wrote in message
...
On Mon, 4 Oct 2010 22:55:31 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:


wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:11:44 -0400, Secular Humoresque
wrote:

We need
to get rid of the health insurance industry as it exists in this
country.

I think health insurance should be something like $3000 deductible
(what I am carrying now). If that was true the cost would be
reasonable and the patient would argue about abusive bills for silly
stuff.
Medical procedures got expensive because they were "free". Nobody
cared that the doctor was charging you $200 for tetanus shot because
the insurance picked it up.

So, someone who works a minimum wage job is suppose to have $3K sitting
around for a doctor?

Please don't blame doctors. The insurance companies bleed them dry with
needless paperwork, all the while delaying claims and obstructing needed
care. Get rid of the insurance companies, and we might have a shot at
decent, affordable health care.


If they don't have 3 grand "sitting around", how will they ever be
able to afford the insurance premium?

Because people live paycheck to paycheck. They can afford to pay $200/mo
(barely) that they can scrape up, but they can't afford nor probably have
access to $3K. Seems pretty obvious to me...

It was a no brainer for me. I could have paid $3600 a year for "full"
insurance (still with a $25 co pay and things that they won't cover)
or just keep $3000 in reserve for if I ever got sick.

Certainly is. I don't have to worry about plunking down a bunch if I need
to... car dies, I pay cash, but most people aren't in your or my spot.

I have the same question for those people carrying huge credit card
balances. If you don't have enough money to cover your expenses, how
can you afford to cover your expenses and also pay the bank 29.999% on
top of your expenses?

It's called minimum payments. In the short run, that works fine, but of
course, the long term isn't so rosy. You keep borrowing, keep racking up
more debt to pay those must-pay bills like utilities and mortgage. It's a
vicious cycle.