The Legality of the Health Care Reform Bill Argued in Court

From the following Reuters article http://bit.ly/dtdMiO

The Thomas More Law Center out of  Michigan had filed a lawsuit on March 23, the day Obama signed the law, and asked the court for an injunction to block it from taking effect.

The argument was based on the following points:

• The group said a provision requiring most Americans to buy health insurance under threat of financial penalty was beyond the scope of Congress' power and was an unconstitutional tax.

The Obama administration compares this to Social Security, all Americans had to pay for SS.  What the government failed to mention is that if you can not pay SS because you have no income, you were not penalized for not contributing to SS.

• The group also said it violated their constitutional rights because federal tax dollars would be used to fund abortions.

This argument is a rather weak one and pulls at the heart string of those that are anti-abortion.  A government policed health plan should cover everything and not be limited.

Surprisingly the Justice Department did not argue this point but rather aimed to stall the argument

• "They bring this suit four years before the provision they challenge takes effect, demonstrate no current injury, and merely speculate whether the law will harm them once it is in force,".

As for the penalty of no health insurance, the Justice Department had this to say

• Congress did not exceed its authority. It said those who did not want to buy insurance may qualify for an exemption from any penalty and that U.S. law prohibits lawsuits aimed at blocking the collection of taxes.

To this I raise the question is this a tax or a penalty.  The exemption from buying insurance is not that simple and you need to meet certain criteria and guidelines to qualify.  Just because the exemption provision is there, it does not mean you would qualify for it.

This will be in the courts for sometime, as more states have sued and i am sure we will not see the end of this until it reaches the Supreme Court.