The Mandate Can Stay, Supreme Court Says in Health Care Ruling

[Tall Grass]

Finally

In a landmark ruling with wide-ranging implications, the Supreme Court today upheld the so-called individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty, the key part of President Obama's signature health care law.

The court ruled that the mandate is unconstitutional under the Constitution's commerce clause, but it can stay as part of Congress's power under a taxing clause. The court said that the government will be allowed to tax people for not having health insurance.

"The Affordable Care Act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling.

[RowCropRenegade]

gay

[RowCropRenegade]

I don't like the precident this sets....government can tell us whatever they want to buy. Gay!

[Tall Grass]

. Remember the individual mandate is based off Romney's idea for MA, It actually came from a conservative think tank.

[Grainbelt2]

Not a fan of conservative think tanks or socialist Liberals......This is bad news for our country.

[dairyfarmmn]

Wether from Obummer or Romney this sucks!!!! What else can the Government decide to tax us on now............. SAD SAD SAD day for this republic......

[Bill inWisconsin]

The government cannot force you to buy health insurance. However, under this interpretation by one justice, a tax can be implemented (possibly a payroll tax) and the government will buy insurance on your behalf. One-sixth of our entire economy, formerly run by the private sector has been taken over by the feds.

Do you really think the government will somehow miraculously do much better than what you can do on your own? Social security is a dismal failure that never should have been implemented. I view this as much the same. It will be filled with fraud, woefully inadequate, and will lead to rationing. We need true market based solutions with the consumer as the driving force (as always should be), not government takeover. This fall's elections is the last stop-gap measure via electing as many conservatives to congress as possible and of course, the executive seat.

[RowCropRenegade]

Since when is there a conservative on the presidential ticket? Looks like liberal versus liberal lite.

This republic be screwed.

[Tall Grass]

Wether from Obummer or Romney this sucks!!!! What else can the Government decide to tax us on now............. SAD SAD SAD day for this republic......

You can afford health Insurance. Start milking us by not having insurance and you pay the tax. Simple!

[BinswOH]

So the individual mandate is considered a "tax" by the SCOTUS, and as a tax this has the anti-tax conservative crowd up in arms. However, think about it - the only people that would be paying this "tax" are people that don't have insurance. Many of those same people without insurance are currently subsidized by everybody else in the form of higher insurance premiums since they typically use (and arguably abuse) services like emergency rooms. Aren't those the "freeloaders" that the conservative crowd often complain about? Wouldn't those same conservatives actually want the "freeloaders" to be forced to pay a "tax" to pay their share in the overall costs of healthcare in this country? Seems to me that it would be liberals that would be against this mandate "tax" since it is only charged to lower income people (assuming that most with the means already have health insurance), and conservatives would be all for it.