I'm so glad i don't have to live within this system. It sounds horrifying. Both for the insurance costs and the actual costs of treatment. At this point there is a 50/50 chance i may be spending a fair amount of time in the United states in the not too distant future as we are looking to launch our brand into the US market, I'm wondering if it will be cheaper and easier to just get travel insurance for the medical coverage as my time will be split between the 2 countries, although mostly still Australia. I'd hate to get caught out under the system you have right now.

We have some of the finest hospitals and doctors in the world. And before aca insurance was reasonably priced and did not cause financial hardship.

It's the insurance companies and government that fubard everything up

Health care in this country is expensive. I blame the greed of the pharmaceutical companies and the health care industry. Because we are a rich country companies charge exorbitant prices for their products because they know that medicare and insurance companies will pay their prices, even if they are a total ripoff.

The system allows for a company to raise prices 600% on a drug overnight without justification. The same drug in Canada sells for a fraction of the price that drug sells for in the US.

A motorized wheelchairs sell for more money in this country then others. I blame Congress for not writing laws that allow for competition and regulations that protect citizens in this country.

And

What? Even before the ACA healthcare spending was nearly double that of peer nations, with medical outcomes at or below average. I'm no fan of the ACA but let's not rewrite history here.

So the fact that the AFFORDABLE healthcare act made it WAY more expensive does not even draw a response from you? He said our premiums would be less than a cell phone bill. Instead they went way up. All you say is we are spending more than some other country. Can't you even admit it was total false advertising?

My health insurance is more than most people mortgage

Maybe its like "Right to work"? It really means the opposite.

Dude, what are you on about? I did not dispute that costs have continued to rise, but rather his position that healthcare in this country was somehow great and affordable before the ACA. It was absolutely not. In 2007, more than half of all U.S. bankruptcies were the result of medical expenses. Calm yourself and re-read my previous statement.

Affordable or not, our system is totally *^%#ed up. One of my Cub Scout dads is a neurosurgeon. Actually, I think he's a pediatric neurosurgeon. We were talking one day and he told me he gets paid $20 for delivering a life or death diagnosis. His wife works as a bartender/waitstaff. They have a decent lifestyle, but they are high rolling. To sum it up, they could probably hire one of us to do a simple surround system, but not whole house.

Meanwhile, the CEO for the NC division of a national insurance provider gave $4,000,000 to his two alma maters a couple years ago.

This just doesn't seem right to me.

I don't see why congress just didn't allow insurance companies to sell across state lines. That would spur competition in the free marketplace, driving down costs but increasing value.

I also think there should be periodic physicals for people. We are the fattest, laziest country in the world and the majority of our health problems are linked to our diets and lifestyles. Other than tobacco use, the fat slobs eating cookies and sitting on their butt all day should pay more than a healthy person that has taken personal responsibility for their own body, by eating well, being active, etc.

Look at all the problems that everyone knows are attributed to processed sugar/ heavy carbs and sodium. Yet look at any grocery store in the US. All the center aisles, which is about 80% or more of the store, are food in boxes, bags and cans. All that crap is bad for you. With the exception of oatmeal and a few other things, we should be shopping in the produce section, eating more fish, and baking/ grilling our other meats. We don't even need to go into the fast food problems we have, here.

Can you eat pizza? Sure, just don't eat the whole thing. Eat a couple pieces and have some vegetables, too. Save the leftover pizza for lunches or something.

Apparently I read you wrong, so I apologize. Your post seemed to be some sort of defense for what they call affordable healthcare. At least call it what it is when you propose it Mr. President. In my case, it drove my family out of an insurance plan that I had had for them since 1988.

It may have been expensive before, but the ACA is what fubared everything- it was forced on us, we're penalized if we don't join and it's not going to be better until a better plan is introduced to replace this POS.

ERs used to be the place where the uninsured went for basic care and what happened? Hospitals closed because they lost a ton of money supporting the ER, which is one of the most expensive areas in a hospital. We should have had far more small clinics spread around for basic care- these cost far less to operate, they could refer people if the problem was more serious and if people don't have insurance, it would have been possible for Congress to create a program for basic care via these clinics but NOOOOOOO! They couldn't do that.

Preventive care would have done so much to prevent needless death & illness, but that makes too much sense.

The problem with fast food is that it's not only faster than buying and making it, it's possible to eat enough for a few dollars. Who buys 1/3lb of hamburger, one bun, a few pickles, a packet of catsup and a slice of cheese, in order to make one burger?

The old system was so much better. If you had a preexisting condition you couldn't get insurance. Insurance companies were allowed to sell junk policies. If you were too poor to pay for insurance you could always just go into a ridiculous amount of debt and ultimately destroy your credit and life for that matter by going to the emergency room whenever you need to see a doctor.

Boy oh boy do i miss the way things used to be. Can't you just picture all those @ssho!es hounding you night and day trying to collect a debt as you lay their in your home waiting to die because you can't afford the surgery that would save your life.

It's so awesome to live in a wealthy Christian nation where a few crybabies would rather let the rest of the world die if it meant a few bucks were shaved off their monthly payment. It's what Jesus Would Do for sure.

Health care insurance shouldn't be any more complex than auto insurance.

But stupid Americans can't realize they just a herd of fat and lazy cash cows getting played by the Medical Industrial Complex.