Whether you like it or not, you're still paying for the uninsured. Always there to demonize the poor and uninsured, the Republicans like to ask why they should ever pay for anyone else other than themselves. (Less so when it's to fund their wars of convenience or other pet projects.) Just because the Republicans want to ignore the issue, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist or will just go away.
The average family with health insurance shells out an extra $1,000 a year in premiums to pay for health care for the uninsured, a new report finds.As John has said on a number of occasions, the Democrats would be making a mistake though to limit changes to only the 50 million uninsured. The US system for the bulk of Americans is a disaster. It's expensive and it's complicated. If money is no object, sure, the US health care system is great but not everyone is in that position. The argument against national health care plans that let faceless bureaucrats decide on coverage and your doctor is nonsense. Besides that already being the case with private health insurance in the US, that is definitely not the way it works everywhere, certainly not in France.
And the average individual with private coverage pays an extra $370 a year because of the cost-shifting, which happens when someone without medical insurance gets care at an emergency room or elsewhere and then doesn't pay.
The report was being released Thursday by advocacy group Families USA, which said the findings — which it calls a "hidden tax" — support its goal of extending coverage to all the 50 million Americans who are now uninsured. Congress and the Obama administration are working on a plan to do that.
Whether Obama and the Democrats have the stomach for a fight - and it will be a big one against big money - that remains to be seen. I've yet to see any sign of a willingness to take on such a battle but maybe they're saving themselves for this one. Doubtful, but maybe.
