How is it different? I'll try to explain it how I see it:
It is known that medical expenses are placed on the consumer to offset the cost of those un-insured and unable to pay. Right now, though, we are free to do as we wish with how we want to cover ourselves. We may not always have the money to do so, but we can do other things like trying to improve our lifestyles. Unfortunately, right now we have people that *choose* not to cover themselves because they know someone else will pick up the tab like in CiceroKit's story. They don't see it as other people having to pay for their care, they just see it as "free care". And as such, there's no incentive for these people to try and live better to limit their health care needs, so they go buy junk food all the time instead of healthier foods. They don't exercise more than their thumbs as it clicks the remote or the game controller. Those of us that do pay for ourselves (and thus for those that can't/don't as well) can shop around for the best insurance rates, the best valued doctors, can choose the meds we want to take as long as we can afford, and there's inherent cost control on the part of us, the consumer.
But we've become a lazy society. Many people would rather give up their options and just look to the government to put them on a program. Usually, these programs are sold on helping people be more free to do other things and people will fall for it hook line and sinker. When you get put on a government program, you don't get any choices. You do what government allows you to do. You are not more free, but are less free. You've lost more of your independence because you're becoming reliant on government to provide for you. Look at domesticated animals. We've basically bred the survival instincts out of them because their idea of hunting is walking to a food dish. Any time you give more of yourself up to the government, you become more slave to the master. I'd rather live an independent mediocre life than a rich government funded one because the government can take it all away and you're left not able to fend for yourself.
That's also a big reason not to trust government. Are there any federally funded social programs that have actually WORKED? (more localized programs I believe can, but I'm refering to nation wide issues) Look at social security going bankrupt (and just talk to any elderly person about their SS checks and how small they are). Look at the trillions spent to bail out everyone recently. Look at welfare in general. Look at how the government will send millions in aid overseas instead of passing it out here first. Look at universal healthcare in other countries, where treatments are rationed and prices on everything are sky high to pay for it. And then look back to how we as a nation are lazy junk food eaters. The more government offers programs for "free" social services, the more people will take the lazy way out. The more the productive people will have to pay to cover those that don't cover themselves. And with more burdens put on business' to force them to pay more of their employee's care, the more they will start laying off, cutting production, moving over seas, lowering wages, etc. All it takes is a little bit and a little bit there and the next thing you know, you've been domesticated without even knowing it.
Sure, they say you'll still have your choice and will be competitive now, but I bet you that it wont. You can't compete public vs private sector. If the government decides they don't want to pay as much as a doctor or pill company needs to charge to stay in business, they will just pass laws and regulations to either limit their profit motive or limit us, the independently insured/covered so that they can't make money off of us. Rules like saying a doctor has to have a certain percentage of patients that are governmentally covered in some perverse affirmative action type system. Well, if they can't make enough to cover the bills from the undercutting of the government without making regular patient rates skyrocket, then they'll have to shut down and/or go bankrupt.
Let us also not forget that usually when someone tries to rush a deal, it's a bad one. I don't care if it's the President, or if it's the used car salesman. If they're trying to say we need to do something right now if not sooner, then my gut tells me something's up. It's taken us years to get into this quandry, don't expect some magical government intervention to fix it over night. Remember, government has been the cause of a lot of these problems to begin with. And in doing some reading up on this bill, if the reports are correct, it will prevent new Health Savings Accounts. Something I'm vastly in favor in. They allow you to be able to cover your own health care costs at better rates, and lower premiums and remain independent of traditional insurance policies and practices. They would allow you to go into a regular doctor visit and pay cash from your account more or less. This would be in direct conflict with any government plan, so of course they would want to eliminate them.