December 15, 2016

I’m very conflicted, I just signed up for a “service” that I would ordinarily want to have, especially at the monthly cost I’m going to be paying, but I’m so very extremely annoyed at the fact that I’m FORCED to purchase this “service”, or else. I’m sure you have figured out I’m talking about healthcare, or as it’s more commonly referred to as Obamacare.

So what is the “or else” if I choose not to participate? Near $700, that would be my fine if I don’t sign up, and having the IRS come after me, something the IRS was NEVER meant to be part of. I concretely believe that this is unconstitutional, forcing citizens of the USA to purchase healthcare or any other commercial service, but as one tiny blip on the radar, what can I do? I don’t mind having the coverage, I rather like having inexpensive healthcare, and if it were available without the “or else” hanging over my head, I would be first in line to sign up, it’s the “or else” that is just plain wrong.

Today is the last day to sign up to get in for the 2017 coverage starting in January, being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until today to sign up. I have been getting the email reminders as well as the automated phone calls telling me that today was the last day I could sign up… they make it sound so dire, as if the world might come to an end if I ignore their pleas, who knows, it just might.

When I got to the website earlier today, it was quite clear that I’m not the only procrastinator, I was put in a queue (line, on hold for those in the USA) to wait my turn for the website to accept me. I waited less than an hour so all in all it wasn’t terrible. I actually started to do this last night, there was no wait time, I got right in, but I was on a tablet, I needed some information that was difficult to get on my tablet so I gave up, figuring I would finish today with my laptop.

I actually signed up last year, for much the same reasons, the “or else”, I ended up never using my healthcare insurance all year long, for a variety of reasons, the main one being I never needed to use it, of course I understand that anything could have happened, an accident, an illness and I would have used it then, but as a healthy 50 something year old, I have just never had the need to go to the doctor much in my life. I also understand that the premiums I paid went into a pool to help offset the costs of other people who did use their healthcare coverage.

I wonder how things might change …