What I expect from HC reform, keeping things simple/modest (I think):

[SeeHopeWin]

First let me know say I am 100% for Medicare for all system!!!


My wife and I run a small business, we have a 7 year old daughter. We pay for an individual policy from Humana. Of course, very high deductibles ($4000.00 per person) and you never know what claims they can deny, and they have the right to cancel our policy anytime they like.

Therefore, there is no guarantees and no economic security at all. We make enough money to comfortably pay for the premiums, but we find ourselves avoiding going to the doctors for some issues, because we don't want them to dig deeper and farther back into our medical history, to deny the claims.

Three years ago, right before we bought this policy and before I left my old job with nice benefits, I had to go the ER for I thought were heart problems...etc. The total bill was $27000.00, I was there for 6 hours for tests, there was nothing wrong with me.

Summary: I find myself living in a state of terror of a big medical disaster that can ruin my family's future!!!

In the new bill, I ask that:

1) Health insurance companies are not allowed to refuse coverage to anyone for any reason
2) Protection from 25, 35, or 50% increases in costs every year
3) Never ever deny claims for whatever reason
4) Allow me as a small business owner to buy health insurance for my employees at a decent rate. I define a decent rate as 10% of my employees' yearly salary - I am willing to kick in additional 10% for each one of my employees to give them health insurance (BTW, this far exceeds the $750.00 a year per employee mandate we heard about in one of the bills).

Is this too much to ask? Do we already have agreements on these issues in the various bills?

P.S.

1) I support the expansion of Medicaid, changing the income levels to double the size of the program
2) I strongly support lowering the age for Medicare eligibility to 50
3) I support folding the Schip program into Medicare and having Medicare cover ALL Americans under the age of 18.

[Ms. Toad]

1. It is both too much and not enough

Not enough - there needs to be premium parity. Health insurance companies must be prohibited from basing the premium charge oh health or pre-exsiting conditions.

Too much - paying all claims, regardless of legitimate reasons they should not be paid, is not appropriate (For example, paying for purely cosmetic surgery done for reasons of vanity, or for undisputedly quack cures would raise the cost of the insurance for everyone.) I wouldn't mind a premium add-on for those who want that luxury and/or option to kill themselves but I don't want to pay more for health care to accommodate things that are not really health care.