The Health Care Law. - Page 35  

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaiturkey 

 

If, as you said earlier, the new law obliges you to buy private insurance, what's that got to do with taxes? Or are you taking the view that compulsory insurance is a tax?

The perception that the mandate to purchase health insurance is a tax was the reason it was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebelcowboysnb 

If you do not buy the insurance you are fined... They call the fine a tax to get around laws.

He said it better  :)  

I am also against forcing an insurance company to cover you even after your past medical records. It is a liability just like insurance is going to be hard for someone who as been in 5 wrecks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew3590 

I am also against forcing an insurance company to cover you even after your past medical records. It is a liability just like insurance is going to be hard for someone who as been in 5 wrecks.

The pre existing clause is not as terrible as people want to present it, just logical business. For the most part, it applied for a year only if you were uninsured for more than 2 months before purchasing a policy. It was a deterrent to living uninsured and then expecting the insurance company to pay your bills when you get sick or injured.. 

oh yes that is why I sort of supported a public option...of course then the insurance companies would probably only insure the most healthy and push everyone else into the public option...i guess that is why it didn't make the cut...

I like your goat picture. Im thinking of getting a couple of dairy goats 

If no-one knows what are the provisions of the law, is the issue then they way in which premium payment is enforced? Some of the posts seem to be against the concept of compulsory insurance even though it exists already in other matters. If I see a weakness in this law, whatever it might be, it's that it doesn't go far enough. Most countries that have good systems have two tier ones:

1. Full State-provided care funded from taxes deducted from income at source. No limit on the care other than what is determined by medical necessity.

2. Voluntary private care paid for from own funds or private insurance. Limits on care depend on the insurance cover.

The first is available to everyone. The second offers private hospitals, private rooms, the same doctors and consultants but you see them in plush consulting rooms and other non-essential frills.

In a society where people have no money for treatment, are they left to die? What happens to tose people in the US now?

ThaiTurkey, mi amigo....

I'm not convinced that "compulsory" anything is a good OR functional idea.

IF the "idea" is "good"...people will come to it.

IF the "idea" is NOT "good".... the people WILL avoid it and theoretically "become CRIMINALS".

Like Thomas Jefferson...........

I place my Faith in "the People".

( bunch of idiots...BUT...they seldom make-the-same-mistake twice.....at least NOT in the SAME GENERATION............)

THE Curmudgeon

Someone once said:

"WHERE are "the people" going ?  I MUST KNOW.....for I am 'their LEADER'."

THE Curmudgeon

Some things are compulsory in society by necessity. Laws and taxes are two of them.

Whether or not personal health care that also benefits society at large, including employers, should be compulsory depends on your point of view. I can only speak from my own experience in the UK. The NHS was created just after I was born and I saw all of its growth pains. It works extremely well but, like any other large structure, Isn't perfect. First line care is from a local doctor. They usually work in group practices and have their own premises and nursing staff for dressings and things like that. The also have pre- and ante-natal care. The doctors are self-employed, contracted to the NHS. For emergencies and operations, you go to a hospital. Some have specialist wings for heart operations and cancer treatment, for example. If you have an urgent problem, an NHS ambulance with trained paramedics will come to you. They will give first aid and cart you off to hospital. Each local health authority has professional management and budgets. Now, because of long waiting lists in the past, the government has set service standards, enabling patients to know what they can expect and where to complain if things aren't right.

I think that the service is amazing and wouldn't have been without it. Despite the tax cost to me and my employer, I always had enough cash left for food, home, car, vacations, beer, savings and all the usual stuff. I also had private health care from time to time when employers offered to pay for it and used it once for my son. It's much more expensive than the taxes I paid for the NHS and State pension and the treatment is no better.