I have a problem with the concept of "free" health care for all Americans because a lot of people can indeed afford it. But I also recognize a lot of people can't, so I played around with some numbers and came up with the following simple plan:
Divide your family income by 50,000 and that's the percentage of your yearly deductible. Obviously anyone making $50,000 or less would have free health care. Other figures:
$100,000/50,000 = 2% = $2,000
$500,000/50,000 = 10% = $50,000
$1,000,000/50,000 = 20% = $200,000
You could also have private health insurance to lower the costs if you think your deductibles are too high.
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policies when people get 'too sick'...Lifetime and Annual Limits on coverage...charging women more than men for the same coverage...lack of coverage for essential HC benefits like Emergency Services, Hospitalization, Prescription Drugs, Mental Health and Preventative Care?...and more, while costing Double per person vs any other developed nation?
Note: the ACA remedied all that while making it affordable for 46M Americans who previously had No HC at all...and that's just the first step toward HC for all...at Much lower prices.
btw, have you seen a HC Plan...of any kind...from the GOP in the last decade or so?
If the government has a role here it should focus ONLY on assisting those really in need.
I have no problem with a program to provide health care for those who cannot obtain insurance.
I also support every effort to make insurance more competitive.... perhaps by allowing consumers to purchase across state lines.
other limitations mentioned...in addition, the pre-ACA world impeded every American from stepping away from their much needed HC if they wanted to start their own businesses. Also, 46M Americans now able to afford HC is NOT a "Tiny Minority".
Where do you get these malformed ideas?
I just don't know if it would get the net result of lowering costs. I know in PA the state manages risk pools to stabilize premiums.
Allowing cross-state sales could allow healthier people leave one state’s pool for cheaper plans elsewhere.
In my sister in laws's case, her premiums and deductible tripled...and my wife and I realized the only plan we could barely afford at the time, Bronze, was utter garbage with an $18,000 deductible.
witnessed by the ever increasing numbers of Americans (46M now) who have gladly availed themselves of the ACA...but it was never seen as the final solution to the goal of All Americans having truly affordable HC.
...here is an AI overview of those improvements sought by Democrats...but as yet not joined by Republicans, who have failed for nearly 15 years to present a better solution to our HC system.
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AI Overview
Democrats support several changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most notably making permanent the enhanced premium tax credits to keep health insurance premiums low for millions of Americans.
Key changes and additions to the ACA that Democrats support include:
Extending Enhanced Subsidies: Democrats have consistently pushed to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that were initially expanded under the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. These subsidies dramatically increased the number of people qualifying for financial assistance and led to record enrollment. If they expire, premiums for subsidized enrollees are estimated to more than double on average.
Funding Cost-Sharing Reductions: Democrats support fully funding cost-sharing reductions (CSRs), which help lower out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copayments for low-income enrollees in silver plans.
Negotiating Prescription Drug Prices: Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats empowered the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, a measure they support to slash drug costs.
Capping Costs: They support capping insulin costs at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries and implementing a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients.
Requiring Essential Health Benefits: Democrats oppose measures that would allow plans, such as association health plans, to skirt the requirement to cover essential health benefits mandated by the ACA, arguing it would destabilize the marketplace.
The primary focus in late 2025 has been preventing the expiration of the enhanced premium subsidies, with Democrats using legislative tactics like discharge petitions to force votes on the issue.
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Again...Where is the GOP HC Plan...Lord knows they've had more than enough time to draft one. The actual answer is that the GOP is a tool for the "For Profit Health Care Industry that would like to be able to deny you coverage at their whim while allowing Middlemen to offer no value other than exorbitant compensation for their executives.
Suddenly, wait times for appointments increased (except for concierge), Funny to see everyone wonder how that happened, when the Left was intentionally trying to move us closer to systems in which wait times are notorious, and they want to take us further in that direction.
Before, During and After the ACA...along with his personal suggestions for continued improvement...he's an Attorney who interviewed everyone from Obama to the patients affected...and he was one himself during the writing of his book (Emergency Heart Surgery), so he truly understands the issues involved...for sure wrt Physicians, Large HC Corporations (spends focused time on that one) and Government involvement.
Seriously...do yourself a favor and get a copy.
Because our system is largely based on tax avoidance, which would be compounded by your proposal.
At the link: a basic summary of how it works.
Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/Ybjk5DygpJo?si=307UVkLAsN7vtiBx
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Consent Management