I agree with you Bob. There is quite a bit of gap between those who have and those who don't. For me perhaps the charity work that's getting reduced because of government intervention would be a better option than a blanket government decree that forces everyone to follow a path which later will most likely become even worse. Admittedly the US healthcare system is in quite a bad shape. It's not the quality as much as the exorbitant prices that are prohibitive. Even having a child in US is like taking out a mortgage. Oh well, I hope things get sorted out soon enough. Gringo
You're about my age then. My wife and I will be calling our current insurer to see what options, if any, we have. We WANT a high deductible policy. I guess Obamacare assumes that high deductible are not cost effective give that 2/3 of the country is overweight or obese. So they forget about the other 1/3 and choose to try to penalize us by eliminating these policies and also having our premiums skyrocket to subsidize the 2/3 who are mostly unhealthy. As another posted stated .. those who are self insured are oftentimes much more healthy than those who have group coverage from employers since all the $$$$$$ comes out of our pockets.
I didn't see that poster state such .... but eating crappy fast food, not exercising, doing drugs, drinking excessively and smoking are all CHOICES. And those who choose that lifestyle will have health issues such as diabetes, heart isues, HBP, high cholesterol, etc. They should pay significantly higher rates as their supposed 'pre-existing' conditions were a CHOICE.
So are those who eat meat, climb mountains, skydive, jog, spend too much time watching TV, live in cities with polluted air, drive, etc. Who is left to qualify for insurance?
To those who say the EU/Canadian model is the correct way, you are not well informed (or do not 'look' at the entire picture). Is the healthcare system broken in the US? Yes. Will the Affordable Care Act fix it? No. 'We' are throwing away a good opportunity by having this shoved down our throats. Read gringo's link for further education (not that I agree with all of it).
Send me the tax penalty please. Health insurance is a fucking ponzi. They leave you to hang when you need them the most. I've seen it over and over. Give me liberty or give me death. I'm sure I'll feel different when I'm old but for now I'm not paying into the ponzi for you old folks. I can afford it but it's the worst trade on earth. Young healthy men get the shaft the most in this bill. People my age who can't afford it which is pretty much 99% (I'm 26), they will be paying the tax penalty also. What did you do in the 1800's if you got seriously hurt? You just died. If they want to charge me 100k+ to keep me alive just pull the plug, The only insurance was the good lord back in the day. Are you going to be forced to buy health insurance for your dog too? They seem to get by just fine and lead happy lives.
Healthcare premiums tell only part of the story. For example, my health insurance company sent us a letter recently bragging about how they kept our premium increases (for a family of four) below the national average for three consecutive years. What they failed to mention was that during the same time period our out-of-pocket (co-pays and deductibles) went up by 300%.
Ah, yes, the good old days. You do mean the cholera, typhoid, malaria, tuberculosis good old days, right?
The spanish flu of 1918 was a good one too. Death is a certainty in this life. Some are better at accepting that than others.