# What is your ongoing opinion of the Affordable Care Act? (Title Edited) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 17, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561 "2013-01-17T23:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 185
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3682 "2015-10-24T18:27:20Z")
Actually, a human rights court in Canada ruled that no, it is not right to have the same policy on private care as North Korea. There is no human rights interest served by such a policy. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3683 "2015-10-24T18:31:27Z")
Same as North Korea? Good one! Never say what you can insinuate. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3684 "2015-10-24T18:32:59Z")
North Korea is the only other country that bans private basic care. Well, they’ll be the only country once Canada’s private system gets revved up now that the government can’t shut them down. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3685 "2015-10-24T20:38:23Z")
Which, no doubt, means something very, very important. Which you make a vague, insinuating gesture towards, but don’t actually say. Let’s see, Canada maple syrup, NK, no. Canada, largely European descended white folks, NK entirely Asian. NK has no hockey teams, does not border on the US, has total shit for an economy, has a raving loon for a leader. OK, that last one, but it just changed… ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3686 "2015-10-24T21:13:43Z")
Is there a Godwins Law equivalent for North Korea yet? **adaher** ’s remind me of those people who were screaming about socialised medicine panels around the same time the UK was celebrating the NHS in the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Canada had a democratic choice and it chose it’s own healthcare path, which is an awful lot more than the people of the USA were able to do for decades. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3687 "2015-10-24T22:34:21Z")
Doesn’t matter how democratic you are, you can’t ban people from buying a legal product with their own money. And a court rightfully ruled so. But like I said, the motivation for that is to keep people from getting too much as much as to keep people from getting too little. If you just want to do the latter, you don’t need single payer. ACA works fine for that. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3688 "2015-10-24T23:18:45Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Doesn’t matter how democratic you are, you can’t ban people from buying a legal product with their own money. And a court rightfully ruled so… But you can regulate to the point of banning someone from _selling_ a product that is publicly harmful. I don’t have case law on that, but remain confident it is so. > [@](#): > > …But like I said, the motivation for that is to keep people from getting too much as much as to keep people from getting too little. If you just want to do the latter, you don’t need single payer. ACA works fine for that. Wait, what? Says who? And how much is this “too much”? Do you spend a lot of time fretting about trampling the human rights of rich folks? You needn’t, they have people for that sort of thing. Congress, for example. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3689 "2015-10-24T23:33:26Z")
Human rights apply to all. If someone is willing to sell you basic health care, from a licensed doctor offering legal products and services, then what’s the government interest in stopping that transaction? There is none, unless you’re committed to an ideology that places “social justice” over basic human rights. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3690 "2015-10-25T00:53:04Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Human rights apply to all. If someone is willing to sell you basic health care, from a licensed doctor offering legal products and services, then what’s the government interest in stopping that transaction? That’s the thing, the policies they were selling are no longer legal. So it is entirely consistent with your reasoning. It is not a legal product. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3691 "2015-10-25T01:08:52Z")
And the reason for banning private insurance for basic care? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3692 "2015-10-25T01:59:45Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …There is none, unless you’re committed to an ideology that places “social justice” over basic human rights. Oh, Doper, _please!_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3693 "2015-10-25T02:54:29Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And the reason for banning private insurance for basic care? Obamacare does not ban insurance for basic care. It bans insurance that only pays for catastrophic care, and then only after paying an exorbitant deductible. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3694 "2015-10-25T13:24:50Z")
[ACA opponents are appealing the origination clause case to the Supreme Court.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/supreme-court-health-care?utm_content=buffer06ee5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer) Because of course they are. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3695 "2015-10-25T13:52:08Z")
That case actually has merit, since no one disputes that the bill originated in the Senate. It’s just that the rules haven’t been obeyed for 100 years or so. The price of electing lawyers to Congress: rules are something to be gotten around. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3696 "2015-10-25T14:14:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Gee, you mean that all the working poor without insurance pre-ACA could have gotten Medicaid? You know many of them could have, right? Unfortunately, they just didn’t know that they could. Medicaid enrollment increased in every state since obamacare’s inception, _even those states that chose not to expand_, because they finally did enough outreach to inform people who qualified but weren’t enrolled that they could. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Obamacare does not ban insurance for basic care. It bans insurance that only pays for catastrophic care, and then only after paying an exorbitant deductible. What’s an “exorbitant deductible”? We know that $6000 is A-Okay given that’s what a lot of bronze plans require, so what’s officially considered beyond the pale? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3697 "2015-10-25T14:15:32Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Obamacare does not ban insurance for basic care. It bans insurance that only pays for catastrophic care, and then only after paying an exorbitant deductible. Does it really ban that? It does, of course, require you to have compliant insurance, but could you not also supplement with additional insurance, even if that insurance by itself would not be compliant? ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3698 "2015-10-25T15:29:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That case actually has merit, since no one disputes that the bill originated in the Senate. > > It’s just that the rules haven’t been obeyed for 100 years or so. The price of electing lawyers to Congress: rules are something to be gotten around. No one? That article specifically referenced the full 11 judge appeals court, which said that the bill originated in the House, despite the stripped out language. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3699 "2015-10-25T15:37:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And the reason for banning private insurance for basic care? That basic care is already covered as a basic right in Canada. There is nothing left for private insurance to cover. It isn’t a matter of it being illegal, but of there being no market for it. You know that, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3700 "2015-10-25T15:41:09Z")
Well then we’d better hurry up and ban solar powered flashlights. Actually, there is a market because you get it faster at a private clinic or hospital. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561/3701 "2015-10-25T16:29:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well then we’d better hurry up and ban solar powered flashlights. That makes no sense whatever. > [@](#): > > Actually, there is a market because you get it faster at a private clinic or hospital. The actual Canadians here have repeatedly advised you (one could not call it _informing_, though) that that is not reality. You’ve picked the wrong horse to bet on, and for all the wrong reasons. Repeatedly. What would it take for you to reconsider? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=184) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-opinion-of-the-affordable-care-act-title-edited/647561.md?page=186)