Posts
Not everyone wants "free stuff."
For some good friends, I learned that that subsidies are not necessarily a solution to increasing the number of people covered by healthcare insurance.
They had a catastrophic healthcare insurance policy which covered themselves and their daughter for about $350 per month. They were quite happy with it. Recently, however, they learned that their policy was not going to be renewed because it was not Obamacare-compliant.
The cheapest alternative they could find was $1200 per month, but that does not work with their modest budget. "Did you check to see if you are eligible for subsidies," I asked? "Oh no, Scott. We have never taken money from the government, and we are not about to now. We will just have to go without healthcare insurance. We are not at all happy about this, but we see no alternative."
It's reassuring to know that not everyone is willing to become dependent on government handouts. I'm very proud of our friends' pride, but very upset that it has come to this: to preserve their pride, there are at least some Americans that will have to do without healthcare insurance. This is not right—it is a tragedy. Obamacare not only restricts everyone's healthcare choices, it forces some to either accept handouts they don't want or forego healthcare insurance altogether.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Scott,
You really should urge your friends to obtain health insurance with the subsidy for the sake of their financial health. Their pride is jeopardizing their ability to remain financially ndependent. This is more than a political or principle-based issue, in my view.
""Oh no, Scott. We have never taken money from the government, and we are not about to now. We will just have to go without healthcare insurance. We are not at all happy about this, but we see no alternative."
"
1. I'm 100% sure, without knowing anything about them and just by the fact they live in the USA that they have received money from the government both directly and indirectly since the day they were born. Fact.
2. By paying for the first insurance they already agreed to receive money from the government in the chance that they would require the services. Both directly and indirectly. Fact.
I'm surprised they are willing to go to a doctor at all because this sort of irrationality sounds awfully similar to those people who will not take their dying child to see a doctor because of some religious belief.
Roy: you are 100% wrong. They have never received a subsidy or handout from the government, and never will. The insurance policy they are losing is not a government policy; it is a private contract with a health insurance provider.
Jason: For my friends, whom I admire greatly, pride is extremely important. They would prefer to suffer financially rather than compromise their principles. That our government should force them to do this is appalling. That our government should limit our ability to choose what is best for us is outrageous. This is not the American Way. This is how things are done in Argentina, and it is extremely disturbing to see our country moving in the direction of Argentina. As I've said before, Obama is our first Peronist president.
Do you feel they are looking out for the best interests of their child by forgoing the purchase of health insurance as well?
In the unlikely, but terrible, circumstance that their child becomes terribly ill, do you feel they'd choose to forgo the best treatments available to them?
If so, would their decision to forgo insurance be as admirable?
Would they rely on bankruptcy to make sure their child would get the necessary treatment?
These are not questions that any family should face and they could probably avoid these dilemmas and contribute in a net positive way by choosing to remain in our system rather than opt out until they are forced to re-enter it at a later date.
Jason: your arguments are equivalent to bribing someone to abandon deeply held principles. The government should never do that, especially when the result is to make someone dependent on government favors to survive.
Besides, there are many ways to pay medical bills that don't involve declaring bankruptcy.
Thanks for the replies.
I just feel their decision is unwise. It does feel like a "picking their spots" type of principled argument. It is highly likely that they participate in the enjoyment of various government services and mandates that are supported in a subsidized fashion - ultimately a transfer payment system which is basically how taxes work.
And, on a final note, pride when held onto too tightly is often a vice.
Why not go full circle and complete the righteous Libertarian view in an analysis on your friends? They qualify for subsidies so clearly they have made many bad choices in their lives, therefore, they're low-income idiots. Right? Fine by me - their choice here IS idiotic.
It's a no-brainer, Scott: you do what you have to do to protect your family. It's a shame your head is stuck in the Calafia Beach sand and you didn't counsel them otherwise.
Tyler: you are quick to judge, and liberals (and conservatives, unfortunately) are quick to decide what other people should or should not do with their lives. This is supposed to be a free country. When the government starts telling us what we can and cannot buy; when it labels certain healthcare policies as "substandard," when it regulates the types of toilets we can install and what kinds of lightbulbs are permitted; then we are on the slippery slope to a society that bears little or no resemblance to what our Founding Fathers envisioned.
I completely agree with your comments above, government should stay out. But, unfortunately, that is just not the case and we all have to deal with that reality. My point was about their ridiculous choice to endanger their family for "pride" and your choice to applaud it. And there is no way around it: no health insurance is unequivocally worse than the evil, subsidized Obamacare.
you do what you have to do to protect your family. It's a shame your head is stuck in the Calafia Beach sand and you didn't counsel them otherwise. how to enroll in obamacare
Post a Comment