I think the insurance companies did a great job working on this bill. I mean it should really be "Government, brought to you by Blue Cross"
Health insurance is basically a large gamble on your life. They are betting that they will get you, in the long run, to pay them more than they have to pay the hospital/doctors. That difference is their profit. They need healthy people to make that profit. People who pay all year for their health insurance and never use it (people like ME) That is why this bill has all sorts of exemptions for poor people. They do not take adequate care of themselves, and are inherently more risky, due to an increase in obesity, tobacco use, and living in areas with a worse quality of life; and a decrease in general hygenics, dental care, knowledge of healthy lifestyles. The insurance company does not want these people.
This bill is another way for the government to be coopted into FORCING those who don't really NEED health insurance to continue to prop up the insurance industry. Those healthy, wealthy, usually white, Americans who believe they have the right to choose what health care they receive and are willing to pay for it.
I, for one, went off of health insurance for a couple of years in college. When I actually decided to use the health system, I paid for it out of pocket. It saved me from making unnecessary trips to the doctor for stupid shit like a viral head cold (take two of these, hydrate, and rest...no shit, I'll keep my 75 bucks, thanks) and only going when I absolutely needed a doctor (hey doc, that bone fragment has worked its way out of the skin, can you grab that and pull it out)
Those were the same two years I drove without car insurance. I was too fucking poor to pay for it; and was willing to accept the risk/responsibility of paying for my own mistakes, or a ticket if I was caught. Guess what? I drove slower, I didn't tear ass around town, like I do now, and I actually worried about getting pulled over. 2 years...no tickets, no accidents, no road rage/asshole driving...and I saved 1600 dollars that would never recoup from the insurance company had I done the same and paid them for their piece of paper. Scared and poor, it's a great thing Martha!
Insurance is bullshit. Insurance has been responsible for a major portion of the rise in health care costs. The other part of that is frivolous lawsuits, but I'll save that rant for another day. It is a burden on the economy, and a burden on the health care system. We want our doctors to be doctors, not fucking paper-jockeys.
What it should boil down to is your willingness to take responsibility for your own life. If you want to save money on healthcare, live healthier. Don't get fat, don't smoke, exercise, and go to a doctor when it is NECESSARY! If you want to continue to fork out thousands of dollars every year to pay for the off-chance you, or your kids, might be the poor souks who gets cancer or to pay for your visit to the doctor because you have the sniffles, so be it, pay for your insurance, and get what you can out of it.
If you are not willing to pay for your own healthcare, you should not be entitled to it. Nobody is entitled to life, you earn it by scrapping and working your ass off every day to keep it. I should not have to pay for you if you are too fucking stupid, lazy, or indifferent to care for yourself...
Pickle