Health Insurance

[FarmerChick]

like any major change in life---sure it is hard lol

but people diet--and diet is not correct

just eat correctly and it takes willpower to make a full lifestyle change in ones diet--an effort that alot of people are not willing to make



all I am saying in general is I wish the darn public would take personal responsibility for their lives, and stop the wha-wha blame cycle. it gets so old ya know lol


oh well, off to the beach for 4 days
I will be having fun in the sand and getting tons of great exercise haha

take care all and see ya later

 

[valmom]

I agree. The dems should have stuck to their guns and done it right. Instead they caved in and gave the insurance companies a bunch of extra high profit business. Health care shouldn't be a for profit venture.
What a mess

This is what is wrong with our health cares system. I really really want some not-for-profit company to get into health care insurance. As long as I am required to buy it, I don't want to be required to enrich any company's stockholders. I want to choose, dammit!

 

[abifae]

i don't mind profits. i mind the interference that keeps capitalism out of it.

the things that insurance won't cover has dropped in price. that's getting messed up as insurance realized they missed a market and are now covering it: cosmetic surgery, corrective eye surgery, massage, chiropractors...

all of those are affordable out of pocket but as insurance has started to cover it, some places have gone up in price because of insurance starting to. *rolls eyes*

so if there was no insurance, prices on everything would have to drop. supply and demand would take their natural tolls on the system.

valmom & dunkopf... the NOT for profit health care places tend to have either the best or the worst care they're either full of those who are in this because they want to serve, and they give their best... or they're people who couldn't get in anywhere else and are padding their resumes and see it as a place filler LOL.

but since i've had 2 good doctors in my entire life, obviously this method doesn't produce good ones.

you'll all be relieved to know *sarcasm* that doctor's colleges are relaxing standards because too many kids were flunking and they were losing out on tuition money. so now they are making the tests, such as biology and anatomy, easier on those poor kids so that they can get easier As and become doctors with no knowledge of the human body!

woot!

 

[me&thegals]

Health insurance is a commodity, not a right. Insurance companies are in the business to make money. I think they make way too much, but they make money. They are going to charge more for those who cost more.

Personally, I get pretty ticked off about the whole thing. My family, we are nonsmokers, nondrinkers. We wear our seatbelts 100% of the time. Only DH is overweight. We all are active, eat super healthy. Our insurance is skyrocketing anyway. We are paying for people who use a LOT of medical care, and often it is from their lifestyle choices.

If we want to farm exclusively, we will only be able to afford catastrophic insurance.

So, while I empathize with the constant negative changes in insurance coverage, an extra $50/month to continue smoking doesn't seem that bad to me.

 

[Wildsky]

Health insurance is a commodity, not a right. Insurance companies are in the business to make money. I think they make way too much, but they make money. They are going to charge more for those who cost more.

Personally, I get pretty ticked off about the whole thing. My family, we are nonsmokers, nondrinkers. We wear our seatbelts 100% of the time. Only DH is overweight. We all are active, eat super healthy. Our insurance is skyrocketing anyway. We are paying for people who use a LOT of medical care, and often it is from their lifestyle choices.

If we want to farm exclusively, we will only be able to afford catastrophic insurance.

So, while I empathize with the constant negative changes in insurance coverage, an extra $50/month to continue smoking doesn't seem that bad to me.

When I was still working, I dropped my insurance because it was just too expensive, that was probably 4 years ago, and just a few months before I was laid off, 6 months ago or so, the company sent out an email to everyone saying they were reducing the paid time off (vacation time) for everyone because of the high claims on the insurance and their attempt to prevent an increase for all the employees. (I lost 4 days paid vacation)

SO I lost out on vacation time because Joe Schmoe had to run to the doctor or ER for every damn sniffle.
It really really irked me. I didn't even HAVE insurance and they were taking away my vacation time to help cover everyone else!

 

[me&thegals]

It is a serious issue, and I imagine there will be quite a few different attempts to fix it. That stinks for you!

I just wanted to add that this isn't that different from auto insurance or home owner's. If you cost the company (car accidents, or even at risk through speeding tickets; home owner's claims), your premiums WILL be higher than the guy who doesn't cost the company.

 

[Blackbird]

Has anyone else been raised with the thought process or ideals that if you do something dangerous, silly, horseplay, etc. and/or if you are hurt, you may just have to deal with the pain, consequences, and life-changing disabilities?

In my family we had forms of life insurance at times, but I only remember it being used 2-3 times. Otherwise we were always raised that if you take risks there can be consequences. I think health insurance definitely gives a false sense of security for a lot of people, that a person's health is expendable.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Has anyone else been raised with the thought process or ideals that if you do something dangerous, silly, horseplay, etc. and/or if you are hurt, you may just have to deal with the pain, consequences, and life-changing disabilities?

In my family we had forms of life insurance at times, but I only remember it being used 2-3 times. Otherwise we were always raised that if you take risks there can be consequences. I think health insurance definitely gives a false sense of security for a lot of people, that a person's health is expendable.

That's true to a degree, but it's easy to get hurt doing something that isn't really considered being wild or stupid. Like horseback riding, bike riding, etc. Those things can lead to many injuries, but I don't think I could keep from doing activities I love just because I *might* get hurt. Life would be so boring.

 

[Dunkopf]

Health insurance is a commodity right now. It should be handle under a non profit national plan. I'm not talking a big frills policy. I'm talking national coverage that pays for needed care. Clinics to handle bad colds. Yeah those sniffles turn in to pneumonia and result in a much higher cost than treating the underlying cause. There's no need to go to the emergency room though. A clinic with a few pseudo doctors and 1 real doctor would work just fine.

There's a lot of things covered by insurance plans that wouldn't need to be covered under a national plan. Viagra, cosmetic surgery, invitro fertilization, erectile dysfunction and a number of other things.

It's just wrong to allow people to die because some people are healthy for the time being and cry about it not being fair. Someday they will need help too. Not too many people make it past 50 without some health problems. We live in a civilized society. That means we take care of our fellow human beings. We don't leave people to fend for themselves on the street. People shouldn't have to be totally destitute to get medical care.

Insurance is so expensive because the insurance companies make such a high profit. I work for an auto insurance company and I can guarantee you that our CEO doesn't make 120 million dollars a year. Neither does the CEO of State Farm who is the biggest insurer in the country.

Our health system is not sustainable. You think that SS is a problem. Wait till you see what happens to health care. This half a** plan that congress came up with is just a stop gap. In the next two years it will probably be over turned and instead the new congress will do something to increase the profits of the insurance companies while reducing any kind of care for people under 100k a year. So get healthy while you can. Sick people will be on their own in the future. Unless you have a lot of money. Sometimes you get just want you think you want.

 

[me&thegals]

I think people SHOULD be covered. I also think people willingly endangering their health can pay more. I'm not talking about accidents or genetics. And probably this is a slippery slope. But if I speed and get tickets and get into accidents, I will either have exorbitant auto insurance rates or I will get dropped entirely.

Auto does not equal health, but I think some of the same rules could apply.

And I wouldn't want to see crap food outlawed or otherwise regulated. I want to be free to make choices. But, it would be nice to stop having crap food actually subsidized (well, the corn and soy that makes them, anyways) by the gov't. It should be easier and cheaper to get the whole foods than the processed foods they eventually become.