We don't have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don't have insurance".
The two supreme court justices thought likely to cast the deciding votes, Anthony Kennedy and the chief justice, John Roberts, appeared deeply sceptical of the government's contention that healthcare regulation is a special case that gives Congress the power to oblige individuals to obtain insurance.
If the Conservatives' latest policy of a cut in national insurance was meant to give him a debating advantage against Vince Cable and Alistair Darling, the plan backfired in spectacular fashion.
The legal argument focused on the challenge to core of the legislation – its requirement that almost all Americans buy health insurance.
George Osborne's proposed "cuts" in national insurance contributions will cost about £5.6bn, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
A generation ago, Warren says, basics (housing costs, health insurance, transportation, education, and taxes) accounted for fifty-four per cent of the average family's income.
Their political support no longer depends on analogizing them to private insurance.
Against this, the three options set out for debate would leave an individual paying an average £20,000-£22,500 under a basic partnership scheme, though some would pay far more; £20,000-£25,000 under a voluntary insurance scheme, though the uninsured might pay much more; and £17,000-£20,000 under a compulsory comprehensive scheme.
She said McDonald's offered health insurance, but it would cost $400 a month for her alone –about half her monthly salary.
"The longer a motorist protects their NCD and doesn't make a claim, the less cost-effective it becomes," says Kevin Pratt, insurance expert at Moneysupermarket.
The kind of knock that would mean very little nowadays, aged just 25, he never played professionally again, and though Newcastle got their money back on the insurance, the team was never the same.
