ObamaCare?

[Rhondazvous]

I’m kind of ambivalent about this because I can’t agree squarely with either side. So let’s discuss this.

Pro
How is being forced to pay for health insurance different from being forced to pay for car insurance? When drivers were forced to pay for car insurance, did they make the same objections?

Con
How does being forced to pay for health insurance guarantee affordable health care? When I went to their website to see what they were offering. The premium was low but the deductible was so high you’d have to be half dead before the insurance kicked in.

[drfuzzy]

I’m kind of ambivalent about this because I can’t agree squarely with either side. So let’s discuss this.

Pro
How is being forced to pay for health insurance different from being forced to pay for car insurance? When drivers were forced to pay for car insurance, did they make the same objections?

Con
How does being forced to pay for health insurance guarantee affordable health care? When I went to their website to see what they were offering. The premium was low but the deductible was so high you’d have to be half dead before the insurance kicked in.

I agree with you whole-heartedly, Rhonda.  I have argued for years that the health care system in this country is SET UP to eradicate the poor.  If you can't pay (and I mean really pay - - the equivalent of a luxury car payment each month, PLUS what you pay for doctors visits on top of the insurance premiums), they WANT you to die.   
    I have friends who have literally had to move back into their parent's basement - in their 50's - because medical bills caused them to lose their house.   Oh yeah.  They had insurance.

My brother insisted that I sign up for Obamacare.  I was not amused, and it was more than my budget really allowed each month, but after pressure from family, I did it.

It saved my life.  Literally.  They found colon cancer.  I'm free of it now, tho' I have to get tested twice a year.

So . . . I'm very very torn.   The price is still too high.  Most people CAN'T afford it, and punishing them for that is wrong.  But surely, more improvements are coming.   For me - - I still gripe about the cost, but it saved my life.

[Kitty Galore]

The people who truly can't afford it are being subsidized by those who can. It's people helping one another. I find it sad that they feel they are forced to.
If you don't want universal health care, it's the price to pay.
In some countries the income tax is 50% in order for the government to afford to take care of everyone. There is less strife and poverty. Which makes EVERYONE'S lives better. Why is that such a bad thing?

OMG I'M A SOCIALIST. LOL

I don't know very much about this stuff, so I'm talking out my ass. But in my limited knowledge, it makes sense. I'm sure there are reasons why people shouldn't have healthcare or there is another, better answer to the problem. I would love to hear it.

[Kitty Galore]

Oh as far as your con's Rhonda, I agree that what they offer is crap. I hope in time that improves. I appreciate the OP.

[Rhondazvous]

I think it will take a stronger, more forceful president than Obama to bring about improvements. He can force ordinary citizens to buy insurance, but as a champion of the free market he can't control how much insurance companies charge. I think it's ludicrous and a total rip off that we have to pay a premium and a deductible and a co-pay.

But the repugnanticans who oppose Obama want even weaker president. They want to take the country back to the pre-Franklin Roosevelt days where there was no health care, no social security, no unions. If you're old and sick, you're just out of luck. There may be a handful of people old enough to remember those days. All anyone knows now is they are being forced to pay to make people's lives better, and they are pissed.

I do remember Reagan cut funding for Alzheimer's research, then guess what he died from?

[Crossless2.0]

My problem with the ACA is that it was a flawed compromise from the beginning. I support a single-payer system and always viewed this act as the last nail in the coffin of that ever happening in my lifetime.

My problem with the Republicans who hate the ACA so much is that they "forget" that it was originally a policy idea brewed in conservative think tanks and espoused by GOP politicians as a reasonable market-based alternative to "socialism". They've since moved so far right that now they shriek it's socialism.

[MentalGiant]

And then there are people like us, low income and don't want health care (or any other handout) from the government, charities or anyone else. If we did, we would have sucked up a lot more to my rich family and leeched off them (wouldn't have been hard to do). I won't sign up for obummercare until fines are imposed higher than the amount the insurance would cost (or facing criminal charges for not doing so). I don't personally subscribe to most western medicine practices, and I'd STILL have to pay out of pocket to see the naturopathic doctor of MY CHOICE on top of health insurance I do not want. Plus, I don't want to be harassed into "screenings", "physicals" and/or "treatments" I don't want to be subjected to. I'm cool with natural selection and if nature selects me to die early, so fucking be it. The earth has 7 billion humans, I am not special or essential to the functions of this planet. Very few individuals are. I'm willing to hedge my bets on healthy eating, active lifestyle and minimal chemical exposure. Anyone else is free to do with THEIR body and life as they see fit. Just don't force me or make me pay for your decisions.

[The Grand Nudger]

Yes, you'd still have to come out of your own pocket to see a "naturopath"...because the money is for actual medical care...  

[Jackalope]

Personally, I think it was a shitty compromise, made necessary by the fucking grinches on the right.

The subsidy for low income persons is good, but the deductibles are still liable to bankrupt the poor.

I'd rather see a single-payer system, with copays and other expenses subsidized for the poor.

EHRMAHGEHRD SOSHIULIZM!

[Jackalope]

They've since moved so far right that now they shriek it's socialism.

Seriously, what a bunch of assholes.