OT:
Alias wrote in
news:hr1jud$c4b$1@news.eternal-september.org:
> Death wrote:
>
>>
>> I have health care, you loon.
>
> Really? How much is the deductible? How much do YOU have to
> pay of the bill? 20%? Could you afford to have a triple by
> pass? Would your insurance cover all the costs? And, dumb
> fuck, what the hell would you do if you were diagnosed with
> heart disease and your beloved insurance company dropped
> you like a hot potato?
>
> Health care in the hands of a for profit company is just
> stupid. Course, you don't see any congresspersons buying
> insurance. They have complete sole payer coverage. So do I.
The company I worked for just switched plans. Its a 'co-
insurance' plan.
While I save a whopping $5 per two-week paycheck on premiums,
there a $500 deductible on the family plan I buy for myself
and my son.
......Of course, he's young and doesn't go to the doctors. So
the $500 deductible is basically for me only....
......Yes, there's still a $20 co-pay....for each department I
visit.....so when I hurt my ankle, there's co-pay to see the
doctor, an x-ray......go down that hall and pay another $20
co-pay.....which is how it's been.....
......So now, I've gone for one annual general physical prior
to starting an excercise program......exam, lab work, EEG
since it's for an excercise program......$20 co-pay.....
.....but the uncovered exam bill comes in 4 weeks.....seems
like I now need to pay $45 the insuracne wouldn't pay for the
EEG.......a couple weeks later, another $50 bill for uncovered
lab work.
So after the $500 deductible, my portion is only 20%
.......oh.....what do you know....the other bills were for
about %20 of what the insurance didn't cover.....go figure.
I'm really glad I saved that $5 per paycheck.
I'm also really not to sure about a single-payer system
either. I live in a border town with Canada, and in Ontario,
they have a government sponsored system, called OHIP. I
rememeber the upheaval that happened when it went into effect.
This program was paid for by an additional sales tax that was
added. There was also a 7% tax, and the OHIP tax was *another*
7% on top of the origirnal 7% for a total of 14% sales tax.
Their program doesn't pay for every imaginable service, but
they will save your life if need be. There is a big market for
supplemental insurance also. While I'm sure the care is at
least adequate, the timelyness of it may not be, depending on
the problem. For example, if you injure your knee, yes, the
program will pay for it, but when? You could wait months just
to go for an MRI if you don't have supp. insurance.
There's a huge MRI market here in WNY that services Canadians
coming across the border that come here *just* for the MRI. As
I know people in the field, they'd say at least 1/2 of the
business is Canadian that don't want to wait.
Add to that the Canadian dollar being on-par with the US
dollar right now, and even more come across.
So there's a problem in that system obviously, but how else
can it be done.....people with money can afford better care
even within a single-payer system. I'm sure it's not that way
intentionally. I'm sure the program doesn't schedule you in
depending on who you are...it is what it is. It's just a big
insurance plan.
I'm certainly no expert in the health care industry, as I'm
sure no one is that posts here, but we've all got our ideas of
what might work......
.......for instance, as reported, in 2009, the US governement
spent $7000 per person on health care. That's $7000 per
*every* person in the US. If that's indeed the case, why not
just give each person *up to* $7000 to buy their own private
health insurance. Maybe there's some incentive built in
somehow to encourage you to buy a less expensive plan. You
fill out a form and provide your proof of eligibility, check a
box for the plan you want, and then get a card in the mail a
couple weeks later.....
......what could be more simple ? Add a lot of reform laws and
conditions to it, like limiting malpractice suits for one,
they will spend no more money than now, eveyone will be
covered, and we all know the private sector can provide a much
more effective (anything) than the government....provided the
laws enacted are effective in protecting the patients rights.
.......but that would be 'socialist' right ? But seriously,
what person wouldn't want that ? (If it was feasible.) No
business would need to pay health care costs, no employee
would need to contribute either, it's a win-win....both
business's and individuals will have more disposable income,
possibly stimulate the economy.
That sounds simple enough, and will something not work just
because it is too simple ? I think not. The wheel is a pretty
simple concept, and believe it or not, is still in use today!!
It can't be out of line to just examine the option......as
part of due diligence.