I have been thinking lately about the idea of mandates when it comes to health care. I was sitting on the fence for a long time, but now I'm thinking it's a good idea.
I remember how I was when I was younger, and if anything had happened then that would have cost a lot, I would have been in trouble. I was short-sighted, as so many of us are.
Follow me for my reasoning.
When I was young, there was no thought about health care, or how I would gain income when I was older.
Fortunately for me, there were no big expenses when it came to health care. But, I have to say that there have been several times I waited too long to get treatment for things because I didn't have the money at the time to pay.
Lately, after my husband started getting his Social Security, I have begun seeing the wisdom of mandating payments into health care.
He didn't file taxes for a year or so, because he didn't make much money at the time, but decided it was a good idea to start when he made a bit more. Every year he groused about having to pay SS taxes. He had to pay the entire amount because he was self-employed, so it wasn't easy sometimes to come up with the money to pay. Sometimes he had to file for an extension, but always managed to do it eventually.
Fast forward to the present, and how much that payment back then is paying off now. We are thrilled that he had to do that, because now he gets a monthly check from SS and it really helps us out. It's not much, but that steady income that covers our utilities really takes a lot of pressure off. For the first time in our lives we pretty much know that at least our basic living expenses are covered, so what we earn from work can be used to do things like buy a new stove, and hopefully a new used vehicle to replace our old '87 pickup with almost 200,000 miles on it.
So, now I'm thinking about that experience, and how it would apply to health care. I'm sure there is a big chunk of the younger population that would be just like we were - grousing about having to pay for health care for many years without getting it back completely (they would get some because they would use it for checkups and other things). Then, when they really need it, as we all will eventually, they may be grateful they were forced to pay, as we are now with SS.
It seems to me that, since we are all short-sighted in some ways, that the only way it will work is for all to be mandated to pay according to their ability to pay.
Then, if we can manage to cut out the insurance companies, or regulate them so heavily that they can't screw around with us as much as they do now, so much the better!
So, there is my reasoning, such as it is. Others may not see it the same way, but I do think I have a point.