Why Obamacare is a Failure

(C.I.) said that going to the emergency room costs everyone ellse.

And they think they're free, poor delusional fools.

Yes, he was correct. While we all pay for subsidies, these cover the costs of people's health insurance so that they can visit their doctors regularly or when the symptoms first appear.

What drives up the costs more significantly is when uninsured people wait until their diseases or infirmities are so severe that they can no longer function. And by that time treatment is usually much more intensive. Plus you can add the reduced productivity from those workers suffering from chronic untreated conditions.

You say all of this without admitting that there are still co-pays and other costs prior to the insurance covering everything.

You think someone having insurance automatically makes them healthier?

What's next mandate a yearly physical for every citizen and then Dr. visits every 6 months?

Because that's how our insurance policies have been designed, in order to keep the costs down and dissuade people from abusing the healthcare system with trivial complaints. If we want to lower the cost of the co-pays and deductibles we'd need to provide for more subsidies and there was not sufficient political support for that — or a good source of funding.

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You think someone having insurance automatically makes them healthier?

Of course not. That's why people buy insurance — in case the get sick or meet an accident.

What's next mandate a yearly physical for every citizen and then Dr. visits every 6 months?

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Why so ******* harsh? Having a decent insurance policy allows someone to make an appointment when they feel it necessary to see a doctor instead of having to wait an arbitrary six months or one year.

The only people who have to carryhealth insurance are those who are going to get sick or need a doctor's care sometime in their hopefully 80 odd years of life, i.e. everyone. Pretty good analogy.

The government makes the laws that we have to follow. As seniors, we are covered under Medicare. Our premiums are automatically deducted from our social security, and we have a co-pay for doctor visits and meds. All at reasonable rates.

Nothing you have said would lower the cost of healthcare, every time you guarantee govt money, you cement the cost of something.

Look at unions. Unions have been on the decline for the last several decades because people don't want to be part of a union. So what is the answer, make unions mandatory via "closed shop" rules, forcing people to join a union if they want a job and therefore artificially increasing union representation and union power.

That's just the problem, people don't have to carry health insurance just because you think they do. If they don't want it, why make them...

The cost to needy individuals can be lessened through subsidies (or tax refunds). Lowering the total cost of healthcare is another issue entirely and would require more of the government intervention you oppose such as negotiating drug prices and probably putting the private health insurance industry out of business — not likely to happen. (I really think single payer, Medicare for all, is the way to go, and moving away from the idea that illness and death should be sources of profit.)

'Closed shop' was outlawed in '47 but 'union shop' rules predated the decline of organized labor. Taft-Hartley effectively killed organized labor in industry although its momentum carried through for a while. Most union growth since has been in the public sector and service industries, not really what trade unions were designed for.

The same could be said about getting an education.

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That's just the problem, people don't have to carry health insurance just because you think they do. If they don't want it, why make them...

Baldimo, this is a rich country. There's no reason to allow large numbers of people to rot on the fringes of society because they're sick, or poor, or ignorant. I'd really rather not live in a society where whole communities are stuck in generational poverty and I don't think you want to live there either. "Let 'em fend for themselves" is fine until they start rebelling on a large scale — I don't see an agency other than government as being able to act here.

Instead of joining the union when you get hired, they force you to join the union or you can't keep the job. It's the same BS with a different name, govt forcing people to join a union or they can't work.

In what way? You are making no sense.

So either we have more govt programs or those poor people will have nothing?

So give the non-union workers a free ride? Maybe the employer could just pay them at a non-union wage scale.

Think about it. Education is compulsory because society is better off with informed citizens. And healthy citizens.

We don't necessarily need "more" programs but many of them could be improved. Look, you've said you don't think people should have to have medical insurance and your president apparently agrees. So what happens to these people when they're sick and need care? Either people have access to medical care through their own wealth, through charity, or by buying health insurance. Either/or is not a false dilemma in this case — either you have access to affordable health care or you don't. What's the alternative?

Are you honestly going to use cosmetic and elective surgeries as evidence costs can be lowered???? Most people can go an entire life time without a breast augmentation, I can't think of a reason it's medically necessity unless you're talking about breast reconstruction. Currently many insurance policies pay for vasectomies, vasectomies reversed (once) viagra and fertility treatment. I see four things in that last sentence that I'm never going to need....but I'm not sure I want to prevent anyone else from availing themselves.

I understand that some men feel put upon by their plans offering maternity benefits, but since men don't get pregnant they won't need that benefit, which also means the insurance won't pay men's maternity expenses which means costs won't go up. We just can't fill out a score card for what kind of illnesses or conditions be might acquire. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get the bubonic plague but if I did I sure hope I can be treated. Health insurance is not like choosing a cable subscription where you pick a package and they charge for premium channels, movies or sports packages.

A healthy population is a more productive population. A more productive population means more tax payers in the pool. More people paying taxes means more money for everybody's favorite expenditure (military, education, social, whatever's your pleasure)