(08-27-2016 11:22 AM)georgewebb Wrote: (10-03-2013 01:15 PM)GoodOwl Wrote: AAF: 30-year-old men face average premium hikes of 260%
A new study from the American Action Forum that looks at healthy 30-year-old men finds that underlying premiums for those individuals will increase by an average of 260 percent. The AAF study compared the least-expensive plans available today to the cheapest plans on the Obamacare exchanges, as did the Manhattan Institute study. The MI analysis, by contrast, adjusted those pre-ACA rates to take into account sicker individuals.
In a sense, the AAF study is more relevant to the problem at hand. Obamacare makes healthy people pay more for insurance in order to subsidize sicker people. It makes younger people pay more to subsidize older people. It makes men pay more to subsidize women. It makes everyone pay more to cover benefits, taxes, and fees that consumers might not ordinarily want.
Politically, this is absolutely predictable, because it has been clear for some time that virtually none of the public genuinely wants health INSURANCE, in the sense of actuarially-based risk-shifting. Rather, what the public claims to want -- especially (but not exclusively) people who expect to consume a lot of health care -- is health care that "someone else" pays for. Who that "someone else" is is unclear.
I have to agree with you that is the fundamental problem. The first thing people need to admit and get over is that medical care is a service, not a right, and it has and deserves a market-based cost. Money needs to figure into the medical decision tree, but by the consumer of the service, not some arbitrary law or goverment mandated formula.
Most everyone is looking for someone else or some other entity to pay this for them. Many people use their employers to try to do this, however, most of those are increasingly finding their employers are having to shift more of the costs back onto the employees. All those touted "benefits" to compensate for lower salaries, are not worth what people thought they were.
I sometimes feel alone in only wanting Insurance as you described. I don't want to and am unwilling to pay for all the other $#!t lumped into all these "plans" that have almost nothing to do with what I as a consumer want. Since health insurance is no longer available in this country anywhere from any source, i do not participate in the charade. If Insurance becomes available when there is a shift in leadership, i will evaluate the cost-benefit and choose whether or not to purchase it at that time.
What we have now is just a rip-off and a lie. It is worse than what we had before. While I agree that the previous system needed work, mostly it was due to the infusion of government controls and price-fixing into the system for 40 years when medicare was created that began the problems. Removing both the government and the employers from the equation, and allowing people to purchase only what they need is most of the answer.
Health care is a service, just like getting your oil changed or getting your car fixed. It is a service that deserves a free-market solution that is consumer-based and across state lines. I know Insurance commissioners in the 50 states fear losing power, too bad.
All I want is to buy myself cheeseburger, with my own money, with no mustard and extra pickle. If you force me to buy a gluten-free hummus-mushroom burger because that is the only thing you allow on your menu, I will just not be eating at your establishment. Imagine having to purchase this same type of "insurance" for food, and you see how ridiculous this whole ACA is. That is what is going on in a nutshell. As more people slowly realize this (wait till this year's rates hikes go in effect) there will grow more push-back against this stupidest of government overreaches.