[ck2]

the better we get at keeping people alive, the older they will get

I'm generally not a fan of people either but there are kids with cancer that I feel should get some time to enjoy their lives outside of dying in a hospital if at all possible, someday.

Besides, there are still many, many millions of people in the USA who can't get insurance so even if there was a "cure" or life extension, they couldn't afford it. Don't worry, they will die for you because emergency rooms don't treat cancer. For example if I got cancer, I'd be screwed.

[davesque]

And also relatively "young" parents whose families wish they were still around.

[ams6110]

Why don't you have insurance? It's mandatory now.

[waterphone]

Not the OP, but I don't have insurance because I can't afford it. Furthermore, attempts to use Healthcare.gov to try and even start an application process did and continue to fail because I don't have a credit history and therefore do not exist in their system and hit a roadblock. I cannot sign up for Medicaid in my state either for the same reason.

And while it may be technically mandatory, I have so far fallen below the income level that requires it and so haven't yet been fined for being unable to afford it. I almost did this year, but managed to request an exemption because there were no plans in my area below the necessary price threshold. And even if I were fined, paying the fine is easier and cheaper than dealing with actually getting a (very shitty) plan.

[DrScump]

<application process did and continue to fail because I don't have a credit history>

You don't need to have a credit history to get Medicaid. Heck, a complete lack of one may work in your favor.

In CA, you don't even have to be here legally to get Medicaid (MediCal) now.

[waterphone]

In Arizona, a credit history is part of their verification process, same as Healthcare.gov. Because I don't have a credit history, I don't exist in the system and therefore any application attempt fails at the "cannot verify your identity" stage and offers no path for recourse.

Edit: Not directly related to the main topic, but Amazon Payments also uses Experian—same as Arizona medicaid and Healthcare.gov—for identity verification, and if you don't have a credit history you get permabanned without explanation from continuing to use Amazon Payments. After asking them why several times, they block you from contacting their support again. Worst customer experience I've ever had with a major company, especially Amazon which is usually quite fantastic to deal with as a customer.

[ck2]

26 states refused to expand medicaid which was a critical part of Obamacare's plan to get everyone insurance.

So it is very possible to make too little to get insurance outright and too much to get medicaid. In fact there are many millions of people in that boat in 2016. Apparently we are illegal human beings, walking around without insurance.

[ubernostrum]

It's not mandatory in the US; you just pay a penalty the next time you file your taxes if you went too long without insurance.

Spoiler: the penalty is far less than the cost of having insurance, which means it's still cheaper to just be uninsured (so long as you stay relatively healthy) and pay up on your tax return.

[sbierwagen]

Seconded. I paid a ~$450 penalty for not having health insurance for calendar year 2015. The very cheapest health plan in my ZIP is $1,932 a year. It has a $5,000 deductible, $300 emergency room copay, $25 primary care co-pay... basically it's just as bad as no health insurance at all. Why spend the $1,500 extra?

[ams6110]

No it is mandatory, hence the penalty for not having it.

[waterphone]

It effectively is a fine, but it's not a criminal penalty, so it's kind of like an opt-out fee that's significantly cheaper than most of the supposedly affordable plans. (Which are extremely expensive even at the low-end where they're completely useless with $10,000 deductibles.)

[zaroth]

I think you are dramatically underestimating the cost of getting "actually sick" if you think a $10,000 annual out-of-pocket maximum is "completely useless". Not to put too fine a point on it, but $10k could be a mere couple hours of care in the ER.

Also, there are cost-sharing reductions which would reduce that $10k significantly depending on your income.

If you do find yourself in need of actual medical care but without any insurance, the workaround is simply you will have to move to a new state, which will allow you to sign up outside of open enrollment periods.

[wang_li]

The maximum out of pocket costs under the law is $6850 for an individual and $13700 for a family.

Regardless, the law is the law and it's undoubted that the folks who choosing not to do their legally required part and maintain health insurance will immediately jump on a plan if they happen to need care. Bunch of selfish jerks.

[ck2]

It is technically impossible for millions of Americans to get insurance. I mean unless you can print your own money.

26 states refused to expand coverage so there is a huge hole and they went to the supreme court who said it was perfectly okay for them to do that. Google it.

Hillary will be unlikely able to fix this and Trump definitely won't fix this, so if I get cancer in the next eight years (plausible, both parents died from it) I am screwed, though technically I could undo my entire life, move to another state and wait a year to apply and hope I don't die in the meanwhile. Yay America.