I pay almost 2000 per year for my health care (single person)

[tyedyeto]

My employer pays 1/2 the cost and I have a $1000 deductible per year.

Tell me how how I'm going to benefit from this proposed Health Plan?

I can't afford the deductible so never use it. I get sick, I tough it out and don't go to the doctor since I pay all costs for any form of doctor visits.

For Major Medical, I guess it's OK but for the everyday aches and pains of a 50+ y/o person plus the 'tests' the 'medical' community wants me to have yearly, I can't afford it.

What does the average person do in my situation?

[Captain Hilts]

1. Ins. Cos won't insure me because I'm unemployed. So, the tax break doesn't help me. nt

[raccoon]

39. How old are you? nt

[Captain Hilts]

59. 47. And I qualify for a discount on short-term ins. for being in good condition. ...

but can't get anything other than short-term insurance.

[Sanity Claws]

2. And that's a cheap plan

I'm healthy but over 40 and am charged almost $400 a month for an individual. This is insane.

[tyedyeto]

8. I agree it's insane

Do you have a prescription plan? I don't. Last time I needed a script, I went to Mexico to fill it (I'm fortunate to live near there) otherwise it would have cost me well over $100 when I actually got it for about $20.

[hobbit709]

3. It was costing my wife $280/mo

to cover me. Now I'm on VA so she gets to take most of that home now. The full cost of my meds would be about $600/mo-I'm paying $64. My wife's meds are costing her about $150/mo with the copay. We're both over 50.

[bonito]

4. $0.00 don't have it or use medical care.

For myself.

[Cronus Protagonist]

6. Me too. Impossible to get medical insurance at a price I can afford

I just do without and trust my gene pool.

[roamer65]

5. I absolutely support single-payor socialized medicine...

because if you left a case of bronchitis go, it can turn into pneumonia. Plans like yours encourage people to avoid care, when they shouldn't. Under the present "system" (...LOL) does your employer offer a flex spending program? You could have pre-tax dollars withheld and pay for the deductible with pre-tax dollars. I am going to start doing it next year because deductibles and non-covered prescriptions are certainly on the rise.

[tyedyeto]

9. I've 'neglected' to go to the doctor several times

within the past few years because of the fact that I basically have NO health insurance, unless I want to pay $200+ for doctors visits and medications that I can't afford. So, I do without, even tho I have 'insurance'.

[roamer65]

11. I have asthma...

...and I am PETRIFIED of losing my coverage. I won't deny that my coverage is fairly good. I wish it were available to everyone, including you!! That's why I'm such a Red liberal when it comes to health care. If I were to lose mine, I'd be screwed cuz of my asthma, a "pre-existing" condition.:grr:

[ComeAndTakeIt]

14. On "pre-existing" conditions.

I worked at one job at the beginning of last year. In January, I became eligible for the comparatively shockingly good benefits that this small, independent, local company offered, including health care with BlueCross BlueShield.

Two weeks later, I was diagnosed with a semi-serious but totally treatable and non-life-threatening disease for which I have to take daily medication and have regular blood work.

At the end of April, I left that job to move to another town. I couldn't find a job for many weeks (despite the great economy!), and when I was finally earning enough from three part-time jobs to do so, I enrolled in independent BlueCross BlueShield coverage, in July.

I received a letter within a week from BlueCross BlueShield informing me that the recently-diagnosed disease was a "pre-existing" condition and they would not cover any medication, testing, or future treatment arising from it. The thing that really pisses me off is that the condition was only diagnosed a matter of weeks earlier, while on the very same insurance!!! But because I took the step of trying to improve myself by moving to another place and looking for more appropriate work, I am punished and unable to afford my mandatory medication.

So, basically, even though we're now in this "new economy" in which we're expected to have up to seven careers throughout our work lives, hence many company changes, by the time we are forty we will all be bankrupt from paying for medication and treatment for all the "pre-existing" conditions we have amassed with natural aging.

For instance, if I started menopause at age 52 while working at one company, and was on, say, hormone replacement therapy, and I changed jobs (asuming, optimistically, that anyone would hire a 52-year-old woman!), then my medication would no longer be covered for the duration of said menopause - which could be years!

My conclusion lately? This country sucks.

[roamer65]

17. That's bullshit. I hate insurance companies because...

they're legalized extortion. They should have to cover you, regardless of "pre-existing" conditions.

[tyedyeto]

19. It is bullshit

they will always try to find some way of discovering that 'pre-existing' condition.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

53. I once applied for insurance as a self-employed person, and the

first company offered a very reasonable price--but with no coverage for allergies, cancer (I'd had a negative biopsy), mental illness (I'd spent one year on depression medication) or, get this, broken bones (I had broken my ankle in a freak accident the year before).

Fortunately, I found that Kaiser-Permanente would let me into its HMO for a reasonable price with no such limitations, and I was very satisfied with them for ten years.

Unfortunately, by the time I left Oregon, they, too, were becoming unaffordable, and according to their website, if I had stayed, I would now be paying $400 a month.

[BluePatriot]

50. I hear you

I had a case of (they think) subacute thyroiditis recently but have a family history of thyroid problems. I am not on any meds but am currently getting blood work every 2 months. I am terrified that I will turn out to have a thyroid disorder because it pretty much means I can never quit or be fired from my current job due to the insurance clauses you describe and may spend a lifetime being uninsurable...and I am 23!!! Healthcare here is a joke. At least I know of and am using some decent herbal remedies and can hop over to Mexico to buy meds if I have to.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

66. If you turn out to be hypothyroid, get the Armour stuff.

It's natural, it's more bioactive, has both T3 and T4, and it's much cheaper than Synthroid.
I've taken it since 1967 and had many an argument with doctors who wanted to put me on the "modern" stuff.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, but I had a stupid doctor take me off my thyroid medication and I was off of it for about five years. I wasn't too far from dying, seriously. That is one medicine that is mandatory.

[ComeAndTakeIt]

7. Me, too.

And I have a "good" government drone plan.

:(

[Warpy]

10. Gee, mine would be over $1000/month

for a single person, the last time I checked 4 years ago, and would only pay 80% of the bill.

Since I could go bankrupt just as easily for 20% as for 100%, I decided to pay for shelter instead of fattening insurance execs.

My yearly tax bill was low, and there is no way a parsimonious tax deduction would have paid for a fraction of the cost, let alone enough for me to be housed and have health insurance, too.

Fortunately, most people saw through that immediately. Only the really, really stupid heard that "tax deduction maximum $7500 for a single person" and thinks the gummint is going to give them $7500 to buy insurance with. Fewer and fewer people qualify for that level of idiocy every year.

There is no way this could ever get through Congress. Democrats see through it completely, and GOPs will see it as a tax increase, which it is if you have insurance through an employer.

It's a transparent ploy to get the holy corporation out from under the burden of keeping the workforce healthy.

[ellenfl]

13. i hope you're right that it is 'see-through'. eom

[spag68]

12. The first step for health care

is get rid of the insurance co's. Right off there is 25 or 30 percent more money that would be profit for the big investors. After that anything is possible.

[roamer65]

15. Yup, just like Canada and Europe did.

...and don't believe all the bullshit you hear about Canadian health care, folks. I've gotten care under their system and it is perfectly fine. In fact, the doctor was one of the best I've ever seen. He had many years of experience under the UK and Australian systems, before he came to Canada.

[ComeAndTakeIt]

21. The NHS in the UK is far superior to our "healthcare" system here

I lived there for several years, until fairly recently. Upon returning to the US, I am utterly shocked by:

1) the expense - in the UK, even as a non-citizen on a visitor visa, I got free doctor visits, free tests, free surgery, and free birth control. Other prescriptions, such as for hayfever allergy medication, cost me a whopping $9 per month.

2) the waiting times - in the UK I never had to wait more than a couple of days to get in to see a doctor. I had two tests while there - one a biopsy and one an X-Ray (both totally free, of course), and I had to wait about a week for those. Every time I went to the doctor, I got in to see the doctor within fifteen minutes of my scheduled time, and often immediately. Usually I did not see a nurse first. Over here, I spent a good two and a half hours going in for a routine ObGyn check-up. Mostly waiting around - first in the lobby, then in the private room, both for the nurse to weigh me and all that, and then for the doctor. I can't understand this about the American system.

3) the obvious corporatization - in the UK, I was *always* offered a non-pharmaceutical solution *first*, obviously because the NHS is publicly funded and thus tries to conserve money rather than force prescriptions on people. For instance, I once had a wax build-up in my ear, and I went in to see a nurse, who took it out and gave me a pamphlet about follow-up care involving using a dropper to put a little olive oil in the ear each night. In the US, when I've had an ear infection or buildup, I've been prescribed Vicodin - a bit of an overkill, perhaps?! Also my American ObGyn also does cosmetic procedures including botox, laser hair removal, etc., and pushes a mysterious drink called "Tahitian Noni" both in her office and in her phonebook ad. :shrug:

I should add that in the UK, I was paying 24% income tax on all income after the first 6,000GBP (about $10,000ish). Here, I am paying 22.5%. But all I get is a relatively good road system, cheap (yes! cheap!) gasoline, and a massive military.

IMHO, access to healthcare is a human right, and it is a scandal, the state of the system in this country. When there are people making millions in corporate profits each year, and while we have one of the best pools of talent and resources in the world, it is immoral not to provide free healthcare to every man, woman, and child in this country.

$0.02

[roamer65]

22. Interesting...I get wax buildups..olive oil, huh?

How much each night?

[ComeAndTakeIt]

23. haha

like three drops

put it in the affected ear, and lay down with that ear up perpendicular to the ceiling for, oh, five minutes. of course some of the oil will dribble out eventually. that's why they told me to do it at night.

:)

you will hear it working around in your ear, though - it's kinda cool - and works.

:hi:

[roamer65]

26. I'll try it.

The peroxides they sell for ear wax removal are rather harsh and often my ear is sore after using them. Olive oil I doubt would cause the soreness.

[tyedyeto]

16. I have a friend who had to go to a hospital

with no insurance. She spent 10 hours there and her bill from the hospital was over $10,000. This did not include emergency room, doctors or tests that were given at the time. She protested the amount and the bill was deducted by about 40%. The hospital's reasoning for the initial bill: she didn't have insurance so they billed her at full cost.

[roamer65]

20. Yup. One night stay in cardiac care for me was $4300 about 4 years

ago. I got the paperwork on the costs and I just about had a full blown coronary. Luckily insurance covered all of except the $50 ER co-pay.

[tyedyeto]

25. But if you don't have 'health insurance' and have any sort of health emergency

You end up paying way beyond what the 'norm' is for health care.

[roody]

18. Maybe we could learn something from Cuba.

[tyedyeto]

24. A little more info:

My gross wages are only approx. $15,000 per year. That $2,000 is a significant portion of that.

As a female in my 50's, it's recommended that I have an annual mammogram, my colon be checked, osteoporosis tests be taken, etc. Not to mention eye exams (I wear contacts & buy them online) dental (haven't seen a dentist for 5 years). How do I afford this on $15K per year? I don't. I go without.

I think that is the plight of the average working American.

[ComeAndTakeIt]

27. Again, me, too!

I make about $22K, which is okayish, but bitterly disappointing when you consider I put in a good six years of university at a total cost of about $40K in student loan debt, and I work three part-time jobs, none of which require a degree, and are almost entirely monkeywork. I could make a little more money, but I would have to totally sell out and work for a corporate lobbyist or Rethuglican politician, so I would rather struggle a bit more and have my independence (insofar as that is possible for us wage slaves).

Right now, I am on my last pair of contacts, but only wear them when "going out" because my prescription has expired and I can't afford to go to the optometrist. I also ran out of contraceptives, and my doctor would not authorize a refill - even for one month (can I get pregnant and sue for 18 years child support like thatn woman in Germany???). I have no idea how much a routine exam would cost, and I don't want to find out. I have dental, but I probably won't be using that anytime soon, either, because of the copay.

My mother is in a similar situation, making about $28K, no retirement, no savings - none, no health insurance, and 58.

It's bleak out here.

[roamer65]

28. Socialism now!

Sorry, this Red liberal just had to yell it after reading your post.:rant:

[ComeAndTakeIt]

29. No arguments from me.

I am rather a libertarian socialist.

And not ashamed in the slightest.

Health care, in today's world, where it would so easy to deliver, is a human right. Our leaders are immoral. Don't get me started on the deregulation of credit card companies. I have a card that just shot up to 32% interest. Luckily, I am using the bulk of my student loan to pay it off.

Fuckers.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

32. Another one here with no insurance. Had excellent coverage

for over 30 years compliments of my ex-husbands UNION coverage (free no less - no cost to union member or covered family members - those were the days!). Then he decides to take a hike with a new honey half my age. She now enjoys the coverage I used to have.

I struggled - using over 40% of my monthly income for 36 months to continue my coverage under COBRA. When I exhausted COBRA benefits I was "offered" the continuing coverage for the "paltry" sum of 120% of my total monthly income. Needless to say I couldn't afford to extend the coverage. I applied at six companies trying to find affordable health care coverage - high deductible, coverage for only catastrophic illness, etc. with no luck.

Now, because I'm middle aged, have a pre-existing condition that has received NO treatment for the last three years I do not qualify for any coverage through any standard company. My state offers coverage for people who have been turned down for standard coverage but that premium is - no kidding - 85% of my monthly income. Way beyond my budget.

I feel alright right now but I haven't had a check-up in three years, no mammogram, pap smear, eye exam and certainly not my medications. My mother has been treated for uterine cancer and now has breast cancer that has spread to her bones (thank god she has excellent benefits from her union job she retired from 18 years ago). There isn't a day go by that I don't feel like I'm a walking time bomb living in a country in a state where my representatives don't give a damn about anything but their big money pharma donors.

On, yes, that health saving plan the Rethugs are so hot for is exactly the ticket for me. :sarcasm:

Forty-six million Americans and I are literally counting on the Democratic representatives to fix this for us. In the "richest" country in the world no one should go without healthcare. /rant off

[tyedyeto]

33. Shit... that was me several years ago

but you said it much better than I ever could.

[ComeAndTakeIt]

35. I feel your pain

I was offered to continue my excellent coverage from the job I quit last spring - at $400 a month. HA!

This really does stress me out; this, plus my seemingly inescapable debt and the improbability of ever being able to own my own home or land or have children. I wonder, do any of our "leaders" have any idea of the timebomb that is about to explode? Will they really just let us die? This healthcare thing is my number one domestic pet peeve, and is almost as infuriating to me, personally, as the war in Iraq. It is immorality writ large. It reminds me of how in the (excellent) book,Your Money Your Life, the authors refer to the standard American lifestyle as "making a dying."

[ComeAndTakeIt]

36. and

:hug: on your ex-induced troubles. I feel that pain, too. Very long story. But they story's always basically the same.

[raccoon]

40. I'm in a similar situation. About your age, have an individual

insurance plan which has a high deductible and basically just covers catastrophes.

My GP told me at my age a colon check was recommended. I asked him about cost and he told me about $1000.

No way the average person can afford to pay for all these "recommended" tests out of pocket.

[Spike from MN]

30. I pay just under $50 per month and my employer pays $350.

I pay a $10 co-pay per visit and a $10 co-pay for meds. There is no co-pay for the yearly physical and associated tests (mammograms, etc.). There is never any paperwork and the quality of care I receive is absolutely top-notch. I'm with one of those "evil" HMOs and couldn't be more pleased with it. Not all HMOs suck, though the govt. would certainly like you to think that. I believe that mine is non-profit and if so, that could indeed explain why it's so much better than a lot of the other ones. I'm sure that with the for-profit HMOs, greed takes over and medical care goes out the window.

I'd like to see the HMO that I'm with be used as a model for national health care. There is no reason that everyone shouldn't have the access to the same excellent medical care that I have. I always hate reading about others that don't have health care plans or, like the OP, have "health insurance" but the deductible is so high that in effect, the insurance is only good for catastrophic coverage. There is just no excuse for this country not having a national health care plan that is affordable for everyone. Oh wait. Yes there is. It's called greed. I'm afraid there will never be a national health care plan until there are publicly funded elections. Without that, campaign contributions rule the day and we all saw how that affected the Medicare bill.

[roamer65]

31. You're from a blue state, like I am.

We'd fit very easily into the Canadian system. Ford could really use Canadian-style national healthcare here in Michigan right now. Their costs would be a lot less and they'd be less near bankruptcy.

[Spike from MN]

38. MN has always done a good job with its HMOs.

I believe that back in Clinton era when they were looking at a national health care plan, MN and AZ were touted as the two states that should be used as models for a national health care plan. MN also has a MNCare program for low-income people that don't have employer-provided coverage and can't afford a private plan. As expected, the plan has been hit with budget cuts under our Repug Gov.

I've never used the Canadian system but have always heard good things about it. And you're right that a national health care plan would be great for Ford and a lot of other companies that say they can't keep jobs here because of rising health care costs. (Corporate greed of course factors in as well but that's a topic for another thread.) If the big corporations weren't so beholden to the govt. for the huge tax breaks and other various kickbacks they receive, maybe they'd actually take a stand and demand that something be done about health care. Wow, what a concept.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

51. MN is good UNLESS you're a self-employed, middle-aged individual

Then it's no better than anywhere else. I'm paying $200 a month for a $5,000 deductible with 20% co-pay after that, which sounds about standard for the way self-employed, middle-aged people are treated like dirt by insurance companies all over the country.

I absolutely HATE IT that the Democrats are so chicken-hearted on this issue. If they just had the GUTS to come out in favor of single-payer health care and had a simple (not like Hillary-care) plan that everyone could understand, they'd make themselves as popular with ordinary people as FDR did.

I have friends who went to Costa Rica and were involved in car crash. They were taken to the hospital with a broken bone or two each, got excellent care, and AS VISITORS were charged the equivalent of $15. That is in Costa Rica, people. We're behind Costa Rica when it comes to providing health care for all.

[Spike from MN]

57. Good point.

I should have probably stated that HMOs in MN are good IF you are in one. MNCare and GAMC are for low-income and very-low-income people respectively. I guess that leaves people that are self-employed, working for a small business that can't get the rates that a larger employer does, etc. on their own. I just looked it up and the individual rate for my HMO is actually fairly reasonable (depending on your age), especially compared to what some others in this thread are paying but it only covers 80% after the deductible whereas my plan covers 100%. Yeah, I'm lucky. Of course my salary sucks but they make up for it a bit with the benefits.

Personally, I'd like to see the HMOs opened up to everyone in the state at the same rate and with the same coverage I'm getting. It would have to be set up so that between the three (GAMC, MNCare, and the HMOs), there wouldn't be a gap that people would fall into where they couldn't afford the coverage. But I think we both know that will never happen.

I agree with you 100% on the spinelessness of the Dems regarding health care, both nationally and locally. I'm still really pissed that the DFL majority in the MN Senate has let Timmy get pretty much everything he wanted. Cuts to MNCare? No big deal. After all, I'm sure the Senators have good health care coverage so that's all that matters. They threw the poor to the wolves with the last couple of budgets and I've never forgiven them for that.

Doesn't surprise me that Costa Rica has decent medical care. Hell, Iraq had excellent national health care before we bombed the piss out of them the first time and then cut off all medical supplies with the sanctions. This country truly sucks when it comes to health care. Actually, it sucks in a lot of other ways too but health care is a biggie.

[Captain Hilts]

60. $350 a month? That's a lot! Even for your employer. nt

[Uben]

34. Yeah, well I pay over $10,000 yr

...for s POS private policy, so go cry in someone else's ear! The wife has had cancer and I broke a leg last year (first injury ever). We can't get insurance anywhere else, and our premiuns go up the max every year. Our policy makes us pay the first $5000, and 50% of the next $10,000, for a max of $10,000 out-of-pocket. I have been out $50,000 the last five years!

[ComeAndTakeIt]

37. See, this is why I don't want to amass any assets

I bitch about not ever being able to buy a home, but, honestly, I am so afraid of being in your situation... and if I have no assets, they can't take everything away from me to offset massive, immoral healthcare bills. And who cares about a judgement when you'll never be able to buy anything, anyway? Fuck it!

Did I mention that this country sucks? I am so sorry, Uben. :shaking head:

I seriously consider trying to move back to Europe - weekly. Just because of this one issue. I can't imagine what a weight it is on you.

[notadmblnd]

41. My plan is to ignore it all and just drop dead

I haven't been to the Dr's in years, haven't really needed to go either. It seems like they all just want to run up your insurance with needless test and medication that doesn't work and I'm just not ready to add more toxic cocktails (pills) to my daily routine.

[Cobalt Violet]

70. I'm on that plan too!

It's a wonderful plan, isn't it? :sarcasm: But I really need to go. But that's not going to happen.

[NewJeffCT]

42. Does your state have a program to help people like you?

Even just providing for an annual physical and mammogram could make a big difference in the long run for you.

[seabeyond]

43. What does the average person do ........... bend over. n/t

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

44. Let's see...

for my husband and I it is about $120 a week (yes, a week), times 4, that makes it about $480 or so a month, times twelve it's $5,760... Roughly translated, that would be a nice yearly trip to Italy.

[RB TexLa]

48. $6240 There are 52 weeks in a year not 48.

:)

[RebelOne]

45. I pay about $100 a month,

which includes life insurance, eye care and dental insurance. I am 68 years old and still working full time, mainly for the insurance benefits. I couldn't get all that through Medicare.

[Marie26]

46. OK

This is just from what I gathered from NewsHour last night, let me know if I've got this wrong. First, the plan now considers your employer-sponsored health insurance to be part of your taxable income (so a $5000 policy would increase your taxable income by $5000). The plan then allows you to take a standard deduction if your health care coverage is under $15,000 for a family, or $7,500 for an individual. If the policy is worth more than that, you'll be taxed on that excess coverage. So for those people, it's a tax increase.

Supposedly, this deduction allows people who buy their own insurance to get a tax deduction that makes health insurance more affordable. Personally, though, I don't see how this proposal really helps. Most poor people don't pay much income tax anyway, so I don't get how the tax break is a huge incentive. They'd still have to pay the (enormous) costs up-front, & wait for the deduction later, which most people w/o health insurance can't afford to do. Finally, it seems like this plan actively discourages employers from offering good health insurance, because employees will be taxed on the higher coverage. Finally, a lot of workplaces offer really good health insurance instead of higher wages, and these are mainly government employees, teachers, non-profits, etc. This proposal would actually tax these workers more, & remove the benefit of the full insurance coverage.

Bush is acting like this is a great thing for the uninsured, but IMO he's lying. This proposal wasn't done to help the uninsured. It was done to gut employer-sponsored health insurance, allow companies to lower their coverage (w/o a corresponding rise in wages), and create a market for for-profit health care companies.

In the NewsHour segment, the "anti-plan" spokesperson was a professor w/many years experience in health care, who raised a lot of these concerns. The "pro-plan" spokesperson was someone called Grace-Marie Turner, of the "Galen Institute". She was a big booster of the plan, & had that plastered Republican smile. She seemed very invested in the plan, so I looked her up. The "Galen Institute" is a conservative think-tank devoted soley to ending employer & government-sponsored health care, and creating "free-market" health care instead.

In a 2003 article in a conservative magazine, she talked about her long crusade against "socialized medicine", beginning at the Heritage Institute. She complained that "the employer-based model for providing health insurance is outmoded and inefficient. Because insurance premiums are tax free when provided by employers, she explained, "it gives people a huge incentive to get their health insurance through their employers. It encourages people to over-consume. (Good free insurance makes people overconsume - solution, make them pay for it!) "You've got to evolve to a new system", said Turner. "President Bush has proposed refundable tax credits for health insurance. He is planting a seed for a new idea." She then goes on to describe the plan for ending employer & gov.-sponsored health care - exactly the plan that Bush proposed in the SOTU. Turner said that politicians since Richard Nixon have sought to have the government take over the health care system, and reversing that trend is an uphill battle." She wants all individuals to have to buy private health care plans.

Of course she likes the plan, it's her plan. Just like Bush got his "surge" idea from the neocon AEI think tank, he's getting his health care marching orders from the far-right "Galen Institute." This is an Administration of the neocon think-tanks, for the neo-con think-tanks. This proposal was never about helping the uninsured - it is about ending the health insurance safety net for us all.

Galen Institute: http://www.galen.org/about.asp

Conservative spotlight: Galen Institute - http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_200303/ai_n9177542


How the plan works:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/23/pf/taxes/health_proposal_effect/index.htm?postversion=2007012322#work

[RB TexLa]

47. You have a plan that costs $300 and doesn't have co-pays for doctor's visits?

That doesn't really sound right.

[KitSileya]

49. Lord Almighty! How expensive!

Now, I don't know how much of my taxes goes to healthcare, but I pay 36% of my income as tax all told. When I sprained my ankle on Tuesday, I had to go to the emergency room and had to take several x-rays, as well as buy a pair of crutches. Altogether, that cost me NOK715 (250 for the crutches, so if this should ever happen again(God forbid!) I'll have those.) That's about $115, which sounds like a lot, but for me is 2.86% of my monthly pay before taxes. I'll even get most of it refunded, as it happened on my way to work, and that falls under my employee insurance. If enough Americans decide to stand on the barricades and demand it, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to get socialized health care too. In Norway, we were willing to fight for it, through trade unions mostly, and voted in politicians that had heavy union ties, in order to make it happen. Is it perfect? Far from it. But at least people don't lose their house because they get sick.

[raptor_rider]

52. Close to $5000

a year for my family. Health ($250 deductible) Vision ($10 co-pay) and Dental (20% out of pocket). Health had provided very well. Maternity was only $250 total out of pocket. My daughter was recently diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic, hospital bills over $25,000.00, out of pocket, $600.00. My company pays 75% of the premiums, which I feel is generous. I feel very fortunate for my insurance coverage.

[laylah]

54. My husband pays

>$5000 per year for 3 of us, higher deductibles and copays. I am very grateful to have it but I agree, how are we to benefit from this? As 50 plus year-olds, maybe supplemental insurance?

Jenn

[leftofthedial]

55. A1: you get to pay taxes on the part your employer pays

A2: get sick and die after the banks and the HMO's take everything you own.


this is an ownership society and you are not an owner, so sit down and shut up.












I'm just passing along the WH's official response as a public service.

[Digit]

67. Is this regardless of what you make in salary?

I get paid squat, so I am willing to pay a fraction of my squat in taxes.

[windbreeze]

56. how about $7836 a year...for two...RETIRED people

living on fixed income...who also pay that dastardly left over 20%, plus co- pays on prescriptions, plus our dental co-pays increased almost 100% upon retirement, and we now have to pay 100% of eyecare costs on top of that...oh and one has a $250 deductible...and also no coverage at all for prescriptions until after another separate $250 deductible has been met...by the time they are done with you...you wonder what the hell you ARE paying for...because on a fixed income...this is a whole lot of money right off the top and out of pocket...
windbreeze

[SoCalDem]

63. Honey, that's the "plan"

There has to be a "transfer of wealth" to the upper-crusties.

There cannot be anything of value left to transfer or bequeath to YOUR progeny.

That's the plan, folks.. They want us to save save save, so that we'll have money to give to them in the guise of healthcare...and just at the same time we start falling apart.. how conveeeeeenient..:(

[windbreeze]

69. yeah and the really funny thing is...

I have independent insurance and medicare....LOL...when I have any kind of treatment for anything, which is NOT often...(I think they have spent a total of $6,000 on me the whole 24 years my husband and I have been married)I have also been paying for my own medication, for the last 6/7 years, outside insurance, (because I found that since they raised the co pay to triple the amount it originally was, I can buy 100 pills outside insurance for less than 1/2 of what those same pills cost me using the insurance and paying the co pay)....so anyway, now the two of them fight over WHO is NOT going to pay any bill submitted..and I am sick to death of the whole thing... arrrggghhh
windbreeze

[Yavin4]

58. I Had A Wax Buildup In My Ear

So, I went to the doctor to have it clear out. All the doctor did was shoot water in my ear with a hose.

The total cost? $550.00 No medicine. No after-care treatment. No nothing. Just shot my ear with a hose.

[jannyk]

61. This thread raises a whole new issue

On top of the 50 million completely 'un-insured', how many millions have some insurance but can't afford the deductable or co-payments, so still don't get health care when they need it?

[Cobalt Violet]

62. I don't care if die anymore. I don't know about the average person.

I've got no insurance, and a very serious illness.
I would have to pay 1/5 of income to get insurance through my employer. Fine, but then if I were to get treatment the side effects are so bad that I doubt I would be to hold on to my job or any job that I know of. So then I wouldn't have insurance or money at all. So why even bother. I'm just going to keep on going until I can't anymore. I have no idea what stage I'm at.


Life is short.
Life is cheap.


I have a feeling the the "average person" will be exactly where I am today, if nothing changes.

[Cleita]

64. Those deductibles that no one can afford are the win, win in

those health insurance plans. The problem is also when it comes to the major medical you still aren't getting any bang for your buck. They decide exactly how much they are going to pay and what they are going to pay for. And then they pay 80%. The procedure that they approve of could cost let's say $100. They determine that they will pay $80, but they really only pay 80% of that $80 and you have to meet the co-pay and often the extra if your doctor doesn't accept their payment assessment.

[salin]

65. Also, don't want to have a 'previously had condition'

that future insurers (esp i one has to eventually self-insure) will declare 'exempt' and not pay for.

Our health care system is more diseased than our population.

[bleedingheart]

68. I pay about $6000 a year for a family of four

and that is our portion of my husband's employer's plan.