FReeper Forced To Join With Socialist Nitwits

self | June 06 2002 | moonman

[moonman]

They Won ... I Lost!

A few years back I posted my gripe about being forced to pay for government medical care for 70+ million Americans and trying to afford the wife and my own health insurance.

As of July 01 2002, I will be joining the nation's 'un-insured' for the first time in 52 years.

Due to my previous medical problems, along with my wife's current ones, I was able to get and maintain health insurance through a group HMO plan. They have not dropped me. My July 1st 2002 premium is $898.00 per month.

To me, it's very quite simple. It was well orchestrated to become as it is now. Squeeze him till he begs for a national health insurance plan.

I'm beggin!

[LibWhacker]

Condolences on the loss of your wife, biffalobull, and I pray you have beaten your own cancer once and for all, and never have to worry about it coming back. Ever. It's a horrible disease.

I think most Americans just don't like the nanny state model. When selfish, insincere people like Hillary, who clearly has no interest whatsoever in helping anyone but herself, begin campaigning to socialize our health care, Americans get the idea that they're being set up to be robbed. It's happened too many times in the past.

[Eagle Eye]

Did you consider dropping a dime on them?

Yeah, the IRS almost yawned on the phone.

[AuntB]

There are group health plans offered privately, mostly Christian organizations. I wrote an article about one, several years ago, posted here on FR....sorry, it was on my old computer, but I'll try to find it for you. Freepmail me, if you don't get more info on this.

[Seeking the truth]

Almost forgot. Catastrophic insurance isn't too much and ussually the exclusions ...

With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about.

[dr_who]

The thinking is that if more "bill of rights" half measures are passed, insurers will raise their rates, more employers will either decrease their coverage or drop it all together, and more people will be uninsured. Result: more Democrats and other pinheads wailing for nationalized health care.

[StockAyatollah]

I feel your pain! I am self-employeed and in the last 3 years, my premium has more than doubled while at the same time benefits have been drastically cut. Somehow medical insurance premiums and other medical costs have been kept out of the Consumer Price Index computation, making it look as if we've had little inflation. Typical government lying!

[doglot]

I don't know where you live, but many, if not most, doctors here in NC would consider $400,000 less than minimum wage! That is after paying office expenses, insurance, etc.

This happened less than two months ago. My mother broke her hip and was too weak to be cared for at home. A doctor and physicians assitant came to her room unsolicited to talk to her about going to their facilty. Their faciltiy will only take a patient if they can dress themselves. She could not and it was known by her doctors, nurses, etc. He talked to her all of 2 minutes (the PA said nothing and stood in the doorway) and told her that all beds at his facility were full anyway. I was there. His bill was $175.00. How much money did he steal that day, probably every day, walking the hospital floors "consulting"?

Many years ago a lady told me she wasn't afraid of dying and going to hell because she was sure there would be more than enough doctors and lawyers to take care of her needs just like here.

[doglot]

Thank you for coming forward. Here in the US something has got give. My family's premiums are outrageous, but who can afford to lose everything they have worked for by being uninsured? It is quickly becoming a situation of either being slowy bled for everything, or if something medically bad happens, lose it all at once. It is all about money on both sides of the fence.

It is past time to at least try something else.

[LibWhacker]

Very doubtful, doglot. For example, look at a table of year 2000 physician salaries here. Only two specialties on that list average over $400,000: cardiothoracic surgeons and brain surgeons. You have to look at the most highly paid individuals on that list to see gobs of salaries over $400,000. And all those people are almost certainly partners in very successful private practices. It even looks like at least one of them is likely a senior partner. In other words, those numbers are extreme outliers. The average doc doesn't make anywhere close to that much money. I know. My wife is a doctor. I only WISH she could get $400,000/yr. (We're in California.)

[VRWC_minion]

My family's premiums are outrageous, but who can afford to lose everything they have worked for by being uninsured?

Why would your premiums be lower if the federal government became the insurance company ?

[buffyt]

The gov. coverage of healthcare and also healthcare insurance offered by employers has helped increase the cost of medical care. I know, for example, a friend who works for a doctor, who told this story. When their long time patients don't have any medical coverage from Medicare, Medicaid, or Insurance, they charge these patients a lot less. If you have insurance coverage, they raise their price to the highest amount possible. How do they rationalize this price increase? They had to hire another person to handle the private insurance. She is on the phone all the time with insurance matters. The price increase covers her salary. Welcome to Big Brother's Brave New World. If there were NO medical insurance or Gov. paid medical bills, all the medical costs would DROP drastically! You would see doctors advertising $20 surgeries.

[buffyt]

For one thing, a friend of mine who is a doctor in OK said he will stop being a doctor and will go back to being a Chemical Engineer if we get nationalized medical care. He would make more money as an engineer in that case, so why put up with the stress and hours of being a doctor. He is an anestheziologist which is about the highest stress type of doc. there is. How many great doctors would we lose if they have to settle for gov. pay scale? It is like teachers... they don't make much money in Texas... so many good ones are leaving the profession. One of them who loved being a teacher/coach left that job due to low pay. She had two kids to raise, and her husband left. She went to work at a chemical factory for twice the pay of a teacher/coach. She was a great teacher/coach too! When the gov. is in charge you don't get much for your money!

[KC Burke]

Have you spoken with the Consumer help line for the Florida Division of Insurance for suggestions? 1-800-342-2762

[twigs]

Did you get any tests done? About five years ago, I went in for a routine physical and the tube the nurse used to draw my blood broke in her hand. She just swore, b/c she was not wearing gloves. It scared her to death; my blood went flying over her. I assured her I was not an AIDS risk, but she was still worried, obviously. I am certain that the office ran an AIDS's test--they should have! About two months later, mid-contract, my monthly premium soared. I'm sure the two events were related.

[doglot]

Your link is for a headhunter looking for employees "Physicians Search® is physician recruitment at its best. See why doctors, medical groups, hospitals, healthcare systems and HMOs...." "Base salary only, no benefits". Private practice is what many of us use and the income level is much higher.

[doglot]

I don't like the idea that health care may have to be nationalized, but the insurance companies for whatever reason(s) are pushing the common citizen to that through fine print, premium hikes and ceasing to cover. The medical industry is its own worst enemy and I will conceed some of it is unavoidable. If the system were nationalized there would be no more stopping coverage, or pricing the insured out because one gets sick (cancer, heart attack, etc.). I would expect the premiums to be the same for everyone regardless of age, etc. It wouldn't be perfect, but what is? Another point is that at the rate things are going with so many uninsured there will be more forced to the welfare roles if their assets are used to pay high medical bills. Then they are on Medicaid at that point. A $20,000 medical bill would bust a good percentage of the population. The situation is going where we would prefer it did not, but I see no way of turning it around.

[doglot]

No one could have said it better.

[VRWC_minion]

States have the authority to mandate what ins compnaies cover and what reasons for charging more. All of your complaints can be accomplished without a national plan.

[LibWhacker]

Your link is for a headhunter . . .

Doesn't matter. I used it only because it accurately reflects salaries nationwide. There's no need for me to take the time to actually track down Bureau of Labor Statistics Data.

In addition to the nationwide data, the BLS site also has a breakdown of salaries by state, which reveals your claim that

many, if not most, doctors here in NC would consider $400,000 less than minimum wage! That is after paying office expenses, insurance, etc.

to be . . . well . . . PURE BALONEY! Note that the BLS data are across all levels of experience and across all employers for the listed specialties. In particular, the data cover those in private practice. Last, the root mean square errors show that roughly 95% of all docs, specialty by specialty, make less than $200,000 -- even in North Carolina.