Unfortunately, you are correct. We, the US, already do very stupid things compared to other countries when it comes to health care. I am arguing that continuing to look at alternative solutions to the current system as inherently bad because of some arcane McCarthy era scares (which is the entire no universal-health-care, no affordable care act argument is) - is one of these stupid things. BTW - I do not want universal-health-care because I care for it, I just want to get better or equal health-care for less - and since I am mathematical inclined and have been looking at financial data for a long time - it irates me that we are not looking at proven solutions when the data is so obvious.
The affordable care act... was kind of all the things I find wrong with the US mixed into one nice package. I know it probably helped some people and to that extent it's good, but it was basically crony capitalism to the max. Hey, insurance companies you can make a bunch more money we got you covered. We'll also kind of make people have to opt-in, but kind of not... Personally, it cost me a lot of money - which isn't always a bad thing mind you - I can accept that for lower-income people it probably did good things and the government doesn't need to run around "me". I think if I was a Republican what I would be upset with is that the GOP and those candidates really haven't cooked up any of there own answers to the healthcare problem. At least (IMO) the democrats are saying what we have doesn't really work let's try something else. It seems to me like the GOP is saying this is working for us because we're making a ton of money off of it so it's fine.
I suspect that ACA also cost me money, but as you said, at least it tried to solve the problem and probably helped a lot more people than those that it hurt. The problem with the ACA is that it was half-baked. It was trying to ensure health insurance while keeping the free-for-all private insurance structure. To solve the problem you either replace the private insurance with proper universal health care or you put real restrictions on what private insurance can and can not do. Basically, the ACA got some things right - but it did not go far enough to be effective on many levels. It still helped tons of people that were not insured before to get insurance - and that's a good thing.
The ACA was a compromise solution between (at least) like four parties...Republicans, Democrats, conservative Democrats and insurance companies. Without the buy-in of all the parties, nothing would have happened. It's not what Obama wanted to start out with, nor what most of the Democratic party wanted. So you end up with an amalgam of solutions and give-aways to get everyone on board. Doesn't make anyone entirely happy, but it's an incremental step. You rarely get all the way to ideal (or your conception of ideal) in one step. As soon as the ACA was passed, even Obama recognized that it was really just a stepping stone, not anywhere close to a comprehensive answer. But you take what you can get, when you can get it. Democrats have been trying and failing to get any health care reform through for generations.
Bernie will continually have to deal with the 'c' word. https://www.theblaze.com/news/jim_cramer_sanders_communist
If Bernie does land the nomination, I'm curious if he might team up with Warren on the ticket. I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time it's been mentioned/suggested. With Bloomberg in the mix, my guess is they'll be playing a lot more nice with each other, and, perhaps, even discover that they actually like each other....even work together (?)
The ACA made it so insurance companies could not put a cap on how much they will pay. Many lifetime benefit limits were around $1 million. What is the point of insurance if it isn't going to protect you? If you got into a giant car accident that could swallow a huge portion of the $1 million dollar limit. Also, this stuff happens. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vo...7/2/15/14563182/obamacare-lifetime-limits-ban Should families have to consider bankruptcy just by trying to get the right care for their child? Anyone should be willing to pay more to make sure that never happens. Y'know, be a good society and all.
Yup, it also capped their profits as a percentage, requiring insurance companies to spend something like 90% of their premium income on paying out benefits.
Michael Moore & Sean Penn really got it wrong a few years back when they commented on, and praised the Venezuelan "miracle". The country was so rich with oil that it took time for socialism to completely destroy its once vibrant economy. They say even today they still have one of the largest oil reserves in the world, even greater than Saudi. They are not able to get it out of the ground because socialism screwed up the pricing system, with endless gov spending and debt has caused hyperinflation that has destroyed their currency. Chavez and Maduro leadership with socialism helped devastate the country.
Bloomberg had commented that all you need is seed, soil, and water to grow corn. Me thinks it was missing another ingredient.
Uh oh!! https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/politics/bernie-sanders-russia-election-interference/index.html
