My take on it is its really not a whole lot worse than what we already have and actually might improve it. When you look at the actual package it basically keeps things the way they are, there is no actual government run program, it just requires that all people have health insurance with an accredited insurer. This means for 90% of America nothing changes, I really don't understand what people are so up in arms about.
If you don't have insurance you are retard, one dink to the head by accident and you could end up $30,000 in debt or worse whether you had anything to do with it or not. It is way worse than not having car insurance. It is also literally the most mild health care bill possible.
Since about '02 health care costs have increased 800%. This problem really should have been taken care of in the 90s before it got as bad as it has, also related to the ambulance chaser industry that really does need to be reigned in (this is my Republican voice talking). I went to the ER in July last year and was charged $76 a minute that I was there (20 minutes of waiting) or $126 a stitch, by IHC, which is supposedly an "efficient" and fairly low cost HMO compared to the national average. I spent nearly $5G an healthcare costs in 2009, and I am 31 year old totally healthy normal American, and that is F'd up...
Honestly I consider myself pretty bipartisan these days and I think the arguments against this one were really off and extremely partisan which made this a hotly contested one when honestly it was as good as it possibly could have been. I really think you guys have your blinders on because it is "Obama" and honestly that is a weakness not a strength..
For me w/ no health insurance from an employer, not a damn thing will change for me personally except I no longer have to deal with "preexisting conditions" BS, and that's it... I am currently trying to get scammed by my health insurance provider on "preexisting conditions" though I have been with them for over 2 years. They have sent me letters asking for documentation on every single doctor's visit and prescription I've gotten in the last five years. Total bs... I pay for my own insurance at about $114 a month until my insurance company increased it 19% this year for no reason at all other than some stitches here and there, and that is bs...
My $.02...
I don't think you are seeing the big picture here... let me try and explain... BTW this is only ONE aspect of many concerning this bill/law.
So... people will be able to get health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions, at a regulated rate.Myself being a small business owner, i'll try and explain what that means....
1st. The cost to provide coverage will exceed income made from rates. Company fails.
2nd. The cost to provide coverage will exceed income made from rates. Companies will increase premium costs, less people will be able to afford it, and they will undoubtedly fail.
What does this mean. This means that when these companies start to fail... someone or "something" will have to step in... sound familiar? Single payer system. This is the goal of the progressives... and although they did not get what they wanted in swoop like they had hoped, its only a matter of time before they get it under the new structure.
When the Gov is setting payments for procedures, enter Canada, UK, Venezuela, etc. healthcare systems.
To say this keeps thing pretty much how they are, is short sided, and pretty ignorant IMO... look further, keep an open mind, and you'll see what I mean. It does not take a brain surgeon to put this together (Pardon the pun)...lol