[ForGod'sSake]

...I think we ought to rebut by noting that no one is compelled to accept Medicare...

An aside, do you think the passage of Medicare itself was Constitutional, whether voluntary or not? And what effect did it have on the healthcare insurance industry? Is it not pretty much a foregone conclusion that Medicare is a better "deal" for seniors than private insurance programs? And just what is that little Medicare "tax" I used to pay before I retired? Was social security Constitutional or necessarily a good idea since it discourages many people from planning for their own retirements? Which coincidentally takes what would be free market $$$'s and puts them in the hands of the feds.

[Brices Crossroads]

“And just what is that little Medicare “tax” I used to pay before I retired? Was social security Constitutional or necessarily a good idea since it discourages many people from planning for their own retirements? Which coincidentally takes what would be free market $$$’s and puts them in the hands of the feds.”

Medicare drove up the cost of health care. Whenever the Government gets involved in something, costs go up because the government is inefficient.

That said, Seniors should sue to set aside these cuts. They paid into the program expecting to get health care. What will be offered under ObamaCare will not constitute health care. The cuts will be so draconian as to represent a denial altogether. I think they would have standing; They might not win, but it would spotlight what the real agenda is: rationed care for seniors and...yes...death panels.

[nathanbedford]

You're asking me about blue Ray and I am still in the 8-track age. Yes I believe that Medicare is unconstitutional as an improper extension of federal power beyond that provided for in the enumerated powers. I think it is interesting that the court is not necessarily likely to see Obama care as a bridge too far but as a logical extension of Medicare, which they regard, of course, as constitutional. It is an object lesson in how the Constitution has come step-by-step to mean something 180° at variance with its original intent.

I believe that Medicare has had an adverse effect on the cost of health care as borne by private insurers because the system pushes the costs off onto the private sector. Both Social Security and Medicare are Ponzi schemes in the sense that there is no pay as you go and, worse, there were no funds set aside as we went.

I think it is as unconstitutional as Medicare and I'm saving my 8 tracks.