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Coworkers who are married and choose to have just a spouse, no kids on their plan pay just as much as coworkers with 5 kids, though. It seems that this plan ceases forcing childless couples or couples with one child to subsidize those who choose to have more.
Yep.
Paying $10k per person annually to cover everything is an amazing deal compared to my health insurance costs (including the employer paid portion) + copays. I know someone who had to go to the ER because of a horrible acute ear infection, and despite only being in the ER for an hour and despite it qualifying for coverage under their insurance plan, they still ended up having to pay $4000 out of pocket.
I dug up the COBRA cost I was quoted when I left my last job.... it was about $800/month and had copays and all that junk. Yeah, $10k/year is definitely a deal especially if it's pre-tax.
Oh, trust me, I'm well aware that a person making $250,000 a year won't be paying $40k for his family of four but more like me $60k for his family and half of another family.
A healthy middle class family is on the hook for unhealthy people they don't know.
That is the entire concept of Insurance. "Pooling risk"
If most people could afford their unexpected medical bills, there would be no demand for insurance, ever. If insurance would only cost the amount you use, then it would cease to be insurance, and would just be "bill for service".
That is the entire concept of Insurance. "Pooling risk"
If most people could afford their unexpected medical bills, there would be no demand for insurance, ever. If insurance would only cost the amount you use, then it would cease to be insurance, and would just be "bill for service".
Yeah I keep trying to say over and over again. You may be on the hook for unhealthy people you don't know, but you also benefit from the healthy people you don't know either. Unfortunately, if you live in a really unhealthy area now, there are more of the former than the latter. That's why the regional-based insurance model we have now can get very dicey for those people. If most of the people in your risk pool is obese, there's just no way you're going to come out well as a healthy guy.
fun fact: if I add up all of the money I've spent out of my pocket on OTC meds, Rx meds, copays, doctor bills, premiums, etc., over the past 27 years (since age 15), it comes to less than $10,000.
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I'm not much of a fan of handing all power and control to the government. That + the future surveillance state + the "public" having a stake in the lifestyle, activity, and health choices of every person... I don't know. I know many will say the government is a gentle benign institution that only has our best interests at heart and would certainly never do anything to control or coerce or engineer behavior...
two points here:
1. I did not realize that t his is $10k per person per 10 years (only $1k/person/year = BARGAIN), and
2. Bullshoot! No way that you get insured AND pay all your bills AND buy all your OTC,RX and everythign else for $370 per year. That is about $12/month. I just don't believe it.
Paying $10k per person annually to cover everything is an amazing deal compared to my health insurance costs (including the employer paid portion) + copays. I know someone who had to go to the ER because of a horrible acute ear infection, and despite only being in the ER for an hour and despite it qualifying for coverage under their insurance plan, they still ended up having to pay $4000 out of pocket.
the problem is it is NOT a payment of $10k per person
the COST of the system works out to be about 10k per person.....
but the payment would be by the taxpayers...
for example: us population 320 million...number of tax filers 148 million....number of tax payers 75 million
.................Cali population 40 million....number of tax filers 14 million....number of filers with a positive tax liability (tax payers) 8 million
so from the OP if the cost is 400 billion for California...yet there are only 8 million tax payers in California...that's an AVERAGE of 50k per tax payer...yes the 'richer' tax payers will pay the higher amount
Yeah I keep trying to say over and over again. You may be on the hook for unhealthy people you don't know, but you also benefit from the healthy people you don't know either. Unfortunately, if you live in a really unhealthy area now, there are more of the former than the latter. That's why the regional-based insurance model we have now can get very dicey for those people. If most of the people in your risk pool is obese, there's just no way you're going to come out well as a healthy guy.
Like any risk pool, the bigger the pool, the less volatile the risk. Most consistent risk is all 320M citizens in the same pool.
It's the same concept as investing in mutual funds vs. one or two stocks: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Yes, there are winners and losers, but for the overall benefit of the nation as a whole, the best outcome is one giant pool of risk.
Like any risk pool, the bigger the pool, the less volatile the risk. Most consistent risk is all 320M citizens in the same pool.
It's the same concept as investing in mutual funds vs. one or two stocks: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Yes, there are winners and losers, but for the overall benefit of the nation as a whole, the best outcome is one giant pool of risk.
Yes I totally agree and I think that's why it will never really be affordable unless it's either 100% free market (but you have extreme winners and losers) or 100% single payer/hybrid model. This "subsidized for some people, depending on area, with some things covered, and a whole lot dependent on industry lobbying" patchwork system we're trying to cobble together is a mess.
I also recognize single payer is gonna be an uphill climb unless most of us get on the same page because it's going to require a LOT of fundamental changes to how the country spends its money - from illegal immigration to funding wars/NATO and corporate lobbying. That's a lot harder than just throwing your hands in the air and saying "Everyone for themselves."
1. I did not realize that his is $10k per person per 10 years (only $1k/person/year = BARGAIN)
Huh? $32 Trillion / 10 years = $3.2 Trillion per year. $3.2 Trillion / 320M people = $10,000 per person per year = same as CA
Quote:
Originally Posted by Myghost
2. Bullshoot! No way that you get insured AND pay all your bills AND buy all your OTC,RX and everythign else for $370 per year. That is about $12/month. I just don't believe it.
I've worked for my company for 13 years. I've been insured for 10 of those (I went without for the first 3 years). It's currently $48 / paycheck, but I get a $500 reduction, so that's $748 / year ($62 / month now). Last year it was $696 / year. So I did the math on all my yearly premiums and by the end of this year I'll have paid $5868 for premiums. I've never had a prescription to anything. I buy about $25 in NSAIDs and allergy meds OTC per year (rarely use them) so we'll call that $700 total. In 2009 I had a dislocated finger. I won't rehash the whole debacle (been done, next time I'll avoid the medical industry completely), but that was $2000 out of pocket. I paid $450 or so for my vasectomy. And from 15 to 30 I had no substantive insurance and never visited a doctor. I was scratch poor most of that and homeless for a small portion of that, yet healthy. I don't go to dentists. Add it all up and I get a little over $9K. I acknowledge my company subsidizes a good portion of the group insurance plan. Just saying. Isn't it a good thing that some people use very little?
Last edited by Nepenthe; 06-28-2017 at 12:47 PM..
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