I cannot believe that people who call themselves conservatives can support mandatory health insurance. The free riders are the types who make it so that it costs many hundreds of dollars a MONTH for health insurance -- more in one month than I spend on medical stuff over the course of YEARS! I take care of myself. I eat right. I exercise. I don't consider any little ache or pain or irregularity cause to go to the doctor. I IGNORE media hoopla about the latest malady (restless leg syndrome, Adult ADD, depresstion, etc.). I use the same common sense regarding my health as my great grandmother, who lived to be in her late 90s and was sharp as a tack.
My parents raised FIVE KIDS with no health insurance -- believe me, they never burdened the taxpayer because they used common sense. That alone proves to me that politics and pop culture is what has made health insurance so "vital," because human health hasn't changed that much since I was a kid! When I DO go the doctor, I pay CASH and usually get a pretty tidy discount because they don't have to go through the BS paperwork of insurance.
You are telling EVERYONE that the government is superior to common sense.
You talk about freeloaders! An emergency is just that -- an emergency. That's not what's causing this "crisis," and "the rest of us" are not paying for that nearly as much as we are morons who unquestioningly believe every latest health scare and go to the doctor more than they need.
Auto insurance is a choice -- you choose to have and drive a car, you must have car insurance. I don't like it, but I don't think it's unconstitutional. Where in the constitution does it say that just because you're alive, the government has a right to require you to own health insurance? Again, I can't believe you people call yourselves conservatives.
Conservatives believe in personal responsibility. Not having health insurance is irresponsible. Say an uninsured person catches some treatable communicable disease, like TB. Without health insurance, he won't be able to afford treatment. If he doesn't get treated, he poses a health risk to the public. Who compensates me when some uninsured freeloader causes me to catch TB?
Suppose he gets something that isn't communicable, and let's pretend we live in a libertarian fantasy land of no welfare state. He's still more than likely impose costs on society. If he doesn't get treatment, pretty soon he won't be able to work. If he can't work, won't be able to pay his rent. Who compensates the landlord for his costs of evicting him? Once he's evicted and starts living on the streets and begging, who compensates all the poeple who have to walk by him and endure his smell? Who compensates the businesses in front of which he stands who as a result lose customers? Maybe in your fantasy land, the cops will prevent panhandlers from standing in front of stores. Who pays the cops to keep them away? Suppose the cops keep him away from public areas and the uninsured freeloader dies. Who pays for his funeral?
So even in a libertarian fantasy land, uninsured people who get sick will impose social costs. Now if we come back to reality in which there is a welfare state, which is impossible to abolish, the costs are even higher.
The free riders are the types who make it so that it costs many hundreds of dollars a MONTH for health insurance -- more in one month than I spend on medical stuff over the course of YEARS!
The Romney plan addresses this problem by allowing insurance companies to offer policies with high deductibles and copayments. It is already begining to make non-subsidized private insurance affordable for many who previously could not afford it. In some ways, it reduces government, as it reduces restrictions on what kinds of policies insurance companies are allowed to offer.
I take care of myself. I eat right. I exercise. I don't consider any little ache or pain or irregularity cause to go to the doctor. I IGNORE media hoopla about the latest malady (restless leg syndrome, Adult ADD, depresstion, etc.). I use the same common sense regarding my health as my great grandmother, who lived to be in her late 90s and was sharp as a tack.
Good for you and her, but you have both been lucky. Even people who take care of themselves have a non-negligible probability of getting seriously sick. Not all aspects of your health are under your control. Suppose a mosquito bites you and you get incephelitis. Suppose a cook in restuarant you visit forgot to wash his hands and you catch Hepatitis. Suppose you stand next to someone in an elevator who, unbeknownst to you, has TB and you catch it from him. These things happen to even the most careful people.
My parents raised FIVE KIDS with no health insurance -- believe me, they never burdened the taxpayer because they used common sense.
They were also very lucky.
That alone proves to me that politics and pop culture is what has made health insurance so "vital," because human health hasn't changed that much since I was a kid!
LOL. You're basing your inference on a single anecdote! Please, take a class in statistics. There are thousands of careful people who go bankrupt every year because they get seriously sick and have no insurance.
You are telling EVERYONE that the government is superior to common sense.
No, I'm telling you that it is common sense to have insurance, and if you don't, you are potentially free riding on everyone else. Conservatives oppose free riders and insist that everyone pays their way.
An emergency is just that -- an emergency. That's not what's causing this "crisis,"
Actually, it is a big part of it (though not all of it). Look at the data. Uninsured emergency room visits are causing hospitals to shut down emergency rooms in some areas, and they significantly add to the healthcare costs of the rest of us.
and "the rest of us" are not paying for that nearly as much as we are morons who unquestioningly believe every latest health scare and go to the doctor more than they need
Yes, that's a big problem, and it can be solved by increasing the copayments and deductibles on routine visits, and insurance companies would have already done it were it not for state regulations. Loosening those regulations is a huge part of the Romney plan.
Where in the constitution does it say that just because you're alive, the government has a right to require you to own health insurance?
It doesn't have to. The Federal government doesn't have the power to require it, and the states are not prohibited from requiring it. Therefore, by the 10th Amendment, states have the power to require it.
Again, I can't believe you people call yourselves conservatives.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility. Having health insurance is the only responsible thing. You may have gotten lucky, but by refusing to carry it, you are incurring a significant risk of becoming a burden to society.
I cannot the believe the people who call themselves FReepers who cannot read. I do NOT support mandatory health insurance.