Critiquing the need for universal health care in California:
He has also bought into the myth that uninsured Californians drive up health costs by delaying primary care and showing up at emergency rooms once their ailments have become unnecessarily expensive to treat. This myth now bears a number ““ a “hidden tax” that the uninsured impose on the insured of $1,186 per insured family and $455 per insured individual ““ kindly furnished by the New America Foundation. This $9.5 billion figure is misleading in many ways.First, many uninsured have jobs. One fifth earn more than three times the federal poverty level ““ about $50,000 for a family of three. By forgoing health insurance, these people are voluntarily paying extra income tax ““ likely more than $2,000 a year for the family above. Even the governor estimates these extra taxes at $8.4 billion ““ so the uninsured already pay almost 90 percent of the so-called “hidden tax” as explicit taxes.
Related posts:
- Costs first, then the uninsured
- Treating the uninsured population
- Health care costs, not the uninsured
- Why giving free care to the uninsured is good business
- Most Americans have health insurance, and what health reform is going to do for them
- Paying to remain uninsured
- Costs, not the uninsured
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{ 7 comments }
Jeez, $50,000 is 3 times the federal poverty level?? And it’s for 3 kids too? wow. That ain’t much.
maybe they shouldn’t have kids if they can’t afford them
I thought being able to have nine children on a 30,000 dollar a year salary was a guaranteed right in the bill of the rights…
oh wait…
The only thing the Librules guarantee are taxation and a public school education. They would love to enslave every American into a national healthcare system as well.
I’m not saying there’s any obligation towards people making $50,000 and supporting 3 kids. Just that the federal standard must be an incredibly low standard poverty level.
Insurance costs money.
Why would a lower earner with few assets to loose bother with the cost of insurance. For them the bargain is easy; spend the money now, and if sacked with big bills for health care, don’t worry, you will get treated, and then just don’t pay. Not paying is always an option if you have few assets to loose.
“hidden taxes” are the lamest of all political arguments.
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