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Sooooo, since the other threads have gotten off track, I wanted to start a seperate thread.
I wanted to add that the "public aid" I recieve IS based on income. Some of you out there who are paying $1000 a month for insurance must make ALOT of money!
Illinois has a program for ALL FAMILIES. You pay based on what you make.
Two things:
1. If it angers you that my family of three who earns 32,000 a year only pays $3 co-pays and you are paying SO MUCH, that is NOT my problem. Go through a different company. I have a COMPANY, it may not be exactly like your program, but it IS insurance, and we pay what we afford. Every month we must show bills, income, assets and checking account info. So we pay what is fair!
2. Some people out there HAVE STATED that public aid doctors are not as good, you can't see who you want, and you might not get the BEST care. Ok. So with that logic, If you pay MORE you get better care. That is your opinion and YOUR choice. If you want to pay $1000 or more a month for GOOD insurance and you get to see doctors you want and get the BEST care, then YOU pay that high amount.
I am happy with the (as some of you put it) "crappy" public aid at a "cheaper" more resonable cost!
Received maternity care through the military & received maternity care through civilian insurance.
Yes, there is an extreme difference.
It cost me $27 to have my first son.
It cost me a total of $2300 (montly insurance payments during the 9 months) to have my second son.
Public health care that is of no cost to the receiver is a far cry from private health care.
I've lived through the experience & will gladly pay a monthly premium in order to receive the care we currently do compared to what we received in the military.
There is a difference. And if people want to pay the money in order to receive more specialized care, what the heck is it to you?
Why do you care? You are not paying their bills. How they are choosing their health care has no impact on your daily life, does it?
If we'd go back to the military, I'd be fine with the socialized health care. It's free & it's there. But there is a difference & there are many reasons for that difference that have NOTHING to do with a copay but involve administration and business practices.
I'm grateful we have the income to allow us to choose our healthcare. I'd lived through the other end & if this country goes that route, so be it.
Point is: it's different and in this case, that is not a good thing.
For my first child, I got Medicaid through the state of NY.
I went to a midwives office. There were people there with regular health insurance and medicaid. The main difference was how the people were treated, not who the doctors were. They had certain days for people with private insurance, and other days their "clinic" was open for those with medicaid. I was lucky because my husband was a med student there so they let me come on the private insurance days even though I had medicaid. Once I had to go on the clinic day and it was much busier, with more patients, and a longer wait time.
Prior to being in NY, I had MassHealth (we moved in the beginning of my pregnancy, we lived in Mass before we moved to NY) and in Mass I saw the same Dr. my sister in law used, in the same office, at normal times.
People with state health insurance can usually choose a regular doctor's office. They also have access to clinics that most people with regular insurance would not go to. So if you compare some of the clinics with regular doctors office, there may be a difference in care. But the fact is in many cases the people with state health insurance can go to almost any doctor they want.
I was happy with the treatment I got for my first child in NY. The midwives were wonderful, and although I was not crazy about the hospital there, I was not going to complain about it as it was A.) NYC and B.) I couldn't afford anything else anyway and was glad to have what I did.
As for cost, my first child cost me $0.
My second child, while my husband was working for UMass, a state employee, we paid $215 ($15 copay for first pregnancy visit, to determine you're pregnant, then no copayments till $200 inpatient fee), plus our monthly insurance payments which were not more than $400 per month. Those were the days. Now my husband works elsewhere, we pay $1100 a month and God only knows how much it would cost us to have another baby with this new, more expensive insurance.
BTW, with the new, more expensive insurance, I go to the same medical center that my disabled uncle on Mass Health goes to----same exact place, same doctors. (Maybe it was just NY or certain Dr. offices that do the different 'clinic' days, I don't know)
And 121804, there is a difference between military health insurance and state sponsored health insurance, no?
Received maternity care through the military & received maternity care through civilian insurance.
Yes, there is an extreme difference.
It cost me $27 to have my first son.
It cost me a total of $2300 (montly insurance payments during the 9 months) to have my second son.
Public health care that is of no cost to the receiver is a far cry from private health care.
I've lived through the experience & will gladly pay a monthly premium in order to receive the care we currently do compared to what we received in the military.
There is a difference. And if people want to pay the money in order to receive more specialized care, what the heck is it to you?
Why do you care? You are not paying their bills. How they are choosing their health care has no impact on your daily life, does it?
If we'd go back to the military, I'd be fine with the socialized health care. It's free & it's there. But there is a difference & there are many reasons for that difference that have NOTHING to do with a copay but involve administration and business practices.
I'm grateful we have the income to allow us to choose our healthcare. I'd lived through the other end & if this country goes that route, so be it.
Point is: it's different and in this case, that is not a good thing.
What a "happy" thread for the holidays...
You obviously have not read previous threads. My point is that if I CAN'T afford to pay for private insurance, people who choose to/ can afford to pay for expensive insurance shouldn't be bothered that I get free "inferier" health care through public aid
Given all the negative comments in the previous thread I would think that you have had enough. I'm going to respond, but only to clarify.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miasmommy
I wanted to add that the "public aid" I recieve IS based on income. Some of you out there who are paying $1000 a month for insurance must make ALOT of money!
Your assumptions are way off - at least in my case. I had to pay COBRA premiums, which are not at all based on one's income. COBRA is available (and thank goodness it is available) for people who lose their job - the cost is based on what the company paid toward the employee's health plan, plus the employee's contribution to the health plan, plus some other amount that I think includes administration fees and who knows what else.
The amount I was paying was grotesquely disproportionate to my income (e.g., it was highly unaffordable and made purchasing almost anything other than health care very difficult). In fact, I could select COBRA and not have any income, it didn't matter. If I didn't pay, I wouldn't have health insurance. Furthermore, I did not have a choice to pay for health insurance that was based on my income. I don't believe that the state in which I lived offered such aid. If I didn't take COBRA within 90 days from last day of employment I would not have had health insurance. Why? All health insurance companies considered pregnancy a pre-existing condition so I was un-insurable. I suppose I could have looked at various "public aid" programs but instead chose to live with family and worked pretty much to just pay for my health insurance so I could get prenatal care.
I really don't think we need to start up another flame war. If being on public aid is what you can do with a clear conscience, sobeit. Many folks on CD obviously disagree with some of your methods and assertions. So what?! Additionally, many also agree that the US healthcare system is broken and people in all walks of life are adversely affected in ways they shouldn't be. Starting another thread making unfounded assumptions and flaming one another isn't going to fix it.
You obviously have not read previous threads. My point is that if I CAN'T afford to pay for private insurance, people who choose to/ can afford to pay for expensive insurance shouldn't be bothered that I get free "inferier" health care through public aid
I am sorry that I jumped to conclusions without knowing that there was a prior post regarding this & that you had been judged quite harshly.
What does bother me is that health care through public aid or state aid or the military is inferior. It bothers me a lot. It bothers me that I almost get paranoid that if my child has to go to the ER, will we have enough to cover the copay? (our ER copay is $100).
It bothers me that people who have never had socialized health care don't seem to realize that there are serious flaws in the system & that it is NOT the fault of the patient or doctor.
There is a difference b/w government health care & state funded health care to an extent but there are more similarities than differences.
People are quick to assume & judge. But there is a difference in the quality of care. THAT is what makes me a little annoyed.
It's not a handout. And for the majority who are on public aid, they are not getting the "handout" b/c it's free or cheap. There are reasons.
This country will definitely go the route of socialized medicine in the next several years. I least I have a heads up of what it's like It's different & it will be a wake up call to many.
The rich & ignorant will always be that way. They do not changed based on fear & intolerance.
Be glad you realize what you have. Be glad you have pride & the ability to provide for your family.
I feel very lucky that right now we are where we are with healthcare. But with everything in life, it's not a guarantee.
Forget about "good doctors". A doctor is a doctor. He can smell 90% of a diagnosis when you're still in the waiting room. The difference in America is whether you see a doctor, or do not see a doctor. It is very important to have access to somebody in a white coat. It is highly unlikely that you need a "good" doctor---you need somebody legally entitled to hand you a Rx when your kid has a fever or can't stop coughing. And who can take one look and send you to a specialist. Common ailments are very common and rarely serious. People living from payday to payday can't afford the $100 for an office call, and there needs to be somebody who will pay, or otherwise the kids will go months and months without treatment. You can say anything you want about irresponsible parents, but your whining solves nothing. What is to be done for their innocent kids?
I agree with your whole post miasmommy. Until someone is in your position, they really shouldn't judge at all. I respect anyone who makes the best decisions for their family based on what is available to them.
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It's the holiday season.
