I met an exchange student from Germany yesterday, and we talked for a bit. "I haven't had health insurance for 5 years at least" I admitted, and he said "I can't remember a time when I didn't have it."
For a long time, my parents couldn't afford health insurance. Thanks to the affordable care act (I get kinda pissed when people call it "Obamacare") they finally got covered this year, but now i'm too old to be covered under theirs. The company I work for offers insurance, but its not very good and wasn't worth the cut from my monthly paycheck for something I might not use every month. As a student working part time, I simply can't afford it, I think that I am exempt from the uninsured-fine anyway. Speaking of that, forcing your citizens to pay for something many of them can't afford by threatening them with a major fine sounds absolutely insane to me!
Life is full of dilemmas, but I don't want my health to be one of them. To the international villagers, let me tell you firsthand; while the U.S. may have some of the best healthcare in the world, good affordable coverage is still an unobtainable luxury to many, and a nightmare to some. Hospitals here WILL send you away if you have nothing. When asked why ours can't be like Canada or Europe, almost everyone says "Well... I hear you have to wait a long time to get treatment" or "its not as safe as ours", which I have trouble blindly believing.
How does everyone feel about your health insurance?