Originally Posted by CityGarden:
I am not seeing any benefits from the plan to me (yet)..... I am waiting on others in this field like Tom to chime in.
I am also hopeful removing the individual mandate will not cause my insurance premiums to sky rockets.
Yes, it will be interesting to hear what Tom says. He understands the childcare field and how tax deductions work in our favor.
Health insurance should be as easy as car insurance. Without the mandate you could choose catastrophic insurance and just pay for regular medicals bills yourself. That is what I have been doing anyways with the high deductible for insurance that I couldn't use. My high cost insurance never paid for anything. Currently in California, it is against the law to buy catastrophic insurance without having standard health insurance.
How about I just choose the insurance that I need. I don't need to pay for mammograms but I'm currently covered for them. As a a matter of fact, I don't go to doctors or take medication. I spend a fortune though on quality foods. I want to spend my money on what I need. I only pay a few thousand dollars on all my cars and I am covered to the max and can include a million dollar umbrella policy for a few extra hundred dollars. That is how health insurance should be.
Originally Posted by CityGarden:
I am concerned about eliminating the deduction for state and local income taxes - I'm in California so one of the highest rates in the nation I believe. This can mean a great deal of money for me.
Well you are right there. California along with states like New York and New Jersey are going to get hit. I believe its political payback to some extent in order to "feel the pain" of liberal policies and government in those states.
Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Further, I do not understand why the Republicans would not be the party pushing for universal heath care --- based on my study of history in the past they would have been the party most likely to back something like it.
Its too expensive. (BernieCare would cost roughly $13.8 trillion over its first decade of operation). If the government could keep the GDP at 4% or higher per year and get the federal deficit to single digits, it could be possible but with pharma and the medical fields charging such high costs, it makes it improbable IMO. I would rather everyone have free preventive care. That would be a medical insurance in itself.