Quote from: rainingbitcoins on November 03, 2011, 03:35:14 AM

Quote from: MoonShadow on November 02, 2011, 09:19:29 PM

Where did you find that bs? We have roughly 3 million adult citizens that are uninsured, half of which still have access to subsidized health insurance.

What the hell? Do you just make this stuff up off the top of your head? How do you not know that there are 50 million people without insurance in the U.S.?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/121820/one-six-adults-without-health-insurance.aspx

While I will concede that it's very likely higher than 3 million since the economy crashed, this poll hides some very important details. First, I said adults & citizens. This poll includes children of uncovered adults as being uncovered as well. Being uncovered by your own choice or the lack of action by your parents doesn't really count, because there isn't a single child of a US citizen that isn't eligible for state subsidized coverage. Not one. The poll states that they only consider 18+, but by extending their population percentages to the entire population they assume children as well. A deeper look at the source will also support this position. Nor does the poll exclude non-citizens from the polled pool, for there is no credible way to do so. Something that is bound to skew those numbers. I wouldn't be shocked at all to learn that there were more than 3 million uninsured illegal aliens alone in the US who also happened to have a cell or landline, but not insurance. If they are citizens, then they also likely have access to subsidized insurance coverage; depending upon the state and the particulars of their situation and/or medical conditions. Lack of knowledge of such programs isn't anyone else's fault either. Perhaps I should have been clear that I was talking about adult citizens who were either not eligible period or have explicitly chosen to not pursue such subsidies. This is akin to the crap about Americans on food assistance (http://hotair.com/archives/2011/11/02/food-stamp-use-reaches-record-45-8-million/), sure the rising trend is evidence of rising need, but it also indicates rising eligibility. For example, my household is eligible for WIC (woman and infant children) and several of my kids are eligible for state sponsored health insurance, and my household income now pushes six figures. Why are we eligible? Because we are also agents of the state, because we are state certified foster parents, and wards of the state live within my household. Which is also why I know a great deal about those kinds of state subsidized programs. I literally cannot refuse those programs for these kids, because they are not my kids. The state is their legal guardian, and I'm the employee. I can't reject the WIC or Passport (the child health insurance plan) for those kids any more than I can refuse their scheduled vaccines, whether I have a religious objection or not. I'm bound by contract to abide by the state's policies, and one of them is that the state supports foster children through such programs.

Further, this poll also includes a great many working adults who have access to an employer's plan, but choose not to participate for whatever reason, which skews the low income and younger than 30 brackets. As well as including those over 65 who don't consider themselves insured, despite the fact that anyone over 65 that isn't eligible for Medicare didn't pay at least 10 years of (payroll) taxes nor a spouse that paid such taxes. (https://questions.medicare.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/10/~/who-is-eligible-for-medicare%3F) The only people that such is true are those who are wealthy enough to not need to work at all or those who were not productive citizens long enough to count. There are so many things wrong with this for me to pick at, I'll stop there for brevity.