Obamacare Toasted

I hope you like your universal health care toasted.  Because that's how the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has prepared it.  Apparently, the court thinks it's unconstitutional for the government to mandate the purchase of health care insurance.

Fox News has the decision here.

If this decision is upheld, Obamacare is (even more) unsustainable.  Early on, President Obama made a deal with insurance companies: you cover those who most need insurance, those with pre-existing conditions, those between jobs, etc, and we'll bring you a new pool of people to buy insurance.  And the insurance companies drool over this pool; the young and healthy, who hardly ever need to use their medical insurance.   That's how it works.

Even before this set back in the courts, the administration had already been wobbling over the "penalties" they were going to charge those who didn't buy into the new health care plan.   It's hard to tell constituents you have to start paying for something you don't want or, being young and indestructible, don't feel you need.  What's more,  in an emergency, no one can be denied treatment just because they don't have insurance.

The administration demonstrated its resolve earlier when another part of the plan, the percentage of insurance revenue that has to go to actual medical care, became a problem.  When McDonald's threatened to drop their insurance coverage because they couldn't find an insurer who could meet the arbitrary standard the administration demanded, a waiver was granted.  Apparently quite a few other companies have followed suit.  I'm not sayin you could wall-paper the Vatican with them, but maybe the White House.

So, it's unpopular, and now also ruled unconstitutional, at least according to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

I have a better plan.  Make it entirely voluntary.  Take a nice chunk of the premiums off the top, and do a national lottery.  Everyone who buys into the system gets not only health care insurance, but a boat load of national lottery tickets.  Have all kinds of prizes.  Things that don't even cost any money, like entry into "Dancing with the Stars," or some other reality show.  You might not need an unconstitutional mandate.

Dan Foley