>Whats your definition of 'socialism'?
>
>I don't remember Obama proposing socialism...

The "public option" was proposed and not going to work this time.

The "public option trigger" was proposed, and not going to work this time.

This bill does make the "public option" inevitable eventually.

The one piece that spells doom for our present system is the $750 fine on individuals for not having insurance combined with the requirement that insurance companies issue policies to sick people for the same price as well people ( "Guaranteed Issue") .

My insurance for my family of 3 cost $1400 per month.
Guaranteed issue will raise the price of that substantially.

When the price gets to $2000 or $3000 per month, the equation becomes very interesting.
It would be far cheaper to just pay the $750 annual fine when we are well, and then pay the $3000 per month when we need hospital care.

Hospitals and health care plans have profit margins of under 4%
The present third party payer structure and government requirements drive very high inflation in health care costs.

So, this plan mandates additional coverages, introduces another layer of rules and bureaucracy, and strongly rewards people to wait until they are sick to buy insurance.

All the structural problems with the industry are made much worse.

In short, this bill is designed to crash our present system.

Get ready for the mother of all bailouts.