Re: CAN'T RETIRE BECAUSE OF COST OF HEALTH INSURAN... - Page 11

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

I've never thought of health care as a priviledge.

I wish as American citizens that it would be a right and not force lots of people to work beyond old age, or younger ones just starting out to forgo any health insurance because they just can't afford that and rent and transportation to work!

Some people are fortunate with the jobs they have and some are not, though they may work just as hard and long.

Many people are having a very difficult time.

People who are fortunate to have enough I would hope that they are not only grateful but know that not everyone is as fortunate,

and shouldnt feel like they are superior to anyone.

I hope that our health care system can become something all Americans can enjoy and have access to.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

vacationday · ‎01-29-2019

In the U.S. it costs more to get a medical degree than in other countries. If a doctor in the U.S. cannot pay off his student loans which is what would happen if everyone was on Medicare, then there would be little incentive to become a doctor.

Just like the gun people have their lobbyists so do physicians and there will never be socialized medicine in the U.S. and there will never be single payer health care.

If a person has to, they will live with roommates to pay less money on rent. For the indigent there is Medicaid.

momtochloe · ‎11-03-2013

@vacationday wrote:
In the U.S. it costs more to get a medical degree than in other countries. If a doctor in the U.S. cannot pay off his student loans which is what would happen if everyone was on Medicare, then there would be little incentive to become a doctor.

Just like the gun people have their lobbyists so do physicians and there will never be socialized medicine in the U.S. and there will never be single payer health care.

If a person has to, they will live with roommates to pay less money on rent. For the indigent there is Medicaid.

Wow. I would imagine the majority of the folks that are looking for healthcare would be more than happy to pay for it if it was even remotely affordable if they are not covered by larger, more affordable plans. With the growing amount of people that are searching for affordable healthcare I would hope our representatives will finally turn their attention to and come up with healthcare plan that all can afford with or without a roomate and maybe allow some folks to not be reliant on Medicaid.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

@summergal1 wrote:
I’m in the same boat here in Indiana. Worked all of my life and finally left a job that was killing me. My insurance is a $1,000 a month with a $10,000 deductible. I can’t afford to get sick. Last year I was paying $700.00 a month with $6,000 deductible. Until health care is an issue with politicians (which will be never) nothing with be done. We can’t count on those who represent us in Washington because the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and politicians like it just as it is. If it were just me I would drop the insurance in a heartbeat.

@summergal1

Also the doctors do not want it changed. They especially do not want a single payer system.

RoughDraft · ‎03-09-2010

Most of us posting here seem to be what they used to call middle class. Welcome to the new world. We are disappearing.

~The only difference between this place and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band.~

globegrl · ‎07-29-2014

I wish I could give you a hundred hearts for this post @momtochloe. So much arrogance.

sashamatthews · ‎03-10-2010

Would you be able to get lower premiums through a group? Perhaps you could form a LLC and buy insurance through the company. It is my understanding that group rates are lower than individual ones.

songbird · ‎03-21-2010

@momtochloe wrote:
@songbird wrote:
I grew up in socialized medicine and I liked it. It was a system that considered health care a right. But I'm a citizen now and I work at a university and am classified as a state employee. We have great benefits. When I retire I will of course be on Medicare, but I will carry my private insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) My private prescription and private dental. Obviously my health insurance will be a secondary (at a reduced monthly fee) but they will cover anything that Medicare does not. One reason I took my job was the exceptional health care benefits. I will also get a pension. A good one based on the years I put in working. Plus I will get social security and income from stock, bonds, investments, etc. Health care will be the largest expense, but that is the American System. Health care in the U.S. is a privilege, not a right, so that is a reason it is the highest expense. Some people will never be able to afford it, so they work till they die literally.
Wow, there is a lot to unpack here. First off, congratulations on becoming an American citizen and clearly enjoying all of the benefits that our great country offers especially for those that are lucky enough to have jobs that entitle them to have a wide range of government guaranteed benefits. For those of us that were not lucky enough to have jobs such as yours it is a different picture. Many of us took jobs in companies that were doing well and worked hard to ensure the company continued on that path only to have their jobs offshored or just elimiinated with very little if any compensation through no fault of our own. For many of us, this took place at a time in our lives that we were caring for our parents or trying to pay for student loans for our children so they would have a better future. Finding a decent job for folks over 50 can be a jaw dropping experience and finding one with decent benefits is rapidly becoming finding the proverbial unicorn. I truly hope you appreciate the gift you have been given.

Oh I know and appreciate what I got. That was the only reason I took the job. I could have had a higher paying job in a private company, but I chose long term security. I've actually been a citizen for years. I became one after my parents did and because I was under the age of 16, I automatically became one. I think our health benefits are the best in country wide system of state employees. Our dental is pretty bad. But the Health care is the best. I grew up under universal care. I never had to wait a long time for a specific drug, a procedure etc. The U.S. is the only 1st world country with out universal health care. Nothing will ever change about our current private insurance based system. We actually do have socialized medicine now. We pay the hospital bills of millions of poor people who jam hospital waiting rooms because they can't see a doctor without any insurance. Hospitals by law can not deny care. Doctors can though. And one more thing about the U.S. health care. It is a privilege. Because some people have it and many more don't. it was never a right. Our country was based on the free enterprise system. If you have the money, you live. If you don't.....you die. I have never been more convinced.

lulu1 · ‎03-29-2011

@songbird wrote:
I grew up in socialized medicine and I liked it. It was a system that considered health care a right. But I'm a citizen now and I work at a university and am classified as a state employee. We have great benefits. When I retire I will of course be on Medicare, but I will carry my private insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) My private prescription and private dental. Obviously my health insurance will be a secondary (at a reduced monthly fee) but they will cover anything that Medicare does not. One reason I took my job was the exceptional health care benefits. I will also get a pension. A good one based on the years I put in working. Plus I will get social security and income from stock, bonds, investments, etc. Health care will be the largest expense, but that is the American System. Health care in the U.S. is a privilege, not a right, so that is a reason it is the highest expense. Some people will never be able to afford it, so they work till they die literally.

@songbird

Do not be so sure your secondary insurance will cover anything Medicare does not cover. I have found quite the opposite. I am a retired public school teacher. Continuation of heath insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) was part of our retirement package. My experience has been, if my primary insurance, Medicare, does not cover a procedure, my secondary will follow their lead.

Over the past 18 months, I've had 2 stem cell injections. Had BC/BS been my primary insurance, the injections would have been covered. Medicare considers the procedure to be experimental and did not cover them, so neither did my secondary insurance.

We've had a number of threads in the Wellness forum that have addressed this issue.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@songbird

You said If you have the money, you live. If you don't.....you die. I have never been more convinced.

ITA!!!!!!!!!!!! My brother almost did die because of it.

He had a brain bleed, doctor could not find bleed & eventually moved him to rehab, had another bleed they could not find & eventually moved back to rehab when he had fluid buildup on his brain so they had no choice but to do surgery.

He is on Medicaid so I'm sure they were not doing anything for him since they were probably not going to pay for what he needed. He was getting worse. He still knew who we were but had short term memory loss but started getting long term memory loss. My sister kept telling them something was not right since he was not getting any better but worse. Doctor thought it was all due to his bleeds but it was from the fluid building up which they did not catch until he had another excruciating headache. They inserted a shunt I think it's called that is behind ear on outside with tube running thru chest in to stomach to drain.

They were just going to let him die instead of doing this surgery. They were trying to get him thru some rehab & discharged before they had to help him but did not work out that way.

Since they never found the bleeds he could have another one at any time.

His hospital bill is almost $500,000 which he will never pay a dime on. He only gets $750 per month to live off so paying the hospital bill is out of the question.

It's not right to let people die because they cannot afford surgery. That's a bunch of BS. You can't tell me what my brother had done while he was there should cost $500,000.

I'm sure next time he has an excruciating headache he won't make it to the hospital. Even if he does the hospital where he lives does not deal with medical problems like his.