1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Can the Fed regulate health care?

Discussion in 'News & Current Events' started by Revmitchell, Oct 29, 2009.

  1. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Obviously, direct control of medical practice in the states is beyond the power of the federal government. Incidental regulation of such practice by Congress through a taxing act cannot extend to matters plainly inappropriate and unnecessary to reasonable enforcement of a revenue measure. The enactment under consideration levies a tax, upheld by this court, upon every person who imports, manufactures, produces, compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses or gives away opium or coca leaves or derivatives therefrom, and may regulate medical practice in the states only so far as reasonably appropriate for or merely incidental to its enforcement. It says nothing of 'addicts' and does not undertake to prescribe methods for their medical treatment. They are diseased and proper subjects for such treatment, and we cannot possibly conclude that a physician acted improperly or unwisely or for other than medical purposes solely because he has dispensed to one of them in the ordinary course and in good faith, four small tablets of morphine or cocaine for relief of conditions incident to addiction. What constitutes bona fide medical practice must be determined upon consideration of evidence and attending circumstances. Mere pretense of such practice, of course, cannot legalize forbidden sales, or otherwise nullify valid provisions of the statute, or defeat such regulations as may be fairly appropriate to its enforcement within the proper limitations of a revenue measure.

    United States v. Jin Fuey Moy, supra, points out that the Narcotic Law can be upheld only as a revenue measure. It must be interpreted and applied accordingly. Further, grave constitutional doubts concerning section 8 cannot be avoided unless limited to persons who are required to register by section 1. Mere possession of the drug creates no presumption of guilt as against any other person. [268 U.S. 5, 19] In United States v. Doremus, 249 U.S. 86, 93, 95 S., 39 S. Ct. 214, a registered physician was accused of unlawfully selling, giving away and distributing 500 one-sixth grain tablets of heroin without official written order. Another count charged selling, dispensing and distributing 500 such tablets not in the course of regular professional practice. The trial court held section 2 invalid because it invaded the police power of the state. This court declared:

    'Of course Congress may not in the exercise of federal power exert authority wholly reserved to the states. ... If the legislation enacted has some reasonable relation to the exercise of the taxing authority conferred by the Constitution, it cannot be invalidated because of the supposed motives which induced it. ... We cannot agree with the contention that the provisions of section 2, controlling the disposition of these drugs in the ways described, can have nothing to do with facilitating the collection of the revenue, as we should be obliged to do if we were to declare this act beyond the power of Congress acting under its constitutional authority to impose excise taxes.'


    Source
     
  2. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2001
    Messages:
    21,321
    Likes Received:
    0
    Can the Fed regulate health care?

    There already numerous laws that regulate healthcare. The question isn't whether they can or not, the question is whether there need to be any more regulations, or whether we should fix the existing regulations where they are broken.
     
  3. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist


    Sure it is.
     
  4. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2001
    Messages:
    21,321
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yes, they can regulate healthcare. It's a form of commerce, and the federal government has the power to regualte commerce.
     
  5. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist

    In the SC decision listed above they cannot and it is left to the states. Commerce like the welfare clause is abused to be a catch all for whatever whim comes along.
     
  6. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2001
    Messages:
    21,321
    Likes Received:
    0
    The 1916 SCOTUS decision (US v. Jin Fuey Moy) was in effect overturned by the 1919 SCOTUS decision (US v. Doremus), wherein the Court found that the constitutional powers of the federal government are not exceeded by regulation of the medical industry. That decision was affirmed by SCOTUS in 1922 (US v. Behreman).
     
  7. Trotter

    Trotter <img src =/6412.jpg>

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Messages:
    4,818
    Likes Received:
    1
    Faith:
    Baptist
    If they want to actually do something to help the people of the US they need to get a handle on healthcare costs. There's already plenty of regulations about healthcare itself but there's nothing to stop providers from gouging us to death with their fees.

    My dad's hospital bill alone was over $1.2 million, and that does not include doctors, specialists, test, etc. It's no wonder no one can afford insurance... the amount left after insurance pays is still enough to bankrupt you.
     
  8. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2006
    Messages:
    52,013
    Likes Received:
    3,649
    Faith:
    Baptist
    So you say with no content or link source.
     
  9. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2001
    Messages:
    21,321
    Likes Received:
    0
    U.S. v Doremus is 249 U.S. 86 (1919).
    U.S. v. Behreman is 258 US 280 (1922).
     
    #9 Johnv, Oct 29, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 29, 2009
Loading...