That's the big problem I've had. You want to tear the foundation of our current system down - you might want to have something to replace it with. McCain's saying "trust me, the roof will stay up."Mr. McCain, on the other hand, wants to blow up the current system, by eliminating the tax break for employer-provided insurance. And he doesn’t offer a workable alternative.
I don't buy it. Under his plan, I'll have to, though.
He's saying I should go out on my own, pay $7,000 out of pocket (plus his inadequate $5,000 credit), AND pay taxes on it. Then, he says things will get better for me.
How exactly? What safeguards will be put in play so that the free market won't bury me when I go out shopping?
I have sleep apnea, you suppose I'm first in line when insurers are cherry picking their customers?
I suppose I'll use my massive leverage of $12,000 worth of premium to convince them to give me what I want. Oh wait - everyone else will have that same leverage.
The unfettered free market is good at a lot of things, but one thing it has consistently sucked at is giving health coverage to sick people who can't afford to pay as they go.
(H/t dday)
1 comment:
the biggest problem with only valuing the health of the employed-by-a-company and their families -- totally aside from the bare human rights factor -- is the conflict of interest built into the system. the way things stand now (i've said this before, right?), the insurance companies wish we would just die, already. because they know our dying will be all but meaningless to them. if we die, our *jobs* don't go away. we do. then we'll be replaced with someone young and healthy. of course, now that my employer has announced a hiring freeze, this could in fact result in attrition for our insurance company. but it will be some time before that fact changes the culture; and by then, the hiring freeze might have ended.
sincerely,
thorn
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