Supreme Court Is Asked to Rule on Health Care

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/us/justice-dept-asks-supreme-court-for-health-care-ruling.html

September 30, 2011

Dear Editor,

In Liptak’s article he posited that regardless of the importance placed on the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, it is impossible to determine whether the Supreme Court will actually address the issue.  Although preliminary, this discussion should not be bypassed.  With our country in disagreement on whether the Federal government can require people to buy health insurance, the defense of our country's uninsured might rest in the hands of our Supreme Court justices.  Currently, more than 8 in 10 uninsured people are from working families (http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7451.pdf). While I can’t attest to the constitutionality of the individual mandate, I know that our forefathers emphasized a commitment to the "general Welfare” (which has clear health implications) and the "common defence” for US citizens in matters of national security.  Make no mistake, the individual mandate addresses a matter of national security.  Amid the aftermath of an economic recession, a diminishing financial platform for the working class, and escalating healthcare prices, more US citizens will go uninsured and bankrupt due to medical debt.  Furthermore, our public health programs (Medicare and Medicaid) don't cover everyone that requires medical services.  If everyone was required to purchase health insurance or else face a penalty, we could help protect a working-class from a turbulent economy and save tax dollars used on health services for the uninsured. If our country can’t act to protect citizens from having to choose between living without healthcare or financial ruin, then our commitment to our ideals is questionable and we're undermining our own prosperity. If the Supreme Court does not even bother to address the individual mandate in its ruling while Americans that don't qualify (or apply) for Medicaid struggle to shoulder the cost of escalating healthcare prices, we might consider amending the Preamble as follows: "We the People” -> “We the Insured”.    

Sincerely, Zachary Looman