Not to beat a dead horse, but this is another baffling aspect of Americans' attitudes toward health care. Imagine if a government-run health care system raised its fees/taxes by almost 50% over 3 years, while service deteriorated. Wouldn't people scream bloody murder and want to run the idiots at the top of the bureaucracy out of town on a rail? When the for-profit sector does this, everyone shrugs and says, "Well, there's the magic of the free market for you." It's a real indication of the success of the right wing's indoctrination of the "private capital markets good, government bad" mantra in our minds.

Let's see...my health insurance premium DOUBLED this year. There are more copays now. (for example, my husband has ankylosing spondylitis, well maybe - he doesn't have the gene - just the effect, was being helped, to a degree, with physical therapy, specifically lower back traction, without any copays. This year there is a copay and we just can't do it)
Although the premium I pay is one price, my company split out prescription coverage to another company, and it royally sucks. Like, I can't go to Walgreens (which I do like), I have to go to Eckerds (which I don't). For recurrant prescriptions, if you don't use their mail service, after a while the price changes from flat fee to percentage. And excuse me if I'm just not together enough to do it by mail. I like being able to go to my local drug store. Oh, and God forbid your prescription isn't on their formulary! I'm going through that with my anti-depressant. Lexapro works pretty well on me, but all that's covered on the formulary is generic prozac, paxil cr, and zoloft. Well, 2 down, 1 to go.
My husband's not going to get any better, his arthritis has already spread to his shoulders, knees, hips, occasional twinges in his elbows, and heels. He's in constant pain and it's getting harder and harder for him to move.
I only make about 25k. If they're going to keep on raising premiums and lowering benefits, I'm not going to be able to afford healthcare, even with insurance!
Sorry for the rant, but it cuts close to home

The Democrats have long done an extremely poor job communicating on this and similar subjects. Thomas Frank wrote a great piece in the Nation on the ascendancy of 'market populism' in 2000 or so. Kerry and his colleagues must do something to change that popular perception, or all the facts in the world about the GOP's policy failings aren't going to change very many votes.

Once again, move to Canada, wait 7 weeks for an x-ray. That will make you happy as you bitch about America.
Perhaps France is the place as long as you keep that head scarf at home!!!! Or Germany, they also have FREE HEALTHCARE, I hear they even give it to Jews now days. They no longer murder them. How nice...