Well, I am self employed. I am healthy (thankfully, I drew a good hand in the genetic poker game) so I will not be buying this garbage (and that is the best I can call it) at what it would cost me, or for even half of what it would cost me. Arithmetically, it just makes no sense to do so. I roll the dice, and if I stay healthy as I am now for a few years in a row I can bank enough to pay for most any routine service I need. And I will negotiate the hell out of the cost of services to be provided in advance, assuming it is routine and not an emergency. Cash is king (and a fair number of doctors are already adopting this business model I might add).
A catastrophic medical emergency will simply wipe me out. So what, even with the so-called insurance I would be wiped out financially. The "insurance" being offered under this law isn't insurance. It is an asset stripping scheme to benefit the medical industry (which had effectively hit the limit of what it could screw people out of without the force of federal goons to back up their efforts), conducted by the insurance companies and enforced by the typical government "do it or else". And don't think for a second that the "or else" clause will not be escalated when so many people have made the same decision I have. Get ready for some fireworks in this regard, as there will be a very large blast radius when it comes to a head a year or two from now tops.
When this thing falls on its face (well, factually it has already done that) they will try to salvage it by cranking up the punishment to try and force compliance with this extortion racket. Good luck with that. I can't and won't pay what I don't have. Nor will I forgo a place to live, food to eat or gas in my car to piss money down this rat hole. Force the issue? Go ahead, show up at my door with orders in hand and see what that gets you. Hint: you won't like my response, as it will come at several hundred feet per second. As an added bonus, I then will no longer need any health care. I don't do ultimatums, especially not with degenerate criminals who have no legitimate claim to [try and] force me to do something. By the way, nine rectal cavities (or a majority thereof) dressed in black robes do not confer legitimacy on criminals, even if they say they have.
Look at it this way. You pay outrageous premiums (for anyone in my employment situation anyway) plus large deductibles and still the policy only has an actuarial value of 60% ("bronze") to 90% ("platinum"). Meaning that it only pays 60-90% (dependent on the plan chosen) of the full amount billed.
So if I incur a $100,000 hospital stay - which is easy to rack up now - under the bronze plan I am out the premiums, the deductible and after the coverage kicks in, another... wait for it... $40,000!!! Yeah, I got that scratch right here under the mattress. Oops, sorry it seems to be missing, would you accept payment in a pile of dust mites and an old nudie magazine instead?
Even the platinum plan would cost me $10,000 out of pocket in such a scenario, over and above aforementioned premiums and deductibles. Two words: Chapter Seven. Think of it this way: if you buy "insurance" that still results in your being bankrupted, you have effectively bought nothing; and thrown away a lot of money in the process.
Ya know what? Screw it. I am banking on a black market arising for medicine. People who insist that if abortion were illegal [again] it would just be done in back alleys with coat hangers [and it probably would be] will probably be surprised to find the same effect will be true of medical care before long.
Simply put, if a needed product or service is not attainable by "legitimate" (read: government sanctioned) means, some enterprising people will setup a system outside the lines to deliver that product or service. It may be sketchy and possibly dangerous (and of course the pigs in power will hate it and seek to destroy it), but it will be affordable compared to the official channels, simply because so many people will want it and not be able to get it any other way.
Actually, it is more likely that as a direct result of this law, the medical complex crashes and burns (well, probably the entire economy really, given the % of GDP ascribed to health care spending) and we have to start over with a system that actually works for the greatest number of people (like what we had in the US prior to 1980 for those old enough to remember). Note that even this will not mean everybody gets care.
A certain percentage of people will always get screwed by any system, that is just reality and it will never change. You want a perfect pain and guilt free existence? Die and go to heaven. Sorry, there is no other way to get there. The objective should be not to screw the maximum number of people, which is what barack's bogus bill ultimately does. Those who had no coverage will get some, but it will be lousy and expensive. Those who had good coverage will get much less, and it will be more expensive than it already was. And "subsidies" are just stealing money from your neighbor, co-worker, friends and family to cover your own ass. Nice that you have a fancy pain-free word there to assuage the guilt of that theft.
In the meantime, I am watching this thing continue to screw people all over the place and the consequences of it's implementation have barely begun to be realized. Being I'm one who loves to say "I told you so", I am looking forward to the collateral damage with a certain amount of relish. Especially since those who thought (or even now still believe) that this will be a panacea for medical care will be amongst those most punished by it's effects. They will certainly not get what they thought they had coming in exchange for their abject sycophantic political bootlicking. This has already dawned on some of them.
Paybacks can be truly satisfying sometimes. Useful idiots/true believers are both clueless and dangerous, and I will love hearing them squeal like stuck pigs when they finally realize what they have brought upon themselves. Some will never admit their folly, and will die praising the system that destroys them. So be it. Put it on pay per view, and help defray the cost while entertaining us. The ultimate reality TV, right there.
Of course, the thing that puts me in a rage is that they are taking me (and scores of others) down with them. It's little comfort, but at least I know what is coming and am preparing accordingly. They still think it is all unicorns and rainbows. Where do you suppose that unicorn is gonna put his horn? Looks like we're gonna need a lot more proctologists, stat.
