Should Health Insurance Premiums cost as much or more as one's mortgage or rent?

[LWolf]

With deductibles and copays still needing to be paid?

Mine does. I am lower middle class, with an income that has gotten smaller the last 4 years in a row.

11 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes, it's okay that it costs more to buy health insurance, and more after that to use it, than it does to pay the rent or mortgage.
	0 (0%)
	No. "Affordable" does not mean "enough to rent another home."
	11 (100%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Skittles]

1. by affordable they mean spend what you would have saved for retirement

these bastards want it ALL

[LWolf]

14. I am never going to be able to stop working.

I expect to die in the classroom someday.

[Skittles]

19. a lot of us have come to that conclusion, LWolf

and a lot of others just don't get it yet - even if you do save and believe me, I have saved all my life - I am not an idiot - I know all it takes is one disaster to wipe it out because with capitalism run amok, any issue you have in your life is viewed as a reason to take you to the cleaners

[LWolf]

21. Human society

should be supportive of people.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Not just no, but HELL NO!

Glad to see that no one has voted yes!

0% yes-----that's the way!

[Cirque du So-What]

3. I believe health insurance should cost

no more than a set percentage of what any individual, couple or family pays in federal income taxes. I'm thinking 15% or so would be fair. I believe it should be progressive in order that those most able to afford it help pick up the slack for those less fortunate.

[enlightenment]

4. In some enlightened nations,

less than 15% of income buys people actual health care.

[LWolf]

10. 15% of what they pay in taxes, or of income?

That's quite a difference.

Both are less than what I pay for a premium now, without counting in the big deductible.

[Cirque du So-What]

15. I was thinking 15% of what is paid in taxes

My math may be all wrong, but I believe it would be feasible if people paid according to progressive rates, with the lowest-income individuals paying less than 15% and those at the upper end paying more than 15%.

[LWolf]

16. 15% of what I paid in taxes

would be an affordable amount, if there were no deductibles and copays added on.

[Sgent]

5. It shouldn't cost an individual

anything -- and even cost sharing (deductibles, co-pays, etc.) are IMHO problematic in many situations.

That being said, it does have to be paid for -- and that's where progressive taxation comes to the rescue.

[green for victory]

6. There's an immediate alternative to more "progressive taxation" and that is

STOP THE GD WARS that have bankrupted this nation



THAT Used to be OUR MONEY and it's been STOLEN

WE could have alternative energy AND *real* health care reform if "we" weren't spending >$2000 PER SECOND bombing and invading lands 8000 miles away

http://costofwar.com

[LWolf]

11. Deductibles and copays add insult to injury.

When the premium alone is bankrupting us, how are we supposed to come up with more for actual CARE?

[peace13]

7. My husband and I pay two and a half times more for our health insurance ...

Than we do for the mortgage. In addition we have a small business so we pay double social security and Medicare. Two things we will have stolen from us. Go figure.

[joeglow3]

8. As a business model, yes.

You will file multiple claims every year, buy not for your house. Everyone has a risk of millions in health care, with no risk of that from a house.

This is why the current model can't work.

[LWolf]

17. Health Care, like education,

shouldn't be run like a business. It's a public service.

You're right. That's why the current model doesn't work.

[Ron Obvious]

9. No, and it needn't...

A cousin of mine works in the Netherlands, where they recently changed over to a mandatory insurance mode as well. The difference is that for about $150 a month, he gets full coverage for everything, including medications, dental and vision, all without copays for anything. That's the basic package, but if you want to get a luxury plan you're free to do so, and they're completely separate from employment.

Meanwhile, our shitty insurance here charges more than $600 a month, I pay the first $7500 myself and it does not cover any meds whatsoever (which are also more than 10x as expensive here as they are there)

And that's when I was so healthy I never made a single claim. I now have a heart condition and I'm terrified of the next rate increase.

This system's fucked.

[LWolf]

13. It needn't, but it does.

[woo me with science]

12. K&R Of course not.

[woo me with science]

18. kick

[woo me with science]

20. kick