Every American citizen is now required to help make insurance corporations richer. Enjoy!

[salin]

221. It took nearly 15 years to get another stab at health care reform

from the time that it was debated (and defeated) in the early-mid 90s. Especially given how this issue fueled the advent of the teaparty and their initial electoral gains in 2010 - it would be at least another 15 years before there would be the political will to take this issue on. Single payer was (and is) decades away. Wish it was otherwise.

I remember when many more jobs provided insurance than do today. In the late 90s had to self-insure - and the cost for a healthy single person escalated from 400 a month to 600+ a month within a couple of year span. The system was already moving away from employer insurance to self-insurance - with few regulations upon the insurance industry per costs, per rejecting coverage, etc.

There are far better systems out there in the world. However, after 3 years of villification in the public discourse - no alternative will be offered nor will be supported by politicians. No program will not lead to a better program in the short term. It will lead to more denial of insurance for self-insurers, fewer employers continuing to pay health insurance benefits, and more and more people who are denied coverage outright due to pre-existing conditions (which today have been defined in the most absurd terms.)