Actually, it turns out that there's a provision in the bill that everyone is required to hold health insurance, on penalty of a financial … penalty, and there is a legal minimum coverage level for healthcare insurance. Personally, I think this is backwards. We should assume that everyone has that minimum level of health coverage, and people can purchase additional coverage if they desire to do so.

I'm sure the reason it is set up this way is to placate the fiscal conservatives. Ultimately, the government is going to end up spending the same amount of money, since those who can't afford the coverage will be subsidized, which is effectively the same as giving it to them for free, but with the added overhead of the patient having to deal with a lot of paperwork. It also name-checks "personal responsibility". And I suppose there is a potential real financial difference between a default level of coverage plus addons and being required to purchase something that has at least that level of service, though I think there would probably be ways to deal with that.

Anyway, my point is that people shouldn't have to worry about this mess to begin with.

And there's still the possibility of going bankrupt from your cancer treatment.