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Imagine that the airlines were bought out by the government, supported by increased taxes and that everyone could now fly for free (with the same number of pilots and planes as before). It would take a year or two on a waiting list to book a ticket. Don't mess with healthcare.

mike @ 11:58 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

Another option would be for employees to manditorily take out money for all dependents of an employee, not give them a choice. If they work they pay for insurance. If people will not opt to take responsibility for their offspring then the employer has to.

Dandi @ 10:49 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

When I was a single mom, my priorities, were food on the table, health insurance, a roof over my head, and clothes on my kids, not name brand jeans, or name brand shoes, or gargage cans full of take out boxes, we ate real nutricious food, I did not even think of not providing my children with health care, yet my neighbors with two supporting parents, choose other non necessity items instead of health care, saying they know Medi-cal is enough, or Healthy Families is enough, or whatever..God forgive you.

Dandi @ 10:45 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

Health problems caused by bad life style choices should NOT have to be paid by tax payers money. Smokers, fat people and drug users have made decisions that have harmed their bodies. They now expect the rest of us to pay for the resulting problems? WRONG! There has to be a large co-pay for such people to make the system fair and to encourage healthful living.

Yelmik @ 10:19 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

The REAL HEALTH CARE PLAN belongs to our Congressman, the President, all Federal employees, and the Military. It costs 1.6 trillion dollar. Their Plan had been settled several weeks before they told us what we were getting. I don't believe that Obama is an "American citizen" if he doesn't know that although these men and women are volunteers, they have insurance from the Federal Government, just like he does. This is never going to be done without everybody getting the same plan.

elainekramer @ 10:10 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

The cost savings of 1.2 to 3 trillions from efficiency improvement are sketchy at best and not reliable. I don't believe the government is capable of improving efficiency, all it can do is increasing red tape and costs, just look at the huge increase in payroll for public employees in California during the last 10 years without any noticeable improvement in services. Another excuse to grow government. The national deficit is expected to grow into the tens of trillion without the cost of health care, who's paying for all of that ?

CH @ 8:24 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

What is the difference between paying one trillion dollars to the Federal government in the form of taxes to pay for health care or one trillion directly to doctors and health care companies and indirectly through the products and services we buy? Health care costs are exorbitant unless you are young and healthy or receive subsidized health coverage through your employer or from the government. What astounds me is the lethargy of the health care industry to control escalating costs and their lack of creativity and initiative to provide a profitable insurance solution, without government assistance, to 47 million potential customers.

CJ Chilton @ 7:00 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

Most of the complexities go away w/ a taxpayer-funded Canadian-style single payment system based on Medicare model. I'd rather pay "government bureaucrats" for my coverage than pay insurance co. execs making (high) profits on my back. So, admin of payment for care (to docs & hospitals) is handled by not-for-profit gov bureaucrats playing by rules that benefit the public instead of for-profit corp bureaucrats playing by their own rules. The "medical system" (of docs & hospitals) we love doesn't ever turn into USPS or DMV! Why are people so gullible & easily swayed by insurance co. propaganda?

Mack @ 6:52 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

First we need to know what it's REALLY going to cost and how we're going to pay for it. Medicare costs are five times higher than originally projected. Let's be optimistic and assume that universal health coverage only runs three times more than the current projections. Where's the $3 Trillion going to come from?

Tommy D @ 4:57 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

Well, at least you mentioned illegal immigrants in passing, that's a start. But still I wonder, how many of those jornaleros that have sprung up on our streets in the last 15 years will abide by this mandate? How many of the 'mow and blow' guys, the informal nannies, the guys that work part time at McD's and Del Taco? Will there be some mechanism to get them to obey this law? And how is it that we can force insurance on everybody, but somehow we can't figure out who is legal to work in this country and enforce that regulation?

Mitchell Young @ 4:43 PM PDT, Jul 6, 2009

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