My dad was always a car guy.  He had a fondness for Ford Thunderbirds.  He was close to buying one – twice. Back in the mid 60’s he was looking for a second car.  He had 2 kids at the time, and one car, which he drove to work each day. It made sense for mom to have access to a car to run errands etc. So he started looking, and really wanted that 1957 Thunderbird. But because it only had one bench seat, it was not practical, not the right time for a family of 4.  He bought a Ford Falcon instead.

When I was in high school, he looked again, at a used 1978 Thunderbird.  They were all the rage back then, very stylish.  I was with him when he was negotiating on that car.  I consider my dad a master negotiator, he loved the challenge.  As he was negotiating on the price, we got too an impasse.  Dad and the salesman were $100 apart on a $3500 vehicle.  Neither would budge. I knew my dad wanted that car, and I knew he was very practical too.  The salesman tried to pressure close my dad with a “are you going to walk away over a measly $100”.

I laugh at that now.

Wrong thing to say to a man with Farmersense.  My dad looked him in the eye, and very confidently told him: “Are you going to let me walk out the door over a measly $100”. The salesman was speechless.  His closing line just backfired in his face.  And we got up and walked out the door.

Wow, what a lesson.  We all “want” things.   But Farmersense tell us that “wants” should not be more important that your life goals. Our way of life, our vision of a successful farm.  Solvency. (which back then was a very important)

We drove high mileage, used Ford LTD’s.  They were cheap.  Not so much at the gas pump, but net net, the lowest cost option. A small sacrifice however for the larger picture.  And I am sorry to say, my dad has never had a Thunderbird.  He has however achieved his bigger goals of making that farm successful. If he really wanted that car, he could go get it today, but continues to be very conservative.

On my last trip to the farm, I was talking with my brother to better understand how the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will affect him.  I wanted to know if the “hype” (health care costs are going up) that you see/hear is true or if it is just that, hype.

This one item continues to polarize our country more than any other that I can remember in my life time.  Hell, the government was shut down for a short period because of it.  I’m sure there were other polarizing issues.  Vietnam?  WWII? Same sex marriage? Abortion I suppose it right up there.  Was it this bad when our social security system was put into place?

I am surprised at all the press you see about how a person’s healthcare cost will be going up. I don’t seem to see anything or anyone saying how it will be going down, well, except for our President when he has his salesman hat on.  So, I asked my brother how it is expected to affect him.  My brother is in his mid 40’s, single, never married, no kids, self employed and healthy.  He has a high deductible policy today.  His cost prior to ACA is approximately $200/month.  The same high deductible policy under the ACA will now cost him approximately $350/month.  WOW.  Really?  An increase of almost $150/month?  An increase of 75% for the same coverage?  How can that be?  I thought this was the AFFORDABLE Care Act?

As I questioned him, it appears the policy is not completely the same.  The new act requires him to have maternity care.  Yep, that is right, everyone is required to have maternity care. No matter that he is single, no matter that he is male, no matter the age, it is required.  This one surprised me, I found it irresponsible, foolish, and downright stupid.

This struck my curiosity to dig a bit deeper.  Some interesting items:

• 48 million Americans do not have health insurance (CNN).  That is <20% of Americans.
• Subsidies are provided to those with incomes >400% of the poverty level. 400%.
• There are those that are educating people on ways to lower their income, so they may be able to get a larger subsidy.  I don’t make this stuff up.  Click here.
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the cost of ACA in the 2014 budget year will be $759 Billion.

The ACA has noble intentions and it fills a gap.  There are those that do not have insurance because of preexisting conditions that truly need it.   And yes, it is honorable to want to have a healthy population, an insured population.  But is this the right approach? Where is the common sense when a 45 year old, single man is required to have maternity care, or when the care is subsidized if your income is >400% of the poverty level.  Do you realize that 67% of the US population would be eligible for a subsidy?  Who pays for that?

For a country with ever increasing debt, is this the right thing to do? Is it responsible?  Are we buying a Thunderbird at the expense of solvency?  Should we instead look at a used high mileage Ford Falcon or an LTD?

There must be a more common sense approach.  No.  A more RESPONSIBLE approach.  What if we required critical care only?  Or what if we required high deductible policies.  Should we simply require insurers to insure those with pre-existing conditions and close that gap?  Should we exclude items to bring down costs such as maternity care for 45 year old single males?  It would lower the cost to the end user, it would lower the subsidies paid by a government who can’t afford their current style of living today.

I feel as if we are being forced to pay for insurance that is not needed, insurance for abusers of drugs, alcohol and smokers – all items that we know will only lead to increased costs.

Yes, I want to be part of a country that aspires to be great, to be able to care for the masses.  But I also want a country that is fiscally responsible, one that encourages self sufficiency.  Let’s insure those that want to take care of themselves. Let’s be sure those with pre-existing conditions have access to insurance. Let’s be reasonable with a plan that does these things, and does not mortgage our future.  Let’s buy a Ford Falcon, in hopes that someday, we can upgrade.