[DoughtyOne]

Ouch. I'll bet that if government wasn't offering the healthcare coverage it does, you're insurance payments would probably be half what they are. Someone's got to cover for the government only paying about 50 cents on the dollar for the healthcare they purchase from hospitals. Now the insurance companies are doing it too. And then there's the illegals that get their care for free. Hospitals are being squeezed to the breaking point. So are people like you. Sorry to hear it.

[moonman]

Thanks for the support. Sad thing is ... a whole lot of other people will be (or already are) in my position shortly. We all know it was government that caused health care and prescriptions to become unaffordable without some type of insurance hedge. The numbers have us beat. What politian is going to tell 70+ million Americans that government needs to get out of the health care business and their Medicare/Medicaid Plans are a bad deal for rest of America and to go get their own insurance. It's too late to return to days of personally negociating with the doctors and hospitals. Once they think something is free (sic), ain't none of them giving it up!

[F16Fighter]

Good post...

In retrospect, I knew just as soon as it was clear eveyone would have to ante up for the "AIDS epidemic," insurance costs would go through the roof. Tack on free insurance for lower income citizens and illegals, and presto -- the $12,000 per year health insurance premium to the middle class.

Quite frankly at this point to be fair, ALL Americans have earned some measure of coverage courtesy of Uncle Sam.

[lawdog]

BINGO!! Kennedy et.al. will not be happy with medical care until the only "HMO" available will be ,you guessed it the " fedi-care " plan.

[buffyt]

The gov. coverage of healthcare and also healthcare insurance offered by employers has helped increase the cost of medical care. I know, for example, a friend who works for a doctor, who told this story. When their long time patients don't have any medical coverage from Medicare, Medicaid, or Insurance, they charge these patients a lot less. If you have insurance coverage, they raise their price to the highest amount possible. How do they rationalize this price increase? They had to hire another person to handle the private insurance. She is on the phone all the time with insurance matters. The price increase covers her salary. Welcome to Big Brother's Brave New World. If there were NO medical insurance or Gov. paid medical bills, all the medical costs would DROP drastically! You would see doctors advertising $20 surgeries.