He uttered this phrase multiple times in an attempt to allay the fears that many individuals and families harbored that they would be forced to abandon their current insurance coverage and provider in favor of some kind of all-encompassing and all-powerful government insurance. There was talk of death panels and waiting months in order to have your ruptured appendix removed. There was also talk that healthcare would now be more accessible. People that could not afford insurance would now be able to. Millions of uninsured would now have access to providers without clogging up the already overwhelmed emergency rooms across the nation. People with pre-existing conditions would not be turned away. Folks that were 45 years old but 95% of the way to a resting spot six feet under due to an existence fueled by overindulgence in food, drugs, and sun - would pay the same amount as an 18 year old high school captain of the swim team. One cannot afford to discriminate in this country unless one is willing to be prepared for damning labels like "cold-hearted", "neocon", or "tea bagger" just to name a few.
Much like all other erosion of personal responsibility like wearing a seatbelt and drinking Big Gulps, our government is much better at getting participation in healthy living by pointing a gun at our heads than by simply allowing each of us to decide for ourselves what is good, or not good, for us and then having to manage the consequences.
So, like a good little citizen, I have paid my taxes - in order to fund NIH studies on the sexual predilections of African forest bats. I have always paid my mortgage on time - in order to subsidize the many individuals that have walked away from their homes and let them fall into foreclosure because the banks "tricked them" into signing those loan docs. And, I have covered my family with health insurance - in order to lessen the financial burden thrust upon all the Occupy Wall Streeters when they consumed too many bad mushrooms.
Insurance, I am told, is a necessary evil. As someone who invests for his future, I can agree with that description. I bet on companies all the time. Will Apple's next iGaget be a hit? If I believe so, I might throw a little money their way to support their concept and growth. If I'm wrong, I lose my investment. No one likes to lose. So, as a healthy individual that is part of an average but healthy family I have to protect my investment. I want to see my children grow up. I want them to go to college. I want to travel to Europe. I want to retire in comfort. I want . . .
There are a great many maladies that might strike us from the moment we are born (sometimes even before we are born). Anything serious like an auto accident, cancer, or heart attack can devastate an investment portfolio. All of those "wants" will be condensed down to just one: I want to be healthy.
So, like I said, for over two decades I have hedged my bets by purchasing healthcare insurance. I played ball. I did the responsible thing. I would have preferred to spend the money on hookers and blow but that did not fit my healthy lifestyle so I opted for wasting it on insurance. It was a waste. My family has never really utilized our insurance. We pay cash when we do happen to visit the doctor since our deductible is astronomical.
Last week, in response to doing my civic duty so heroically for so many years, Aetna sent me a letter explaining some important "changes" to my coverage.
I was particularly fond of the soothing language "withdrawal of coverage". They didn't kill or terminate my coverage. They simply pulled it away like a hungry leech that had engorged itself on my financially sound blood.
Oopps. So much for "If you like your insurance . . ." Maybe the government knew better than me. I suspect they were able to focus some of their NSA assets on my psyche and listen in on my subconscious thoughts to determine that I actually hate my insurance. Thank you again for saving a wretch like me.
Luckily, the letter points the way to the much heralded California Exchange. So, I connected to the site and this is what they calculated for me:
YIKES! or ZOINKS! as Shaggy would say. Unfortunately this is no cartoon whose absurdity I can chuckle at with my children. It's going to become our future in just a few more months. At this time I am paying $565 per month to cover my family through Aetna. The super-efficient government is going to be able to do that at the tremendous discount of an additional 72% more. Those of you that live in California, feel free to check out their little calculator yourself at:
Currently the calculator only gives you the "Silver" plan to compare. This is pretty good since it is very similar to what I have now. With my next post I hope to have my current benefits next to those offered by the California Exchange.
