Maybe it's me but something is really fishy about Roberts supporting ACA

[Time for change]

84. I agree -- I find it very difficult to believe that we would get an honest vote out of Roberts

We should also keep in mind that this health care reform bill is something that the insurance industry was in favor of. They retain control of health care in our country. True, they are faced with certain restrictions, such as having to cover people with pre-existing conditions. But since they get to raise their premiums to cover the money lost on things like that (which they've already done to a large extent), that probably doesn't bother them much.

The purpose of Obama's health care reform bill was to make health insurance/health care more affordable to the American people. I believe it is yet to be seen whether that will happen, given the rate increases by the insurance companies. Yes, many people will benefit from it. But I believe many will suffer from it as well. The number of uninsured Americans today is higher by a few million than the number of uninsured Americans when the bill was passed. It could be said that the reason for this is that some of the most important provisions have not yet gone into effect. Maybe when they do, the insurance companies will raise their rates still higher to make up for that.

With regard to the mandate, it could be said that it is comparable to a tax. If so, it seems to be a very regressive tax. Think about it. Who does the mandate affect? It affects the currently uninsured. Most people who are uninsured are uninsured because they can't afford health insurance. I think it's evident that the bulk of the money paid because of the mandate will come from people at the lower end of the income scale -- not the very bottom (because of the subsidies), but still pretty low. And unlike a tax, it will be going directly to the insurance industry, making them ever more wealthy and powerful. And what will happen to people who can't afford health insurance who are mandated to purchase anyhow, at much higher costs than were previously the case?

In order to avoid these problems, there needed to be a public option for people to buy insurance from the government -- as Obama promised in his 08 campaign. That health insurance would not have been subject to large increases in premiums that characterize the current situation.

Will this bill eventually accomplish its purpose, making health care more affordable. That remains to be seen, but I have grave doubts about it.