After all, the Constitution is where Congress derives all of its authority. It’s not exactly a lengthy document.

Yes, and it served us so well for so long, yet our idiots in Congress now write single bills that are a hundred times longer than the entire Constitution so they can tuck all sorts of crap into them (homosexuals added to hate crimes in a defense bill? ARGHH!). There is something so fundamentally wrong with what our government has become. I’m sickened for my children. Just sickened.

Specifically, the mandate portion requiring all Americans to have health insurance is unconstitutional. The Federal Government does not have this authority, because it is not enumerated in the Constitution. An amendment would have to be passed in ord…

bloviator on October 24, 2009 at 7:58 PM

Make it so.

The public option would effectively be just another insurance plan offered on the open market. It would likely be administered by a private insurance provider, charging premiums and copayments like any other policy.

The only real difference is that it would have the deep pockets and stable of lawyers of the federal government at it’s disposal, so it could engage in “dumping” with no fear of economic repercussions.

It’s pretty hard to go to court with the folks that make the laws.

{+_+}

Enough already.

I don’t buy it.
When you have a couple of providers in a state that have a lock on all the business there is little reason to cut premiums.
A smart insurance provider could make out well by offering a higher risk premium for overweight people etc and attract people from all states.
I believe this because I think the overweight=bad health is mostly a bogus correlation, so if the premium cost was higher but the outlay was comparable to outlays for “normal” weight people you come out ahead.
Being overweight doesn’t mean you have higher blood pressure or higher cholesterol than your skinny neighbor.

People who run, bike, rollerblade, skateboard, hike, ski, etc, are probably using more everyday type medical services than the person who putzes around the house.
I know this is true of my friends who almost obsess with exercise and their diet…strained muscles, shin splints, back aches, abrasions, hip problems, hand problems, etc. things that you wouldn’t even notice or even mention….but they’re having “it” checked out.

Itchee Dryback on October 24, 2009 at 1:29 PM

You are providing anecdotal evidence. Doesn’t match with the actuarial tables insurance companies use to determine rates/risk. Like it or not, overweight, sedentary smokers are viewed by insurance companies as a higher risk than the “healthy/active” ones they may have aches and pains every day because of their activities.

The perceived risk of an individual who is fifty years old, overweight, and a smoker won’t decrease just because that individual can buy insurance anywhere in the country.

And if an insurance company can offer cheap premiums to entice low-risk people from all over the country, they’re that much less likely to continue offering any type of insurance to higher-risk individuals.

Then there is the volume-based bargaining aspect. Insurance companies keep costs down by making agreements with doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers to get lower rates than any individual buyer could ever achieve. Insurers operating from one state may have a difficult time, on their own, bargaining in states where they have relatively small market presence. It is unlikely that an insurer could ever get a doctor or hospital in Massachusetts to agree to the same fee schedule that is acceptable in Idaho. Even Medicare, the largest single “player” in the healthcare market, hasn’t figured out a way to pay the same reimbursement rate to all health care providers across the country.

“If we were to accept the government’s (Pelosi’s) arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.”

Insertions are mine; But, the Supreme Court has precedent on this attitude already. Of course, Pelosi is conveniently ignorant.

Real freaking hilarious, Nan.