[geeks] Discuss this quote...

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Mon, 27 Aug 2007, Bill Bradford wrote:

> On Mon, Aug 27, 2007 at 04:27:44PM -0500, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
>> Is medical insurance that big of a deal?  Outside of my brief stint
>> at state employment, I've never had my employer provide it.  In fact,
>> I haven't even had insurance for the last two years or so.  I just
>> eat well[0] and take care of myself.  I only get sick enough to miss
>> work every four years or so.
>
> When I made less money, I alway declined the health insurance because
> I would rather have that much more money/month.

Yes, but why do we have this insane notion in the US that health
insurance needs to be tied to an employer?

I've changed jobs every two years since 1998.  If I actually had cause
to use it frequently, I'd be pretty annoyed having to move my medical
records around from place to place every so often.

I should be able to show up at an insurance agent's office, tell them
what coverage I want, submit to a physical at a doctor with affiliations
with neither the insurance company nor me, and get a decent individual
rate, subject to existing defects and my behavior--just like automobile
insurance.

But, no, the cost of insurance (probably in no small part due to
psychophysiologic illness caused by an endless stream of drug ads and
the flood of baseless malpractice suits over the last 20 years) is so
high that the only way anyone can afford it is through group plans where
a bunch of people who Just Don't Need It prop up smokers, drinkers, and
people who were just unfortunately born broken in a myriad of minor
ways.

My healthcare premiums were something along the lines of $300/mo, which
is pretty decent for the US.  Out of that, I had one ankle x-ray for a
sprain[0] I'd endured 5 years previous and two nights in a sleep lab[1]
for sleep apnea screening.  Depending on what the actual charges are for
the sleep lab, they made good money on me for those years.

The US needs healthcare reform badly.  We don't need socialized
healthcare, but we do need to start bloodying the noses of the insurance
companies who play dirty.  To put it another way:  When I worked for the
state, I paid $50 in co-pay to go see a doctor for a regular office
visit.  The insurance picked up the "rest" of the bill (some hundreds of
dollars).  When my fiancee went to see a doctor, she paid $50 in
-total-.  Have you ever looked at the "bills" that your doctor copies to
you as they're sent to the HMO?  It could pass for part of the
Pentagon's budget, except that it has $50 cotton swabs $300 sponges on
it, instead of $500 toilet seats.

Nevermind that the last few times I had an office visit, I had less than
five minutes' interaction with the doctor.  My Dad's interactions have
been more surreal.  When he shows up, the doctor asks -him- what he
wants prescribed[2].

What we have is completely out of control, and the proposed solution
(ie: put the government in charge of it) will only make things worse.
My solution is to take care of myself as best as I can and stick that
$$$/mo in savings in case I do need medical care at some time.  My great
grandfather had his first doctor visit in his 80s.  I won't beat that
record, but if I can keep away from the doctors, I'll consider myself
ahead of the game vs. paying for insurance.


[0] To which the doctor said "you never sprained it; you're just too
     fat." 
[1] To which the doctor said "lose 80 (!!) lbs."  I'm about 30lbs away
     from being reasonably trim.  At 80lbs lighter, I'd fall over.
[2] Though I have to admit similar experiences when going through the
     mental health system trying to diagnose symptoms that eventually
     turned out to be aspartame sensitivity.
-- 
Jonathan Patschke     )
Elgin, TX            (      "I detest logging filesystems."
USA                   )                    --Linus Torvalds