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Health care up for debate by Supreme Court
By Jacob Tierney
On April 7, 2012
Health care is a mess. And not just the current state of getting decent health care in America,
although that's true, too. No, what's worse than the current health care problems are the
attempts to fix them.
2010's debate over the new health care bill was nothing short of a debacle. And while the new
bill provided some promising solutions to current problems, it was so mired in compromise and
convoluted legalese that many of its most-touted improvements were neutered.
The debate is still not over. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments about why the
health care law might be unconstitutional.
There is a part of the new bill that states every American must buy health care, whether they
want to or not. Those who can't afford it will be provided for. Republicans (and others) argue
that telling people that they must buy something violates their constitutional rights. Democrats
(and others) argue that if everyone buys health care it will drive prices down for everybody.
If healthy people are allowed to drop out of buying the insurance it will cause premiums to
skyrocket.
I don't know enough about this aspect of the law to know the right position on this issue. It
does seem odd that so few people question the requirement for mandatory car insurance.
Everyone with a vehicle in New York, and most other states, is required to insure it, and most
do so without much fuss. There are certainly no large movements to declare such requirements
unconstitutional. Why is mandatory health insurance considered a violation of our rights but not
mandatory car insurance?
Most concerning, however, is the possibility that if the mandatory health insurance requirement
is struck down, the rest of the bill will be eliminated. The Supreme Court heard arguments about
whether or not striking down one part of the bill invalidates the rest of it.
I can understand if you're concerned about the mandatory purchase requirement. I'm not 100
percent comfortable with it myself, nor am I convinced when people tell me that healthcare is a
fundamental right, equal with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But there are a LOT of other provisions in this whopping 2,700-page bill, many of which are
unquestionably good ideas. Some of these are related directly to students. The bill includes
much-needed improvements to student loan and financial aid laws. It prohibits health insurance
companies from turning potential customers away because of preexisting health conditions, and
it allows students to stay on their parents' health plan until they are 26. Taken individually, these
are all good ideas.
The health care circus has gone on long enough. As a whole, the reform bill is a mess. But
there is nothing in it that strikes me as violating anyone's fundamental rights, and there are
individual elements within the bill that are worth fighting to save. Hopefully the Supreme Court
will realize this and end the squabbling before it can do any more harm.
Jacob Tierney can be reached by email at tierney.record@live.com.
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