SCOTUS Upholds Affordable Care Act!

Of course you should, yorkiemom.  It's the smart thing to do, if you can afford it.  As I said earlier, all of the retired people I  know buy insurance on top of the Medicare they receive. 

I stand corrected Life and Athena - in my mind insurance is free market, not because I can buy any Insurance plan that is sold anywhere in the United States, but because I can purchase (if only if it wasn't for that pesky little thing called pre-existing conditions) any plan that is sold in my State.  Though my state does have certain minimum requirements, they certainly do not regulate demand or price.  So, I have viewed insurance as being free market within the boundaries of my state, just as many other items are "free market" within the boundaries of the United States, but not between countries.

I will not, however, argue that my viewpoint is correct . 

Sorry, Athena, I don't know what you mean:  Specifically what was circular reasoning?

No system will ever be perfect, by the way, and the free market is no exception.

I also got 10 out of 10 correct. My DH was shocked! But I told him it was because of the " discussion" here on the forum. He was satisfied then. (definitely wouldn't want to injure his ego, he got 8 out of 10).

Temporary firefighters and sympathizer's had collected 100,000 signatures petitioning my federal agency to get firefighters and their families the option to get federal group health insurance.  In the meantime, while Obama was visiting the front lines in CO, some temporary firefighters bent Obama's ear.  This is simply amazing...for decades, this situation has occurred, where our temporary employees risk their lives for the public without any health coverage.  While injuries on the job would be covered by disability, these guys and gals breath unhealthy amounts of smoke over their tenure.

Obama directs that wildland firefighters be offered health insurance

Wonderful man!

(Rush's listeners must secretly visit the Kaiser web site - who else can get the answers so wrong. :-) )

I really have no clear idea what politically viable options exist right now for dealing with the spiralling healthcare costs and the great numbers of people who are unable to get basic and preventative treatment without sacrificing the rest of their budget (like food and housing). 

I think we can all agree that all children should get access to vaccines and regular physicals.  I think we can all agree that all adults should be able to get the care they need to stay alive if it exists.  I hope that we can agree that families should not be burdened with crippling debt in order to get life saving care.

There is no question that many employers are not insuring many (for example, WalMart, an inarguably large employer, has limited the number of individuals it insures to roughly half).  Many small employers are understandably not insuring.  (I have a great deal more understanding for the small employers here).  Then there is the great numbers of unemployed. 

These problems are real.  I don't think the ACA is ideal.  I would much rather see single payer basic care for all and then the wealthy can buy extra insurance if they want it...a bit like liability car insurance versus comprehensive insurance.  But I don't think anyone has come up with anything better than ACA that has a chance of making it through congress.  So I think we need to give this a real shot and try to make it work.

I don't understand the venom in this discussion. It seems to me that people are angry.  As if the bill's real intent is to steal the american dream away.  Is it not possible that the ACA is precisely what it is portrayed as...a compromise imperfect attempt to move in a humane direction?

According to my calculations it is about 2500 per employee. A small price to pay.

My math was off.  I knew it didn't look right, that's why I asked.  I guess the zeros threw things off. 

I am not at all unsympathetic to the firefighters. 

My point is that it should not have taken an in person plea complete with press coverage to get these firefighters the coverage.  If Obama is making health care and health insurance his signature accomplishment, he should have extended this coverage to these employees years ago. 

Good grief, you would think the Pres had the fires set in Colorado just so he could make a timely visit and the firefighters timed their petition because they knew the Pres was coming??.? Its all one big evil conspiracy. Heaven forbid that our President is not aware 24/7 of every issue, every need, every whatever.



So what if the Pres gets some good press out of doing a good thing. He gets enough vicious press regardless of what he does or doesn't do.

LOL

Thanks, SherryG!

No problem.  The penalty will not be phased in until 2016.  By that time, Americans will have had the full benefits of ACA and there will be no turning back.  When significant numbers start to dodge the law it will come up on the radar (as expected) and there will be laws to change the IRS code in order to collect, spured on by decreasing tax revenue via withholding and outrage at what the freeloaders are doing.  This will be achieved by attaching a rider at midnite on to a bill passed before a major holiday.  This will not cause ACA to collapse.

Dont you know, it's all been calculated out! 

Kam170, did you really mean to say that Obama's handlers specifically planned to keep him away from the temporary firefighters so he wouldn't have to deal with this when you wrote this?  I ask only because that is what your phrasing says.

"This was a growing organic plea that only came on my radar at work several weeks ago in the form of a petition to sign. Nothing was planned in the field for Obama to intersect with temporary firefighters, for this reason, in Colorado Springs."

Talk about being unsympathetic to the wildland firefighters.