THE THREAD!!!

[thegreatwent]

Good night Tithe[>:][>:][>:]

[DuckofTindalos]

Foggy with a chance of puddiiiing...

[Odin]

Morning guys

[comte]

Pudding is awful unless its made out of blood

[comte]

Earth below us drifting falling

[AW1Steve]

Tithe...

[Grollub]

Mornin' gents.

[sprior]

Morning men.

[gladiatt]

Morning everyone

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

Good morning!


Leo "Apollo11"

[sprior]

Got my 23 inch wide screen monitor set up on my workstation. Yummy.

[USSAmerica]

Good morning - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: sprior

Got my 23 inch wide screen monitor set up on my workstation. Yummy.

Which one you got Simon?


Leo "Apollo11"

[Apollo11]

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: USS America

Good morning - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

I know that politics are no-no here at "THE THREAD!!!" but I would just like to ask our USA brethren "over the big pond" regarding new healthcare reform... I hope this is not inappropriate... [:)]

So... what does it mean for ordinary citizens? What would that reform mean to you guys (for example - would you have to pay more to insurance companies)?

Thanks in advance!


Leo "Apollo11"

[Onime No Kyo]

Morning tithe. [:)]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: USS America

Good morning - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

I know that politics are no-no here at "THE THREAD!!!" but I would just like to ask our USA brethren "over the big pond" regarding new healthcare reform... I hope this is not inappropriate... [:)]

So... what does it mean for ordinary citizens? What would that reform mean to you guys (for example - would you have to pay more to insurance companies)?

Thanks in advance!


Leo "Apollo11"

Some of the more important stipulations of the law are that 1) by 2014 all people in the US must be insured either themselves, by the employer or by the government if they qualify 2) health insurance carriers can no longer cancel your policy if you begin to cost them too much 3) health insurance carriers can no longer deny you coverage based on a preexisting condition and 4) kids can be carried on a parents' insurance until age 26 (whereas before it was 21, so kids were without health coverage through most of college).

However, what the actual results will be, how fast, if at all, they will happen and what the economic ramifications will be remains to be seen. As it is, an appeal was filed within an hour of it being signed into law.

[USSAmerica]

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: USS America

Good morning - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

I know that politics are no-no here at "THE THREAD!!!" but I would just like to ask our USA brethren "over the big pond" regarding new healthcare reform... I hope this is not inappropriate... [:)]

So... what does it mean for ordinary citizens? What would that reform mean to you guys (for example - would you have to pay more to insurance companies)?

Thanks in advance!


Leo "Apollo11"

There are a few very good parts to the reform law that were made public, like preventing denial of insurance for pre-existing medical conditions, etc. In general, I don't think there is a single person in the entire country, including every member of the Senate and House that voted for or against it, who knows everything that is in this MASSIVE piece of legislation. One of the biggest problems with the way our government works is they find it impossible to pass specific laws, like a law that only states, "Insurers cannot deny coverage to anyone for pre-existing medical conditions." If they tried, I think everyone in the country would support it. It's easy to understand, but impossible for lawmakers to hide other spending items in it. Everything is voted on in massive, 1000 page bills where it's easy to hide additional spending for "pet" projects.

As it stands now, the only thing I'm sure of about this new reform law is that the national debt will go way up even faster than it already is, and my taxes are guaranteed to go up. [8|]

[USSAmerica]

Need more

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: USS America

Good morning - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

I know that politics are no-no here at "THE THREAD!!!" but I would just like to ask our USA brethren "over the big pond" regarding new healthcare reform... I hope this is not inappropriate... [:)]

So... what does it mean for ordinary citizens? What would that reform mean to you guys (for example - would you have to pay more to insurance companies)?

Thanks in advance!


Leo "Apollo11"

Hi Leo,

I think the fair answer to this is that few people know the eventual effect of this polyglot legislation.

What it strives to do (re: increasing insurance access for some) may not be possible or practical with the existing insurance structure in this country. Its goals may or may not be realized in time. Unlike other countries with fixed salaries for physicians or other health professionals, we have a free market system here for health care. I can't get my head around how that can jibe with mandated health coverage from the government.

What is *certain* is that this is going to cost a whole lot of money over the next 10 years, for the benefit of no more than 10% of the American populace. Health care still will not be universal (no plan accounts for the remaining 5% uninsured). I suspect that health care premiums (for those retaining private insurance plans) will continue to rise-moreso now that 'average' premium payers will now have to pay for 'high risk' and 'high expense' insured that are so hideously expensive. These people would previously have been dropped from the payroll.

I predict that small businesses (<50 people) will drop any and all health care coverage that they may already have and let the government pick up those people on their dole. The number of people without health care in the near term may be paradoxically increased as a result of the passage of this legislation.

Personally, I am opposed to this and other legislation that benefits a small minority of the population at the expense of the many. When 51% of voters realize they can soak the minority 49% of voters with the expenses of their entitlement du jour. My opinion is that we should liquidate Medicaire, Medicaid, this health legislation, Social Security disability, and individual state health care plans and have one plan that everyone pays into and everyone derives benefit from. Either that or let everyone pay for themselves and make their own choices.