The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The most contested portion of the bill which was passed in 2010 under President Obama, is the universal mandate, a requirement that all Americans get health care or face fines.
Acording to a CNN/ORC poll conducted in May, 43% of Americans support the health care bill, while 34% oppose it because it is too liberal, and 13% oppose it because it is not liberal enough.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has been vocal in her opposition to the bill and tells Soledad O'Brien on CNN's "Starting Point" she hopes to see a "full-scale repeal".
"This is absolutely unprecedented because government has never before, on the federal level, forced an American to purchase a product or a service just because that individual breathes," Rep. Bachmann says.
Watch more from Soledad's interview with Rep. Bachmann on CNN's "Starting Point" in the clip below.
Solidads show is terrible
It seems clear that Republicans are interested in one thing: protecting their own wealth and ending the phenomenon of upward mobility with respect to class that has made America great. All signs point to it as they restrict the have-nots from access to the basic needs that could free them up to pursue prosperity.
Cry me a river, Dan. We need the state's to deal with this individually and not the gubberment to come in and force things on us.
Bachmans says that we can cover the uninsured if we deregulate the sale of health insurance. Regulated health insurance companies aren't the reason the uninsured can't buy health health insurance it's because they don't have any money. By her way of thinking if we just allow insurance companies to sell cheap policies poor people will be able to afford it. Well you get what you pay for in the unregulated world and if you buy a cheap policy you're not going to get very much coverage. Health insurance isn't like auto insurance. Drive a cheap car, buy a bare bones auto insurance policy and you can save money and still get from A to B. But a person does' t know how sick they are going to get so they can't know how much insurance to buy. Unlike the kind of car you drive getting sick is not a choice. Buy a cheap policy, get too sick, have uncovered medical expenses go bankrupt. That's what the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is trying to fix. Michelle, are you going to get breast cancer? Better have a plan that will cover a bone marrow transplant if regular treatment doesn't work. But that's not your problem is it? You're a congresswoman. Your insurance is paid for by the government. Mark my words if SCOTUS overturns the ACA, Michelle Bachman won't do a damn thing to cover the uninsured. There's no money in it.
"This is absolutely unprecedented because government has never before, on the federal level, forced an American to purchase a product or a service just because that individual breathes," Rep. Bachmann says.
That may be true, but government, both federal and state, forces us to do many things that we might not do without such a compulsion. And, forbids us from doing stuff that we might do without such government prohibitions.
I don't know how knowledgeable she is with respect to the big healthcare debate, but maybe she should read "The Healing of America: A global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care" by Mr. Reid......
Most civilized country's "force" their citizens to pay, whether it be higher taxes in general, and/or individual mandates.
I could be selfish and say that, personally, I don't care because I'M covered, but, I really think it's almost embarassing that most other developed countries furnish healthcare to their populations and we don't. And, that's in spite of the fact that I really AM a fairly selfish person. I'm willing to contribute anyway.