Health Care Reform

Is Health Care Reform Constitutional?

I've gone through Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, and here are the powers granted to Congress, as I understand them:

1. Lay and collect taxes, duties, etc. (They do GREAT with this)
2. Pay the debts of the United States.
3. Provide for the common defense.
4. Borrow money on the credit of the United States. (Another one they are GREAT at)
5. Regulate commerce with foreign nations and between the states.
6. Establish uniform rules for naturalization and bankruptcies throughout the United States.
7. Coin money and regulate its value.
8. Provide for punishment of counterfeiting.
9. Establish Post Offices.
10. Copyright/Patent protection.
11. Declare war.
12. Raise and support armed forces.

I have not listed items dealing with Piracy, Tribunals lesser than the Supreme Court, and the calling forth of the militia because for the most part, they're pretty arcane. If you're interested in learning about those items, look them up.

Nowhere in the above items did I see anything about reforming healthcare, providing healthcare, mandating that every person have healthcare, to tax or not tax certain types of healthcare (forbidden by the way, Article 1, Section 9 see Bill of Attainder), or deciding what should be included or omitted from healthcare plans.

It seems to me that today's Summit is based on a faulty argument. That being that they are actually granted the authority to do it. They're not. Just because people have talked for over a year about: what it will look like, how it will be paid for, who will run it, whether or not it covers abortions, whether or not it will pull the plug on Grandma via Death Panels, whether it's all about tax and spend Liberals or the party of no Conservatives doesn't mean it is Constitutional or allowed.

Are they trying to pass this and hopes no one realizes that it's unconstitutional? Are they completely ignorant to the fact that they aren't allowed to do this? Do they just not care, because we're not smart enough to know what's best for us?

Not that a challenge from little old me is going to impact their thinking, but I'll throw it out there anyway.

If this is truly what we should be doing, then do it in the full light of day. Do it the right way. Propose an Amendment to the Constitution. Make it a Constitutional right and/or guarantee that every American has health insurance and that the Federal Government is on the hook for it. Get that Amendment passed and ratified, and then you can start figuring out how to do it.

OR

If so many people want healthcare, let the states handle it on their own. After all, the 10th Amendment does state that all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This seems to be the easiest, most Constitutional way to get it done, but what do I know?