oh my god! a tax to provide basic health care... horrors. We should just tax people to fight wars based on imaginary weapons of mass destruction or to safeguard our vested overseas interests.
Get real!

Every time an uninsured person goes to the hospital ER, they can't be turned away and someone has to pick up the tab. And that's all of us who are insured... we've been the ones ultimately paying for keeping the current system afloat.

As for increases in premiums... there are choices out there and assistance available. And piss poor insurance policies will whither away when the public figures out where the good deals are.

And we need to make the whole system better... not whine like little spoiled children.