The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

[LynahFan]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Well, Scalia seems to think there will at least be parts of the law that will be struck down:

"There's no way that this court's decision is not going to distort the Congressional process," Scalia said. "One way or another, Congress is going to have to reconsider this."

Time to break out the scalpels or chainsaws, depending where they draw the line between what stays and what goes.

(oops - forgot link)

[leswp1]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

????
Having just lived in Switzerland for 2+ years, I can assure you that there are lots of people there making a profit in the healthcare business, so I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean. Switzerland basically has a mandate system with minimum specified coverages, but there are loads of private companies who will sell you boutique plans that offer far more benefits at the numerous private hospitals, clinics, and "medical spas" in Switzerland.

It was my understanding that they could not be stand alone plans. I may be misinformed.

[Priceless]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Also, if the US does transition to a single-payor system, where will innovation come from? That would be a huge social cost. I'm not willing to have my children and grand-children do without scientific advancement so a few people can pat themselves on the back by appreciating how clever and progressive they are.

How much did the pharmaceutical industry spend on "innovation" last year?

How much did the pharmaceutical industry spend on advertising last year?

[Craig P.]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Switzerland basically has a mandate system with minimum specified coverages, but there are loads of private companies who will sell you boutique plans that offer far more benefits at the numerous private hospitals, clinics, and "medical spas" in Switzerland.

This is the way that I understand it, and what I was advocating.

I'm not sure it's that different from what ends up being imposed by the current form of PPACA. One thing that I think would tend to help us all is for health insurance to become decoupled from employment.

[FreshFish]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

One thing that I think would tend to help us all is for health insurance to become decoupled from employment.

+ 10

[Plante26]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

How much did the pharmaceutical industry spend on "innovation" last year?

How much did the pharmaceutical industry spend on advertising last year?

R&D: $68 billion in 2010 (source: Reuters)

Advertising: $4.34 billion in 2010 (source: AdAge Insights Whitepaper)

[Foxton]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

R&D: $68 billion in 2010 (source: Reuters)

Advertising: $4.34 billion in 2010 (source: AdAge Insights Whitepaper)

Those look like some good sources, how bout actual links?

[FreshFish]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Scalia got off a great one-liner today!

The Solicitor General was arguing that even if the individual mandate were struck down, there were still lots of provisions in the PPACA that were worth preserving. Scalia replied "you want us to go through all 2,700 pages, paragraph by paragraph? Have you never heard of the 8th Amendment?"









"cruel and unusual punishment"

[bronconick]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Scalia got off a great one-liner today!

The Solicitor General was arguing that even if the individual mandate were struck down, there were still lots of provisions in the PPACA that were worth preserving. Scalia replied "you want us to go through all 2,700 pages, paragraph by paragraph? Have you never heard of the 8th Amendment?"









"cruel and unusual punishment"

That's hilarious. When you're one of 9 people making decisions that last generations for 300 million people, yes Antonin I expect you to do your ****ing job and read it. I managed to read thousand page books to pass college courses, you can manage this, you lazy ****.

If he's got a problem with it, get 4 other justices to issue a concurrent opinion that any bill longer then say, 50 pages is unconstitutional.

[Priceless]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

R&D: $68 billion in 2010 (source: Reuters)

Advertising: $4.34 billion in 2010 (source: AdAge Insights Whitepaper)

Fascinating. Especially because this source has an article titled "Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development."

A new study by two York University researchers estimates the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry’s claim.

The researchers’ estimate is based on the systematic collection of data directly from the industry and doctors during 2004, which shows the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar on promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a percentage of US domestic sales of US$235.4 billion.

That would be $57B on promotion and less than $32B on "innovation."

CAM reported total promotion spending by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry as US$33.5 billion in their 2004 report, while IMS reported US$27.7 billion for the same year. The authors observed, however, important differences in figures according to each promotion category. By selectively using both sets of figures provided by IMS and CAM, in order to determine the most relevant data for each category, and adjusting for methodological differences between the ways IMS and CAM collect data, the authors arrived at US$57.5 billion for the total amount spent on pharmaceutical promotion in 2004. The industry spent approximately US$61,000 in promotion per physician during 2004, according to Gagnon.

[Priceless]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Scalia got off a great one-liner today!

The Solicitor General was arguing that even if the individual mandate were struck down, there were still lots of provisions in the PPACA that were worth preserving. Scalia replied "you want us to go through all 2,700 pages, paragraph by paragraph? Have you never heard of the 8th Amendment?"

No, the Bill of Rights is too long. Is there a Cliff's Notes version?

[WeWantMore]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

That's hilarious. When you're one of 9 people making decisions that last generations for 300 million people, yes Antonin I expect you to do your ****ing job and read it. I managed to read thousand page books to pass college courses, you can manage this, you lazy ****.

If he's got a problem with it, get 4 other justices to issue a concurrent opinion that any bill longer then say, 50 pages is unconstitutional.

Sheesh. Pretty sure he was making a joke. Come on.

In other jokes today, Justice Kagan:

"For some people, we look only at the text. It should be easy for Justice Scalia's clerks"

Ka-boom.

[Foxton]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Ka-boom.

“I don’t care whether it’s easy for my clerks. I care whether it’s easy for me.”

You're a supreme court judge.... You shouldn't even joke about your job being easy. -_-

[WeWantMore]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

You're a supreme court judge.... You shouldn't even joke about your job being easy. -_-

For real? This is our new standard? There were all sorts of "jokes" (by Supreme Court standards) over the past 3 days of arguments, by all sorts of justices. Come on.

For instance, in the argument yesterday, Justice Kagan's question kind of got lost in the shuffle, to which she said:

JUSTICe KAGAN: See what it means to be the junior justice?
(Laughter.)

ZOMG. HOW DARE SHE MAKE SOMEONE LAUGH?

This is seriously ridiculous.

[bronconick]

Re: The Power of the SCOTUS II: "Release the Kagan!"

Given that this law (along with countless others over the years) was passed by morons who don't bother to read them and who receive an 8% approval rating as a result, I'd rather not even have jokes about the last slim line between us and idiocracy in America joining in the derpyness.