Just some thoughts and questions about mandates. . .help out please. . .

[kevinbgoode]

Well, as I continue to listen to the ramblings about the health care mandate, I'm wondering about existing requirements with large employers and for students at state universities. For example, when I went to graduate school, the state university REQUIRED the purchase of health insurance. The ONLY exemption a student had was if he/she could prove they already had insurance coverage that was as effective as that offered through the University. Isn't that an institutional mandate, and, if this is so unconstitutional, why are state universities allowed to make that demand?

Moreover, it seems to me that when I got my last position, I was given an employer-selected "choice" of three medical insurance "options"...and once again, I think I was told that the ONLY way I could opt-out of making those choices was if I already had other medical insurance. But since employer-provided insurance directly affects my paychecks (and my compensation, raises, etc.) I don't remember the employer saying that if I had my OWN insurance, the employer would pay me the amount the employer would have been paying in on my behalf through their GROUP insurance.

Ugh...does any of this make sense?

Frankly, I hate this reform bill anyway. I think single-payer is the only way to go at this point. And as for the crap about this being 1/6 of the economy, well, how did health care/health insurance get that large?

[Ozymanithrax]

1. If you are a man, and you blind date is a man, that is a mandate...

As to the 1/6 of he economy. There are more than 310 Million Americans. About 48 million are without insurance (depending on your source). That means you are talking about a system that regularly serves over 60% of the population. Health Care isn't cheap and is very labor intensive required huge amounts of infrastructure and several million employees ranging from Doctors to janitors.

[Lorien]

2. I hate the bill too. It does nothing to help the majority and causes plenty of harm through the

mandates.

I keep saying this, and the fans of the current bill have zip to say about it except to hurl personal attacks:

I am self employed, so I buy my own insurance

Over the past 12 years or so I have paid my insurance over $78,000.00 in premiums. I have also paid tens of thousands out in deductible costs, since my deductible is 12k.

Over the past 12 years I have submitted roughly $45,000 worth of claims. The insurance has paid out $200.00 of the claims submitted. The rest either went to the deductible or was denied.

So, for the price of a decent home I have received exactly $200.00 worth of services in 12 years. How is that "reasonable"? I'll tell you one thing; it's no longer sustainable. Most of the doctors I see now don't accept insurance because they can't afford to battle with them over paperwork. In fact, the office manager at my GP's office refuses to carry insurance because, she says, after spending all day on the phone fighting over claims that generally never get paid she sees absolutely no benefit to it. And now the health insurance reform fans want us to cheer because an additional 32 million will now be forced to pay out several grand a year for "insurance" which will likely never pay a claim. Meanwhile that money could put food on the table or keep the lights on instead on lining a CEOs pocket.

Paying thousands for health CARE is quite reasonable. Paying $133,000 for $200.00 worth of health CARE is NOT.

[Fumesucker]

3. Somone forced you to go to university?

You seriously don't understand the difference between being alive and voluntarily deciding to go to a particular school or take a particular job?

I know my post sounds like snark but as a sixth grade graduate I'm having a hard time getting my head around people who have gone to university that don't understand the concept of voluntary association.

[treestar]

4. That employer could choose not to hire anyone who refused, but if

private, that would be their option, if strange.

If the university was public, I don't know how they could do it. But someone would have had to challenge it in the courts, a long and expensive process and paying the premiums would just be cheaper. But it is a positive thing for someone to have when they couldn't have it before, so who would challenge it, other than whacked out libertarians who just don't want the government out of everything.

[kevinbgoode]

5. Thank you....that makes some sense.

In fact, I know some middle-aged people who actually enroll for an hour credit each semester just to get the cheap insurance. . .which is about $250 a semester. Even with tuition and fees adding up to $800-900 for that one hour credit, they get insurance for about five months and medical care as well.