In other words, you're paying health insurance like a big portion of us.
Who, me?
Of course, my insurance isn't free. I pay for it every month. It's not like Tricare for full-time active duty, which is included in service, mine is a full-on insurance, and is treated like a private insurance as opposed to typical government insurances like Medicare.
Taxpayer subsidized healthcare with high ass deductibles for the people that would presumably have no option other than sign up for it.
You are also going to see health insurance like car insurance in the future, if it isn't already on there: "Don't worry, we will definite supply you with the federal mandated minimum coverage required by law!"
Frankly, I've been rooting for state-controlled, auto-insurance-style health insurance. There is too much waste in the industry, and cut-throat companies will help control rising premiums from the better companies. It won't be perfect, but it would be a hell of a lot better than things are today.
My insurance is actually pretty damn good, all things considered. It could be better, but I'd probably have to pay 2x-4x as much every month, so out of pocket expenses really equalize. And there are a number of included mental health appointments without any out of pocket fees, which is fantastic.
While I don't have simple co-payments for basic health visits, and have bills based on percentages or whatnot after-the-fact, it still would work in my favor based on my health and unforeseen circumstances. I rarely need doctor visits, and many of my "necessary" visits are actually scheduled and paid for through the Reserve, so they don't even touch my personal insurance. And if I need things, basic visits don't cost much in the end, and if things go horribly wrong with my health, I have a catastrophic cap that's pretty low ($1200?), which, if I understand the literature correctly, means that after that dollar amount (out of pocket), all necessary services/bills are 100% covered (this being obviously intended for, "oh shit, I broke a few things..." or an appendectomy or something, most of those end up having high out of pocket costs.
You could say it's taxpayer, but... realize how many pay into even this affordable system, considering it's a military service. Think of the ages. Sure, you got the old folks and those itching to retire, but a ton of young folk. Some pregnant, some morbidly obese and yet somehow still in the service, but for the most part, young and, if not fit, at least moderately healthy. Not everyone gets it, they sign up and pay for it - so no idea what the statistics are for who signs up. Ignoring all of that, it's still tied into military service. There's a taxpayer component of that, and yes, there is a ton of waste in the military, holy shit is there ever, but taking care of troops is a very small part of the DoD bill. Maintaining health, rather than fixing it after the fact, is also ideally the goal that helps ensure there are less-costly healthcare services in the field, and to help ensure there are enough healthy and fit enough to even deploy when needed (which, logistically, isn't just a total numbers game, it's also how many can go that are in a very specific unit with a specific job function).
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