What ObamaCare could cost you

[ISASO]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100105/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul

At last, some numbers on premiums and deductibles:

For example, under the House bill, a family of four making $44,100 would pay no more than $2,425 a year to buy coverage in the new insurance markets. Under the Senate bill, premiums would be higher, $2,778.

The gap between the two bills involves greater out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and copayments. For the same family, the House bill would cap out-of-pocket expenses at $4,000 a year. Under the Senate bill, it could be far more, $6,150.

And now, a word from our sponsor:

Pelosi said she wants the final product "to ensure affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, (and) accessibility by lowering costs at every stage.

Really, Nancy? Lower costs at every stage?

If my employer bolted on our plan and left us to join Pelosi's benevolent "Christmas gift to America" it would cost my family at least double the amount I currently pay. And that 2x figure is after the Nov. 1 increase I absorbed when our costs doubled due to financial struggles.

So that's 4x the cost I paid previously. Using the sliding scale from the $44K figure, it's likely to be 5-6 times more.

This is what we're bankrupting the country for?
This is the Utopian Hope and Change we were promised?
We give up a huge chunk of our liberty for this?

Will Pelosi, Reid and Obama's costs quadruple when they join their own plan?

[1979Shocker]

Here's some numbers from about.com. They vary greatly depending on the state.

Cost of Health Insurance

In a report (Individual Health Insurance 2009: A Comprehensive Survey of Premiums,Availability, and Benefits) made public in October 2009, America's Health Insurance Plans (a trade group representing health insurance companies) presented some interesting information that gives a sense of what health insurance policies cost when purchased by an individual.

• Across the country, the annual premium was $2,985 for a single person and $6,328 for a family.
  
• The annual premium was very different from state to state. For example, the premium for a family health plan in New York was $13,296, while a similar plan in Iowa was $5609.
  
• The annual premiums for health plans were also very different depending if the annual deductible was high or low. For example, family plans with no deductible had an average premium of $12686 each year, while plans with an annual deductible of $10,000 had an average premium of $5380 each year.

[RoyalShock]

Can someone explain to me how the federal government requiring the purchase of a product/service from a private enterprise with a sliding-scale cost based on family size and income is constitutional?

[Maggie]

Can someone explain to me how the federal government requiring the purchase of a product/service from a private enterprise with a sliding-scale cost based on family size and income is constitutional?

A good question not enough people are asking.

Notwithstanding, I am not really inclined to attempt to make that argument; however, here are a couple of articles (the one by Richard Epstein is particularly interesting) that question the constitutionality of the current health-care legislation:


Impermissible Ratemaking in Health-Insurance Reform: Why the Reid Bill is Unconstitutional

Mandatory Insurance Is Unconstitutional - Why an individual mandate could be struck down by the courts