"No it wouldn't. You wouldn't be able to get any insurance because you have a pre-existing condition. Remember? "

No, CarolC. I live in MD- thus the long commute. MD has a program to cover those who are uninsurable. THAT isd why the taxes in MD are so high. If you want to move here, you would get coverage- upon paying the premiums ( see previous:

Well, that's nice for you, beardedbruce, but commuting from Maryland to Georgia is not an option for us. And we can't afford the real estate prices or cost of rent in Maryland, either. We need to live in a place where we can afford the basic necessities like shelter.


"BTW, if I selected only $1000 deductable with copays it would have been $ 475 per month for me alone. So it was comparable to what you claim is too high for you to afford.

So you were not well served by your insurance company. All the more reason to have comprehensive health care reform.


Anyway, EVERY doctor I know will take patients without insurance- you just need to PAY for the services you receive. NOONE is keeping you from getting medical care: YOU have decided that YOU are not worth the cost it takes.

Yes, this is true. But if we don't have enough money to pay for insurance, we sure as hell don't have enough money to pay for all of our health care needs out of pocket. What we can afford, we get and we pay for (which is precious little at this time). What we can't afford, we go without. This means I have not had a comprehensive medical examination, or anything more than the most cursory health screening in several years, and I don't see myself being able to get one any time in the near future.


You seem to think you can not pay for what you get: Either you pay yourself, or you pay in higher taxes. MY choice is to split the difference. NO ONE is keep[ing you from going to a doctor and paying out of pocket. It all depends on how much value you assign to your health.

You don't know that you would have to pay higher taxes for the final bill, because you don't know what's going to be in the final bill. However, I would definitely pay higher taxes for health care, because even those higher taxes would cost me a hell of a lot less than what I would have to pay in order to get insurance under the current system. It's entirely untrue that doctors will always provide care to people who don't have insurance. Doctors will absolutely not provide care unless you pay at the time services are provided. If you can't do that, you are out of luck. So we are only able to get what care we have the money for at any given time. And doctors usually charge more for services to people who don't have insurance, so that makes it even more difficult for people like JtS and me to get care by paying out of pocket. That's another way JtS and I are subsidizing your health care. Because doctors charge us more for services than they do you.


You are not paying for the care you get, beyond your premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. For everything else, other people are paying for your health care. Those other people are the people who pay more for goods and services so your employer can provide you with insurance, and the other people in your insurance pool whose premiums go to pay for your health care.   If you had to pay for all of your care out of pocket, even you, the amazing beardedbruce, would not be able to afford it.