# How will healthcare change over the next few years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 7, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309 "2009-12-07T13:17:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309/21 "2009-12-09T05:16:50Z")
What I expect is no real reform, except a reform in name only that will amount to a hand out to the insurance companies. Matters will continue to get worse as nothing is done. Our economy will continue to take a hit from our warped “health care system”, both because it driving away foreign investors and because of how overly expensive and sickness inducing it is. The difference between American health and lifespan and the rest of the industrialized world will continue to widen, with Americans falling ever farther behind as they pat themselves on the back for having the greatest health care system in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309/22 "2009-12-09T07:45:14Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Bullshit. I think we all know that the Canadians will slowly shift the maps a little bit farther south every year. “Welcome to South Carolina, southernmost state in Canada, eh?” > > Obama may be a Communist Kenyan Sleeper agent who as fooled 70% of Americans, but a Kenyan will never out-sneak a Canadian. > > -Joe Well, they are already south of Detroit! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309/23 "2009-12-09T21:54:54Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I seem to have failed. But from memory, I believe the bill more or less immedietly closes the Medicare Perscription coverage “donut hole”, forbids insurance companys from killing peoples insurance after the person has been diagnosed with an ailment, bans lifetime limits on coverage and creates some “bridge” programs to provide insurance for people with pre-existing conditions or people without job created benefits until the actual programs for those groups kick in. If I understand the above list, they will all result in increased payouts by insurance companies which would normally increase the cost they charge their customers. No? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309/24 "2009-12-09T22:17:01Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > If I understand the above list, they will all result in increased payouts by insurance companies which would normally increase the cost they charge their customers. All of them? I don’t see how? But keeping insurance companies from kicking their ill clients and banning lifetime limits will, and all other things being equal, this would indeed cause an increase in premiums. Except, of course, the bridge programs I mentioned will do the opposite, they’ll increase the pool of insured, which will lower premiums. This is basically a mini-version of the same thing that’s supposed to happen with the larger program that has made the insurance companies, if not enthusiastic, at least nominally supportive of the reform bill, individual mandates will lead to more people in the private insurance market and lower premiums, but restrictions on the Insurance companies ability to deny coverage will increase them. I’ll make another effort to find the listing of immediate effects of the Healthcare legislation tonight though. Discussing this stuff from a list drawn from memory of an article I read several weeks ago is probably a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309/25 "2009-12-12T20:30:30Z")
**Simplicio** …did you find anything more, specifically about the bridge programs? When would they start up and what are the carrots or sticks that are going to force younger and healthier people into the health insurance pool? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-healthcare-change-over-the-next-few-years/520309.md?page=1)