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March 16 (Bloomberg Law) — The US Supreme Court will soon hear one of its most important cases in years — the challenge to the Obama Administration’s health care reform law. The six-hour arguments — the longest session in decades — will stretch over three days, March 26th to March 28th. The lawyers will address four questions: First, should the Court even decide the cases now? If the law’s requirement that Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty is a kind of tax, then it may be that the whole health care case is premature. Tax laws can’t be challenged until they take effect — in the case of the health care law, delaying a challenge until 2014. Second, can Congress force individuals to buy health insurance — the law’s so-called individual mandate? The challengers say if Congress can force you to buy health insurance, there’s nothing they can’t force you to buy. Third, if the Court strikes down the individual mandate, is the whole law invalid? Not necessarily, the Obama Administration claims. Fourth, under its power to spend money, can Congress require the states to expand the number of people eligible for Medicaid? The nine justices — five appointed by Republican presidents, four by Democrats — will probably decide the cases on March 30th, when they meet in secret to discuss the arguments. Many legal scholars believe the votes of Justices Anthony Kennedy or Antonin Scalia could determine the outcome. The public won’t learn what the decision is until the …

twitter.com twitter.com I’ve been meaning to address the historic passage of the health care bill, but wasn’t feeling fully qualified to break it down, so I got the noted health care expert and standup comic Hari Kondabolu to give his thoughts on Obama’s health care plan, and what he thinks we could have done to fight harder for truly progressive reform. You can see Hari live on Thursday night here in NY, when he headlines at Comix with another great comic, Baron Vaughn.

{Part II} – President Obama’s Critical Health Care Speech CLOSING – 09-09-09 – Obama: ‘No one should go broke because they got sick’ President Obama defended his proposal for government-run public health insurance as an option for consumers, saying it would force private insurers lower costs. But Obama, speaking now to a joint session of Congress, called the provision one alternative for increasing competition for health insurance and signaled his openness to alternatives

On India’s Healthcare Challenge, this week Kiran Mazumdar Shaw meets Analjit Singh, Chairman of Max New York Life India to discuss health insurance in India

The government has suspended for 3 months the implementation of the controversial universal health insurance scheme that was to be rolled out at the beginning of June by the national hospital insurance fund. This means that the new rates that were to be applicable as NHIF contributions from the month of May will not be effected until investigations into the management of affairs at the fund are completed. The decision was arrived at during a meeting bringing together the ministries of medical services and labour, the federation of Kenya Employers and Central Organization of Trade Unions. Meanwhile Medical Services Minister Anyang’ Nyong’o has promised to issue a ministerial statement over the NHIF saga in Parliament next week. Andrew Ochieng has more.

The Indiana Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments on a case from an uninsured college student and police trainee who say they were both charged more than double the price for procedures because they didn’t have insurance.

Sue Lowden’s plan to solve the problem of skyrocketing health care costs? Go back to the barter system! So Doc, I have one box of cereal and one ’95 Ford Taurus with 210000 miles (though trust me, it runs great), how much of my broken leg can I get fixed? For non-chicken related Nevada news visit www.ProgressNowNevada.org

This is the VOA Special English Health Report, from voaspecialenglish.com President Obama has signed legislation to make the biggest changes in the health care system in forty-five years. The president said “Today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America. Many parts of the plan will fully take effect in four years. But some take effect quickly. For example, in six months the new law will bar insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions. Adults with pre-existing conditions will be added in four years. The government will help millions of people pay for insurance. It will also permit millions more to receive free coverage through the Medicaid program for the poor. In all, the plan aims to make health insurance available to thirty-two million people now without it. People will be able to buy private policies through marketplaces called exchanges to be administered by the states. Illegal immigrants will not be able to take part. An estimated eighty-three percent of people under age sixty-five who are in the United States legally now have insurance coverage. The plan is expected to raise that to ninety-five percent within several years. People over sixty-five are covered by the Medicare insurance program which the government created in nineteen sixty-five. For the first time, Americans will …

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http The highest court in the United States is considering the constitutionality of the new health care law. The Supreme Court heard arguments at the end of March over the question of what is called the individual mandate. It is part of the Affordable Care Act, which Congress passed and President Obama signed into law two years ago. The individual mandate requires all Americans to buy health insurance by twenty fourteen or face a fine. Twenty-six states and a group representing small businesses say the law is unconstitutional. If the law takes effect, about thirty million Americans not currently covered will have to join the health insurance system. Supporters say this will reduce health care costs for all Americans. For opponents, the question is whether the federal government has the right to tell people what they can or cannot do. During arguments, Justice Antonin Scalia put the question this way. “What is left,” he asked? “If the government can do this, what else can it not do?” The Obama administration says the law has already helped millions of Americans. It says over two million young people have remained on their parents’ health insurance plans since September twenty ten. Before then, many young people lost health coverage after they left home or reached a certain age. Health care costs are growing at a rate that many experts say cannot be supported. The Council of Economic Advisers …