The great unsaid word in the health insurance debates is demutualization. Before the late 90's, virtually all health insurance wsas provided through a mutual insurer: the policy holder was literally an owner of the company, and received "dividends," etc. With demutualization, all these mutual companies were transformed into standard corporations that could issue equity securities. In order to that to happen, they all had to apply to various regulatory bodies and hold public hearings and convert policy-holders into share-holders and receive some majority vote from the policy holders. This was what the big investment banks and corporate law firms were up to in the years running up to 9/11: insurance company demutualization. Needless to say, there was outcry and outrage from the usual consumer advocates on the left, who all predicted catastrophe. Needless to say, they were correct, and largely ignored. Insurance demutualization was a juggernaut sweeping up all the big mutual insurers. One can already see the issue: if you are literally owned by the policy holders, you are beholden to the policy holders. If you are beholden to the shareholders, well profit above all else, and policy holders be damned! Insurance was actually a simple principle, despite its complexity in practice: people pool money and help each other when a member needs help. It's that simple; that's the bedrock principle of an insurance MUTUAL company. That model is said to have "failed." The big insurers claimed to need to raise capital on the equity markets. They begged to privatize. And these charts show us the results. Insurance demutualization is the great Elephant in the room of insurance costs debates. The "market" of the privatized insurance company running on equity securities rather than policy holder premiums is the great policy disaster of the last 15 years, a complete failure of the capital markets to produce reasonably good business models and service. But nobody says anything. It's neoliberalism in smithereens.

That's the real reason. Executives couldn't get enormous salaries and bonuses from public utilities or mutual insurance companies.

So, looking out for their financial improvement, they foisted these gems on us.

There is one thing to remember about the GOP health plan. It calls for ending employer paid health insurance and replaces that with individually owned health insurance that includes a tax sheltered "health savings account". They also want to scrap the Affordable Health Care act that prevents dropping coverage and denial for pre existing conditions.

Also as part of the ownerships society you will get to buy your own unemployment insurance, disability insurance, workmans' compensation insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, vacation savings account, retirement 401 k, long term and old age health insurance, schooling and training for a life of multiple occupations, etc. And you get to do that while paying to raise a family, pay for your kids education, all related sales taxes, property taxes if you own a home, interest to banks, gas taxes, home insurance, casualty insurance, natural catastrophe insurance, etc.
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Add to that there will be no family planning because of mandated full quiver family requirements.

And you have an economy that is market driven where there is no minimum wage, no limited work hours, no overtime pay, no bargaining (only begging), no longevity, no job security, no holidays, no vacation, etc.

Vote Republican for a brave new world of work == er slavery.

Since the government will be nonexistent you as an individual OWN IT ALL in the ownership society.

and most contractors have no health insurance. I am working in pain, pretending not to be in pain, because I am afraid I would lose the job if they found out I am in pain. But I can't afford to go to the doctor until I get insurance, and I won't get health insurance unless I get hired. I could buy into a cheap plan but I don't know if it will be worth it.

And the Republicans think there is no problem.

Sorry to hear about your predicament. Sadly when I worked at DOL in the early 1980's I was predicting the outcome we have today with labor. Our labor and employment system has been almost completely sabotaged by the GOP and big business.

Workers must demand a second economic bill of rights like FDR suggested in 1944 and that Teddy Roosevelt first brought up in 1912. It is time to go left and demand rights for all workers.

(1) What kind of coverage do you have?
(2) What do you suggest in place

Typically, the critics have either employee paid insurance...or none at all. I've yet to meet any critics who pays for private healthcare insurance out of their pocket that are happy with their situation.

None, of course, knows what they'd replace Obamacare with. Idiots.