Anybody following the Supreme Court arguments today?

[rug]

[elleng]

1. Yes, a 'few' of us!

[rug]

2. What do you think?

[PoliticAverse]

7. I think there's gonna be a lot of wasted speculation before the end of June... n/t

[Firebrand Gary]

12. I think you are right.

Seems like there is a lot of "little picture" analysis from todays oral arguments.

[elleng]

8. No bets;

foolish to bet on what Supremes will do after an argument. They're discussing the whole thing carefully.

[Hepburn]

3. Yes.

Seems that Kennedy will again be the swing vote. JMHO

[CAPHAVOC]

4. What about Sotomajor?

She seemed skeptical. I thought Breyer, Ginsberg, and Kagan seemed to think it was Ok. I could not understand where Breyer was going with the vaccinations. I was not impressed by any of the Lawyers. There seemed to be a problem with the Government lawyer with trying to explain the limitations.

[rug]

5. I keep wondering what the political climate on health care would be like today if

the Administration had just put its weight behind single payer in the first place. All this effort riding on the predilections of one republican apppointee.

[CAPHAVOC]

6. I know.

Arggghhh! Obama was AWOL.

[elleng]

11. Never has been.

[PoliticAverse]

9. I don't think single payer was ever likely to pass... In question is more

whether a public option (which Obama said a bill 'must include') would have.

[elleng]

10. Single payer would never have happened, imo;

we got the best we could, in the (darned) circumstances.

[rug]

13. I'm not so sure.

A lot of the good components (e.g., eliminating denial based on pre-existing conditions) of this law are likely to have passed as free-standing bills. The question of single-payer would rise or fall on its own. Even if it failed a lot of good health legislation would exist.

Now, the whole edifice is teetering on the opinion of one man.

[Kennah]

14. 219 and 60. We got the best we could get.

[eridani]

15. Looks to me like single payer is only going to happen state by state

Can't see anything happening in red states at all.

[rug]

16. Well that would be a good start.

The mandate started out on a state basis and now look at it.

[eridani]

17. MA is an absolute disaster for actual sick people

50% of bankruptcies are STILL due to health care expenses.

[murphyj87]

18. Whereas....

In Canada, with a single payer system, every Canadian has health care which is vastly better than most Americans stuck with insurance-run health care have, and we have almost all the money that Americans waste on insurance in our wallets. Bankruptcy from medical bills in Canada for citizens and non-citizen permanent residents (who are covered just like citizens after 90 days) is basically non-existant.

[eridani]

19. +1000 n/t