Atlas Smirked
The law of unintended consequences is a cruel mistress. I wonder what transparently partisan Republican a-hole, Antonin Scalia, is going to have to say if/when the health insurance industry in America collapses and is replaced by a nationalized single payer system?
This is the heart warming scenario as presented at TPM:
Last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments over the constitutionality of “Obamacare” raised a terrifying specter for the health insurance industry: What if a 5-4 conservative majority rules the individual mandate unconstitutional and severs it, while the rest of the law stands?
If that happens, then by 2014 insurers would be forced to sell insurance to all consumers, and not hike premiums based on peoples’ pre-existing medical conditions — but without a requirement that everybody enter the risk pool. That, experts believe, would create an inherently unstable system: Older, sicker people would buy insurance, healthy people wouldn’t, premiums would rise, more healthy people would drop their coverage and so on until the market collapsed altogether.
The worst part about having it declared unconstitutional will be admitting that the teabaggers were right.
Why the hell didn’t Congress put a severability clause in the law? Scalia is on record saying if the mandate goes, the whole law should go.
Which raises the possibility of Obama running a “Groundhog Day” campaign in 2012:: promising health care reform, lower unemployment, and to let the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire.
Hey, it worked in 2008, it might work again in 2012.
That, experts believe, would create an inherently unstable system: Older, sicker people would buy insurance, healthy people wouldn’t, premiums would rise, more healthy people would drop their coverage and so on until the market collapsed altogether.
Well, that’s one solution.
The point is that Republicans have no plan to address health care. Why aren’t reporters asking them about this? If the mandate falls there will be a trigger reaction like the one stated above.
If the SCOTUS goes further and gets rid of the ACA there will be a massive backlash from people with pre-existing conditions and parents/young adults who lose their insurance and the employer-based health insurance participants, because, you know, that rates will shoot up.
No matter what decision the SCOTUS makes, health care/insurance is about to change.
The Republicans DO have a plan to address health care: Throw Grandma into the market via the Ryan plan, which is estimated to push over $6,000 in health care costs per senior per year back onto Grams and Gramps.
Remember, the only freedom that matters to Republicans is the freedom from ever having to pay for anything they don’t like for anyone else that they don’t like. And it does no good to point out to them that if everyone were allowed to pay taxes only on the things they like, our military would disappear.
I have faith that the Ryan plan actually WOULD increase supply and drive down premiums for worthless insurance scams.
I don’t see anything but cause for concern under that scenario. If the Supremes only toss out the mandate, then the insurance companies will put extreme pressure on Congress to modify the legislation precisely because the legislation could severely hurt if not kill the industry. Congress and, yes, even Obama will cave in to the modifications. The results will be higher rates for all, less coverage, and more people w/o insurance. Even w/ the mandate, about 20 million Americans won’t be covered. The irony is is that a .5% income tax increase could have provided universal single-payer health care and would have met a constitutional muster that even a dirtbag like Scalia couldn’t deny. If only the mandate is tossed, it will only take a few short years of legislative modification until we effectively return to the status quo.
“what is Antonin Scalia going to have to say if/when the health insurance industry in America collapses and is replaced by a nationalized single payer system?”
“What do you mean my back-shaving supplies aren’t covered?”
Ya see; Tax money comes from the gummint. They have the printers, and they have the imprinting plates. When the gummint needs more money for things like, oh – health care, welfare, Medicare, they just make the printers run a little overtime and it’s all copacetic again. No biggie, it’s not like the people have to pay for anything, it’s gummint money!
DL gonna light it up blue?
The people have to pay for health care with gummint money because Mitt Rmoney has all the people’s regular money.
What I just can’t understand is why some people want to pay oh so much more for healthcare just so the government’s role remains minor.
Medicare is a big government program, but it is MUCH MUCH cheaper than private care for the elderly.
Isn’t the total cost you have to pay what really counts? and not what fraction that goes through a government program???
If the SCOTUS strikes down the health care law, then Obama should declare a health emergency and open Medicare up to all ages as an emergency measure. That would be throwing the gauntlet down.
Obama gets it wrong:
Of course you can, Mr. President. But you didn’t support any of those ways.
“Older, sicker people would buy insurance, healthy people wouldn’t, premiums would rise, more healthy people would drop their coverage and so on until the market collapsed altogether. ”
In the Health Insurance industry, we underwriters called this a “rate spiral”. We used the term to scare the living bejezus out of management. When you raise prices too much, a portion of the heathier insureds either decide to leave the plan in favor of a rival insurer’s plan or are no longer able to afford any insurance. Come next renewal period, you need to increase prices even more (because there are less low-claim insureds to cover the high-claimants), and even more people are forced to leave the plan (perhaps not only the healthiest).
Eventually, you only have the sickest left in the plan. Insurance doesn’t work when it only covers known costs (people who are sick) only unknown risks (people who might become sick). As my boss use to say “you can’t insure a burning building”. Well, guess what.
THE HOUSE, THE HOUSE, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE
WE DON’T GIVE A MOTHERF***ER, LET THE MOTHER BURN!!!!!!!!!