“The medical care and insurance system in the US is uniquely perverse. If you are over 65, you can’t buy any insurance other than supplemental insurance. You could walk in and private pay, but then you’d get completely screwed because you’d pay exorbitant prices (think the proverbial 50 dollar aspirin). You MUST be in some sort of buying club to get charged the effective (and known) price for care.”
Here’s another profound perversity demonstrating the failure of the Feds to respect individual rights...
http://thefundforpersonalliberty.org/medicare-lawsuit-update/index.html
“You could walk in and private pay, but then you’d get completely screwed because you’d pay exorbitant prices (think the proverbial 50 dollar aspirin).”
It’s my understanding that it is just the opposite. Doctors do NOT want all the insurance hassle. I remember Rush up-front paying for his hospital stay a few years back and it was MUCH cheaper than through insurance. I’ve read about this frequently, which is why alot of doctors are going the “concierge” route. Yes? No?
http://thefundforpersonalliberty.org/medicare-lawsuit-update/index.html
The implications of this decision are very bad. However, I'd also feel more sympathetic to these particular plaintiffs if they weren't trying to escape Medicare to continue receiving enhanced taxpayer-funded government medical insurance that is better than that the rest of us are forced onto.
While the judge is IMHO wrong that you MUST accept Medicare or forego your SS pension benefits, it would also be wrong for all government workers to be able to jump from the Medicare system to enhanced lifetime medical benefits through a judicial decision.