> Ironically, this has only become an issue of interest in recent years because it has started to cause economic stress to the middle class - i.e. many who post

> Ironically, this has only become an issue of interest in recent years because it has started to cause economic stress to the middle class - i.e. many who post to this board - due to rising healthcare costs coupled with wage growth not keeping pace with life's major costs (housing, education, and of course, healthcare). Poorer segments of the population have been facing this situation for much longer, but they don't have the same voice. That's only partially true. Yes, rising healthcare costs. No, it hits the poorest the most, well not exactly. Medicaid isn't horrible, but you really need to be at the bottom of the income stream. Once you hit a certain age you get Medicare, which itself covers quite a bit. The people most shafted are minimum wage workers and people who work retail jobs that don't provide healthcare. The working poor. And part of this is regional, too, it should be said. For example, this debt collector stuff where they can directly deduct from your paycheck or place liens or whatnot - that's not legal in all states. Where I live, a very large city, even a homeless person can go to a hospital and get healthcare. This is a law - you cannot be refused. The middle class have for a long time been the ones to be shafted in the U.S. They don't have enough capital or income to avoid financial insecurity (one hospital bill, one accident away from tragedy). They don't have the right jobs where they can deduct huge amounts from their income (unlike self-employed / business owners), and they don't make their income through capital investments where they can pay a lower income tax (cap gains instead of ordinary income). They're trapped in their employer's healthcare choices, and if they lose their employer their only choice are a watered-down state-managed set of healthcare options that our executive branch helped drown. I'm not rich, but perhaps upper-income, and still a wage slave; the way I've dealt with the healthcare question is to live in the shadows of the rich (working in tech in financial services).