Retired DUers: did you wait until Medicare kicked in to take care of medical problems?
I've been having many conversations with family and friends about ACA and have taken to an argument that seems to shut down arguments that ACA will increase the cost of health care. My argument is that people that don't have health insurance or really bad health insurance wait until Medicare kicks in to take care of health problems. While they are waiting, the problems get more severe and become more costly to treat.
While the following is not a perfect example, it's the one that I have. When I was young, I should have gotten braces (I had a few teeth not come in, so I was walking around with a gap on one side of my mouth and a baby tooth still on the other side until my mid-30s). My front teeth started cracking and my dentist told me that I needed to get braces to get everything fixed. The dentist is also a friend and is budget-conscious, so I trust his judgment. Because I get braces about 20 years after I should have, because I was poor growing up and my family couldn't afford them, the adjustments have taken about twice the time (and cost) that they would have when I was young. A similar thing happened to my nephew. He had a small hernia when he was 16, but never told his guardian (he was adopted by another family member) because they didn't have insurance and he didn't want to burden them financially. Well, 7 years later he finally told them and the hernia has gotten significantly worse, so the cost of treatment will be much higher.
Anyway, my point is this: I expect that ACA will lower the overall cost of health care in the US because people will get medical problems taken care of in a more timely manner when the cost and duration of treatment is lower.
What's your story?
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