>>Of course, in my view, the best solution is to detach health coverage from employment.
>>
>>And attach it to what? The government? Why? Because they have done such a great job of running other things like the postal service?
>
>The Postal Service is not part of the government, unless it has been added within the last 20 years and I wasn't paying attention. It is a government supported monopoly, however.
>
>Personally, I'd like to see health insurance affordable enough that individuals could pay for their own. When I was first unemployed, I looked at getting health insurance for my husband and myself. Best price I could find was about 1200$ a month for the 2 of us. Neither one of us is in bad health, although we are both overweight and have allergies - however, we are both over 50 years old. Basically it came down to the choice of keeping the house paid for (less than 1200$) or buy health insurance. Which way do you think I went?

The USPS is no longer an official government agency but may as well be.

You should talk to HumanaOne if you are not now covered through your job. It's high, very high, but nothing like $1200/month. I was paying $378/month for my daughters and me and when they jacked it up to $421/month I took myself off the policy, being unemployed and watching every penny. Now it's just the two daughters for $116/month. The deductible is so high it's close to worthless but I will never be too tapped to leave them uncovered in the case of catastrophe. And before long they will have their own medical insurance.