What's So Great About Private Health Insurance?

[Manfred]

The powers that control the Republican party don't even have the core values their base has.

The same is often true of the Democratic party, as well. It's just that in the case of the Democrats, this...

The power group just wants the money and they need the votes to do that, so they come up with these smear campaigns designed to appeal to people with strong religious views, people that are very easy to scare, and people that want to blame others for their problems.

...becomes...

The power group just wants the money and they need the votes to do that, so they come up with these falsely-sympathetic campaigns designed to appeal to people who actually care that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, people who are already scared because they see that humans are poisoning themselves right off the planet, and people that want so badly to see the wealthy elite and convenience-addicts who are to blame for those problems step away from the helm.

I personally believe that my bleeding-heart liberal concerns are more valid than those of the I-want-what's-mine conservatives, but it's definitely the case that the Democratic powers-that-be make lots of money and gain lots of power by playing on my fears.

I understand what you are saying, but it's not to the point of hysteria that I see in the Republican party. The Republicans that I am related to seem like mindless robots repeating information they do not understand or lacks any real logic. And the endless e-mail campaigning they do...which are just mindless forwards. For some reason they can't argue their side in their own words. Most of these emails have some kind of racial joke in them also.

I also don't see the Democratic party playing with people's religious views like the Republican party. I think this is poor form.

As far as fear goes, the Dems I talk to do not have the same fear as the Rep I talk to. The Reps I talk to think we will be thrown in chains and made to work for an overlord. While the Dems just fear more people will get cancer from all the toxins we are ingesting. One fear is based on logic and reason. The other is based on brain washing and lies.The real Rep fear is, I'm going to loose all my god damned money because of a black man.

I'm sure I'm being viewed as biased here. I'm not a die hard Dem at all. I am more conservative and I think the Republican party has many great points. But I don't believe the Republican party is the Republican party any more. It has become a place for wealthy people that try and maintain their wealth through manipulation of social conservatives.

If wealthy people wanted to stay wealthy by giving people equal rights, universal healthy care, housing, and job security, I would be all for it. Some wealthy people know you can do this. But this would upset the status quo in the US.

But most rich people don't think it's fun to be wealthy and have poor people be happy. You need to be rich so you can watch poor people be miserable. Otherwise, what's the point of being rich? It takes the fun right out of it.

[Velokid1]

I agree- there is obviously a fair bit more hysteria amongst conservatives. Still, there is hysteria to be found amongst liberals and that should be noted. We can all improve, that's for sure.

Conservatives fear that we'll be put in chains and made to work for an overlord. Liberals are afraid because we've already moved so far in that direction thanks to conservative policies and perspectives.

As for religion, this may be taken as disingenuous, but I do see someone who is dangling the carrot of "I will work hard to protect our planet, our resources and the life it supports" as toying with my religious views. I have no church affiliation, but saying that maintaining a palpable personal connection between myself and the rest of the planet is my religion is pretty accurate. To me it's no laughing matter and to use it for political gain is no small infraction. In fact, to me organized religion is the joke; my "religion" is far more real.

[Sluggo]

As for religion, this may be taken as disingenuous, but I do see someone who is dangling the carrot of "I will work hard to protect our planet, our resources and the life it supports" as toying with my religious views. I have no church affiliation, but saying that maintaining a palpable personal connection between myself and the rest of the planet is my religion is pretty accurate. To me it's no laughing matter and to use it for political gain is no small infraction. In fact, to me organized religion is the joke; my "religion" is far more real.

Well Said! =D>

[Gypsie]

my "religion" is far more real.

that's what they all say...

[Velokid1]

my "religion" is far more real.

that's what they all say...

LOL That's true!

(Does my religion involve a made-up story, though? That's a good question. I suppose it does, actually.)

[BellePlaine]

I have high deductible plan, in which I can contribute pre-tax money to a Health Savings Account. It rolls over from year-to-year, unlike other accounts you can get through an employer cafeteria plan. The premium costs me $392/month. It covers a yearly physical exam for everyone in the family, but we pay for everything else up to the limit of our deductible...around $5200 per year. Once you hit that deductible, everything is covered at 100%, as long as I stay in-network.

If anything I like the idea of health savings accounts.

First of all, I like my heath insurance very much and do not want it to change. However, I know that it is very expensive and maybe out of my reach if I had to pay the full premium. So, if the goal is the make heath care insurance more affordable, and I think that this is a noble goal, these are my opinions and proposals.

1. This shouldn’t be a national government issue; it should be a state issue. It’s not the roll of our national government to supply my insurance but it is the roll of the state to experiment with policy if they see a need.
2. Health insurance is inherently different then other types of insurance whereas you know that you will have to use health services and thus health insurance on a regular basis (yearly flu, check-ups, physicals, dental cleanings, etc.) but it’s different in that we hope we never have to use our homeowner’s insurance, car insurance, life, etc. So why are we insuring something that we use regularly? For this type of health services, I think that the government could look at tweaking a program already established, the health care flexible spending accounts. Currently, you only get to opt-in once per year so perhaps they could change that so you could opt-in each quarter for example.
3. I think that it’s crazy that we don’t shop around for our general health services more than we do. If we were using our own money through our Health Flex plans and not always paying through the insurance company maybe we would begin to pay attention to how much we are being charged. Doctors offices would likely become more competitive (both in quality and cost) which would then have an effect on the whole industry.
4. We still need health insurance for catastrophes for the times when we break a bone or need trauma services. However, I imagine that those insurance premiums would be less expensive because there is less of a risk that you would use it.

[Gypsie]

"And where exactly were you when this 'alleged' big bang occurred?..."


It is unfortunate that once the act of becoming closer to the source of our being becomes 'organized' the human nature factor kicks in and, more often than not, we actually get led away form the source.

[hambone]

By our nozes by our own human-ness. Well at least the caculating part of our ness.

[RussellK]

The only way HSPs will work is if the playing field gets leveled so if I go in without an insurance card I'm billed the same as everyone else. Not the case now at all. For example a lipid panel cost my insurance company under $50 That same test, if I pay on my own, is billed to me at $300.

I ran the numbers on an HSP a couple of years ago when Bush was trumpeting them as a triumph of sorts. A plan I could afford would have put about $2500 in my pocket but my outlay was way beyond that in the medical cost I would have had to bear for that year and wasn't even close to offsetting the lowered premium. I guess it works if you stay healthy.

Nice suggestion shopping for services. Ever try it? My wife needed a procedure. Her copay is a percentage of the total bill so in order to know what we will be paying we have to know the total charge. It took at least 10 phone calls to get even a rough estimate. No one would commit to a firm price.

[BellePlaine]

The only way HSPs will work is if the playing field gets leveled so if I go in without an insurance card I'm billed the same as everyone else. Not the case now at all. For example a lipid panel cost my insurance company under $50 That same test, if I pay on my own, is billed to me at $300.

That is F'd up, and I'm pretty sure illegal, or it should be. The price shouldn't change just because a third party is paying the bill.

I ran the numbers on an HSP a couple of years ago when Bush was trumpeting them as a triumph of sorts. Under a plan I could afford, it would have put about $2500 in my pocket but my outlay was way beyond that in medicall cost I would have had to bear for that year and wasn't even close to offsetting the lowered premium

That's why they would have to be tweaked I guess.

Nice suggestion shopping for services. Ever try it? My wife needed a procedure. Her copay is a percentage of the total bill so in order to know what we will be paying we have to know the total charge. It took at least 10 phone calls to get even a rough estimate.

I know! The doctor will tell you that he wants to keep his options open in case he/she needs to do more then planned. They don't want to be pinned down on a $ amount. That's BS and not always honest because sometimes they will do the more expensive procedure so they can bill more. Part of my point is that I don't see how that is going to change unless consumers shop around. Where else do you go for a mult-hundreds or thousands of dollars of service and NOT know the cost beforehand?

[RussellK]

The only way HSPs will work is if the playing field gets leveled so if I go in without an insurance card I'm billed the same as everyone else. Not the case now at all. For example a lipid panel cost my insurance company under $50 That same test, if I pay on my own, is billed to me at $300.

That is F'd up, and I'm pretty sure illegal, or it should be. The price shouldn't change just because a third party is paying the bill.

I ran the numbers on an HSP a couple of years ago when Bush was trumpeting them as a triumph of sorts. Under a plan I could afford, it would have put about $2500 in my pocket but my outlay was way beyond that in medicall cost I would have had to bear for that year and wasn't even close to offsetting the lowered premium

That's why they would have to be tweaked I guess.

Nice suggestion shopping for services. Ever try it? My wife needed a procedure. Her copay is a percentage of the total bill so in order to know what we will be paying we have to know the total charge. It took at least 10 phone calls to get even a rough estimate.

I know! The doctor will tell you that he wants to keep his options open in case he/she needs to do more then planned. They don't want to be pinned down on a $ amount. That's BS and not always honest because sometimes they will do the more expensive procedure so they can bill more. Part of my point is that I don't see how that is going to change unless consumers shop around. Where else do you go for a mult-hundreds or thousands of dollars of service and NOT know the cost beforehand?

Darn I wish I knew how to do the cool quote the quote routine. Illegal? Nope. The argument is an insurance plan brings in thousands of potential clients so they get a preferred rate for allowing the provider into their pool. Its like buying cars and getting fleet pricing.

[BellePlaine]

The only way HSPs will work is if the playing field gets leveled so if I go in without an insurance card I'm billed the same as everyone else. Not the case now at all. For example a lipid panel cost my insurance company under $50 That same test, if I pay on my own, is billed to me at $300.

That is F'd up, and I'm pretty sure illegal, or it should be. The price shouldn't change just because a third party is paying the bill.

Darn I wish I knew how to do the cool quote the quote routine. Illegal? Nope. The argument is an insurance plan brings in thousands of potential clients so they get a preferred rate for allowing the provider into their pool. Its like buying cars and getting fleet pricing.

Ok, but the out-of-pocket guy may be paying cash in advance, or paying interest to the the doctor. Do insurance companies pay 30 day terms? I don't know. Eitherway, I agree with your point that the playing field would have to be leveled. My question is has our lawmakers considered this option? I didn't know, or maybe I forgot that GW had the idea. Yikes!

[Sylvester]

If anything I like the idea of health savings accounts.

First of all, I like my heath insurance very much and do not want it to change. However, I know that it is very expensive and maybe out of my reach if I had to pay the full premium.

I had a great insurance plan with BCBS, and a flex spending account to get the deductibles. Then our company was bought out, and our choices from 8 plans dropped to two, an HMO that I don't qualify for, and the one left now has a $2800 deductible, where they start paying 80% until I hit $8500, then they get 100%. I was told the deductible will climb annually. I have more than maxed my deductible two years in a row I have been on this plan, and what I have put off this year will just about max me out in January 2010. I don't have a HSA because for two years running I was $1000 into it by January 31st.

However, I am not whining. With this, I am still fortunate, things for my family could be worse. My point, is that there are many above the 67 million that need care like this, and they are not getting it. Look at all the jobs we will create when we finally do offer this to them. And hey, all in house, can't outsource a doctor's visit (YET). Maybe state level is better, but when some states do it better than others, you will see a migration.

[Manfred]

Here is the thing. I don't pay a penny for my health insurance. My company just so happens to have a great health care plan for people without families. I think I have something like an HMO, but it's not called that. I just have to make a co-pay as long as I'm in network. Anyway, it's free. I do pay a small amount for dental and eye care, but it's practically nothing.

Here is the other thing. My mother who is getting up there (damn! I think she heard that) has no health insurance. How backward is that? I'm healthy as a horse right now. I don't need it. She freaking needs it. I can't cover her unless she lives with me. She can't leave the state (AZ) for fear of losing her state insurance. She doesn't trust Chicago insurance for those without.

I think Obama's plan will solve my problem.

[Velokid1]

I'm looking for real answers to this one:

How did we get by without health insurance 100 years ago?

The reason I ask this question is because I think I know the answer, and it's a hard one to hear. Namely, that we didn't have 1/10th of the "cures" and "treatments" 100 years ago that we have today.

The interesting thing is, these "cures" and "treatments" (quotes are because many of them are more harmful than healing) are achievements of Science that are really more luxury than entitlement. I mean, NASA learned to fly us into outer space, but we don't all expect to be given a subsidized ride on a rocket ship. The analogy is a weak one because having a suffering loved one is such an emotionally charged issue (for me every bit as much as the next guy), but it demonstrates which pink elephant I'm prodding.

I just wonder if maybe the human race was doing just fine back when we died 20 years earlier than we do now, or from different ailments.

When it comes to a broken tibia, is a $1500 MRI really necessary? Or will a splint or cast work just about as well, even if your leg ends up a little crooked for the rest of your life?

And even in the case of whopper afflictions like cancer... my brother in law is fighting brain cancer right now and they've put him through all kinds of chemo-hell and financial-hell and test-after-test-hell without the tumor shrinking one bit, which is what they expected when he was first diagnosed. But in an effort to save that 1 person out of 100 who will beat the type of brain cancer he has, they spend tens of thousands of dollars on his treatment. Total shot in the dark. Shots in the dark are a luxury when they cost $50,000, it seems.

And OF COURSE when it's not just my bro-in-law but my wife or my 7 year old you're going to see me fighting tooth and nail for that $50,000 treatment. Of course.