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You bring up a valid point regarding the cost of health care for the employer to pay that could go toward salaries, it is just that I have doubts that it would get passed down to the employee. I think it usually goes in their pockets, or toward another component of the company. And in my case, it is not a question of whether or not it would be more affordable to get private insurance (in my case it was cheaper for a plan to cover my wife and I through work then it was for an individual policy), it is that I am not eligible for private insurance through an unplanned chronic condition, where with company paid insurance I did not have this issue because my only condition to being accepted was based on my employment status. Group coverage does not account for pre-exisiting like personal plans do. I am thankful that once I begin working again I will have coverage. Even though we could tit for tat all day regarding the merits of company paid vs. government paid vs. private insurance, the fact remains that millions of Americans are in the same boat as I, to some degree or another, many much worse, who rely on their jobs for health coverage due either to disqualifiers and pre-exisiting conditions or due to the high cost of private insurance. Perhaps it is because I am one of those "damn liberal social workers", but I deal more in quality of life issues than numbers and statistics, so what I believe might not always be fiscally sound or sit right with some, but it is how I am wired.
This post has so gotten far away from LeeBelle's situation to my surprise! (and gotten into health care that has little to nothing whatsoever to do with HER situation).
I think it's deplorable that city government can get involved in take away someone's assets in the name of helping them. What have they done to help her?! Other than strip her of assets. So she's forgetful.. a lot of us will be that way at her age. Why not at least govern her assets to employ a housekeepers/aides to help her live in her own home?
But to have the city pilfer away her money on such useless idiocity.. They should be sued for fraud.
I expect to see 60 minutes and all their cohorts jump on this one and make national headlines. When it does, it will certainly be embarrassing for Charleston's bureacrats.
Generally you only get denied for pre-existing conditions if your insurance lapses.
For example: I worked at a hospital for 5 years and had insurance the whole time. during those 5 years my family history of hypertension caught up with me and unmedicated I run about 180/120 medicated I run 120/70 or so.
When I left the hospital for greener pastures, I took a job that offered health insurance. The insurance was slated to kick in on the first of the month following my first full month of employment. I started in the middle of September so my first full month was October. The hospital insurance covered me through Sept 31. So I was to be without insurance for the month of October,right?
Wrong. I paid out of pocket for one month of Cobra and on November 1 I was covered by the new plan and my new provider has yet to say anything about my blood pressure and it has been about a year and a half now.
Similarly, a friend of mine has effectively been out of work (long story, he still has a job there but has been out on workman's comp for a while) and was dropped from company insurance. He has been paying through the nose for COBRA for months as well, because that is the ONLY way he avoids the pre-existing condition clause of his plan.
It isn't that a person has a disease that makes them uninsurable. It's that without insurance, it is reasonable to assume you have not been treated for your disease and are therefore a higher risk than others would be.
PVJD,
That is why the government is trying to stop the insurance company from doing that to you.
They only want to insure healthy no risk people so that they can become richer.
Profit from pain, it's the name of the game.
The whole country is like that in attitude.
Dog eat dog.
Good Old USA.
Poor get Medicaid, the government pays everything for them.
Rich don't care about the cost, they just get richer.
Hard working middle class idiots loose everything to the rich health insurance companies, then they have nothing but a middle class job that doesn't pay 100K a year.
But the middle class are idiots. They can't see that they have been screwed for about 30 years.
Everyone who votes against health care for all in this country, deserves what they get when in 5-10 years health care will only be for the rich.
There will be no middle class left.
That's the plan.
Control. Get rid of the middle class, take away hope from people, and you can control them better.
Keep Americans in debt. No health care, not for working people who are paying all the taxes.
When will all of you wake up and see what is happening?
All our jobs are leaving overseas. There aren't going to be alot of jobs coming back.
Corporations and banks and politicians are only loyal to themselves. Almighty buck.
Stop listening to just one channel on your cable tv. Try all of them. for a change.
By the way, if you are a republican, you can't say government should stay out of people's
lives. Terry Schaivo. So, republican, go sit down.
By the way, I am not a member of a major party.
I just think a hard working person should be able to see a doctor when they are sick.
A child should receive health care even if they have a "pre exsisting condition".
WHy send money to Haiti?
We don't take care of each other, so why bother? Because it LOOKS good.
LOL!
Well, if she has a living will than this won't happen, and the living will thing is in the health bill. Yes, everyone please get a living will (unless you really believe it is a death panel).
"Just remember that the government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away.... "
Yes, that's true. However, today's Libertarians don't even believe in any government. The funny thing is that most libertarians I know are mostly small than I am or weaker at least in appearance than I am. So I usually told them that I will kill them and take everything they own, and the only thing stopping me is that I knew the government will punish me. Just look at one of the Libertarian founders, Ayn Rand, her problem is not because the Communist government took her family's properties. It is simply people who are more powerful doing bad things to the weaker ones. As long as we are human, we cannot avoid that. Government is not the problem; we are! Btw, do you really think Ayn Rand (a small woman) can write what she wants if not because of our government. Also, I love some of the God-loving conservatives are picking up on her and her libertarian believes. Yet, they seem to forget that she is also an Atheist. She was also probably once an illegal immigrant until she married an American.
Well, if she has a living will than this won't happen, and the living will thing is in the health bill. Yes, everyone please get a living will (unless you really believe it is a death panel).
"Just remember that the government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it all away.... "
Yes, that's true. However, today's Libertarians don't even believe in any government. The funny thing is that most libertarians I know are mostly small than I am or weaker at least in appearance than I am. So I usually told them that I will kill them and take everything they own, and the only thing stopping me is that I knew the government will punish me. Just look at one of the Libertarian founders, Ayn Rand, her problem is not because the Communist government took her family's properties. It is simply people who are more powerful doing bad things to the weaker ones. As long as we are human, we cannot avoid that. Government is not the problem; we are! Btw, do you really think Ayn Rand (a small woman) can write what she wants if not because of our government. Also, I love some of the God-loving conservatives are picking up on her and her libertarian believes. Yet, they seem to forget that she is also an Atheist. She was also probably once an illegal immigrant until she married an American.
I am a libertarian, and as far as I know the Libertarian doesn't support 'No Government' they support limited government....
As to your analogy that the only thing stopping you is the government than you are a sociopath and deserve a bullet in the brain so come try to take my stuff......
Ayn Rand is not a libertarian founder, you really need to read more....
Government intervention in free commerce is the problem, over regulation of the health care industry is just one example....
There is an article in the local paper this morning I found particularly disturbing. An elderly woman's savings have apparently been used to pay a slew of City employee salaries all in the name of protecting her? This just stinks of big government gone bad. The City appoints doctors to evaluate her. The City says she needs more evaluation and guardianship. Well, since the City is appointing a guardian, it controls her assets, and pays itself for all the services it says needs to be provided out of those assets.
If this can happen to LeeBelle . . . The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper (http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/14/if-this-can-happen-to-leebelle/ - broken link)
Joe Riley says it's perfectly acceptable. The Police Chief says everyone is just doing their job. I'm waiting to see what the "Rest of The Story" will be...
Perhaps if Joe Riley finds himself to be declared incompetent...
It isn't just big government, it is practically all government gone bad or at least gone too big. Look at this report for Charleston County. It is an EYE OPENER. http://www.charlestoncounty.org/depa...r/CAFR2008.pdf
Look at page 43 of the document and note the "pooled investments" as compared to the total net assets. Those alone, [SIZE=1][SIZE=1]
$276,157,867 [/SIZE][/SIZE] make up roughly 1/3 of the total net assets. The liabilities due in one year [SIZE=1][SIZE=1]
$20,593,095 [/SIZE][/SIZE] is not even 1/10 of that amount!
Then you have the cash and cash equivalents...[SIZE=1][SIZE=1]
$121,157,684
In the statement of revenues and expenditures (or the budget report) on page 49 they conveniently LEAVE OUT the revenues from above ...
Look at page 179 and look at the huge increase in road and transporation tax between 2007 and 2008. It more than doubled in one year!
Look at page 199 for the USER FEES! Note the column "Unused user fees". The user fees alone would cover the upcoming years liabilities.
I'd say Charleston County Government is RICH. Shouldn't the people of Charleston County be sharing in that wealth instead of continually reaching into their pockets to pay yet more user fees and taxes???
[/SIZE][/SIZE]
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