot be filibustered.

[KrazyK923]

Very strange that they upheld it on what the government said it wasn't.

The great news is that they struck down the Commerce Clause argument. This will end up very badly for Obama in November. This will charge up the Republican base like nothing else ever has. This law will be repealed in January.

Like I said, unless the Republicans somehow get to 60 in the Senate, this won't happen.

They will repeal it the same way it was passed, as a budgetary item that cannot be filibustered.

You realize the reason they spent so long kissing the ring of the few pro-life Democrats is so that they could get to 60 votes and prevent the filibuster, right?

[Tastyfish]

Very strange that they upheld it on what the government said it wasn't.

The great news is that they struck down the Commerce Clause argument. This will end up very badly for Obama in November. This will charge up the Republican base like nothing else ever has. This law will be repealed in January.

I like these Christians to explain to me the concept of helping the sick or poor, but not form my pocket.

[Xeones]

Very strange that they upheld it on what the government said it wasn't.

The great news is that they struck down the Commerce Clause argument. This will end up very badly for Obama in November. This will charge up the Republican base like nothing else ever has. This law will be repealed in January.

Won't make it through the current senate. It's only the house that is full of crazies.

[Dakia]

Everyone needs health care, this isn't even an argument.

That's good, because that isn't what he said.

Won't make it through the current senate. It's only the house that is full of crazies.

Each side is pushing their own agenda. One side being different than the other doesn't necessarily make it full of crazies.

[Olo]

I expected 5-4 with Kennedy or maybe 6-3 with Roberts and Kennedy


Surprised but pleased

[ptwonline]

Good news: this curbs some of the worst abuses of health insurance companies, gets millions of people coverage, and will save tens or even hundreds of thousands of lives.

Bad news: it's still putting health care in the hands of health insurers, guaranteeing prices will rise and they will try to screw people.

This is a win for the American people...but only over the implications of striking down the law and leaving things pretty much status quo. As a solution it's still a crappy one. But it will save lives, and it will mean that it can be used as a starting spot to actually improving the system and getting one that works better. Basically, this is step 1 out of about 20 steps that need to be taken. So it's crappy as it is...but it's a needed crappy 1st step.

[Reeve]

The rest of the law aside, quite frankly I'm shocked that the individual mandate was upheld.

I am too. Even though I believed it to be constitutional, I thought the justification for its constitutionality was pretty flimsy, and seeing the way this court has been ruling lately, I felt pretty sure they'd strike it down. Happy they didn't.

[Tinykong]

Everyone needs health care, this isn't even an argument. There are tons of taxes out there you get breaks on for various things, this is literally no different.

My point is that they are labelling it as a tax, even though you are doing business with a private enterprise, for services you may not want. There are a lot of reasons someone might not want healthcare, some reasonable and some stupid.

[Aeka]

And now it has been set: Any Congress, including REPUBLICAN ones, can require you to buy something or face a "tax."

Think on that, if you please.

[KrazyK923]

I am too. Even though I believed it to be constitutional, I thought the justification for its constitutionality was pretty flimsy, and seeing the way this court has been ruling lately, I felt pretty sure they'd strike it down. Happy they didn't.

Didn't help that the person they had arguing the reason why it was constitutional came off like an idiot. In fact, wasn't it Scalia who was talking about the difference between a mandate and a tax?

How awesomely ironic would it be if they took his advice.