Free Republic

Three days of Supreme Court arguments have left the fate of the 2010 health care reform law uncertain. What is certain, however, is that health care costs are continuing to eat away at consumers' budgets. The cost to cover the typical family of four under an employer plan is expected to top $20,000 on health care this year, up more than 7% from last year, according to early projections by independent actuarial and health care consulting firm Milliman Inc. In 2002, the cost was just $9,235, the firm said. The projected increase marks the fifth year in a row that...

The stated objective of President Obama’s socialized medicine law is to expand access to quality, affordable health care in America - hence the statute’s title, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As far as intended outcomes are concerned, greater access to lower-cost health insurance is certainly a desirable objective. Shrinking the ranks of the uninsured would produce a contraction of America’s welfare state, thus reducing taxpayer obligations associated with dependency. Meanwhile, lowering health care costs would create more disposable income, thereby stimulating the nation’s consumer economy. Clearly, these outcomes will not be achieved by Obamacare, though. Instead, this Orwellian...