Are you married or thinking about getting married? What comes to mind when thinking about that special person? Is it their smile? Perhaps a kind and decent heart? Good with children? And when it comes to being stable (this is a death til you part decision, right?), do they have a good job, make an honest living? Or do you forget all of that, and get married for their health insurance policy? Yes folks, the health care crisis in our country is truly getting that bad.
From The LA Times:
In a poll released today, 7% of Americans said they or someone in their household decided to marry in the last year so they could get healthcare benefits via their spouse.
"It's a small number but a powerful result, because it shows how paying for healthcare is reflected not only in family budgets but in life decisions," said Drew E. Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which commissioned the survey as part of its regular polling on healthcare.
On a broader scale, the survey found that healthcare costs outranked housing costs, rising food prices and credit card bills as a source of concern. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said they had experienced serious problems because of the cost of healthcare, compared with 29% who had problems getting a good job or a raise. Gasoline prices were the top economic worry, with 44% saying they had serious problems keeping up with increases at the pump.
Yes, out of a hundred seven percent isn't much if you took away what you were measuring. I thought marriage was this holy institution that conservatives tell us is between a man and a woman, deep belief in a Christian G-d and a can of beans. In reality, these factors really do matter and in the last thirty years, health care companies have gotten away with fiscally raping America. That means people are worrying more about something that should be a right in the wealthiest country in the world.
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