I’m very conflicted, I just signed up for a “service” that I would ordinarily want to have, especially at the monthly cost I’m going to be paying, but I’m so very extremely annoyed at the fact that I’m FORCED to purchase this “service”, or else. I’m sure you have figured out I’m talking about healthcare, or as it’s more commonly referred to as Obamacare.
So what is the “or else” if I choose not to participate? Near $700, that would be my fine if I don’t sign up, and having the IRS come after me, something the IRS was NEVER meant to be part of. I concretely believe that this is unconstitutional, forcing citizens of the USA to purchase healthcare or any other commercial service, but as one tiny blip on the radar, what can I do? I don’t mind having the coverage, I rather like having inexpensive healthcare, and if it were available without the “or else” hanging over my head, I would be first in line to sign up, it’s the “or else” that is just plain wrong.
Today is the last day to sign up to get in for the 2017 coverage starting in January, being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until today to sign up. I have been getting the email reminders as well as the automated phone calls telling me that today was the last day I could sign up… they make it sound so dire, as if the world might come to an end if I ignore their pleas, who knows, it just might.
When I got to the website earlier today, it was quite clear that I’m not the only procrastinator, I was put in a queue (line, on hold for those in the USA) to wait my turn for the website to accept me. I waited less than an hour so all in all it wasn’t terrible. I actually started to do this last night, there was no wait time, I got right in, but I was on a tablet, I needed some information that was difficult to get on my tablet so I gave up, figuring I would finish today with my laptop.
I actually signed up last year, for much the same reasons, the “or else”, I ended up never using my healthcare insurance all year long, for a variety of reasons, the main one being I never needed to use it, of course I understand that anything could have happened, an accident, an illness and I would have used it then, but as a healthy 50 something year old, I have just never had the need to go to the doctor much in my life. I also understand that the premiums I paid went into a pool to help offset the costs of other people who did use their healthcare coverage.
I wonder how things might change with President elect Trump about to come into office, one of the main things he plans on changing is Obamacare, they are supposed to replace it with something else, I don’t see how they can abolish it completely as there are so many using it now (rightly or wrongly). I hope they are able to change some of the laws that restrict the insurance companies from truly being competitive, right now if another state has cheaper insurance that covers the same or more, I can’t access it, that is just ONE thing that can be changed.
As I said, I don’t mind having access to inexpensive health care, I just don’t like the “or else” part, it should be voluntary, not forced upon us. One of the complaints about those of us who don’t want Obamacare is not offering any sort of alternative option, well…
I have an idea that might work, of course this is easy to come up with sitting where I am, not knowing all the in’s and out’s of how these things work, but here goes: There is a need for inexpensive or even free healthcare for many people, but it is expensive, doctors and other medical and support staff have bills to pay, student loans and the such. Let’s have a plan where the government pays for people to go to medical school (and any other schooling needed for the medical and support staff), it can be completely free for the person wanting to enroll, BUT they must agree to work in a government run hospital or clinic for X number of years, let’s say 10 years, could be more, could be less depending on how long they go to school and what their degree is in… they would earn an income but would have to complete their time, if they failed to complete their agreed time, then they would be responsible for paying part of all of what it would have cost for them to complete their education.
The public could use these government hospitals, their payment for services would be based on a sliding fee scale, they would pay what they could afford based on their income.
I know that sounds simplistic, but I suspect it could work, I think there would be a lot of people lining up to get their free education, they would have work waiting for them when they completed their education, the public would have access to inexpensive healthcare, problem solved.
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