Hillary Care round 2

[NeBlis]

The worlds smartest woman introduces a her "brilliant" new plan.

article on the plan

CLIFF NOTES: "solves" the heathcare "crisis" by forcing everyone to have insurance and expands medicare. cost = $110 billion per year


obv i think this idea sucks. I would like to hear what you guys think.

[mjkidd]

OMG I'm still pissed I have to have car insurance. How the [censored] can the government require me to buy health insurance.

[iron81]

A few highlights of the plan:

An "employer mandate" requiring employers with more than 10 employees to provide insurance

An "individual mandate" requiring people who aren't covered to buy health insurance

Subsidies for low income people to purchase insurance

Open Medicare and the insurance program for federal employees to the public, but not require people to participate in them

Forbid insurers from denying coverage for pre-exisiting conditions. (I'll bet they can still charge exorbitant rates though. The subsidies will have to be tailored for this.)

She tries to avoid some of the failures of her 1993 plan: no new agencies are created and she throws a sop to the insurance industry by throwing lots of new customers and federal money their way.

Personally, I'd like to kill off the insurance industry and switch to single-payer, but the plan is certainly better than the existing situation. Edwards and Obama have similar plans, except Obama does not have an individual mandate.

[NeBlis]

[ QUOTE ]
An "employer mandate" requiring employers with more than 10 employees to provide insurance

[/ QUOTE ]

OK what if I want to work for someone who doesn't take money for insurance. Or if the plan my boss gets is crap now I loose money, my boss looses money, and I still need to buy insurance.

We have been over and over this idea. But I think it is obvious to most that the biggest problem with health insurance is tying it into your job rather than having real competition.

[ QUOTE ]
An "individual mandate" requiring people who aren't covered to buy health insurance

Subsidies for low income people to purchase insurance

[/ QUOTE ]

LMAO .... force everyone to have a plan and then pay for it. Instant government bloat by mandate.

[ QUOTE ]
Open Medicare and the insurance program for federal employees to the public, but not require people to participate in them

[/ QUOTE ]


Fine ... If people want to buy into the federal system that is their own stupidity, just don't ask me to pay for them.

[ QUOTE ]
Forbid insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. (I'll bet they can still charge exorbitant rates though. The subsidies will have to be tailored for this.)

[/ QUOTE ]

This is fine as long as insurance is unlinked from your job. In a real competitive environment I can see several "high risk" agents dealing allot with pre-existing conditions.

By artificially reducing completion insurers just go for the easiest dollar and try to get only healthy people and find loopholes to ditch the unhealthy. Basically it goes like this , I work for a company w/ 10,000 employees the company has insurance w/ AFLAC. I have the fatal disease "iron81ism". AFLAC will just find a way to exclude Iron81ism because the company has to keep the other 9,999 covered. If all 10,000 of us could choose coverage you bet your ass I would be covered, or someone would cover me.

[ QUOTE ]
She tries to avoid some of the failures of her 1993 plan: no new agencies are created and she throws a sop to the insurance industry by throwing lots of new customers and federal money their way.

[/ QUOTE ]

I cant figure out any part of this that is not a power grab and a huge payoff to the insurance industry. The key here being that she tried this crap before and the insurance companies nearly buried her. This time she get her boated government and they get bloated bank accounts .. everyone's happy ... except us.


[ QUOTE ]
Personally, I'd like to kill off the insurance industry and switch to single-payer, but the plan is certainly better than the existing situation. Edwards and Obama have similar plans, except Obama does not have an individual mandate.

[/ QUOTE ]

The only way this plan is "better than the existing situation" is if you are Hillary

[mosdef]

"It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs."

Yes, that's EXACTLY what socialized health care will provide!

[TomVeil]

Problem: People can't afford health insurance.

Solution: Force people to buy health insurance.

See how easy it is?

[GoodCallYouWin]

Here's a better plan :

Allow more medical schools to open so we can train more doctors, de-regulate the health care industry to open up competition, abolish the FDA so that we don't have beaurocrats arbitrarily limiting the supply of drugs...

[mosdef]

[ QUOTE ]
Problem: People can't afford health insurance.

Solution: Force people to buy health insurance.

See how easy it is?

[/ QUOTE ]

You've left out a pretty important aspect:

Problem: People can't afford health insurance.

Solution: Force people to buy subsidized health insurance with subsidies provided by those that can afford insurance.

Despite the 100% BS that this plan somehow helps "consumers", it really does help poor people in the very short term. Of course, it won't take very long for insurers to change higher and higher rates as the government keeps covering the cost - why wouldn't they? Then we'll need some MORE government regulation to stop the insurers from "gouging consumers". Then we'll need some MORE government regulation for the War on Black Market Insurance. In any event, it's nothing that can't all be fixed with an 85% marginal tax rate, so I'm sure it would work out fine in the end.

[TomVeil]

Sorry, Good Call. That doesn't benifit the insurance companies OR Hillary. Better luck next time!

[PLOlover]

what's the penalty if you don't buy health insurance?