Wednesday, February 2, 2011

No health coverage? Too bad...

Obama's Affordable Care Act gets another hiccup. Federal judges determined that this law would be 'unconstitutional' since it forces Americans to buy Health Insurance, which is a violation of the Commerce Clause.
Federal judges who are against the plan, including Judge Vinson from Florida, believe that scratching this plan is the only way to "not break the law". I smell something fishy here. Conservative judges ruling against a law that provides coverage for all? That's not surprising.
The reason for this act to not pass can be argued at length for various issues. Specifically one that comes to mind is car insurance. Yes, they might not force you to buy car insurance when you first go to driving school, but you definitely can't get a license without insurance, or a car for that matter. Now, an argument would be, well a car is not considered a 'necessity' to live, but honestly, can one really survive without a car in most of America?
You live in a buzzing metropolitan, fine. You don't need a car, but most Americans live in small towns and suburbs that do not have adequate public transportation to carry out daily functions. I am sure that not having a car can cause serious inconveniences. (I've had my license suspended, trust me I know the pain)
So, we can't provide health insurance to Americans who are unemployed, poor, or have a pre-existing condition because it forces everyone else who already has insurance or a few who don't want to spend on insurance to buy one. However, we can require all drivers to have car insurance if they want to own a car so they dont have to walk everywhere. Sounds pretty comparable to me.
These judges need to explain the difference in these two scenarios. If requiring every driver to have car insurance is not a violation of the Commerce Clause, then requiring every American to have health coverage isn't either. Living in a developed country like the United States and yet 10% of people can't go to the doctor unless they're about to die is ridiculous. Perhaps we need lobbyists, senators, representatives, and in some cases judges to think beyond the realm of fetching dollars from pharmaceutical companies and leap over to the basic necessities that should be provided to every American.
Hipocrisy and personal gains exist in third world countries for sure, but behind fancy doors, America still has its share of high level corruption to deal with.

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