8 thoughts on “Slowpoke: Broccoli health insurance!”
Now…let me get this straight. If I put all my savings into the floret foundation, does that give me a lifetime membership?…cheese and rice…what the frick is all this small print? Are you talking backwards or am I really here?…what happened to the farmer and the dell anyway?
Peace and Love
Brendan,
The difference with mandatory car insurance is that people don’t have to drive but almost everyone has to work and if they do, they have to pay into Medicare. Even the ones who don’t have to work, if they employ others they have to pay matching FICA. Unlike driving, most people cannot just “opt out” of working for a living. In many cities people can opt out of driving because of the excellent public transportation.
Kitty,
Medicare is NOT optional; we see FICA payments into it going out of DH’s paycheck every time. He cannot opt out of paying into it at all; no more than he can opt out of paying into the SS.
I am not sure that striking it down will create a single payer system though. It isn’t as easy as that.
Carrie – and mandatory car insurance, which has always passed the constitutional test. No, there’s lots of precedents for required payments.
But then, if they do strike it down, what’s to stop single-payer broccoli like Fe said? 🙂
I work for Medicare/Medicaid services; everyone is automatically enrolled in Medicare at age 65, and you cannot “opt out” while still employed. SS takes their 12.5% no matter what, and 5% of that goes into the Medicare fund. Even self-employed are required to pay quarterly SS/MC payments.
There may be a way to ‘opt out’ but that would involve refusing to receive SS as well.
@Carrie: Medicare is optional. You have the right to choose whether to opt-in or opt-out when you reach the qualifying age. If you opt-in, you then make a monthly payment to the government (which is far less than the typical health insurance premium). If you opt-out, then you are not covered by Medicare and do not have to make the monthly payment. The government does not make anyone participate in Medicare.
(To note, I would be in favor of a single-payor system for everyone, similar to what Medicare currently does for seniors.)
Single payer broccoli!!
What no one says (but should) is this: Why is it ok for our government to make us pay for Medicare but it isn’t ok for our government to make us pay for Obamacare? They are based on the same premise; everyone pays in so everyone can benefit.
The only reason I can see for the upset over paying into Obamacare is because it was set up by a Black man whereas Medicare was set up by a white man.
Oh sure, there are those who wish to abolish Medicare but the seniors who vote will not allow that to happen. The rest of us who vote should be making it clear that Obamacare’s mandate is like medicare’s; no choice but to pay in and as such it IS constitutional.
Now…let me get this straight. If I put all my savings into the floret foundation, does that give me a lifetime membership?…cheese and rice…what the frick is all this small print? Are you talking backwards or am I really here?…what happened to the farmer and the dell anyway?
Peace and Love
Brendan,
The difference with mandatory car insurance is that people don’t have to drive but almost everyone has to work and if they do, they have to pay into Medicare. Even the ones who don’t have to work, if they employ others they have to pay matching FICA. Unlike driving, most people cannot just “opt out” of working for a living. In many cities people can opt out of driving because of the excellent public transportation.
Kitty,
Medicare is NOT optional; we see FICA payments into it going out of DH’s paycheck every time. He cannot opt out of paying into it at all; no more than he can opt out of paying into the SS.
I am not sure that striking it down will create a single payer system though. It isn’t as easy as that.
Carrie – and mandatory car insurance, which has always passed the constitutional test. No, there’s lots of precedents for required payments.
But then, if they do strike it down, what’s to stop single-payer broccoli like Fe said? 🙂
I work for Medicare/Medicaid services; everyone is automatically enrolled in Medicare at age 65, and you cannot “opt out” while still employed. SS takes their 12.5% no matter what, and 5% of that goes into the Medicare fund. Even self-employed are required to pay quarterly SS/MC payments.
There may be a way to ‘opt out’ but that would involve refusing to receive SS as well.
@Carrie: Medicare is optional. You have the right to choose whether to opt-in or opt-out when you reach the qualifying age. If you opt-in, you then make a monthly payment to the government (which is far less than the typical health insurance premium). If you opt-out, then you are not covered by Medicare and do not have to make the monthly payment. The government does not make anyone participate in Medicare.
(To note, I would be in favor of a single-payor system for everyone, similar to what Medicare currently does for seniors.)
Single payer broccoli!!
What no one says (but should) is this: Why is it ok for our government to make us pay for Medicare but it isn’t ok for our government to make us pay for Obamacare? They are based on the same premise; everyone pays in so everyone can benefit.
The only reason I can see for the upset over paying into Obamacare is because it was set up by a Black man whereas Medicare was set up by a white man.
Oh sure, there are those who wish to abolish Medicare but the seniors who vote will not allow that to happen. The rest of us who vote should be making it clear that Obamacare’s mandate is like medicare’s; no choice but to pay in and as such it IS constitutional.