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A mandate won't help me get insurance- I don't have insurance because I can't afford it. Forcing me to pay for it won't make it more affordable.

You want to mandate a low plan that has a set pricetag, we might have something. What I want (personally) is a plan that covers only the big stuff- that I couldn't handle on my own. Like cancer or a car wreck. I'll pay for the preventive stuff that's quick and easy.

What I fear is we will get a minimum plan that covers the cheap stuff and still leaves me holding the bag for something big, and that's the one they'll force me to buy.

This "mandating" buying of insurance is the part that has me most concerned. I *can't* and nobody seems to address that in the politician world. And there are a lot of people worse off than I am, who will be bankrupted by having to buy insurance they can't afford.

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Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl (Post 295553)

A mandate won't help me get insurance- I don't have insurance because I can't afford it. Forcing me to pay for it won't make it more affordable.

The bill includes not just a mandate, but if you can't afford it, methods for providing you credits that allow you to purchase it anyway.

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You want to mandate a low plan that has a set pricetag, we might have something. What I want (personally) is a plan that covers only the big stuff- that I couldn't handle on my own. Like cancer or a car wreck. I'll pay for the preventive stuff that's quick and easy.

Then you don't want the Democratic plan at all even if it does have a public option. All versions of the bill would essentially make such catastrophic coverage impossible.

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What I fear is we will get a minimum plan that covers the cheap stuff and still leaves me holding the bag for something big, and that's the one they'll force me to buy.

The main plan being considered requires coverage of all the small stuff, you can't be dropped when you get sick, and has a cap on personal expenditures within a year of $5,000 ($10,000 for a family). After those "deductibles" you're coverage is essentially 100% and unlimited.

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This "mandating" buying of insurance is the part that has me most concerned.

Well, the public option wouldn't help with that either. It wasn't to be free. And it wouldn't necessarily be a lot cheaper than current private insurance. That's why it includes affordability credits (if I'm remembering that part of the bill credits were on a sliding scale all the way up to 97% of cost).

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Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight (Post 295544)

And defend it as "freedom of speech" all you want, the fact is that the conservative movement has all but cornered the market on generating outrage and yelling half-truths and/or lies as an ends to a means. Conservative voices dominate the talk radio dial. And personally I'm glad that people who hold opinions closer to mine (liberals) simply aren't as good at that game.

I certainly do not agree with that premise, and would in fact proclaim the opposite when it comes to elected officials. Reid and Pelosi as the leaders of the dem majorities and excel at it.

I don't think it's an issue of not being as good at it, but I think most conservatives who listen to talk radio or other outlets are fed up with what they perceive as the liberal bias in the declared mainstream media.

I've watched Olberman and (liek O'Reilly, whio I've never had a taste for either) he just seems angry all the time.

As far as Obama injecting his voice of reason....he does whatever he thinks is politically expedient, as is common to politicians. Everything Obama says is planned (not that there's anything wrong with that), but he stays on script and when off of it I find him pretty amusing. Like when he was arguing for health care and proclaimed how (the non government companies) FedEx and UPS do well while the (government run) USPS has all the problems. When he is off script or cannot read the teleprompter, he is not so reasoned.

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Originally Posted by scaeagles (Post 295577)

I've watched Olberman and (liek O'Reilly, whio I've never had a taste for either) he just seems angry all the time.

Yes, he is, which is why I think he's failing. His audience that agrees with him doesn't have the taste for the vitrol that the conservative audience does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl (Post 295553)

What I want (personally) is a plan that covers only the big stuff- that I couldn't handle on my own. Like cancer or a car wreck. I'll pay for the preventive stuff that's quick and easy.

I have a "catastrophic" policy through Blue Cross Anthem. I believe it's $70 a month (mom and dad graciously picked up the tab).

Out of curiosity, at what price point does catastrophe kick in?

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Originally Posted by Alex (Post 295588)

Out of curiosity, at what price point does catastrophe kick in?

I think $10k - which while a lot of money it's not a "break the bank" amount when broken down into monthly payments.

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The Obama administration filed court papers Monday claiming a federal marriage law discriminates against gays, even as government lawyers continued to defend it. Justice Department lawyers are seeking to dismiss a suit brought by a gay California couple challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The administration's response to the case has angered gay activists who see it as backtracking on campaign promises made by Barack Obama last year.
In court papers, the administration said it supports repeal of the law.

Source
I can't tell if Obama means it or if he's trying to distract the conservative wackos, give them something else to scream about instead of health care...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket (Post 295607)

Source
I can't tell if Obama means it or if he's trying to distract the conservative wackos, give them something else to scream about instead of health care...

Smart move. Give the media something new to obsess about; the astroturfers will be yesterday's news...