“The 26-year-old construction worker has to decide that medical and disability insurance to protect himself and his family is more important than a new pickup truck. “
That’s his choice to make, not yours. And the more rational choice for him is probably the truck, not to purchase some plan designed for geezers and packed full of free birth control, abortions, psychological help, prescription drugs, substance abuse therapy, and sex change coverage.
He needs to get seen for a flu or minor injuries he might incur.
The young are getting screwed here by people who think they need full geezer coverage.
I agree. But before Obamacare, if he didn't get insurance in advance, it becomes the hospital's or taxpayer's responsibility.
If the provision banning exclusions on pre-existing conditions is repealed, we go back to the same thing. But, if it's retained -- we have the same problem as now: healthy people don't buy insurance until they need it, and the insurance companies bail out or go bankrupt because they can't cover only the sickest people that buy policies.
As I pointed out in my post #26, there are a raft of provisions in Obamacare that inflate the cost of insurance for most people. Elimination of those provisions would make it more affordable, but that doesn't mean people will buy insurance.
As long as our mythical construction worker can walk into an emergency room and run up an unlimited bill and never pay it, it inflates the cost for the rest of us.