>>>>>>It still costs the individual an arm and a leg for COBRA, more than most unemployed people can afford to pay. The real issue IMO is reining in costs. Did you know we now spend 1/6 of our GNP on health? That is ridiculous, and out of sight compared to other countries. I completely agree with President Obama (I bet you don't ;-) ) that health care costs are the greatest threat to our long term economic well being, even bigger than Social Security.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I know why you agree with Obama - you are unemployed and you want the government (that means gainfully employed productive taxpayers like me) to give you a hand out. If you hadn't thrown away your last chance to be productively employed, you might feel a little differently about having to shell out your hard-earned money to help take care of dead beats.
>>>>>
>>>>>I will not respond in kind. Something is making you very angry and I don't think it's all Barack Obama.
>>>>>
>>>>>The only thing I want to point out is that I was not making any kind of personal appeal at all and am not looking for any handouts. I pay for health insurance (Humana) for my daughters and me every month, and have for a year and a half. It's decent coverage and considerably cheaper than COBRA.
>>>>
>>>>Where do you get the money from?
>>>
>>>Savings.
>>
>>Will you switch to government-sponsored plan when opportunity comes?
>
>I don't know. It depends what the plan is. If it's a safety-first plan, I have never invested that way.

What means 'safety-first'?