Speakeasy forum: Affordable Care Act UPHELD by Supreme Court

The mandate was upheld, but as a TAX, and tossed out as part of Commerce. That means that every person who files a tax return, even if they owe no taxes and gets a refund, including EIC types, will have that tax taken from their refunds.....that isn't going to be enough to pay for Obamacare and once people realize that that's how it will be even partially paid for, that 49% of the population who already pays nothing in taxes will NOT be happy campers because they count on those refunds. That will also cause the economy to stagnate because it's that much less that will going into it. Can you say 'voters'?

The other thing that that WAS allowed by the Court is that the States now won't have to implement Obamacare....they had the threat of having the Feds cut off their Medicaid if they didn't do as the Feds said about setting up exchanges, and that threat is gone. That means that the millions of people that Obamacare was 'supposed' to have covered via Medicaid STILL won't have insurance because the States can now ALL opt out and still cover the people they already have on the books and NOT cover the additional people.

This is NOT what BO wanted to have happen.....and he'll be spinning this every which way but loose when he comes on tv later to claim a victory because the decision really takes the legs out from under the Act. You already have 27 States that have refused via the lawsuits to comply, NJ Governor Christy vetoed implementing it without a lawsuit. That's alot of States already that have told Obamacare to stick it....won't be long before the rest follow suit without having to file lawsuits.

BO's taxation will NOT be popular with the vote around the corner because he kept telling people it was NOT a tax, when in fact it is (many of us kept telling you that but did you listen?) and now the people find out he lied about THAT too. Good luck............this has now turned into a HUGE campaign issue. BO trying to explain how he didn't lie to his base trying to explain how the program will be paid for now that millions won't be covered and Romney letting them all know how he DID lie and screwed the country without benefit of Vaseline

Josh????.

However, I would say that one of the main themes of this years election campaigning would have been Obama Care, whether it hat been gutted by the SCOTUs, or not.

1. The only people who will have something withheld from their refunds are those who do not get insurance. If you have insurance, you won't see any change to your refund or tax owed.

2. The ruling does NOT say states do not have to implement the plan. The only thing that was struck down was a Medicaid requirement.

You are right though, that the Republicans will get some mileage out of the "it's a tax" part of the ruling.

.....if they don't have the insurance they're supposed to have, they aren't law-abiding. And the purpose of the law isn't to collect revenues from the uninsured.

Like I said before, the Republicans will get some mileage out of the "it's a tax" part of the ruling, but at the end of the day, the law they vowed to have struck down was upheld.

Are they paying for them, or are they what you sometimes refer to as "entitlements"?

it will be cheaper for the employer with more than 50 employees to pay the penalty tax than it will be to keep the coverage they have now.

I guess if a Republican owns the business they could do that and say "Hey Obama made me do it".

I take it then that the employer was providing healthcare out of the goodness of their heart IF they can refuse to keep it.

WHY have healthcare coverage in the first place, if they didn't want to provide it, unless it was in a contract...then they don't have any choice.

North of the border my healthcare insurance covers items NOT covered by medicare...Why wouldn't the same thing work there...reduce the premiums and cover items that won't be covered by medicare and put the difference towards medicare.

You still end up paying the same amount...some to your insurance plan and some to Medicare.

If the rules weren't followed, they were punished with higher taxes. The classic example was those who would not accept the king's chosen religious practice. They could remain in the kingdom at a cost. Who'd a thunk that practice was still around?

that probably predates the religious aspects. It was, as I understand, a common form of showing acceptance and tolerance for people who'd otherwise not be easy to control. Muslims were known to impose taxes on able bodied non-Muslims and Christians did the same to Muslims. In exchange, some lesser form of citizenship was permitted which allowed choice of religious practice. Paying a tax could also buy an exemption from military service. One had to make some contribution to greater good of the nation in one way or another and the tax was an option. One had to either show complete obedience and loyalty to the ruler or demonstrate ones acceptance of subjugation. Doesn't sound to me like freedom or something I'd want to live under.

even in America, along with other people called citizens.

was it because they were pale and using tanning booths?

If so, and if the voting was 4 for and 4 against, then he would have the deciding vote.

Or, 4 liberal votes against 4 conservative votes and since he is a conservative, his vote was crucial.

Mark

... of Roberts being an "activist judge"?

Will he get a pass in the brewing conservative storm?

now that the threat of losing all previous Medicaid and other funds has been taken away from the Feds. They can keep the same people on their Medicaid roles that are on it now and not expand the Medicaid program to include thousands more per state based on the new lower eligibilty requirements. The only question still remaining, which many states are checking on now, is do the States have to set up the exchanges and put those new people into that because part of the Obamacare rules is that if the State doesn't do it, the HHS (Sebilia) will come in, set it up, and charge the state for that cost. Some States right now believe they don't have to do that either and can deny HHS from doing it, other States aren't sure, and some other States had already started the procedure of setting it up when the law was passed two years ago.

Limbaugh: I'll Leave US If Health Care Reform Passes