[ErikVandeWater]

> It cost my mother $150.

Sure, but by being taxpayers, your parents already paid a substantial portion of the cost forward by paying for the healthcare of other people. Perhaps they were net takers from the system, but presumably people on HN have parents that are net contributors to the system.

[madsbuch]

The tax pressure is comparable from the US to other western countries so it seems like it is a questions of prioritizing those tax money.