Ebon, that is all well and good, but I do not know the path to get there on this side of the pond.  Too much political water has passed under the bridge to deconstruct what we have now and reconstruct it in a totally sane manner. That might have (and should have) been done in the 60s or 70s; now it is like trying to move Mt. Everest.

I would not have been disappointed had Obamacare been overturned, had I any faith that the people in Washington would be able to put their heads together and come up with something better.  In fact, the Republicans have made it clear that they have no clue as to what such a "better" program would look like.  To them, "not-Obamacare" says everything that needs to be said; and I have even less faith that the American voter will press them hard enough to force them to actually explain themselves.

Obviously, Ebon.

But the Republican plan is to defund Medicare in favor of vouchers for (dysfunctional) private insurance.

Actually, Medicare has a funding problem, but it has nothing to do with the program, it has to do with demographics (i.e., more older people).

So one would logically think that opening it to all would help on both accounts; providing more reliable insurance for everyone, and bringing younger (presumably healthier) people into the paying pool.

But no...

Jul 2, 2012 -- 3:41PM, mountain_man wrote:

It's not that simple. The Health Insurance Industry contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to, mostly, Republican politicians. These companies make huge profits are are willing to spend a portion of that to guarantee those profits. Those companies, and the Republicans, could not care less what is best for Americans. They only worry about money and power.

Well, obviously, I'm talking a world where things make sense and Congress actually tries to help the people.

Jul 1, 2012 -- 9:47PM, mountain_man wrote:

Jul 1, 2012 -- 8:09PM, IreneAdler wrote:

Can’t say for a certainty, but in times past, health care coverage was a benefit an employer could offer that was not taxed in the same manner as employee salary. 

Game has changed now.

Yes, it has. With the Affordable Health Care Act small businesses that were unable to afford health insurance for it's workers will not get tax breaks for doing so.

And, in an odd twist, some companies are seriously pondering paying the penalty than continue to offer health insurance to their employees.  Current penalty is less than the insurance costs.  Need to maximize profits to make that new Device Tax.

The prez of my company feels strongly that our company must continue to offer health insurance (bless him!). But the options may become reduced (we have 4 or 5 different health plans to choose from now).

Irene.  

ACA is a start in the right direction, but it's a feeble one.  I am grateful for the elimination of the pre-existing condition clause, though - I would imagine most people who are too young for Medicare but still old enough to want to retire have some pre-existing conditions.  I would have been ready to retire at the start of this year, eligible for Social Security, but since I'm not old enough for Medicare, I'd have to wait until my husband's insurance had open enrollment.  Sort of fortunately, I lost my job anyway, so now I can sign up sooner.  Goofy rules - can't sign up on the new insurance if I voluntarily quit working, but I can by getting fired or laid off.

Also, if they would lower the eligibility age for Medicare, there might be more early retirees, which would open up some jobs, which would help the economy and get more dollars into the Social Security fund.  Of course, the Repooplicans would somehow screw that up.