On Health Care, Justice Will Prevail
By LAURENCE H. TRIBE
Cambridge, Mass.
THE lawsuits challenging the individual mandate in the health care law, including one in which a federal district judge last week called the law unconstitutional, will ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court, and pundits are already making bets on how the justices will vote.
But the predictions of a partisan 5-4 split rest on a misunderstanding of the court and the Constitution. The constitutionality of the health care law is not one of those novel, one-off issues, like the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, that have at times created the impression of Supreme Court justices as political actors rather than legal analysts.
A Terrible Divide
By BOB HERBERT
The Ronald Reagan crowd loved to talk about morning in America. For millions of individuals and families, perhaps the majority, it’s more like twilight — with nighttime coming on fast.
Look out the window. More and more Americans are being left behind in an economy that is being divided ever more starkly between the haves and the have-nots. Not only are millions of people jobless and millions more underemployed, but more and more of the so-called fringe benefits and public services that help make life livable, or even bearable, in a modern society are being put to the torch.
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GOP hedges on health care funds | |
| House Republicans say they’re all on the same page about wanting to choke off funding for President Barack Obama’s health care law, but in their first real spending bill of 2011, it looks like they’re leaving that priority on the cutting room floor. As the GOP writes a continuing resolution to fund the government for the rest of the year, it is likely to leave out language that would shut off funding for new mandates and programs under the health care law, according to Republican aides and lawmakers. http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=02BC27CD-AE83-5D51-167969C3E1902673 |
Obama Administration Calls Out GOP Governors
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is showing political tough love with Republican governors who criticized both the constitutionality and funding of the president's signature health care legislation.
On Monday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called out GOP leaders who were bemoaning the law -- and threatening to ignore its provisions -- while still taking the funds needed for implementation. Adding a bit of intrigue to the matter, Gibbs hinted that the White House would address some of the top Republican critics during an upcoming conference of governors later this month.
Health Law Provision Raises Antitrust Concerns
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON — The new health care law encourages collaboration by doctors and hospitals for cost savings, but a split has developed here as to just how far they can go without running afoul of antitrust laws.
An influential Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission, J. Thomas Rosch, said that without “vigorous antitrust enforcement,” the new alliances of health care providers could reduce competition and increase costs to consumers.
Mr. Rosch set forth his concerns in private letters to the White House and the federal Medicare agency. The letters, obtained by The New York Times, reveal a struggle between the Justice Department and the commission over who should police the market.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/health/policy/09health.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
Lack Of Access Due To Costs Remains A Problem For Some In Massachusetts Despite The State’s Health Reforms
- Cheryl R. Clark1,*,
- Jane Soukup2,
- Usha Govindarajulu3,
- Heather E. Riden4,
- Dora A. Tovar5 and
- Paula A. Johnson6
+Author Affiliations
- *Corresponding author
Abstract
Did the Massachusetts health reforms, which provided near-universal insurance coverage, also address problems of unmet need resulting from the cost of care and of inadequate preventive care for diverse patient groups?
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