Health Care Reform ruled "Unconstitutional"

This is sure to go all the way to the Supreme Court, so neither opponents or proponents should get too excited, but a Federal Judge has ruled the Health Care Reform Bill unconstitutional. The reason? The individual mandate which would require all Americans to buy Health Insurance.

“Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications.,” he wrote in his ruling...

The suit was filed by the state of Florida shortly after the reform law was signed in March. But since then, 25 additional states and the National Federation of Independent Business joined the case, making it the most high-profile and politically charged lawsuit against health reform.

The individual mandate was always the weakest part of Health Care Reform. Liberal legislators wanted it to avoid "free rides" or people not having health care due to their own actions. But the Constitution has always been harshest in its restrictions on the extension of Federal power over individuals. This is a good call.

That being said, I don't think it will be hard to come up with an amendment to the original bill which does pass Constitutional muster.

Curing obesity... doesn't reduce health care costs

A cornerstone of the new Health Care Reform law (and virtually all Health Care reform proposals) is the assumption that ending bad behavior will reduce overall costs for everyone. It seems intuitive - if treating obesity-triggered diseases is expensive, eliminate obesity. But a new study suggests this is not the case as a longer lifespan offsets any short-term savings.

Of course, we should all be trying to be the best version of ourselves, so no one should take this as an excuse to stop exercising and gorge themselves on sweets. But it is a reminder that we should temper our zeal for policy-making with a humility that admits there will always be unexpected consequences that we can not predict.

CT Health Care Reform Backlash

Do you remember when President Obama promised that his Health Care Reform plan would bring down the costs of health care for all Americans? Those of us in Connecticut are wondering how he will explain the latest move by insurers who now want the ability to raise rates by over 20% in 2011.

Aetna asked earlier this summer for an average 24.7 percent increase over last year for small-group HMO plans. State regulators approved an average increase of 18 percent for all of Aetna's small-group plans and 14.2 percent for large-group and middle-market plans, according to Aetna and an initial review of documents provided to The Courant by the state Insurance Department...

In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent...

ConnectiCare is seeking an average 22.2 percent hike for its individual-market HMO plans, according to a filing with state regulators...Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, by far the largest insurer of Connecticut residents, said in a letter that it expects the federal health reform law to increase rates by as much as 22.9 percent for just a single provision — removing annual spending caps...

Somehow, I suspect suddenly health care will return to be a #1 issue in the Fall elections... at least in my home state.

A Humble Proposal

The People are speaking loud and clear. Less than 10% of voters believe Congress is doing a good job. President Obama's positives appear to be in free-fall, but Republicans get as poor ratings as Democrats. Politicians grumble that American is "ungovernable", but the truth is that it it the governing who can't see past their own agendas.

Let me humbly propose a change in course. Stop the mammoth do-it-all bills, where pork is the norm rather than the exception, and take a page from the Republican Revolution of 2004. Put down the ideas you want to pass in single-issue bills, debate them and have an up-and-down vote. For instance, on Health Care, give us mini-bills for:

• A ban on denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
• A ban on dropping insurance for individuals undergoing treatment for an illness, unless they have hit their stated policy maximums.
• Opening up sales of insurance across state lines (but without removing the power of state laws and regulations).
• A public option - whether medicare-for-all or a state-sponsored private plan, let's have the debate on this specifically.
• Extension of COBRA - it is due to expire soon for those laid off at the start of the Great Recession without any bridge to the new system.
• Ability of individuals or states to challenge egregious premium increases before an arbitrator.
• A cap on malpractice settlement payouts to limit the potential costs of honest mistakes.

Let any Republican try to stand against the more obvious cases here. Let any Democrat try to defend a public option without all of the other "hard cases" around it. Let's have a real debate, pass some real bills, and show the American people that Congress is about more than grandstanding and stalling for time.

President Obama doubles-down on Health Care Reform

Congress put forth two unpopular Health Care Reform plans - one by the House and one from the Senate. Both were pushed with considerable urgency by the White House. And these plans and the sense of reckless pace of passage was extremely unpopular with voters, and lead to the lowest ratings in recorded history of Congress. And, of course, the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. So, what do you do if you are President Obama? Apparently, more of the same stuff that ruined Democratic chances for 2010.

President Barack Obama is putting forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriated consumers....
It conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals.

They say "insanity" is defined as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.". I realize the president is trying to pass something before his Democratic majority is either reduced, or eliminated altogether in the 2010 elections. But one has to wonder if this would be easier to sell if the various measures were passed separately and the overall scope reduced.

Some allusions are inevitable

Republican Scott Brown wins Mass. Senate Seat

It seems like so much of the politics surrounding Barack Obama is driven inexorably by history, defying expectations and stereotypes. His own rise to power dumbfounded critics - a relatively obscure junior Senator became president over a Hillary Clinton (the assumed nominee from the day she announced). Now, the Obama agenda is threatened by another wave of history as Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to win the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. This seat has been held by a Democrat for for decades, and Massachusetts has not sent any Republican to the Senate since 1972 - two year before I was born.

Brown's victory was so sweeping, he even won in the Cape Cod community where Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime liberal icon, died of brain cancer last August.
"While the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person, no one political party," Brown told his supporters Tuesday night. "This is the people's seat," he added to chants of "People's seat!"
Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the health care bill. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.

COBRA - Not enough for some?

COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) is a government program which allows downsized employees to purchase insurance thru their former employer for up to 18 months. The Obama administration put into the bailout bill a subsidy of 65% of the premium, as well, to help out unemployed Americans who need insurance. This particular program has been of GREAT help to those in my family during tough times - so much so that at one point I suggested a compromise health care reform step might be to change COBRA to have no set end point for the unemployed.

But now, many unemployed Americans are saying it is no help to them at all - even with the subsidies.

Cynthia Parras decided not to enroll in Cobra after she was laid off from her job as a financial-services product manager in San Francisco in February, because she felt she couldn't afford it. Over the summer, she was diagnosed with shingles. The infection moved to her eyes, and doctors told her she could lose her sight without treatment. She paid about $2,500 out of pocket. To help compensate, she skipped her mortgage payment last month, and signed up for a state insurance plan for welfare recipients.

"This is scary and degrading," she says. "I never have been without insurance, and never in a million years thought this would happen to me."

Stories like these remind us that no government program can solve all of the ills of the health care system, because some of those ills are part of the human condition. We should be careful with the final health reform bill, and humble in not trying to overreach.

I am proud to have voted for Joe Lieberman in the last election

From here. Sometimes "No" is the most powerful and patriotic word in the English language.

No Work Without Proof of Health Insurance?

I am a Conservative willing to talk about Health Care Reform. I think that the current system is broken and needs to be fixed. But Democrats are making no friends with truly extremist approaches to the issue which cater to the worst accusations of their opponents.

She said she could envision a day when "you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination," but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress.

Sigh. I know Senator Clinton wants to "own" this issue, but she would do well to consider the views of the Middle on this. Statements like this are certain to haunt her in the General Election.