Health Care and the Constitution

The Affordable Care Act — health care reform or “Obamacare” — became law in March 2010, although many of its provisions won’t go into effect 2014. Since its passage, opponents of the law have vowed to repeal or undo it, somehow, before full implementation kicks in. One way to do that is to have the law declared unconstitutional by courts. Last week, however, a federal appellate court ruled that the law is constitutional.

What happens to the health care act will have an impact on the lives of all Americans, directly or indirectly, including those with mesothelioma.  When the law goes into effect, insurance companies will no longer be able to turn away applicants with pre-existing conditions. More than 30 million Americans who don’t have health insurance now ought to be able to obtain insurance. The act also contains provisions designed to keep Medicare solvent further into the future.

Yet opposition to the act remains strong. Several state attorneys general and some activist organizations have filed suits challenging the law’s constitutionality. So far, three federal district courts have found the law to be constitutional, and two have found it is not.

These decisions have been appealed, and last week the first appeal was decided. The Sixth Circuit federal court of appeals ruled that the law is constitutional. That won’t end the argument, of course, and everyone expects the issue to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court eventually.

The law’s opponents hang most of their arguments on the “individual mandate” part of the law. Under this provision, beginning in 2014 most Americans will be required to obtain medical insurance. Those who don’t get health care benefits through their jobs will have to purchase insurance on their own.

Several other provisions in the law are designed to make purchasing individual insurance more affordable. Also, more people will be able to qualify for Medicaid and other assistance programs. The penalty for not purchasing insurance is minor. Still, some people are angry that the law will make them buy insurance, whether they choose to or not, and they say Congress doesn’t have the authority under the Constitution to tell people what to buy.

The Affordable Care Act says its power to enact the individual mandate comes from the commerce clause. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

Opponents of the law say the commerce clause doesn’t apply, because the federal government telling people what to buy is not “commerce among the several states.” Further, they argue, penalizing people for not purchasing something amounts to regulating inactivity. Next, they say, the federal government will tell everyone to buy broccoli because it’s good for us.

But the Sixth Circuit court of appeals said that the individual mandate does not exceed congressional authority under the commerce clause. Individual decisions to purchase or not purchase insurance affect the cost of premiums for everyone. Further, when uninsured people do receive medical treatment, usually their treatment is paid by taxpayers or by padding the bills of people who do have insurance. So, individual decisions to not purchase insurance actually has a major impact on the health care market across the nation.

If we are going to require health insurance companies to insure people with pre-existing conditions, something like the individual mandate is necessary. Otherwise, people would simply not buy insurance until they started to get big medical bills, which would drive most insurance companies out of business.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Health Care

Recently I attended a seminar sponsored by our health insurance provider. The seminar presented statistical data to demonstrate that our American lifestyle is the principal reason for poor health and high health care costs. The speaker, Steven Aldana, pointed out that “there is a huge gap between what is known scientifically about eating healthy and exercising and what citizens of the United States and other westernized countries actually do.” Obviously, the rising cost of health care is leading insurance underwriters to provide health education initiatives that will help control costs. I remembered my doctor telling me, “You should take off five pounds” at my last physical. I admit that is on my “to do” list.

Statistical data collated by the Center for Disease Control indicate how obesity has become an American epidemic in recent years. To see the CDC’s dramatic presentation of data from 1985 to 2009 just click here. Check out some of the analysis provided while you are there as well.

Poor nutrition and lack of exercise are known to shorten lifespan and lower the quality of our lives. Substance abuse, lack of exercise and obesity constitute today’s major causes of disease, shortened lives and high health care costs.

Since we care about our employees, last year we initiated a “Working on Wellness” program here at St. Anthony Messenger. We call it our WOW program. Our program was named by an employee whose entry won our office contest. Our WOW program offers services and activities within our budget.

In 2011 our WOW program already offered “biometric screening” and other opportunities for employees to take advantage of programs they consider beneficial for their personal health. Exercise programs, education about better nutrtion and smoking cessation are some of the offereings chosen.

“Healthful foods” are offered after employee meetings, snacks dubbed “WOW food,” are available in the lunchroom right next to the vending machines–for a price, of course. We hope that more exercise routines will be part of employee routines. Group support is crucial, so employees are encouraged to join together in their excercise activities. I believe our WOW program has been well received so far. Our WOW committee seems motivated and together we implemented some good ideas.

All these experiences remind me of Catholic teaching that we have a moral obligation to care for our personal health in relation to the fifth commandment. Little was usually said about good nutrition and temperance years ago. However, today’s Catechism of the Catholic Church #2288 summarizes the traditional principle for taking care of our health this way: “Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.”

The Catechism also points out that governments are required to promote the common good of their citizens by things like health care, education, housing, employment and social assistance. In a subsequent paragraph (#2290) the Catechism states that: “The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess—the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco or medicine.” There is no magic solution to our current health concerns, but we do need the will to change so that we can develop good habits with the help of God.

Clearly, taking care of our health is part of our duty as Christians. Yet, I wonder how clearly that teaching has penetrated the consciences of today’s Catholics. The statistics from the Center for Disease Control indicate that we Catholics need to do a better job in emphasizing our duty to take responsibility for our health.

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Dan Kroger, O.F.M., is a native of Cincinnati, joined the Franciscans in 1967 and was ordained in 1973. He taught high school and served in rural parishes in the Philippines. Dan earned a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics at Notre Dame. He also taught at De La Salle University, Manila, until he was assigned to his present post as publisher/ceo at St. Anthony Messenger Press in 2006. blog comments powered by

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