States vs. US Government on Health Care Reform Act

There are some really interesting legal questions in the country pending right now dealing with the health care reform of last year.

It seems 26 States Attorneys General and their governors have filed suit against the Federal Government over this Health Care Reform Act.  They're fighting the mandate that we all have to buy health insurance.

If you've read anything here, over time, you know I've pointed out how badly, badly broken our health care system is, how expensive it is and how it doesn't work for too many millions of us so yes, I think--know--we need some solutions.

That said, here are the questions I see as pertinent to this lawsuit that either seem obvious or have no answer:

First, if, as these representatives of their respective states contend, the Federal Government can't require us to have health care, then how is it that states can mandate we have car insurance?  Doesn't that give the Feds carte blanche, legally, anyway, to be able to require it of us?

Second, sure, as I said, I'm all for health care reform because we need it so badly but as I've asked here before, if you can't afford health insurance, how is passing a law requiring it going to somehow make you paying for it possible?  How does that work?  If I can't afford it, where is that money going to come from?  And isn't, then, some financial penalty if I don't get health insurance rather superfluous?  If I didn't have money before, how am I going to pay the penalty?  And even if I do pay the penalty, that still doesn't mean I can pay for health insurance.

This requiring us all to have health insurance was just a big hand-off and payday for the insurance companies, as we all know.  What good thing was supposed to happen for us regarding affordability?  That was where the "public option" for health insurance, where the Feds would be able to offer the health insurance companies some good, positive competition, was going to come in.  As we also know, unfortunately President Obama gave up that possibility early in his negotiations with the insurance industry.

Thirdly, on this issue and in this case before the Supreme Court, it will be fascinating to see if they don't come down squarely for the health insurance companies, what with their strong and undeniable record of, time and again, coming down on the side of "Big Business".  I think the likelihood they'll throw out the mandate is very strong.

Finally, if they come down against the mandate, the question becomes how far will they interpret this?  Will they then say the entire Health Care Reform Act is unconstitutional or will they merely throw out that one stipulation?

Interesting stuff.

Regardless?  I think the American public--the "little guy", you and I--will lose on this deal, yet again.

Stay tuned.

Link:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136952195