Quick and to the point, I want to get people's perspective on this -- but first a little of my own. I have 3 kids, my oldest just turned 6, another thats 2, and another is 5 mo. old. I am self-employed as a freelance programmer and software consultant. I make a decent wage, but definitely could use more. I own a rental property but I live in an apartment building, and here in Ohio we pay 7.x % sales tax. With all that said, I want health coverage for all of us. I want to be able to go to the doctor and be seen, without worrying about getting a job at the local bookstore just to get into a good HMO plan.
But... I don't want health insurance for myself, nor do I want to be forced into buying it. I want to be able to buy a government plan for my kids and my girl but not myself, what's wrong with that?
A Single-Payer system, some kind of socialized health care system would be awesome. But what Clinton and Obama are calling Universal Health Care is NOT Universal Health Care. In Clinton's case, it's Universal Health Insurance, that you are required to buy, period. Which makes Obama's plan much more tolerable. I can buy insurance (good insurance) for my kids, who need it. I'm in my 20's, I don't need insurance, but my fiance does. To be mandated to provide insurance for my kids is fine. As a matter of fact, it's great! They'll get better health insurance than I've ever had. But I'm not sick, and I think it's my right not to pay for more insurance. Hell I'm paying over $200 bucks for car insurance between myself and my girl. I'm paying fire insurance and Private Mortgage Insurance. All these are required for me to pay, by law.
I don't think either candidates health care plan is good, but Obama's is clearly better. I don't want to be forced to pay for "health insurance" and I'm in my prime. I don't go to hospitals if I can avoid it and I haven't ever been sick. My girlfriend does need health insurance but I'm worried they won't cover her because of "pre-existing conditions." Either way, it's another tax on the American people, and we already pay way too many taxes. What about young people with kids? Clinton's plan harms working-class people, but helps insurance companies.
I just have serious reservations about being forced to buy health insurance for myself. What if I didn't have kids -- then I really wouldn't need it. And yes, having it already avoids the pre-existing condition problem and I would probably believe that line of argument except for recent events. My aunt died of brain cancer several years ago. She had health insurance. And when the bills started stacking up because she was living too long, they began to refuse to pay for operations which could've saved her life. They weighed the cost of the operations and medications versus the probability of her longterm survival. The money was worth more.
So I've had bad experiences with health insurance, and I know better than to call Universal Health Insurance - Universal Health Care, because they are not the same.