It is not the governments business to protect me from myself or save me from poor financial decision i may make.
completely agreed - but health care costs are out of the control of any single person. it is the government's job to provide social services, especially ones where the private sector is failing.
you can think within the system, "this is how things work - a family of four should budget thousands per year for health care. deal with it". or you can take a step back and ask yourself, "why should anyone have to pay that much for something so necessary, within a system that is so broken?"
my opinions are colored by the fact that i believe that health care is a basic right, not a privilege. you should contribute towards its cost but those costs should not be allowed to run out of control to the point where health care is unattainable.
"obamacare" does run the risk of being ineffective due to a convervative government coming in and slashing funding
good point. makes for great politicking - kill the opposition's plan through lack of funding, then point out what a failure their plan was. brilliant!
The whole problem starts with the fact that health care in the country is (for most people) tied to where they work. The FIRST thing we need to do is make it so that employers CANNOT be your source of health care at all period. I don't get my auto insurance or my homeowners through my employer, why heath insurance? Makes ZERO sense. I am not saying that employers cannot provide a benefit of assisting in paying your premium, I am saying they ought not be allowed to be the provider. It you think about it you will comprehend the sound logic behind it.
As far as health care being a right, I do not agree on that as a carte blanche statement. We all have decision to make as to where we spend our money. If someone chooses to buy (what to me are) far less important things than insurance, well that is their choice and they assume the risk. I am not the one who should assume that risk for you. The debate that "I can't afford insurance" really means "I choose to make other purchases instead of insurance".
My insurance for my family of four is $180 a month. That is less than my Comcast bill. The company we have insurance with has four plans. We took the 3rd of four price-wise and pay the related copays etc. We budget for it and it is money well spent.
