Health care. Soapbox warning.

So here's a couple excerpts from a Wall Street Journal article.

"Under the legislation, about 19 million lower-earning Americans would get tax credits to offset the cost of buying insurance, with the help stretching up to a family of four earning $88,000 a year. A further 16 million people would get insurance through an expansion of the federal-state Medicaid program to make it available to a family of four earning up to $29,000 a year."

"Tax increases needed to finance the program would hit a range of industries, from insurers to tanning services. Over the next decade, $108 billion in new fees will fall on insurers, drug makers and medical-device companies. Families earning more than $250,000 a year will pay a higher Medicare payroll tax, and see that tax expanded to investment income. High-value insurance plans will also be hit with a 40% tax starting in 2018."

Let me get this straight.

If you can't afford health insurance, government gives it to you. Or they fine you.

If you work hard for your money, you get taxed so the government can give it to those who can't afford insurance.

If you're smart and want to retire someday without government dependence (eg. investing), you get taxed so they can give it to those who haven't thought of that idea.

The people who are responsible for high medical costs in the first place (insurers, drug makers, and medical-device companies) are going to get taxed more... and this is supposed to lower health care costs?



As someone who extremely recently has dealt with the whole system, including insurance companies, emergency services providers, hospital services, and continuing medical bills, I say the program is warped. Something's wrong.

But this is not the answer.