When I read the pro-health care reform stance, it seens to be centered around the simplified principle that society should provide such a benefit to the uninsured.
I never hear these people mention that they would be willing to financially sacrifice in order to meet this goal.
So, how much would you be willing to financially sacrifice so that everyone can be insured?
I would definitely be willing to sacrifice the shorter life expectancy that we have in the US for the longer life expectancy that other developed countries have. Further, I would be willing to sacrifice spending twice as much per capita on health care for the smaller amount that other countries pay. If we have to live longer and spend less on health care in order to have universal coverage, than I guess I’ll have to live (longer) with that.
I’d be willing to become a Canadian citizen!
Wait a tick…
Personally? I’m not sure. Give me a list of options.
What I wonder is how much is too much to give, from the contingent who go on about “why should I pay for your healthcare” as though Obama is going to personally show up at their house every Saturday morning and demand a bag of cash.
If there were a tax put into place somehow somewhere that wasn’t overly intrusive to cover UHC, I would be perfectly willing to not complain loudly about it.
My total taxes are well in excess of 50% of my income so I’m OK with not increasing them at all…
I’d like to see reforms to our ridiculously complicated and needlessly expensive healthcare system come first, and then address who should be eligible for it.
If we don’t do that, we’ll go broke® even faster, and if we can’t do that, then there is no chance any other improvement in will work.
Well, I would have to take into account the money I’m saving too. Right now I pay $75 from every paycheck in premiums, my maximum out-of-pocket is $1600/year, plus $10 co-pay for doctor visits and prescriptions. So I’m paying roughly $4,000 per year for health care right now for me and my family.
If UHC were passed, I would instantly get a $4,000 raise, in effect. If the government wanted to take all of that in taxes, or even another 50% on top of it to cover everyone, I wouldn’t complain.
I’m with Don’t Call Me Shirley, anything equal to or less than the $6,800 I have to lay out for a family policy, I’m cool with.
I agree. I’m not interested in paying 1 cent more if all we do is give the Insurance Companies a big fat check.
Let’s see…
I am a single female, non-smoker, overweight, approaching menopause. I already pay in excess of $2.5K per year just for health coverage and my FSA. Then there’s extra on top of that, since my FSA ran out of money halfway through the year. That’s another $600 or so at least.
Right now, I’m guessing about 10% or more of my annual gross income is already going toward my healthcare. I have no problem continuing to spend that much if it benefits everyone.
I already pay for schools I won’t use, roads I never drive on, police and fire departments I hope to never need, and many other services that the government provides that I do not directly benefit from. I guess I find health care for everyone to be as important as those. And I have absolutely no faith in any health care organization that prioritizes stock dividends before a person’s health.
Many folks simply don’t take care of themselves. High fat diets with zero exercise, and/or smoking. I don’t want to sacrifice more in taxes to subsidize treatments for that (adult onset diabetes, high blood pressure pills, kidney transplants, heart surgery, etc.)
Sure, many health problems are brought on by a catastrophic tragedy. A car accident for example. However, if a driver is illegally texting someone gets distracted and runs red light leading to expensive outcomes: trauma care, paralysis, lifetime therapy. I should pay extra taxes should cover his carelessness?
Hey now, I rely on those dividends to help pay for my yearly premiums.
For public health care I’ll have to sacrifice the $1500/month benefit I get from my employer for health care for my family. I just won’t need it anymore.
It also follows that I’ll further have to sacrifice my artificially reduced salary and accept a higher one once my company is saving that $1500. Regrettable with job competition being what it is and all.
Public Health Care gone mad!
Did I miss something, or so far, has no one volunteered to pay an extra $1?
Come on liberals, step it up.
You missed something. See post #6.
I just volunteered to give up a $1500/month benefit. Can’t you people understand we are already bent over backwards paying for health care? That the US spends more than any public health care country and in return we get a system where I’m less likely to survive child birth and I get to live a shorter lifespan. Yay.
And health care is already socialized in this county!!! Think about it - the government already covers old people. Who needs health insurance more than they? All the private insurance companies cover are the younger and generally healthy people. What a sweet deal for them. Even so, they do their best to be rid of those with any pre-existing conditions.
That I did. Thanks for pointing it out. My apologies to Don’t Call Me Shirley.
So, we’re at like 1 for 10 now.
Are you really expecting a serious financial analysis based on this gotcha OP?
Are you willing to go to Iraq and fight for our country if you support the war? Ahhhh!!! You didn’t answer!!
I’d be willing to pay 40% of my income if nobody ever had to worry about a health care cost. Maybe more if it included a larger safety net. No, I am not a college student.
So the answer is nothing or maybe negative dollars.
How much more than what you already are paying for your own health needs?
Don’t weasel
How? Right now, my money is for my family only. I have an HSA account, which i feed into and the $6,800 is used as a deductable. If I don’t use it, I keep it and it rolls over into the next next year. It’s mine and only mine to use as i see fit, pre-tax and everything and honestly it’s a pretty good deal if you don’t get sick.
Yes, i know I didn’t spell this it out in my first response…
However, in order to support my fellow citizens, i am willing to put that amount into the pool and effectively lose all of it; right now, I keep most of it.
The op didn’t ask how much more money you would give, he/she asked how much would you give up for everyone else to have benefits. If a poster like gang green and myself say that we are willing to redirect our personal FSA or HSA accounts into the public pool, we have fulfilled the OP’s request…and i submit, it’s more than a dollar.
I asked this question in another thread once and didn’t get an answer, so I’ll try again here:
How much money, on average, would a typical American expect to take home on a $50,000 a year salary? I know it varies by state, and depends on various other factors, so let’s make a few assumptions:
1 - Pick a state with taxes in the middle (not the highest, not the lowest)
2 - Assume the person works for a company (is not self-employed) and the company provides fairly standard health insurance as part of the employee benefits package.
I know this is tough to nail down, but maybe someone could give a rough answer to get an idea. The reason I ask is because I’ve always wondered what the difference would be if you had health insurance removed from your benefits, which you pay for with your salary, and taken instead as taxes. I live in Canada, and here when I was making around $50,000 as a salary, I would have a bi-weekly income of about $2000 or so. My take home pay would be about $1400 - 1500 after taxes, pension and benefits, EI (employment insurance), CPP (Canada Pension Plan) and union dues. I have no idea if that’s lower than your average American’s take home pay at the same salary or higher, but we always hear that we are heavily taxed up here so I’m curious if it’s the same.
If, on average, you end up with less money after taxes and health insurance is factored in, it seems like it would be better to go our route. If not, tough choice…