[StBernard] 5 freedoms you'd lose in health care reform

[Westley Annis]

Americans with pre-existing conditions need subsidies under any plan, but
community rating is a dubious way to bring fairness to health care. The
reason is twofold: First, it forces young people, who typically have lower
incomes than older workers, to pay far more than their actual cost, and
gives older workers, who can afford to pay more, a big discount. The state
laws gouging the young are a major reason so many of them have joined the
ranks of uninsured.

Under the Senate plan, insurers would be barred from charging any more than
twice as much for one patient vs. any other patient with the same coverage.
So if a 20-year-old who costs just $800 a year to insure is forced to pay
$2,500, a 62-year-old who costs $7,500 would pay no more than $5,000.



Well think about this:  Auto insurers charge younger drivers far more to
cover them than they do older drivers.  Any of you who have a teenager with
a drivers license know this.  And if you have a teenaged boy premiums are
higher than for the girls.  Is this fair if you have a kid who has had
drivers ed, obeys the speed limits, doesn't drink or othewise act foolishly?
Nope.  And also, sometimes when those older "mature" drivers get really
older and can become a menace on the road they still get lower car ins.
premiums because the numbers are on their side.

JY



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	5 freedoms you'd lose in health care reform
	If you read the fine print in the Congressional plans, you'll find
that a
	lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.
	By Shawn Tully, editor at large
	July 24, 2009: 10:17 AM ET
	NEW YORK (Fortune) -- In promoting his health-care agenda, President
Obama
	has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing
health
	plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be
enhanced
	through reform.