Good rule of thumb . When you are cheering for fire you are on the wrong side . <| sep |> Are the enemies master too ? <| sep |> Some say Aretha is still singing the anthem as we speak . <| sep |> Most of this is due to the fact that it is confusing it ' s meant to be ! and there isn ' t much incentive for younger people to understand the situation . Summary 1 . We don ' t have national health care which is basically insurance for everyone paid by taxes , we have health care via private insurance plans . 2 . 80 % of US citizens get good insurance from work . By good insurance . this means that insurance companies couldn ' t really cancel your insurance and outofpocket costs your costs when you get treatment are pretty reasonable . The fact is , however , that good insurance is expensive and is mainly paid by the employer . 3 . Before ObamaCare the ACA Affordable Care Act , the other 20 % no insurance through work were kind of screwed . If you had a preexisting condition , you couldn ' t get affordable care insurance companies could reject you . If you got really sick e . g . cancer , insurance companies would cancel your policy there ' s always some technicality . ObamaCare stopped that abuse . and provided tax subsidies for poorer people . Insurance , however , is still expensive . 4 . Health Care Costs as reported by the Dr or hospital are not accurate . Each insurance company negotiates the actual rates they pay . and these are substantially lower than uninsured rates . Insurance plans are kind of confusing they are meant to be , but ObamaCare regulated some of that too . If you invest a few hours , it ' s now possible to understand your insurance plan .