[geeks] Discuss this quote...

[wa2egp at att.net]

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Jonathan C. Patschke" <jp at celestrion.net>
>
> 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.

You're lucky.  Last Oct. I had to have back surgery.  I have a "condition"
where the spinal bones thicken and start to pinch the nerves.  Had to have
a "roto-rooter" job on one place.  It would have cost about $150K.  I'm 
glad I had health insurance.  BTW, I went five years without being absent.
When I was out once, they thought I died. :)
 
> Yes, but why do we have this insane notion in the US that health
> insurance needs to be tied to an employer?

Because the employer pays part of it?
 
> 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.

Sorry if you have to "prop" me up.  I didn't ask for what I have.  I don't
smoke, rarely drink so that statement only annoyed me 33%.  :)

> 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.

Agreed.  But the insurance companies will say that a box of swabs only costs
$0.15 and sponges only $0.05.  I see that with my dental.  A filling for $10?
I wish.  The materials cost more than that (I've seen the price).
On the other hand my insurance company did help out.  My bill from one hospital
was $118,000.  They negotiated to $37,900, the hospital agreed and they paid.
About a month later, I get a bill for $80,000 from the hospital with threats
of collection agencies.  I called the insurance company.   I was told that
they were contracted with the hospital.  What was agreed on was it.  No more
money to be paid out by anybody.  (Whew!)  It's all a big game.

> 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].

I hate that.  I've had weird doctors.  They go away real quick. (heh)
Sometimes they don't have a clue and maybe the patient might have an
answer.  Why do you think there are all those drug ads in magazines?
Get to the patients (doctors are beginning to refuse to meet with the
drug company sales droids). 

> 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.

Hopefully, you can.  Getting pretty dangerous these days and the odds 
are getting more stacked against you.  I wish I was in your shoes.

Bob

- health insurance is like a hospital gown, it doesn't really cover
as much as you think it does.  (stolen from Reader's Digest)