Hey Americans: Why are y'all against free healthcare?
Why are you happy for your taxes to go to firemen and police and roads but when it comes to universal healthcare you can't stand the idea of putting money in the pot?
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Some people are convinced the government can’t do as good a job at anything as the private sector.
Some people don’t understand that universal healthcare takes many forms, from Britain’s NHS to the Netherland’s universal health insurance.
Some people don’t like the idea of paying for services for people they think aren’t deserving because they don’t work hard.
Some people don’t want to pay the tax rates to support the system, which are much higher in countries with universal healthcare than they are here.
Some people don’t understand the benefits of universal coverage for them personally.
Some people think government services make people dependent and lazy.
Some people are just scared of change.
Personally I’m all for a form of universal coverage. Something like Medicare, which Americans over 65 get, combined with optional, low cost supplemental policies through private insurers to cover any gaps in Medicare. Which is exactly what many people on Medicare do now.
It didn’t help that Obamacare was sold as healthcare reform when it was really just health insurance reform, and while it expanded coverage to a lot of people, it left some working people too poor to afford insurance but not so poor they got subsidized insurance. Combine that with the fact that for all the change not much actually changed for middle class Americans who already had insurance, though many saw the price increase, and a lot of Americans are soured on the idea of another round of reform. They lack imagination, though, but so do their “leaders.”
Yeah i think you're right. It was a step in the right direction but it was so hobbled that while many people benefited from it, plenty suffered for it as well.
@kate21 You are very knowledgeable on this topic and I agree with most of your comments, especially about the ACA being healthcare finance reform, rather than healthcare reform. No one would ever design a healthcare system like we have in the US but man, it’s hard to change.
