Politics & Current Events
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
My solution to the health ins. mandate
what if congress were to amend the bankruptcy code to make medical debt like SL debt.
It isn't dischargable in bankruptcy if you don't have health insurance (if you do have insurance than debt could be discharged)
That's enough to make me buy health insurance
Re: My solution to the health ins. mandate
I do believe that would violate the 14th Amendment. Since "people without insurance" are not a suspect class, it would only have to satisfy a "rational basis review", but I'm not sure it would even do that.
then what are students?
Above Us Only Sky
This question is going to reveal all of my stupidity, but how is a health insurance mandate different from a car insurance mandate?
I'm guessing on a very basic level b/c you aren't mandated to buy a car.
"This ribbon has been reported." - lovesnina
The law regarding nondischargeability of student loans doesn't define a class of borrowers. It defines a class of loan. No one can discharge SLs in BK. So its is not analogous. There aren't some people who can discharge SL and some people who can't. No one can. An analogy would be a law that said, "people who are employed cannot discharge loans in BK, everyone else can." Presumably the purpose of that law would be to encourage people to get a job, but it is not rationally related to purpose because there are a lot of reasons people don't get jobs other than just not wanting to. Some people can't work, some people can't find work, some people are SAHMs, some people are retired....
Same thing with insurance. There are a lot of reasons people don't have insurance the biggest one being an inability to afford it, so a law that says you can't discharge medical bills in BK unless you have insurance (in an attempt to encourage people to purchase insurance) is not "rationally related to a legitimate government interest."
The car insurance mandate is instituted by states individually so does not violate the 10th Amendment. The health insurance mandate is instituted by the feds so does violate the 10th Amendment (admitting there is a debate to this). This is also why Massachusetts insurance mandate does not violate the constitution. Every state in the country could set up its own plan that looked like MA and it would be completely Constitutional. Just as car insurance requirements are.
And you're not stupid. I think most people are completely unaware of this difference.
Does it have to do with the fact that SLs are often government funded, and therefore the government... wants their money? If medical insurance were a government program, you might have a point, but... single payer health care would also eliminate the problems leading to bankruptcy for medical expenses.
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This. Although I'm not sure a national car insurance requirement would be unconstitutional, because it would still only apply to people who choose to own a car. The health insurance mandate requires you to buy something simply because you are alive, rather than because of any choice you've made.
Find me here instead!
No it really doesn't. It has to do with the fact that the laws regarding dischargeability of debt in bankruptcy are not set up on the basis of the status of the borrower. They are set up on the basis of the status of the loan. Think about it. It's the difference between saying:
1. Credit card deb is dischargeable, but student loan debt is not.
and saying
2. Students cannot discharge debt, but garbage men can.
I get it. I had just never considered the constitutionality of that law before.
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