The solution is simple...and even obvious
The Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case was, quite possibly, inevitable. After all, there were two things we knew going it. The first was that the majority of the Supreme Court is old white guys, most of whom are Very Conservative. The second was that this issue is (although it shouldn't be) seen as a collision of religious beliefs.
The history of the world is filled with events caused by the collision of religious beliefs. In some cases, it was/is religion against religion...the 30 Years War, the Anglo-Spanish War (never formally declared but which featured the famous "Spanish Armada), all of The Crusades, and even the current civil wars in the various Middle Eastern countries. Literally millions of people have died over the claim that "My God is the only True God" even when both sides worshipped the same God.
Similarly, but to a lesser degree of human suffering, there have been many famous confrontations when religious beliefs collide with purely secular issues. Religion and Science, even while often not technically disagreeing about things, are frequent pugilists. Galileo Galilei was punished for stating that the Earth revolved around the sun, Michael Servetus, the man who discovered the pulmonary circulation of the blood was sentenced to death by John Calvin, and no less than Thomas Jefferson, who was called an "infidel" by Christians of his day because he used scissors to snip out parts of the Bible that offended his powers of reason.
Although the Constitution and its amendments includes the now-famous Establishment Clause that provides for the separation of church and state, the ultimate conflict cannot be prevented, namely the problem that arises when a law attempts to deal with an issue that some religions believe is theirs. Such is the case with the Hobby Lobby decision.
The ACA (Afordable Care Act) is an attempt to provide medical services for more people. It is not true Universal Care, nor did it ever pretend to be. It is, in the traditional sense of legislation, a creature build upon the art of the possible, preserving the fractured for-profit existing model while attempting to make improvements. Although it has been fraught with problems, the truth is that the early measures demonstrate that within the limits of the law it is working. More people now have medical insurance, health care costs, while still rising, have risen more slowly, the exchanges have provided, for the first time, the ability to easily compare differences in costs and benefits between the various providers, and even the quarterly GDP numbers show that spending on health care as fallen even though millions more now have coverage. This last statistic is telling, for it demonstrates that people who have access to primary care and preventive care no longer need to use the emergency room as their sole provider...the ER being the most expensive form of medicine possible.
So, Hobby Lobby fought against the ACA, claiming that its mandate for contraceptive care was a violation of their religion.
Let's get on thing out of the way first. Hobby Lobby doesn't have Religious Beliefs. It is a soulless business entity, created through incorporation. It exists for only one reason...to limit the liability for the founders should the business fail to flourish. So, although it's largely irrelevant, the beliefs are those of the Green family and NOT Hobby Lobby. That's really important, but not to this discussion. Maybe I'll explain why on another day.
In truth, this is a conflict between those who claim their religion prohibits contraception (and maybe abortion too) and those who see things differently. Clearly it is impossible for the Government to create a law that tells one side what they can do without creating a parallel track that involves telling the other side what they cannot do. So...any law is likely to involve the tacit endorsement of somebody's religious beliefs. In short, it just may be impossible to craft a law, using the current system of health care provision, that will be deemed legal.
This problem has actually existed for some time. Technically the religions that believe that blood transfusions are prohibited by their dogma could have challenged the expectation that the companies they own provide medical insurance for their employees that includes that treatment option. To my knowledge they never have, but that may be simply because the government didn't require the insurance companies to provide the service.
We have, however, seen similar issues arise as the science of medicine makes strides. Should insurance cover joint replacement? Should it cover organ transplants? Should it cover experimental treatments for things like cancer? Should it provide coverage for elective cosmetic surgery? Should it provide for in vitro fertilization? And, ultimately, should it provide for hair restoration and medicines for erectile dysfunction? Each of those represents the science of medicine making progress in learning more about how to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life. Well...except for those last two. They're really just ego-boosting for guys.
In any case, the conundrum posed by the Hobby Lobby case...whose religious beliefs are more important...cannot be solved by the current system. No law, no matter how strictly written, can please both sides. So...is there a solution?
Yup!
The model of employer-provided medical care is broken in so many ways it, like Hobby Lobby Humpty Dumpty can never be fixed...so toss it. There no only is a solution, it is an easy fix that has many side benefits. It's called Single Payer.
Expand the existing Medicare system to simply cover everyone. The results are immediate.
■ - True Universal Coverage - everyone has health care.
■ - Lower costs for everyone
■ - Better medical outcomes due to increased preventive care
■ - Cost stability for companies
Most importantly, at least with regard to Hobby Lobby, the full range of scientifically-proven, medically sound services would become available to everyone without making any individuals violate their (supposedly) honestly held beliefs. If you don't believe in blood transfusions, don't have one. If you don't believe in contraception, don't ask a doctor to prescribe it. If you don't believe in abortion, don't get one.
Whatever you don't believe in is fine, just don't inflict your beliefs upon others.
The history of the world is filled with events caused by the collision of religious beliefs. In some cases, it was/is religion against religion...the 30 Years War, the Anglo-Spanish War (never formally declared but which featured the famous "Spanish Armada), all of The Crusades, and even the current civil wars in the various Middle Eastern countries. Literally millions of people have died over the claim that "My God is the only True God" even when both sides worshipped the same God.
Similarly, but to a lesser degree of human suffering, there have been many famous confrontations when religious beliefs collide with purely secular issues. Religion and Science, even while often not technically disagreeing about things, are frequent pugilists. Galileo Galilei was punished for stating that the Earth revolved around the sun, Michael Servetus, the man who discovered the pulmonary circulation of the blood was sentenced to death by John Calvin, and no less than Thomas Jefferson, who was called an "infidel" by Christians of his day because he used scissors to snip out parts of the Bible that offended his powers of reason.
Although the Constitution and its amendments includes the now-famous Establishment Clause that provides for the separation of church and state, the ultimate conflict cannot be prevented, namely the problem that arises when a law attempts to deal with an issue that some religions believe is theirs. Such is the case with the Hobby Lobby decision.
The ACA (Afordable Care Act) is an attempt to provide medical services for more people. It is not true Universal Care, nor did it ever pretend to be. It is, in the traditional sense of legislation, a creature build upon the art of the possible, preserving the fractured for-profit existing model while attempting to make improvements. Although it has been fraught with problems, the truth is that the early measures demonstrate that within the limits of the law it is working. More people now have medical insurance, health care costs, while still rising, have risen more slowly, the exchanges have provided, for the first time, the ability to easily compare differences in costs and benefits between the various providers, and even the quarterly GDP numbers show that spending on health care as fallen even though millions more now have coverage. This last statistic is telling, for it demonstrates that people who have access to primary care and preventive care no longer need to use the emergency room as their sole provider...the ER being the most expensive form of medicine possible.
So, Hobby Lobby fought against the ACA, claiming that its mandate for contraceptive care was a violation of their religion.
Let's get on thing out of the way first. Hobby Lobby doesn't have Religious Beliefs. It is a soulless business entity, created through incorporation. It exists for only one reason...to limit the liability for the founders should the business fail to flourish. So, although it's largely irrelevant, the beliefs are those of the Green family and NOT Hobby Lobby. That's really important, but not to this discussion. Maybe I'll explain why on another day.
In truth, this is a conflict between those who claim their religion prohibits contraception (and maybe abortion too) and those who see things differently. Clearly it is impossible for the Government to create a law that tells one side what they can do without creating a parallel track that involves telling the other side what they cannot do. So...any law is likely to involve the tacit endorsement of somebody's religious beliefs. In short, it just may be impossible to craft a law, using the current system of health care provision, that will be deemed legal.
This problem has actually existed for some time. Technically the religions that believe that blood transfusions are prohibited by their dogma could have challenged the expectation that the companies they own provide medical insurance for their employees that includes that treatment option. To my knowledge they never have, but that may be simply because the government didn't require the insurance companies to provide the service.
We have, however, seen similar issues arise as the science of medicine makes strides. Should insurance cover joint replacement? Should it cover organ transplants? Should it cover experimental treatments for things like cancer? Should it provide coverage for elective cosmetic surgery? Should it provide for in vitro fertilization? And, ultimately, should it provide for hair restoration and medicines for erectile dysfunction? Each of those represents the science of medicine making progress in learning more about how to alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life. Well...except for those last two. They're really just ego-boosting for guys.
In any case, the conundrum posed by the Hobby Lobby case...whose religious beliefs are more important...cannot be solved by the current system. No law, no matter how strictly written, can please both sides. So...is there a solution?
Yup!
The model of employer-provided medical care is broken in so many ways it, like Hobby Lobby Humpty Dumpty can never be fixed...so toss it. There no only is a solution, it is an easy fix that has many side benefits. It's called Single Payer.
Expand the existing Medicare system to simply cover everyone. The results are immediate.
■ - True Universal Coverage - everyone has health care.
■ - Lower costs for everyone
■ - Better medical outcomes due to increased preventive care
■ - Cost stability for companies
Most importantly, at least with regard to Hobby Lobby, the full range of scientifically-proven, medically sound services would become available to everyone without making any individuals violate their (supposedly) honestly held beliefs. If you don't believe in blood transfusions, don't have one. If you don't believe in contraception, don't ask a doctor to prescribe it. If you don't believe in abortion, don't get one.
Whatever you don't believe in is fine, just don't inflict your beliefs upon others.