There is no debate that affordable healthcare should be available for all. The debate is the potential cost, during a time when our national debt is climbing at an already record pace. A rate that far outpaces the revenue generated. The deficit, or the difference in spending over income, is right now over 1 TRILLION DOLLARS annually. To put that in perspective, your $50k annual salary would have to be multiplied by 20,000,000 (twenty-million!!) just to meet the amount of money our government spends OVER the amount it receives in tax revenue. As crazy as that is, it’s a subject for an entirely different day. What we need to focus on for this discussion is how the new healthcare law will not only affect the budget of the federal government but how it will affect insurance companies and your pocket book.
Now, let’s cover how insurance companies determine the rates that they charge. Keep in mind that insurance companies are a business and businesses are in the business of what? If you said making money, you are correct. So we know that no business (regardless of type) would do anything that would jeopardize their bottom line and their profits. Knowing that, the insurance companies basically use the law of averages. They determine what certain demographics will cost them and charge them accordingly, or if they are deemed too high risk (cost), will not cover them at all. Again, they won’t jeopardize the bottom line. What the affordable health care act does, is make it mandatory for insurance companies to bring high-risk, sick, and costly beneficiaries into the pool. What’s wrong with that you ask? Well, by raising the risk and the cost to the insurance company, they in turn will have no choice but to raise premiums on everyone else to offset their costs.
You say, “It won’t affect me much since my employer shares premium costs.” Again, business is still business. If the healthcare costs go up for an employer they will have no choice but to change their business model to cover that increasing cost. They may be forced to stop offering pay raises, cut bonuses, and reduce paid time off. They may just pass this cost on to their customer or perhaps they’ll just lay-off workers, or only hire part-timers.
Now in order for the Federal Government to make health insurance available and affordable for everyone, the fed provides subsidies for lower-income wage earners. Basically what that is, is the fed will give money to the insurance companies keeping out of pocket cost low for that person. Where does this money come from? It comes from the taxpayer (you), of course. This, ahem, will create more federal (taxpayer) debt. To offset this new cost and the increasing public debt, taxes will have to be raised. Now, not all money the government gets is in the form of income tax, so don’t worry. There are also taxes on goods and services that are imported and exported out of this country. Those taxes would have to rise as well. And again remember, for any company to remain profitable, will have to pass the cost on to the consumer making other things more expensive for you to buy. So as you see, this doesn't just affect the cost you pay for health insurance. In summary, taxes will have to go up without a significant reduction in other government spending, insurance costs will go up to keep those companies in business, and the public debt will go up. Not one person, business, or organization is exempt. This will prove to be costly for the collective whole. This all may sound bad, but remember what the wise (sarcasm) Karl Marx once said, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”
And hey, if you want a real good look at what socialized government run healthcare looks like, look no further than our own Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Sounds great, right?
And hey, if you want a real good look at what socialized government run healthcare looks like, look no further than our own Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Sounds great, right?