User Fee Could Help Fund Health Care Reform // Smokers Can Pay Without Any New Taxes, Says ASH

User fees for those who use the most health care services are fair. User fees that simply pick on one segment of the population who may not have significant medical bills is ridiculous. For the past 17 years, since the birth of my son, my medical costs have hit my family $500 deductible only once when my daughter had her tonsils removed. Why should I pay extra for my hypochondriac neighbor who visits multiple specialists for phantom illnesses? Make it like auto insurance: if you have a significant claim or ongoing medical costs, your rates increase.

I fprople could afford haelth insurance to start with theyd have it.So many people dont even carry car insurance simply because they cant afford it. But the socialist govmnts stay happy as their mandated laws keep the court system tied up with an ever increasing flow of fines and court costs....seems to be why the courts are always so busy........keeping the govmnt in revenues....stop lite cameras another way govmnt keeps revenue flowing in.........we the sheeple arent being treated fairly at all........we are targets of an ever expanding and draconian govmnt......rebellion is mandantory.

Sheri wrote:

User fees for those who use the most health care services are fair. User fees that simply pick on one segment of the population who may not have significant medical bills is ridiculous. For the past 17 years, since the birth of my son, my medical costs have hit my family $500 deductible only once when my daughter had her tonsils removed. Why should I pay extra for my hypochondriac neighbor who visits multiple specialists for phantom illnesses? Make it like auto insurance: if you have a significant claim or ongoing medical costs, your rates increase.

How about user fees for those who REALLY impose the greatest cost on the healthcare system? Maybe malpractice lawyers? How about a user fee for every malpractice law suit filed (win or lose)? Consider this paragraph from Lawyer Banzaf's letter and subsitute lawyer for smoker.

"User fees-fees imposed on those who engage in an activity which creates additional governmental costs which would otherwise be imposed on taxpayers-are fair and aappropriate because smokers chose to engage in and activity that is the major preventable cause of the the health care costs which otherwise are being foisted upon nonsmokers through bloated insurance rates and/or higher taxes."

(Must be Mr. B is in that upper income range of people who would be taxed more to pay for everyone else's healthcare?)

or user fees on ASH which is nothing but a law firm akking for people who want to sue tobacco..fast food or any other thing that will feed their greed. My answer to ASH is bring on the black market..no taxes or user fees there and it will put money in peoples pockets.