We’re going to take them anyway, whether the ACA falls or not.
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I understand that point of view, and have some sympathy for it.
There certainly are plenty of rabid Rs who want to kill ACA. On balance though, I think that R leaders long ago decided that their party would get more mileage out of using ACA as a dog whistle to the base than they get out of repealing it outright. Keep in mind that they have had unprecedented control of all three branches of government and the majority of states for several years now — and ACA still isn’t gone.
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Unfortunately, the guilty party isn’t always the one to suffer the sentence.
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I’m fine with people electing to go without health insurance. But I’m tired of paying for them via higher premiums and taxes.
People who opt out should not be allowed to use ERs without cash in hand.
Good Samaritan laws should not apply to opt-outers.
Ambulances should require payment upfront.
Etc.
Their kids are the hard part of that argument.
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This is very cool.
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I agree with that but that’s a different issue over whether or not this lawsuit gets laid at their door. It’s theirs whether they wanted to repeal it or not.
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I’m having trouble following the judge’s logic.
The Supreme Court held that the penalty for not having coverage was a valid exercise of Congress’s taxing authority. It did not hold that the constitutionality of the ACA itself was dependent on the taxing power. While eliminating the tax penalty my undermine the personal mandate and adversely affect the financial underpinning of the ACA that is a legislative issue, not a legal issue.
“The chief justice [Roberts], in particular, and the majority on the court are suspicious of using the courts as a way of addressing larger questions of social or economic policy,” says Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. “The chief does not want the court to be at the center of high-profile, high-consequence fights.”
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Agree with the late Doctor H.
However as pointed out by Mother Jones the Alpha Hotel Judge withheld this decision for months until after the 2018 election and then released it.
The GOP Granny Killers are stupid but not that stupid, especially after the Bravo Sierra they spewed during the midterms. If “Right Wing” Reed had released it before November 7th the R’s would have lost the Senate as well as the House.
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Well, there’s that, but also the predatory insurance companies that can’t wait to start selling their super low cost insurance that does everything but cover health care expenses beyond a minor injury or ailment.
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That’s because there is none.
The whole premise of his decision, that the tax was eliminated, is patently false.
It’s still there, it was just set at $0.
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He didn’t rule directly on expanding Medicaid, but claims that with the (now-defunct) mandate being unconstitutional, the entire law is invalid because it can’t legally be separated from any other part. One of many legal errors people have pointed out in this ruling.
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I think Obama should go out today and make a major speech hailing the wise judge who overturned the disaster of Obamacare, and returned the choice to the People.
Roughly five minutes after his speech ends, Trump would tweet that we Have to save the ACA, and McConnell would launch legislation in the Senate to protect the ACA from being destroyed by Obamacrats.
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And if/when they do, they can restore the tax (even just to $1) and the entire ACA will magically become Constitutional again, under this judge’s logic.
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Of course you could separate Medicaid expansion from the rest of the ACA. All the judge needs to ask is “Would a stand alone Medicaid expansion be constitutional?” and the answer is obviously, “Of course it is.” This is like saying that if Congress voted in one of next years budget to give money to the Catholic Church (obviously unconstitutional) that the entire budget was null and void, rather than that line item.
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My sons (One’s finishing grad school so his student health plan is ending and the other’s job out of college didn’t include benefits.) are both enrolled in Obamacare insurance plans. They live in blue states and, despite the GOP attempts to sabotage health insurance, they could still sign up for decent coverage for $250-$330 per month. I’m in the same boat as millions of parents who have come to depend on the ACA for their young adult kids who are trying to establish themselves professionally, pay back student loans, and also maintain their health.
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Not to mention the fact that Republicans repealed the mandate, and tried to repeal other parts, while deliberately leaving in the Medicaid expansion. So it’s clearly severable as understood by both sides. The judge actually went much further than the plaintiff AGs, who didn’t want to invalidate the entire law.
The judge is well-known as a nutjob. This is why you don’t appoint totally unqualified people as judges. Trump may have appointed only a handful who are this bad (as opposed to just ideological), but it means plaintiffs can go venue shopping to find the stupid/evil ones.
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Few things make TPM happier than a new pet! Pics!
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Orin Hatch is just despicable. The other day, when asked about Trump being guilty of a felony he responded by wearing Melania’s green jacket and now this:
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This conservative dumb ass federal judge needs to be impeached for this false and lying claim!
Buying insurance for my fucking vehicle is not outlined in the constitution either, but I and forced to BUY it to ride or public roads!
So why can’t the same principles be applied regarding health care! Being a federal judge guarantees his crooked dumb ass with health insurance! But he’s too fucking conservative to see that! FORGET YOU FEDERAL JUDGE! Nearly, 70,000,000 voters just voted against you dumb ass mindset!
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