Given the make-up of the court (which has rendered some completely unprecidented and, in the eyes of many Constitutional scholars, unsupportable rulings, including stopping the vote in 2000 and essentially appointing Bush President, citing the 14th amendment (????), as it also did in the egregious Citizen’s United ruling) it is anyone’s guess what they will rule.

My guess is that, yet again, the Right-wingers on the court will issue an ideologically based ruling against the provision.

Really, all which needs to be done (if anything) to fix the provision is to eliminate the “fine” for not carrying health insurance and replace it with a TAX CODE provision by which those without insurance are denied a CREDIT. Perfectly Constitutional (since the federal government is empowered to levy taxes, as WELL as to regulate interstate commerce and promote the general welfare, making the REST of the legislation Constitutional.)

Same way those without children are denied the creidts given those with children, and those WITH a mortagage or certain educational expenses or charitable giving get credits those without those things are not. The government is not FORCING anyone to have kids or buy a home or go to college or give to charities…. and a similar credit for those with health insurance wouldn’t FORCE anyone to carry insurance.

And it would serve the same purpose as a “fine”; encouraging people to carry health insurance and helping fund coverage for those who can’t afford it.

With more than 50 percent of Americans listing the economy as the “single most important” issue in their vote for president, and just 3 percent picking health care, it’s pretty clear what voters want to hear from the candidates this fall.”

Those who not understand that health insurance/care reform IS an economic and jobs issue are morons.

The high cost of insurance and care (and of millions LACKING access to converage and care) is possibly the LARGEST drag on the American economy.

The U.S. pays more per capita for health care than ANY OTHER nation (and has among the worst outcomes overall). It is also, not coincidentally, the ONLY developed democracy/republic on earth WITHOUT some form of national health care for all citizens.

The for-profit health insurance and health care industries (including “big pharm”, which, after oil, is the largest, most profitable industry in the country) divert trillions of dollars annually AWAY from other sectors of the economy.

Businesses often pay MORE for health insurance for their employees than they do in WAGES, and this not only depresses wages but stifles job creation. And they continue to shift more and more of the cost to employees.

Even those on an employment-based plan often pay MORE for their coverage than they do on HOUSING. That is money (on average over $1,500 a month for a family of 4) which COULD be spent buying other things and stimulating job creation in the manufacturing, service, and other sectors.

Health insurance premiums have risen at many times the rate of inflation for over a decade, as insurers have “cherry-picked” the healthiest customers to enroll, capped coverage, and reported record profits quarter after quarter.

Harvard researchers in 2009 found that 62% of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S. in 2007 were caused by health problems—and 78% of those filers had insurance. MEDICAL BILLS, even among those with insurance (and over 60% of those in the study had PRIVATE insurance, not Medicare or Medicaid) continues to drive millions into poverty and out of their homes.

And those without coverage or the ability to pay out of pocket for needed care daily go without basic, preventive and on-going care continue to drive up the costs of insurance and care, as they show up at ERs with more serious and expensive conditions due to not having had access to regular care and hospitals pass on the costs of providing unpaid care to other patients ($20 aspirins, MRIs that cost much more than they do in Japan or other countries, etc..) and insurers pass on the higher costs to THEIR customers, jacking up premiums.

It is a vicious cycle which could be broken and reversed simply by ensuring that EVERYONE was covered.

The Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (aka “Obamacare”) addresses these problems in numerous ways, such as prohibiting caps on coverage and the denial of those with pre-existing conditions, requiring insurance companies to compete across state line and breaking up regional monopolies, and subsidizing coverage for those otherwise unable to afford private insurance.

It is not IDEAL (the IDEAL, as proven by numerous countries, is SINGLE PAYER NATIONAL HEALTH CARE, aka “Medicare Part E, for everyone”) but it is miles ahead of what we had before. The industries (and their Republican shills in Congress) worked dilligently to water the legislation down as much as possible, after first forcing the single payer option off the table completely.

As a widow who watched her husband of 23 years die at 45 from a genetic condition diagnosed late in life without insurance (he was uninsurable due to his “pre-existing condition” and even after being awarded full disability through SS, had to wait 16 mths for any health coverage, by which time he was dead) I support Obamacare. It came too late for him/us.

But I also feel strongly that the ultimate solution to the health care crisis is the U.S. is a SINGLE PAYER system which covers EVERYONE and allows us (via our government) to buy in bulk and negotiate for the best price.

Whatever the court rules, that is what I will continue fighting for.