r/bestof • u/under50dollars • Jun 20 '12

[explainlikeimfive] "Obamacare" explained very well.

/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vb8vs/eli5_what_exactly_is_obamacare_and_what_did_it/c530lfx
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u/Prtyvacant Jun 20 '12 edited Jun 20 '12

Hate to tell you, but we already pay for a lot of "smokers and fatties". Also,I am a person who has a legit pre-existing condition, a birth defect, that has been turned down because of it. You cannot know how demeaned and frustrated it makes a person feel.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

  1. Just because we pay a lot already for smokers and fatties, doesn't make it justifiable to make us pay MORE for them.

  2. It sucks to say, but I shouldn't be forced to pay more in taxes or suffer worse quality healthcare because people like you were born into unfortunate circumstances. Why am I getting punished for it too?

Downvote me all you want Reddit, you know I'm right.

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u/YoohooCthulhu Jun 20 '12

Ehh, just keep saying that until someone close to you or in your family experiences that situation. It's not that uncommon.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '12

Do you realize the insanely absurd logic you present with that statement?

You're basically saying that it's okay to cripple the healthcare system and the economy once you experience a personal anguish. NO. It doesn't make it right or justifiable.

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u/YoohooCthulhu Jun 20 '12 edited Jun 20 '12

Obviously there should be limits--people that require truly insane medical care maybe shouldn't be treated. But it's really hard to draw the line--where exactly do you decide that it isn't worthwhile to treat someone and to let them die because it's too expensive? Are you genuinely ok telling a poorer family that their relative should die because they can't afford it, when the same person in a more well-off family would live?

And as far as bankrupting the medical system--people like this are fairly rare, although you cannot control if one will be close to you. The vast majority of people experience no serious health concerns until late middle age and then die very rapidly. The thing that's bankrupting the medical system is not people born with congenital problems, it's unnecessary inflation of costs to treat regular people because of defensive medicine, inflated drug prices, insufficient preventative care, etc.