Is U.S. Health Care Reform Unconstitutional?

U.S. President Obama signed the health care reform bill on March 23 in the White House in Washington, D.C. After years of efforts, the Democrats' goal of complete reform has finally been realized.

U.S. President Barack Obama's push for the health care reform bill was passed by the House of Representatives. Although the legislation is complete, Democrats' and Republicans' fight on health care reform has yet to come to an end.

Some Republican state attorneys claim that part of the articles in the health care reform bill are not in line with the U.S. Constitution. If Obama signs the bill, they will file a lawsuit.

Republicans Question the Constitutionality of Health Care Reform

The attorney general in Florida, Republican Bill McCollum, issued a statement saying that "the health care reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty."

McCollum believes the health care reform bill is not in accordance with some articles of the Constitution. It requires every American to buy insurance or they will be fined.

The state attorneys of South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama hold the same view as McCollum. And all of these state attorneys are Republicans.

McCollum said, "If the president signs this bill into law, we will file a lawsuit to protect the rights and interests of American citizens."

On March 22, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs replied, saying that these lawsuits would not be successful. Gibbs said that Obama would sign the health care reform bill on March 23 and the bill would be passed.

The governor of Idaho signed a bill requiring the citizens of that state not to comply with the orders of the health care reform bill if the federal government mandates every citizen to buy insurance.

According to the American Legislative Council, there are about 38 states that announced interest in legislating a similar bill.

Health Care Reform Becomes Political Weight

The U.S. congressional mid-term elections will take place this year in November. At that time, all members of the House of Representatives and one-third of senators will face reelection.

Republicans declared that if they win the majority of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, they will seek to repeal Obama's health care reform.
 
In accordance with what Republicans said, although they were unable to prevent the health care reform bill from being passed, these "setbacks" have become a political advantage for Republicans and they will carry on with health care reform debate throughout the election process.

Some analysts commented that the degree of influence of health care reform on the mid-term election is dependent on the current health situation and the public's reaction.

Democrat Tim Ryan thinks the health care reform bill will benefit retirees and small businesses. "I'm anticipating the election in November. We will have the opportunity to discuss how this medical reform will benefit Americans."

According to the Wall Street Journal's analysis, Democrats think the health care reform bill will contribute to their success in the mid-term elections. Yet, they will downplay the health care reform bill, in favor of highlighting employment and economic policies.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, "for the government, what comes first is the economy and next in line is still the economy."

Capitalizing on Opportunity to Create Positive Change

The health care reform bill will affect the U.S. insurance and health care systems considerably. Given the current health care system, insurance companies are encompassed by vested interests and they are resisting health care reform. 　　

Since Obama was sworn in as president, he has viewed health care reform as an important political issue. Although the health care reform bill generated much debate, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill.

The health care reform bill was passed by the Senate again on March 21 and became law. The insurance companies ended up gaining instead of losing.

The U.S. Morgan Stanley Health Care Payor index rose by 1.9 percent on March 22. The shares of United Health Group rose by 1 percent. The share price of Molena Health Care, whose main business is Medicaid, rose by more than 1 percent.

Reuters felt that some insurance companies were initially worried that health care reform would include terms from the state-owned insurance companies, yet the House of Representatives removed these doubts and, in turn, this became good news (for the insurance companies).

Although health care reform reinforces the supervision of insurance companies, the increase of 32 million people buying insurance will create a huge market for the insurance and health care sectors.

The Standard & Poor's Health Care index rose 0.8 percent on March 22; on New York Stock Exchange, the Arca Pharmaceutical index rose 0.4 percent; Standard & Poor's Heath Care Equipment index rose 1.4 percent.

A Citibank group analyst, Charles Boorady said, "Since the instability of the reform has been removed, we believe that funds will flow back to the health care market."