On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 14:26:56 GMT, Anthony
wrote:

Tom wrote in news:40D59DC5.B5C724AF@cedar-
rapids.net:

Robert Sturgeon wrote:

I have lousy insurance that costs me over $800 per month. I really
don't know how much longer I can afford to pay for it.

What sort of policy do you have that you pay $800/ month for?? What
age
group??

And why are you paying $800 a month?? How much medical expense do you
have each year?? When was the last time you actually spent $9600 on
medical bills for a year??

One of the MAJOR problems with our health insurance is that everybody
expects the insurance companies to pay out every time they have a
sniffle or a broken fingernail. I know people that go to the damn
doctor
3 times a week like clockwork for stuff that will simply pass if they
let it run it's course. Worse yet, the doctor listens to them whine for
30 seconds, writes them a prescription for cough syrup, and they expect
the insurance company to pay for that too.

Do we turn in a claim on our auto insurance and expect them to pay out
for every oil change and leaky tire?? You can bet if you did your auto
insurance would be just as expensive as your health insurance. Oh, and
the mechanic's bills would go up too since he now has to hire a
secretary to deal with the insurance forms.

What we need is plain old catastrophic health insurance policies, the
kind that pays for things that cost more than we can pay for out our
pocket. Figure out what your comfort level is and buy insurance for
anything above that amount.

About 6 months ago I checked on family catastrphic health insurance for
myself/wife/daughter. Wife and I are 40, I'm a smoker, daughter is 16,
no current medical problems etc. The policy to cover us, $2500
deductible/year, 80-20 after $2500 up to $10,000 max out of
pocket/year,
with a preganancy exclusion.
This policy was $138/ month. Not exactly cheap, but alot cheaper than I
hear other's being quoted for policies they don't really need. My
employer offers the exact same policy to me for free, as opposed to
over
$200/month for the "bells and whistles" policy.

Tom





Hrm..where's the deal?
$138 x 12 = $1656
+$2500 deductable = $4156
+If basically ANYTHING happens during the year, to you or anyone in your
family $10,000 Any hospital stay is going to run you roughly $2000 a day.
= 14,156
Should someone get pregnant, prenatal physician care will eat another $1-
4k, not counting the hospital bills, ultrasounds and etc.

I will agree with the fact a lot of people run to the doctor for any
little thing. This hurts more than finacially, in that we reduce our
immune system's effectiveness when we do that. This leads to more
sickness in the future, and more healthcare costs.
Kids don't go outside and roll around in the mud anymore, they have more
of a tendency to stay inside, where the parents make the house as sterile
as possible with all the cleaning agents available today, to 'keep from
getting sick'...that's bull****. A strong immune system is built on
being exposed to everyday stuff.
Now, I am not saying you need to have a dirty house, but the excesses I
see in today's society are a contributing factor to the problem.
Shoo the kids outside and let em play in the mud, sure it's a mess, but
they will be better off for it in the long run.

While I cannot speak for the rest of the country..California hospitals
ERs are plugged with illegal aliens. And I mean plugged. Its state
law, that no one shall be turned away, for any reason. If the
friendly bag lady decides every day that she is lonely, she can and
often does come in, take up space and time, and after long hours of
dealing with her ****..leaves to repeat the next day. During my stay
at the county hospital last week, I saw repeated instances of that.
My roommate was a terminal drunk, diabetic, on welfare, who refuses to
take his meds, or keep himself in order. His legs get no circulation
because of this, and every couple weeks, he manages to stagger in,
they have to lance the running sores and boils on his legs (nasty
nasty nasty) and after 4 or 5 days, he walks out, only to stick a
bottle in his face, and pull the trigger. And then repeats the
process. He was on first name basis with everyone on that floor. I
asked one of the nurses aids and was given the heads up. (illegally of
course) I saw literally hundreds of illegal aliens all lined up for
treatment of minor ailments. All for free.

Gunner

That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell