It is all the money everyone saves from free medical care. People have yet to figure out free does not exist but they love it. If all the money needed for this could be gotten from all the savings people and businesses got from it then it would not be a problem but the fact is it will cost more then it saves. Some companies offer higher wages in lieu of benefits so no savings to the company and other companies offer a "rebate" to employees who do not need or want medical benefits and the rest offer medical plans that is figured in to the lower compensation. The first thing that will happen is the companies including benefits as part of the package will have to do is increase pay because that is no longer part of the package or they will lose employees to the companies now getting it from the government plan so the savings is reduced. If you are going to charge the companies for it then the companies paying the higher wages without benefits either lower wages or increase cost. People will pay either way just a matter of directly through income taxes or fees or indirectly by paying increased prices for products because the companies are paying fees or higher taxes. President Obama keeps promising things without any cost to people but that is not real world. If you get cost savings through "more efficiency" in the government program and that goes to paying for the system rather then lower cost then people save nothing but lowering the cost will mean the money has to come from some where whether fees taxes or decrease in services. Americans spend a huge amount on medical but part of that would be unnecessary or not allowed as it is cosmetic or not required; people would still want those things so would pay for them any way. The thing about getting this and saving all this money or costing nothing is not logical when you think about it but all many are seeing is something for nothing.3
03/22/12 @491