This is a sad day for the American people. The Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act.

Why do I say it is a sad day?

Costs  for heathcare and insurance have already risen. More increases are  coming down the pipeline as the full effect of the ACA comes to pass in  2014.

Contrary  to the postion of President Barack Obama that the American people would  not spend more or be taxed by the ACA, the Court ruled that is indeed  what has happened. This means another promise broken and a falsehood by  the President that the individual mandate was not a tax.

The  individual mandate was ruled a tax and therefore, constitutional. This  means that millions in the middle class are now subject to a major tax  increase.

Medicare  premiums are already scheduled to rise in 2013 and 2014. Payments to  providers have already been cut and will continue to be cut. This means  more out-of-pocket costs for Medicare recipients. Providers must begin  in 2014 to pay into a new Medicare fraud fund. Those costs will be  passed on to Medicare recipients.

While  parts of the law are beneficial, such as for pre-existing conditions  coverage, the reality is instead of lowering costs. Cost for coverage  will only increase.

The Court ruling today on the ACA  produced these 4 main points:

*  The Court rules 5-4 to uphold the individual mandate
*  The Court says the requirement to have insurance is a tax, and is constitutional.
*   The Court says on Medicaid that the federal government may not take  Medicaid from states that refuse to take part. (That is a limited  ruling, without striking it down. In the ruling the court offered the  government a way to remedy this potential problem.)
*  The Court  vindicates, affirms Presidential and congressional power in an important  issue like health care, but not under the Commerce Clause, but the  Taxing Clause.

Also telling was this from Chief Justice Roberts:

“The  Federal Government does not have the power to order people to buy  health insurance. Section 5000A would therefore be unconstitutional if  read as a command. The Federal Government does have the power to impose a  tax on those without health insurance. Section 5000A is therefore  constitutional, because it can reasonably be read as a tax,” Roberts  said in his opinion.

Important was what the Chief Justice said in the majority opinion:

The  court “does not express any opinion on the wisdom of the Affordable  Healthcare Act.”  That judgment is up to the people in November.

It was not wise to pass this monstrosity, but under the Taxing Clause, the ACA is constitutional.

One  good point in the ACA ruling was that the Court found that individual  mandate that all Americans must purchase healthcare insurance would be  unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause, thereby limiting the scope  and authority of the federal government to require Americans to purchase  product.

From  the Cornfield, if you, like me, do not want to see your taxes increase  dramatically, it is time to send a message in November that this law is  not wise.

The way to do that is to vote out the current Administration for one  which will repeal the individual mandate tax and work to reform healthcare  in a wise manner and not scattershot as this bill is.

Article source: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-808604