Ok, I'm not going to kid you. I'm baffled and angry about this whole Medical Insurance thing. Don't get me wrong, I have coverage, good coverage on a individual plan. Medical emergencies are the number one cause of bankruptcy.
But its a fallacy, this whole affordable care act.
Yesterday we received three pages of printed material drawing our attention to the pending mandate. YOU MUST buy something, now, or be fined.
Some of us are at that nebulous point....we make a living, but barely. I looked at the website listed on the page. Looks like my premium, for a non-smoker is like....like, no, this can't be right, $700 bucks...is that a YEAR...no, no, its per month.
Wait a minute, can't be right.
Thankfully, I already have coverage.
But, wait a minute, says here because of the new laws, my coverage, the current plan, may actually go up.
Groan. I did some online research. The government page explaining all this would not load. Humm, says in another place, some news story, its been unudated with traffic. Plus, the government has shut down. Great, that's great.
Further research produced this valuable resource. Its run by the Kaiser Family. Seems legit. I don't know.
http://kff.org/
After going through the various links and calculators, I'm left wondering if its better to just say, forget it...I'm broke. I'm not working anymore. I'm going to apply for medicare, or Medicaid or what ever the government expects us regular cooks to do.
This isn't going to be easy.
Part of the problem is greed. Greedy insurance companies. Out of control medical costs. Unhealthy life styles resulting in a sick population.
Please, anyone got some good ideas or help for the common man?
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For those of us who are self employed, but not broke (yet) this new health care thing is a looming threat to freedom.
In just a few years, we will be forced to buy a product regardless of our personal beliefs. I've heard people say that you have to buy insurance to drive a car. Not so. You have to have a valid licence, and use a car that is insured. You could drive someone else's car, or rent one.
Unless we're stone broke, and qualify for medicare, or lucky enough to have a good job which provides health coverage, some how we'll need to come up with whatever premiums are required.
And if we all have coverage, where will all the health care professionals come from to handle the preventative care visits.
I saw this and wondered if the general public will be able to say, Sorry, it just isn't sustainable, long term, so we'll just over look that part of the bill.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/14/8325174-obama-administration-halts-part-of-health-care-law
I don't hear the insurance companies complaining about the new law. Instead, we're being told its no longer necessary for men to get prostate exams, women to get mamograms as often, and vitamins are not necessary. I think alot of this is so they won't have to cover the cost once we are forced to buy the insurance.
Medical costs are rising faster than anything except gold. It doesn't need to be that way. I checked into a full CAT scan down in Mexico. It was only 1/4 the cost here, including the reading.
Keeping our health care affordable should be a priority, not requiring us to prop up insurance companies.