Obamacare hits home ~

But I see a need for some other approach in insurance and student loans and mining regulations and oil drilling and and banking and so on.  They had free reign and went nuts.  I believe it's time to either better supervise them all or throw them out of the game.

I don't think the insurance industry is OK as is, but the changes needed will never happen until people start taking responsibility for their own care and use insurance as insurance.

And I'm not for giving free reign to all industry, I want government to do what government is supposed to do; regulate without meddling. Now they meddle without regulating, evidence Fannie and Freddie Mae, GM and Chrysler. And how did all their meddling help with the BP oil leak? It didn't because there was not enough incentive for them to want to make sure things were done as safely as possible. It seems that the government knows only one way to try and regulate and that is to threaten punishment and while that will work to some degree, a far better way to regulate is to find a way to incentivize the behavior you want to see happen.

I'll use the construction industry as an example of how this can work. When you want to get a building built in say 120 days, you can put in a liquidated damages clause in the specs and contract, that comes into play after the date you want to job done. Or you could put in an incentive of so much money per day as a bonus for every day early the job is completed. Guess which method gets the job done quicker? I've worked on both types and I can tell you there is no question which one gets done sooner and which job gets done better; it's the one with the incentive every time. And when the GC offers to share the incentive with the subs, things click like you would not believe; people work together and get the job done and done right in record time.

Get it yet?

Kerry 

I "get it" in terms of comprehending your position..I just think it's misinformed.

For example..."And I'm not for giving free reign to all industry, I want government to do what government is supposed to do; regulate without meddling. Now they meddle without regulating, evidence Fannie and Freddie Mae, GM and Chrysler. And how did all their meddling help with the BP oil leak? It didn't because there was not enough incentive for them to want to make sure things were done as safely as possible."  

I disagree with your conclusion.  Government didn't meddle in the BP thing in a preventative way, because the profit-motive-driven execs at BP registered--the rigs are treated as ships at sea--the rig with the Marshall Islands, as explained here:
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/30/oil-spill-deepwat er-horizon-marshall-islands

The Marshall Islands safety inspection took a few hours...a US inspection would have taken days.  The rig was not "sailing" under a US flag.  Had it been, those people would likely be alive and the Gulf might even be intact.

Food for thought...if the government were entering contracts and offering bonuses to GCs finishing in a more-than-timely fashion, do you think our conservative citizens' lobbies would think that was a good idea...or would they call it bribing people to do their jobs and government giveaways? 

Today I watched Blankenship from Massey Energy defend his hateful position that "accidents happen."  He poo-poos the fact that far fewer accidents happen at union mines.  It is cheaper for Massey to pay the millions of dollars in fines it has to pay and bury a few dozen miners than it is to make things safe.  I can't see the goverment giving them some kind of incentive for not killing people.   So I'm not sure where you would go with that...or that I would be favoribaly inclined to reward that asshole for not killiing any more workers.  I'm more of the "next dead guy related to a safety violation and you will be incarcerated, Mr. Bigshot."  Carrots?  Sticks?  He gets the stick!  lol

If you tried getting insurance coverage with a pre-existing condition before the reforms took effect, you'd know.

 Yes, you had to pay more then, and you will have to pay much, much more now!

No, that's not how it was.  The insurance company could refuse to cover you, or refuse to cover any treatment related to your pre-existing condition.  You were basically SOL.

Your insurance company was going to charge you a similar rate in the next few years anyway.  Now they just have something so "blame " it on besides their own greed and how the system was fueling the ridiculous rate of increase in the cost of health care. 

Sorry to hear that, it's a screwed up catch 22

 Actually, you are partly right.  Rates were destined to go up anyway, but not at the accelerated rate that Obamacare  has forced it to!  My husband's company has many of the big health insurers as clients, and they have said they did not expect this rate of acceleration for a long time!  This will take everyone by surprise!

Congress does not have our best interest in mind.  Only theirs!  And, I am talking about both parties!

There will be "victims" in trying to undue the mess the insurance companies have put us all in.  The whole thing is ugly.  Yes rates will go up, that only makes sense.  They will have less of a pool to insure and will need to get the money some how.  Think big picture here.

 Big picture is that we will no longer have the great medical care we have access to now.  Capitalism is what drives better technology.  At the end of the day, money is what motivates medical advances.  Without research and development budgets, there will be far less advances, and far less better treatment.  If you have ever gone to a gov't free clinic, you will understand why this "big picture" is not appealing to most of us.  And, I have had times in my life when I was un-insured, and I had to pay out of pocket.  It was not fun, but I was grateful for good care!  I have been in medical clinics in England, and China.  It is like stepping back a hundred years.  Scary!

I really don't share your fatalistic views, and don't think it will be quite as dismal as you visualize.  But I understand your perspective and why you have it.