California May Require Everyone to Have Health Insurance

North County Times ^ | Feb. 8, 2005 | Gig Conaughton

[MedNole]

I love this idea. It prevents people with insurance from having to pay for the treatment of those without insurance. Whether you like it or not, you are paying for it when people without insurance and can't pay their medical bills get treated in ERs and hospitals.

[RockinRight]

I agree.

[End Times Sentinel]

Is this going to apply to all the illegals too, or just law abiding citizens?

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[Maceman]

What is the punishment for not having insurance under this law?

[Carry_Okie]

This idea also forces young people, who are just getting started and neither can afford nor need health insurance but for catastrophic care, to subsidize others who do. Lacking the ability to pay, the State would then be "forced" to provide a subsidy anyway.

It's stealth socialism. You love it.

Another attack on the poor, brought to you by the Slave Party.

[agitator]

You're both communists.

[Enterprise]

Obviously there is no easy solution. On the one hand hospitals lose money because of people who have no health insurance. However, I have a friend who is a small businessman. He has health insurance, but his rates and deductible are horrendous. IMO, the insurance companies offer lower rates of groups, but subsidize them with killer rates for small business people.

[Rio]

But they strongly hinted that it would, if passed, require all Californians to have health-insurance coverage ----- just like car insurance.

Or else what? With the car insurance, they can refuse to let you renew your vehicle registration... What would be the punishment for those who remained uninsured?

[freebilly]

Another great idea from the Nanny State....

[WestCoastGal]

Good luck ever getting that to work!!!

[From many - one.]

What do _you_ think?

[One Proud Dad]

IMO the mandatory car insurance thing is bogus as well. I myself have it and always have ( ans like it that other should have it ), but forcing people to buy something is socialism, not to mention screams of kickbacks from insurance lobby/companies.

I also want ot know how you enforce it and the penalties.

[Enterprise]

"What is the punishment for not having insurance under this law?"

Well, if you have an amputation, then they realize you can't pay for it, they sew it back on.

[ZGuy]

Keith Richman is involved. That must be why it has a subject classification of "Political Humor/Cartoons." Richman is a RINO with a capital R and there's no way to get rid of him.

This plan sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I'm not surprised they didn't give out any details.

[From many - one.]

A knock on the door at midnight?

[RockinRight]

I'm saying it's better than Hillarycare-that's it. It wasn't an endorsement.

[goldstategop]

If they could force illegal aliens to pay for uncompensated care, my own health insurance premiums would fall by half in terms of cost. Its about time. Wooo hooo!

Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."

[Petronski]

What would be the punishment for those who remained uninsured?

Why, the denial of your license to live, I guess.

What an absolutely moronic idea. Incredible.

[Antonello]

I am curious about something...

The idea of mandatory auto insurance works because it is directly tied to a privilege; i.e. a driver's license. There is no such association with health insurance. If you don't have auto insurance, they can take away your driver's license. If you don't have health insurance, what are they going to do, take away your breathing license?

Seriously, what punishment would be effective? Fine them? Force them to pay the incurred medical expenses? They are defaulting on those charges now; making it illegal not to have health insurance isn't going to make them all of a sudden have the cash to pay for services rendered if they don't comply with the new law any more than before.

Jail time? That would hardly reduce cost to taxpayers. That would just mean in addition to picking up the tab for medical care while incarcerated the public would be paying to feed and house them too.

[RockinRight]

Plus-it makes no difference anyway. I have been in exactly two car accidents in my 11 years driving. Neither was my fault. In both cases, the other driver was uninsured. My insurance picked up the bill, but I paid out of pocket for rental cars, deductibles, and all that other crap-plus-my premiums went up.