The Core

Got a Brit/American wedding coming up in the Family soon, so anything like that is great ammo... Thx Rich. 

RC, I was surprised they let him in the country, but he came in while there was a labour govt.


He's not a bad lad, if he has a few strange turns of phrase

I was amazed at the cost difference.

Hip replacement almost 10x in the US than in UK.

Funny RC -- I used to always say "We provide all the defense spending for Western Europe so they can build the schools and hospitals with all the money they don't spend on bombers and tanks" but I've been at a loss since the end of the Cold War.

Now I'll have the cheap gas line.

And then there's this
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/10/millions-flee-obamacare.html

The Affordable Care Act (Or is it now called Affordable Care Law) is far from ideal.  

However, one thing I do like is that people who could not get health insurance now can.  I am one of those people.

I am physically fit.  I run, walk most places and ride my bike.  I have blood pressure on the low end of normal.  I do not smoke or have diabetes as many people in this country do.  I eat right.

But alas, I take antidepressants (and probably will for the rest of my life.)  My dose has not increased in the 5 years I've been taking them.  I am stable.

While I have always paid for those out of my own pocket, I was told by several insurance companies that they could not give me health insurance because of this pre-existing condition.  I was told if I stopped taking antidepressants for 18 months, they *might* be able to allow me insurance or I *might* be allowed into my state's "high risk" pool.  

Let me say that again:  my health, which many people would love to have, is considered "high risk."

I think health insurance companies are screaming against this law because they have to take everyone.  And frankly, f### em.

That's a great video, I like the series. 
Grnidone, I'm with you on that one.  It is amazing that it is 2013 and we are still the only first world nation on earth that has a sizable population that can not get health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.  This is one point where I think the Brits and Canadians have it right.  Frankly, I'd rather have a single payer system instead of the Affordable Care Act, but I think it is a huge step in the right direction.

I think both grnidone and littleman are on the right track: we do need to insure our citizens with pre existing conditions and this is an evolutionary step towards some sort of single payer system.  Affordable Healthcare act will be amended once unforseen problems become apperent.

I've been paying my own health insurance for years, with a huge deductible.  My premiums just wentup another $100  per mo. which makes me want to investigate the plans in the ACA, to see if I can get a better deal.

The cool bit, that is little known, is that I don't just have to register and look online, I can go to an insurance broker and have them crunch the numbers and explain it to me.  I may well try that.

Anyway, grnidone, good luck, I hope you find suitable coverage!