Healthcare mandatory?

Should Healthcare insurance be mandatory for everyone?

Kal'Stang said:

Should Healthcare insurance be mandatory for everyone?

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No you shouldn't mandate profits for corporate businesses.

Harry Guerrilla said:

No you shouldn't mandate profits for corporate businesses.

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What about government healthcare insurance?

Kal'Stang said:

What about government healthcare insurance?

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Nope, forced participation for a service you may not need or want is no excuse.

If I find that there is no private or government product that meets my individual needs, I don't want to be forced to buy it.

Yes, having health insurance should be mandatory. There is no practical/ethical way to deny someone emergency health care just because they don't have insurance. Therefore, it is better to make sure everyone is able to provide for themselves instead of passing the cost off to the taxpayers. Furthermore, health insurance can encourage preventative care so that total health bills are smaller.

If this HC (health care) insurance is mandatory, then its the same as a tax.
And I do not want private concerns taxing me. ..
In fairness, all citizens should be taxed for this health care..I can see why the wealthy are so against this new HC legislation...But ,If I were wealthy, I'd hope that my attitude would be better..

Kal'Stang said:

Should Healthcare insurance be mandatory for everyone?

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No it shouldn't be mandatory for anyone. If you do not want to seek medical aid then that is your business. IF you would rather pay for medical care upfront or work out a payment system then that is your business. The tax payers should have no obligation what so ever to pay for your medical care.

jamesrage said:

No it shouldn't be mandatory for anyone. If you do not want to seek medical aid then that is your business. IF you would rather pay for medical care upfront or work out a payment system then that is your business. The tax payers should have no obligation what so ever to pay for your medical care.

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Except the taxpayers WILL have an obligation to pay for your medical care if you don't have insurance. If a guy is in a bad car accident and is brought into the emergency room hemorrhaging blood, the doctors aren't going to waste time trying to fish an insurance card out of his pocket, nor should they be expected to do so. They're just going to treat him as best they can.

If it turns out he doesn't have insurance, who should be responsible for his medical costs? The taxpayers? I'd rather make insurance mandatory so that people can't pass their costs off to the taxpayers, by being selfish and irresponsible by not having insurance.

Kandahar said:

Except the taxpayers WILL have an obligation to pay for your medical care if you don't have insurance.

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Then change the law so that tax payers will not have to foot the bill.

If it turns out he doesn't have insurance, who should be responsible for his medical costs?

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He should be responsible for his cost.

The taxpayers? I'd rather make insurance mandatory so that people can't pass their costs off to the taxpayers, by being selfish and irresponsible by not having insurance.

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I would rather require that the person who got the medical care to pay for it. Work out a payment plan. Allow hospitals to deduct it out of that persons paycheck. Maybe set up some sort of hopital community service to make up for the cost.

jamesrage said:

Then change the law so that tax payers will not have to foot the bill.

He should be responsible for his cost.

I would rather require that the person who got the medical care to pay for it. Work out a payment plan. Allow hospitals to deduct it out of that persons paycheck. Maybe set up some sort of hopital community service to make up for the cost.

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Seriously, medical bills should be non bankrupt able bills.

jamesrage said:

Then change the law so that tax payers will not have to foot the bill.

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Who WILL foot the bill then? The hospital?

jamesrage said:

He should be responsible for his cost.

I would rather require that the person who got the medical care to pay for it. Work out a payment plan. Allow hospitals to deduct it out of that persons paycheck. Maybe set up some sort of hopital community service to make up for the cost.

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What if he doesn't have any money, or dies, or declares bankruptcy?

It will just raise rates for everybody, if all are forced to purchase insurance.

First of all, you have the people who can't get insurance because of an expensive medical condition, or at least can't get coverage for that condition. Insurance companies would have to be forced to take them, and thus raise the rate for the entire pool for the additional risk they have taken on.

Next, you have people who cannot afford health insurance, who would be forced to pay. That's an additional burden on them, and if they don't pay, then there is the additional cost in either fining, jailing, or otherwise disciplining those that refuse.

WI Crippler said:

It will just raise rates for everybody, if all are forced to purchase insurance.

First of all, you have the people who can't get insurance because of an expensive medical condition, or at least can't get coverage for that condition. Insurance companies would have to be forced to take them, and thus raise the rate for the entire pool for the additional risk they have taken on.

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So what? Those people didn't choose to get sick. It could happen to anyone. The premium rates SHOULD be spread out amongst everyone instead of discriminating against people based on their health and/or age.

WI Crippler said:

Next, you have people who cannot afford health insurance, who would be forced to pay. That's an additional burden on them, and if they don't pay, then there is the additional cost in either fining, jailing, or otherwise disciplining those that refuse.

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Presumably a health care mandate would be coupled with some kind of subsidy or voucher for the poor, as was done in Massachusetts.

Kandahar said:

Who WILL foot the bill then? The hospital?

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The patient can foot the bill. The hospital can work out a payment plan a hospital community service plan or get a court to deducted a certian amount of money from someone's paycheck.

What if he doesn't have any money, or dies, or declares bankruptcy?

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So you are arguing that the debts of dead people should be paid to companies by tax payer? That is basically what you are arguing since there is no way a hundred bucks a month or more of insurance can possibly pay for some surgeries and operations, other tax payer will be picking up that debt.

jamesrage said:

The patient can foot the bill. The hospital can work out a payment plan a hospital community service plan or get a court to deducted a certian amount of money from someone's paycheck.



So you are arguing that the debts of dead people should be paid to companies by tax payer? That is basically what you are arguing since there is no way a hundred bucks a month or more of insurance can possibly pay for some surgeries and operations, other tax payer will be picking up that debt.

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So your solution is to force hospitals to treat people for emergency care, and then stick them with the bill if the person is unable to pay for whatever reason. Got it. :doh

Of course it should not be mandatory. It's not the government's job to control how I handle my personal healthcare coverage, bills, etc. If I want to go without insurance and deal directly with a hospital to make payment arrangements (as I currently do and have for a number of years), then I should be allowed that choice. The arrangement I make with my healthcare provider need not be overseen by the government. It's between me and my hospital/doctor(s). It's none of their business.

WI Crippler said:

It will just raise rates for everybody, if all are forced to purchase insurance.

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And if we drop taxation to pick up the uninsured costs now, what's the net difference?

If it costs you $50 in taxes to provide now money for uninsured, and it costs you $50 more in premiums, but the first $50 went away, are you really in any different position? In fact, this might be better as health care premiums under certain plans are tax deductible.

First of all, you have the people who can't get insurance because of an expensive medical condition, or at least can't get coverage for that condition. Insurance companies would have to be forced to take them, and thus raise the rate for the entire pool for the additional risk they have taken on.

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While I don't disagree with this at all, we are still paying for it through taxation. What is worse, paying more for insurance or paying more in taxes? And while I agree with Kandahar for much of this thread, insurance could do risk pools and adjust premiums accordingly.

Next, you have people who cannot afford health insurance, who would be forced to pay. That's an additional burden on them, and if they don't pay, then there is the additional cost in either fining, jailing, or otherwise disciplining those that refuse.

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But doesn't that all just lead to more burden on the taxpayers? Not only will they be forced to cover the costs of health care but as well as the punishments.

As I see it, the situation we have now sucks. And I'm not willing to just let people die because they can't afford health insurance. Remember Reagan said that as well, no one is calling for just letting people die. Thus, if we have to pay for it through taxes, I'd rather have those who need the insurance pay at least something for it. Either way, someone is going to pay, let's at least put some of the burden on the person using the medical care.

In an ideal world, everyone would have access to competitive health insurance that would range from no frills to luxury, with the cheapest allowing even the dirt poor to get some coverage, resulting in no burden on taxpayers at all, but that ain't the case.

Kandahar said:

So your solution is to force hospitals to treat people for emergency care, and then stick them with the bill if the person is unable to pay for whatever reason. Got it. :doh

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Then the solution is to stop the practice of forcing hospitals to treat people who can not pay. If that person can not or refuses to pay then the hospital can sue the person who owes them money.

We are becoming a two class society. The middle class is slowly disappearing. Most us that are left in the middle class still have jobs that still provide health care at least to some level. Anybody above middle class can afford their own. So who does the burden to pay for government health care fall on? Those people who are already at the poverty level or below. And if they do not pay we will fine a family that already has their backs up against the wall 2 thousand a year for failure to comply with a government enforced policy.

At least to me. Not a good idea.
Moe

jamesrage said:

Then the solution is to stop the practice of forcing hospitals to treat people who can not pay. If that person can not or refuses to pay then the hospital can sue the person who owes them money.

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That is not a practical solution. If someone is in a car accident and is hemorrhaging blood when they're brought into the emergency room, how is the hospital going to know if they can pay or not?

Do you honestly expect them to dig through the patient's pockets for an insurance card before they treat them? If they find an insurance card and the patient dies, the family could sue the hospital for malpractice for wasting time. If they don't find an insurance card, that doesn't necessarily mean that the patient doesn't have insurance.

For me mandating that everyone have HC insurance is nothing short of taxing or making a person pay to live. If you don't have insurance you get a fine via the courts. What happens if you don't pay that fine? You go to jail. That is putting someone in jail for just living.

No. If I don't want it why the hell should I be forced to? A little thing called freedom of choice.

Has anyone mentioned yet thet US medical is the most expensive in the world? Perhaps we should work on poltical bills that help reduce the costs of care rather than everybody foot the bill for an over priced system

Yes I know about the high cost of malpractice insurance etc but I heard a blurb on the news the other day that part of Obama's getting the drug companies on board with his health care was that he had promised them that he would protect their profits by not permitting cheaper sources of drugs ie Canada to have a market in the US. I have also heard the ambulance chaser lawyers are being pandered to.

Thus we pay while the the people actually responsible for the high cost of health care have their profits protected.

Again, To me the whole Obama care is a bad idea. Health care is not as important to him as is campaign contributions if he decides to run for re election. It would not matter who was the president. No group that is wealthy and getting wealtheir is going to let anybody pee in the rice bowl.

Moe

Abosilutly not. A person such as myself that will not seek medical treatment should not be forced to pay for insurance. All of my family knows not to send me in for treatment regardless of the situation. Now if they follow that when the time comes is beyond my control. If they decide to go against my will then I also expect them to foot the bill.

Baralis said:

A person such as myself that will not seek medical treatment should not be forced to pay for insurance.

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Okay...how do you know you will not seek medical treatment in the future?

All of my family knows not to send me in for treatment regardless of the situation.

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So you're telling me, your family would let you die rather than send you to a hospital?

Now if they follow that when the time comes is beyond my control. If they decide to go against my will then I also expect them to foot the bill.

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So you expect your family to foot the bill for life saving treatment?