Health Care at Risk

Will the same Supreme Court that gave us Citizens' United and decided the 2000 Presidential election overthrow the Universal Health Care Act? It is beginning to look like it might.

The argument is that citizens cannot be forced to buy a product. But we already are forced to buy car insurance if we drive. Businesses must buy unemployment, disability and workers compensation insurance. Businesses and individuals must pay into social security and medicare insurance.

Don't get me wrong. I was not a big fan of the Health Care Act. I wanted a single-payer system and did not believe that control of our access to health care belonged in the private sector. But after roughly a century of attempting to pass health care legislation, Medicaid, Medicare and the Health Care Act were all this country could achieve. Is it really a good idea to discard it and return to the bad old days when insurance companies could pick and choose who they insured and for how long?

Unless hospitals and emergency rooms actually begin denying care to the uninsured, we will continue to pay for that health care. We will pay through higher health care costs to those who can afford it and higher insurance premiums for everyone who is willing to pay for insurance and can manage to afford it.

Are we willing to stand by as accident victims are left at the curb? As the grievously ill are turned away? As those carrying contagious diseases are left untreated? If the Court decides it is every man, woman and child for themselves, we will be faced with bitter costs indeed - costs that will be assessed on our quality of life and the stability of our social conventions and public institutions and our increased victimization by private insurers and big pharma.

Shoot, maybe the Court will declare Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid unconstitutional too while they are at it.