The Fate of President Obama's Healthcare Reform Act Now Rests in the Hands of the Supreme Court

On Friday, the 11th US Court of Appeals in Atlanta, GA concluded that the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform act passed by President Obama, was unconstitutional.  By a 2 to 1 margin, the Court ruled that the healthcare plan went to far with its "individual mandate," and that it was unconstitutional to force Americans to buy health insurance or else face a financial penalty.  It is not known exactly when the Supreme Court will preside over the appeal, but it could come after the 2012 presidential election.

Saving Money Through Personal Preventive Healthcare

An interesting study on the Affordable Care Act that shows that even by extending health insurance to 30 million more Americans, health costs in the next ten years will only rise by about one-tenth of a percentage point more than without the Act.  While this is certainly an encouraging statistic, the article does not explain exactly who will be paying for the costs.  As it remains to be seen exactly what will happen with the new healthcare laws, and if Barack Obama's legislation will be effective, it stands clear that the best way to cut down on healthcare costs is preventive care.  If we take care of our minds and bodies by regularly exercising, living a healthy lifestyle, and visiting the doctor, we will avoid costly emergency treatment.  If we adopted this mindset as an entire society, healthcare costs would drop precipitously.