Dan,
Lets use $1000 a month as a family coverage cost or $12,000 per year. I like your ideas but that would be more than 1/2 of many retired and disabled peoples incomes around here. And with no Cost of Living increase on their Social Security for two years many of them are really hurting as they raised their Medicare Premiums and that lowered the amount they do get. And contrary to what the politicians said, the cost of living for seniors did go up just as it did for them. Myself I would never use my insurance for anything but a huge hospital or medical bill, and believe me I have paid a ton of medical bills the past few years. I would like to see some fair way to have people covered but this pork bill is not it IMHO.
But some of the people that I know get around $1500 a month and that is all they have for income and they still have to pay the ever increasing utility, grocery, and other bills. Take even $500 of that away from them and they are not going to be able to make it. And I am talking of people that own their homes and don't have house payments or car payments but exist within their means. I am more fortunate than many and know it, but I still hate to see people forced to buy something they can't afford.
Ron
