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People who think they have insurance are fooling themselves. You are only insured until you have some catostrophic event, at which point the insurers will do their best to get out of payment. They will claim you completed the underwriting application wrong (though they will use highly ambiguous questions) and will pull out all the stops to avoid payment. Remember, this is a FOR PROFIT system. Only question I have is why Americans are happy to have insurers, who operate solely for profit and not for your good health, make decisions about your health care.
A huge percentage of health care dollars are spent on administration costs because of the MIDDLE MAN, the insurance company.
WHY NOT GET RID OF THE MIDDLE MAN and save heaps! Take away the profit and all the administration charges, and all the money goes toward your health care.
For those who hear about the "horrible" systems in the UK and Canada, dont believe the hype. They are quite happy when they are taken care of rather than thrown into bankruptcy court when they become ill. My sister lived in the UK and was shocked when she moved back and found herself paying a $2,000 deductible for giving birth. She also was fearful of bringing her son to the emergency room when he got hurt because they simply dont have the money to pay another $2,000 deducible. And she is one of the lucky fully-"insured"..yeah right.
I have health insurance. I pay for it every paycheck. In fact we pay quite a bit for it, but we do pay for it. I do not think the government needs to take over the health care system and they already have programs for people who really cannot afford insurance, it's called medicare and medicaid. Some people believe that having cable is more important than having health insurance and they are the ones whining when they get injured and don't have insurance.
Most hospitals have programs that they can use to write off the bills that people can't afford to pay, but it is all based on what you bring in in a fiscal year. If you are bringing in $50K a year, but didn't see as much of a need for health care as you did for a brand new car and cable tv and eating out 4 times a week, that is your issue, not our governments! I take care of myself and my family, it's time for the rest of America to do the same. People need to stop sitting on the curb with their hands out and get out and take care of themselves!
Maybe an alternative. NPR did a series on other governments universal health care. The Dutch model was intriqing. This is how I remember it (I may have some of the details wrong) Every citizen must buy health insurance. The government steps in and negotiates prices and stipulates that insurance must accept everyone regardless of pre-exisitng conditions. There are several companies to choose from. Those too poor to pay for it get subsidized to cover cost. Insurance companies make modest profits from law of averages instead of maximizing profit on every potential customer. Government steps in to regulate and control prices, but leaves everything else in private market.
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Most hospitals have programs that they can use to write off the bills that people can't afford to pay, but it is all based on what you bring in in a fiscal year. If you are bringing in $50K a year, but didn't see as much of a need for health care as you did for a brand new car and cable tv and eating out 4 times a week, that is your issue, not our governments! I take care of myself and my family, it's time for the rest of America to do the same. People need to stop sitting on the curb with their hands out and get out and take care of themselves!
This is all well and good, but have you priced non-group insurance with pre-exisitng condition?? Between monthly premium, out-of pocket share and full 100% cost of excluded pre-exisitng condition it would bite 15-20% gross of a $100K salary. This is not as simple as people looking for "handouts".
Our system is OK for those with decent group insurance through work where the cost is lower and they cannot exclude pre-exisitng conditions.
And, I'm not a democrat or liberal. I just disagree with the Republican platform that seemingly says "Your on your own-we'll throw you some crumbs via health savings accounts and tax credits". Maybe if they weren't so beholden to the health care lobbys.....
... I just disagree with the Republican platform that seemingly says "Your on your own-we'll throw you some crumbs via health savings accounts and tax credits". Maybe if they weren't so beholden to the health care lobbys.....
Now hold on there, I am not a Republican and I strongly believe that people should take care of themselves. If I can do it so can everyone else.
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