:thankyou:

Besides, the bill never said it'd be free.

Free Healthcare might not be realistic, but it's certainly idealistic.

because everything has a price. nothing is free.

i put a price on my health. it is the dollar amount that i pay to an insurance company every month. i receive no subsidies and no corporate breaks. the insurance company quotes what my family will cost to insure and i write the check. the money i use for that purpose would be more fun to spend elsewhere, but i decided the coverage was a top priority.

what you want is to be able to put a dollar value on your health and have someone else write the check to pay for it.

no thanks mister. there is a safety net of minimal health coverage for extreme cases. it's a pretty crappy system, but it isn't meant to be attractive. the gap between that and "good" healthcare is up to you to provide for you and yours. not my responsibility.

Ok, but what if your insurance company decides not to pay for a life-saving procedure you or your family might need done?

I retract my H.R. 676 wish just cuz it's causin' so much shit around here.

And voting to make an ideal law is a good idea?

In an ideal world, we wouldn't need police, armed forces, money..... shall we vote to outlaw these so we'll be closer to ideal?

BTW, yes Britain has National Insurance. It doesn't give all the things promised in the bill that Merc quoted (thanks Merc, I hadn't read it). In fact it had to stop providing a lot of those in order to survive. And you have never been able to choose your providers to any realiatic degree. It just wouldn't work if you could. That list of pie in the sky is what gives the movement a bad name. You need legislation to deal with the "how" not the "what".

Voting for unrealistic ideals is stupid and asking for trouble.

oh dear, did I rant? That's my mean atheist way of spoiling everyone's Christmas :lol:

Would you believe I'm actually in favour of National insurance? :D

Explain.

if it was not a service covered by my insurance then i have to either accept that i am going to die sooner, rather than later - or i need to find a way to pay for it if i don't want to die.

if it IS a service covered by my ins. company and they are being stupid i will visit an attorney.

?

This shit is fuckin' up my perfectly good thread. Politics thread is here.

Does anyone have any experience with 529 educational savings funds? I'm thinking of setting up one for my sisters-in-law's sproggins. (There's precisely one as of Nov. 29th, but I'm sure there will be more.)
Since we're not procreating, I figure I'll chip in for their eddumication, hey?

My bad. If I'd just left it off my list, Merc wouldn't've started this shit.

I don't know 'bout the other, but I 's done. Lez back to topic, people.

Nevermind. I don't wanna piss off Els any further.

I would like simply to spend time with those I love without all the drama and stress that's normally associated with holiday get-togethers. I don't have a lot of materialistic possessions, nor do I need any more. Some peace, serenity and relaxation would be just plenty. Oh, and a hug from each of my kids. That will make my year.

i have all the experience you could possible ask for in this area. if you have specific questions just PM me.