I'm thinking about letting the taxpayers subsidize me.

I'm not sure you need so many qualifications on that statement... ;) Just kidding.

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Rick

Even if you never meet your deductible, the insurance companies lower the payments you make to doctors. That alone can be worth the cost of insurance.

I remember a few years back when I first faced not having insurance and had to do my own negotiation with the doctors. It occurred to me to have a company that did nothing but negotiate rates with doctors for it's members. Of course that would be a *huge* undertaking and now would be nonviable because of the law.

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Rick

Right. That's exactly why I have dental and vision insurance. They aren't expensive and save a bunch, even if they don't pay much themselves.

But you *LOVE* Obamacare.

I think we're up at 4% now, and many of those were forced on it.

An awful lot of commotion for such a small pool. Mikek

I'm walking at least 40 miles a week, starting a swimming class on Monday, working on eating properly and taking my meds as prescribed. I'm to late to pick my parents, but it would seem my dad's first heart attack at 43 yrs old and poor circulation have not been passed to me. At 60 yrs old he couldn't walk 50 yards at my walking speed. So, I'm happy and/or lucky in that respect. Mikek

Re financial planners and health:

Cheers

Phil

Excellent! I aim for 4/day (which takes me about 56 minutes) -- even when it's raining, etc. (though I have to walk indoors when the temps climb above 100F)

My biggest "issue" is sleep habits. Apparently I don't get enough nor is it "regular" enough.

Thankfully, no meds (though I may resume SLIT again -- soon. Seems like it *may* have been helpful in the past... hard to know for sure)

The kids of the neighbor I mentioned (diabetes->heart attack->stroke) are on the same track -- "It can't happen to ME..." :-/

[Of course, when/if it *does*, it's too late to "back fill" all the "shoulda's"...]

I never, ever had that problem. Called the doc, asked them whether they take Blue Shield XYZ (our comapny health plan), they said yes, I went. Of course, nearly every doctor in the area accepted the usual plans around here which no longer is the case with Obamacare.

If we ever get forced into Obamacare I'd probably take a Kaiser plan because that way you are guaranteed to be accepted at their clinics. Needless to say the Obamacare "equivalent" of our current grandfathered old plan is hugely more expensive. Even our current plan has doubled in premiums and at the same time been watered down in benefits since Obamacare was enacted. With Obamacare it seems health care costs in the US have gone out of control.

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

I did not change the topic.

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

I clearly saw it coming. It is very simple yet Dems don't get it: The average family that supposedly get "helped" by Obamacare is in credit card debt up to their ears. Plus car loans, plus the house mortgaged and equity-milked to the hilt. They live like a leftist government, spend, spend, spend. Tomorrow? Who cares?

So from where did they think such families can cough up thousands of Dollars in co-pay?

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

So? That just means you had a plan that was better to doctors than others. I personally have had doctors drop plans so that I could no longer see them under the plan. I've had friends who had the same issues.

Don't confuse health care costs with insurance costs. I think the cost of insurance is more accurately reflecting medical costs now that more people are covered.

One of the problems is that everyone is looking at Obamacare from how is personally impacts them. Yes, things are changing. But for significant numbers of people they now can get care when before they had very limited options.

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Rick

My comment, still visible above, is about the reduced rate for return visits being an incentive to solve medical problems rather than doctors getting repeat business. You then start talking about insurance plans and affordability without any clear connection...

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Rick

Are you just making this up?

Has it occurred to anyone that with a higher percentage of people covered by insurance there is more demand for doctors? More demand and the same supply means longer waits for appointments and more visits to emergency rooms.

Instead of blaming the government for doing something constructive but doesn't work perfectly, how about looking at some of the real causes of our problems? Doctors control the medical industry. They are directly involved in limiting how many doctors enter medical school. If we produced a few more doctors each year we could have shorter waiting times for appointments and fewer trips to the emergency room. We would likely also see more competition and lower rates which is good for all of us. We might also see a little less arrogance in the medical community too.

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Rick

Actually student loan debt is another factor.

There is a video out called "The College Conspiracy" that depicts how colle ges have turned into greed centers, overpriced textbooks that many times ca n't be respold. Ridiculous rates for the credit hours and all that. Plus me dical school is even more expensive inherently.

The numbers can be debated since there are various ways of defining "insured" for any given year. But if you were in the 4% you would not feel like it is such a big commotion. It is the people like you who are making all the commotion.

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Rick

??? what!!! ???

You are suggesting that medical school is self limiting by the cost?

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Rick

And such nonsensical reimbursement rates result in what we see today and what I described above: Docs don't like to take Obamacare patients, hence people are forced to either pay cash or leave it. Except those on welfare plans, they just go to the emergency room if this results in something hitting the fan. Which it eventually will.

If you were told by a client that if you ever had to revisit and re-engineer FPGA code you did for them in the past you'd be obligated to do it and they would pay you a fixed amount $28 for the effort, would you sign an agreement with them?

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

No. I would not have written this if I didn't personally know people who are in such predicaments.

America is still a free-enterprise country although there are currently forces at work torpedoing that. If there was more demand _and_ sufficiently lucrative remuneration there would be more doctors. Without either or both, there will not be. Simple.

The real causes are very different. Numbers one, two and three are:

1. Completely screwed up tort law -> high risk of litigation -> outlandishly high PL premiums -> gets slapped onto patient fees.
2. Keeping the hospital chargemaster secret. Needs to be fully open.
3. Work on reciprocal acceptance of medical degrees and licenses between the US and other countries. Got a personal story there, but not via Internet.

Obamacare did absoultely zero, nada, nothing about either. And we know why.

Doctors control the medical industry.

They do not. Banks do. I've work in med tech for almost three decades now.

Doesn't work. See above. Hint: Even doctors have to have a chance to pay off their student loans within a reasonable time and be allowed to raise a family.

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

That's great, double my cost or triple it for O'care, I get to carry another one or two families on my premium. Mikek