[escolubtessen]

Military members are covered by "government run health insurance." Often their parents are covered by Medicare, another "government run health insurance." The extremely poor are covered by Medicaid, another "government run health insurance."
Friends of mine have adult children who are now covered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. My brother and his wife can now get insurance, even though they've each had serious health care issues; him, back surgery, her breast cancer. They can't afford private insurance, because they own a small mom & pop business in rural Missouri, and don't qualify for Medicaid because they paid off their land, and then built a home on it, as they could afford to, 40 years ago. They have very limited income, enough to qualify for medicaid, but they'd have to sell their home, and then couldn't afford to rent. It's a no win.
What about the fact that each and every state in this country REQUIRES car insurance in order for you to drive a vehicle. What is so terribly different about health care insurance? EVERYONE in this country will need health care UNLESS YOU'RE BORN AT HOME, DIE RIGHT AFTERWARD, AND SEEK NO MEDICAL CARE FOR THE DEAD CHILD OR THE MOTHER. Other than that, everyone needs medical care. Kids need to be immunized to go to school, kids need a physical to be able to participate in school sports, ER visits for sutures or a cast for a minor accident, ER/ICU stays for major accidents. It's extremely rare that any of us get through this life without getting medical care. So, is it because the big, bad Federal government wants you to do it....the same big, bad Federal government that currently takes care of military members, even allowing them the opportunity to have civilian vs military care and it's paid for....that same big, bad, overreaching Federal government? The civilian sector doesn't have those kind of options unless they have the funds to pay more than $500/month for a single person and more than $800-$1000/month for a family. You can afford that if you're a 1% person, but the majority of the 99% can't.
If they'd gone with a single payer system for the Affordable Care Act, it wouldn't be before the Supreme Court right now. President Obama was trying to build consensus, and ended up with the cobbled mess that we have now, but which still gives people with pre-existing conditions the ability to get coverage, and the adult children to get coverage up to age 26.
As to the "poor insurance companies?" Really? Honest to God, most of us would think we'd died and gone to heaven if we got to be an executive with one of those "poor insurance companies" with a multimillion dollar salary and multi-million dollar bonuses, based on denying care, prolonging claim settlement and gaining millions of dollars in interest from fees paid and payments delayed. We need a single payer system, mandated for ALL, which will bring down the costs of care and bring the United States in line with the rest of the developed world.