Comment by Overtonwindow | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Overtonwindow | Hacker News Reader

I'm torn about this legislation. Since obamacare passed I've had continually higher premiums which is pushing me to the breaking point. I support insurance for preexisting conditions, I don't believe insurers should be able to turn anyone away, for any reason. That said, I don't want the government running my healthcare, I don't want to have to buy insurance from the government, and I don't want to pay for the bad mistakes of others - that's difficult to do but that's my opinion. That all said, I think the media is still in the "fuck Trump" mode and no matter what the republicans or trump comes up with, the media is going to take a shit on it.

All that being said, I don't think the issue is republicans, democrats, or trump. I think the issue with our healthcare is the insurance companies themselves, doctors, medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, and everyone else who takes a cut, adds a surcharge, and has generally done all they could to squeeze every last dime for their shareholders. Like the big banks, I want to see reform of the health care INDUSTRY, and strict limits placed on what they can charge, whom they can charge, and the whole pile on, surcharge habit.

You can't have your cake and eat it too, though.

Not covering preexisting conditions makes good business sense, as does not covering high risk or elderly people, as do many of the objections I've read about this. Maximizing profit and minimizing loss is exactly what businesses are supposed to do, and in the US, healthcare is a business in which anything but collecting premiums from the healthy and well off is an unnecessary risk.

I don't think the healthcare industry is going to reform in the ways you want without the government forcing them to work against their self-interest, which likely requires some form of "the government running your healthcare."

>and I don't want to pay for the bad mistakes of others

When some moron nail guns a board to his head and goes to the ER you are still paying for that.

What you are now not paying for is people fighting cancer, MS, AIDs, and other long term and terminal diseases.

What made you believe that this legislation would enable you to avoid 'paying for the bad mistakes of others'?

Technically, since you apparently missed my point by writing a post on pure emotion, If I don't have to buy insurance then I'm not forced to pay for insurance and thus my money does not go towards someone who drinks to excess, smokes cigarettes, or engages in deliberate behavior that will likely increase their chances of going to the hospital.

> my money does not go towards someone who drinks to excess

except that you absolutely will be paying for them not seeing a doctor and waiting until they have to go to the emergency room.

People who drink in excess go to the ER and get their stomachs pumped - thats paid for by the taxpayers if the person doesnt have insurance. My point was exactly that - you cannot avoid paying for these emergency rooms visits by changing how insurance works, the way to pay less for these emergency room visits is to decrease them by promoting more holistic care - and how does the government promote things? by providing economic incentives in the form of tax breaks, subsidies, etc.

I guess you missed my point by responding with pure emotion...

Again slow down, think carefully and try to stay rational. You'll never have universal health care or coverage. Someone had to pay for it. You can't force people at the end of a bayonet to pay for the mistakes of others. Well, perhaps in your socialist dream world. Keep voting for Bernie and maybe someday you'll grow up.

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