Do you want affordable health care, or affordable health insurance?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Which of these two goals do you think is more worth aiming for?

[politicat]

1. well, logically, if health care is affordable, so will be health insurance

insurance is (supposed to be) based on the amount it costs to pay for a specific set of circumstances; if the costs for those services drops, then logically, so does the cost of the insurance.

At least it would in a well regulated insurance industry (which is doubtful at this time.)

Pcat

[burrowowl]

2. Affordable health care

means single-payer like in Europe.
I made more in France than here and paid about the same amount of taxes. Only the income tax rate here is lower, buth then FICA, etc are added on along with state income tax and bingo! The lower and middle classes pay more and get nothing. Like good roads, good public education, universities, health care, etc. We get things like Star Wars II, mercenaries, etc.

[xray s]

3. to make the comparison complete you have to do this

take the cost of health insurance, co-pays, deductables etc and add that to the taxes you pay in the US. For example, if you make $48,000 per year, and have a family, the cost of your health insurance premiums ($12,000) equates to a 25% tax on your income. And then you can realize just how much we are getting screwed by the corporate, for-profit health insurance industry in this country.

[Cleita]

4. Neither is a good option.

We need accessible health care. Insurance should never have been sold for health care. Insurance, by it's nature covers catastrophes that could happen, not that will happen. Affordable health care precludes you are either independently wealthy or able to work for an income large enough to afford health care when you or your family need it, something that the sick and elderly don't often have.

[bemildred]

5. A free public health care system paid for by the income tax.

(I know, I know, we'll have to give up fucking with smaller
countries, but we'll all be healthier, and most of us will
also have a lot more money in our pocket, eh?)

[UTUSN]

6. I Want Asshole Shrub OUT of This Universe n/t