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My plans before ACA DID have lifetime caps, in fact most plans did, usually a million dollars. I've seen situations (I work in health care) where a child had cancer, underwent treatment, it went into remission, only to come back 3 years later, and in the middle of treatment the family gets a letter from the insurer stated the child couldn't get more treatment because the child reached his lifetime cap.
The ACA also prevented policies that actually didn't cover anything, and made certain things required. I once paid over $300 a month for a policy that didn't cover chemotherapy. Too many people purchased policies they could afford thinking they were okay, then got sick and ended up in bankruptcy even with insurance.
There are functions of the ACA that strive to encourage a healthy population = lower health care costs for everyone such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, and a yearly well visit for everyone. Hmmmm...vaccinations to prevent illnesses that can cause a lifetime of care, cancer screenings to look for those rogue cells that mutate into something that can kill you slowly and painfully, and just in case you don't look into your own health carefully a yearly exam by a professional can head off some less than desirable problems and a bit of guidance for the inevitable vices.
Yes, there were caps on most policies. Policies without caps were few and far between. Families chose bankruptcy over a family member needing lifesaving medical treatment, sometimes for things as simple as asthma which, if you can't afford the daily meds, can quickly turn into a revolving door at the ER or worse.
Think about our socialized medical services that are in place already...medicare, VA, medicaid. They all work pretty good. Medicare is rarely complained about. The VA can be hit or miss depending on location. But our local VA is awesome with vets getting the care they need on a timely basis. I know it's not like that everywhere. Medicaid is covering those who cannot afford anything. And I know quite a few people who choose not to work or have any assets so that they can stay on Medicaid because it works. I've seen a lot of patients, with entire families on medicaid, getting some of the most expensive treatment offered in the US, because they can. My observation is that if your parents are poor and indigent, smoke, drink, and eat a poor diet...the next generations are likely to be the same. Therefore, they tend to require quite a bit of medical care even when young. So of you didn't need to be poor without assets to have access to good medical care, would that make for a more productive society? I know that there will always be people who choose to live on what others will give them. But should we encourage that?
I think if everyone had access to the same standard of health care, then in the end we would be a more free society. Free to choose whatever career, no matter the wage or benefits offered (remember that certain careers generally do not offer benefits). Free to take a few months or a year with a newborn to give them a good start physically and emotionally without the fear of losing your benefits. Free to choose a healthier alternative as offered by a health care professional without wondering how much your insurance is going to leave you owing (20% of $100k or 20% of $50k??? who knows what that surgery is going to cost since there is no transparency).
If you look at countries where people claim to be happier it is because they have security about their health and welfare as well as fulfillment from their chosen profession no matter the income. Healthy equates to happy. Just think about it for a while. We don't have to call it socialized medicine if that offends people. It is not a communist idea (I assure you that all of Europe and Canada are not communists). And the government/insurer will know about your physical information (they already do BTW since 87% use electronic medical record systems) but they don't care, other than to help you be as healthy as possible. If you don't need any of these then feel free to go out and live in a cabin in the woods away from all civilization. You don't require other members of society for your happiness. But if you choose to live in a free society where "all men are considered equal" then we all need to be equal together, really equal.
As long as people keep voting for government that has no interest in healthcare for its citizens and turns the whole affair over to greedy insurance companies who basically charge as much as they can get away with America will have very expensive healthcare. The ACA was intended to lower costs and make sure all could afford and qualify for healthcare but alas the program was never given a chance to succeed and was sabotaged and obstructed from the beginning.=https://www.google.ca/search?source=....0.TjK_PgHQRg4
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