"jps" wrote in message
...

There's a ton of small businesses like mine that are already stressed
by the cost of providing health care. Expect there are a lots having
to drop coverage because of cost. Ours has been going up at more than
10% a year and we've had to opt for inferior coverage to what we had
originally to keep it within our means.

I suppose if you're not currently operating a business, you might be
unaware how challenging the situation is...


I, for one, am well aware of the challenge presented to small businesses
with regard to health insurance programs. I witnessed it go from an
affordable benefit that a company could offer and pay 100 percent of the
premiums for to a major component of operating costs over a relatively short
period of time.

For this reason, I've long been an advocate of returning to the "Major
Medical" form of health insurance coverage that existed before the HMO/PPO
programs became popular, starting back in the 80's. They marked the
beginning of the expodential rise in health insurance premiums that small
businesses have had to absorb since. Large corporations can often (and do)
self-insure, but a small business can't.

Health insurance, like other forms of insurance, should be to prevent the
financial wipeout of an individual and his/her family in the event of a
catastrophic injury or health problem. It should not be designed to cover
every little ailment or boo-boo that comes along that can easily and
routinely treated at home.

It's another example of passing personal responsibily off to someone else to
take care of, just like how school systems are now expected to teach kids
about everything under the sun in addition to traditional academic subjects.

The current administration's plan for health plan responsibilities are
certainly not in the best interests of your small business.

Eisboch

On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:42:42 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Health insurance, like other forms of insurance, should be to prevent the
financial wipeout of an individual and his/her family in the event of a
catastrophic injury or health problem. It should not be designed to cover
every little ailment or boo-boo that comes along that can easily and
routinely treated at home.

When my youngest boy was ineligible for our insurance, we looked
around for a strictly major medical policy for him - bare bones, just
cover any catastrophe.

It was cheap - I mean like $4-500/yr? Something like that.

Captain Zombie of Woodstock wrote:
On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:42:42 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Health insurance, like other forms of insurance, should be to prevent the
financial wipeout of an individual and his/her family in the event of a
catastrophic injury or health problem. It should not be designed to cover
every little ailment or boo-boo that comes along that can easily and
routinely treated at home.

When my youngest boy was ineligible for our insurance, we looked
around for a strictly major medical policy for him - bare bones, just
cover any catastrophe.

It was cheap - I mean like $4-500/yr? Something like that.


Millions of Americans are employed in marginal jobs with lousy pay and
no benefits. How are these folks supposed to afford any kind of medical
insurance or doctor's office visits. I think the base price for an
office visit with my doctor is $125, plus any tests he thinks are
necessary. That's too much money for a family living off one or two
minimum wage earners.

Of course, if you are relatively wealthy, you probably have no idea how
difficult life is for those near the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:18:19 -0400, Captain Zombie of Woodstock wrote:


When my youngest boy was ineligible for our insurance, we looked around
for a strictly major medical policy for him - bare bones, just cover any
catastrophe.

It was cheap - I mean like $4-500/yr? Something like that.

Was that recently? I'm surprised it was that low. Major medical sounds
interesting, but there is something to be said for access before it gets
to a major medical situation. Personally, I don't know what the answer
is, but this system is clearly broken. We are spending, as %GDP, nearly
twice as much as any other industrialized nation, and getting less care.
I've heard it argued that we have the best emergency care on the planet,
but when it comes to life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. we do not
have the best care.

"thunder" wrote in message
t...
On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:18:19 -0400, Captain Zombie of Woodstock wrote:


When my youngest boy was ineligible for our insurance, we looked around
for a strictly major medical policy for him - bare bones, just cover any
catastrophe.

It was cheap - I mean like $4-500/yr? Something like that.

Was that recently? I'm surprised it was that low. Major medical sounds
interesting, but there is something to be said for access before it gets
to a major medical situation. Personally, I don't know what the answer
is, but this system is clearly broken. We are spending, as %GDP, nearly
twice as much as any other industrialized nation, and getting less care.
I've heard it argued that we have the best emergency care on the planet,
but when it comes to life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. we do not
have the best care.

Life expectancy is higher than most European nations. If you exclude
Homicides and accidents. We drive a lot more than Europeans, and therefore
have more fatalities. Looking at the cancer survival rates, we are lots
higher.