Why Americans can't talk about health care

**OntarioVanMan** · 08-15-2009, 08:55 AM

HealthZone.ca

I'll post the last commentators ...

"IN AMERICA, it's all wooden nickels," Doug Keho says from the top of a ladder, where he's scrapping old paint off the wood siding of a three-storey house in the leafy Elmwood Village part of Buffalo.

"We spend more than any other country (on health care). If you go to emergency, you will get care."

But if, like him, you don't have insurance or qualify for Medicaid, it could cost you a lot of money you don't have.

"You go give blood," he jokes. "That's the best insurance. They do all the tests."

So, yes, he could find out if he happened to be anemic or HIV positive, or had anything from hepatitis and syphilis to West Nile virus. He'd also get a cursory physical and have his blood pressure taken.

But he still wouldn't have a regular doctor. That would cost him $500 a month in insurance premiums, money he says he can't afford as a self-employed painter.

"What can I do? Try to stay healthy." He laughs. "And here I am working on a ladder."

**LDB** · 08-15-2009, 10:10 AM

I don't know who that is or where he is that insurance is $500 a month. I've got BCBS and it's $134 a month albeit with a high deductible. The thing is that just as fuel isn't meant to be free neither is insured health care. The health insurance is the "fsc" of health care. I can set up a payment schedule and pay off a few thousand for my portion if I have to far more easily than I can pay off a hundred thousand in case of the worst scenario.

**layoutshooter** · 08-15-2009, 10:28 AM

The two BIGGEST problems we have with health care in this country are the Media and the Polititions. The REAL problems can be fixed with FAR less government interference and cash that is being talked about. They are NOT after health care reform, they are ONLY after control.

**greg334** · 08-15-2009, 10:31 AM

Why can't we talk about deleted posts?

**layoutshooter** · 08-15-2009, 10:42 AM

Talking about old post gets us banned from EO.

**OntarioVanMan** · 08-15-2009, 11:01 AM

insurance for me quoted by 1 insurer...800 per month with a 5,000 deductible for each occurence...

**layoutshooter** · 08-15-2009, 11:05 AM

Keep looking. Look into HSA qualified policies. I realize that the Dumb-O-Crats are doing everything that they can to KILL them but I LIKE MINE!! We pay UNDER $500 per month for BOTH Mrs. Layoutshooter and I. It is Pre-tax dollars, the interest on the health savings account is NOT taxable as long as it is used for health care. At age 65 the HSA converts to a IRA when you become eligable for Medicare. We have a $7500 deductable.

**OntarioVanMan** · 08-15-2009, 11:07 AM

We only have about 3 insurers in the state...because of our state laws...

**layoutshooter** · 08-15-2009, 11:10 AM

Have you looked into HSA plans? They are required to have high deductables and they have much lower premiums. Ours is with Michigan BCBS. To bad the Feds have regulations prohibiting us from crossing state lines to buy cheaper inusrance. Of course, Obama WANTS it that way. Makes it easier for him to push through his nightmare.

**greg334** · 08-15-2009, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by OntarioVanMan

We only have about 3 insurers in the state...because of our state laws...

This is why;
pre-existing conditions matter
we can get a tailored policy
we have to deal with being rewarded when we are sick but not if we take care of ourselves

It is all about the states and their control from Mandates to costs.

The best thing the feds can do is allow someone real freedom to pick and choose policies that fit them, even if it goes across state lines.

You do know that many states run the insurance companies like their liquor sales?

In Michigan for example, insurance companies can not cut their prices below a certain percentage of the average cost of other companies policies and it is like our minimal sale price for booze. This is done to prevent unfair practices in the insurance industry.

**OntarioVanMan** · 08-15-2009, 02:44 PM

In SD once an insurer takes you on they can't cancel you out should a problem come up..you know the ones...you pay them for the last 20 years and you say develop a small heart murmur all of a sudden at renewal time..you are drooped like a hot potatoe...not right!..cept for non payment of premiums

**chefdennis** · 08-15-2009, 04:38 PM

Ok so we spend more on healthcare then anyone else or anywhere else in the world...so what? We don't have a right to healthcare/health insurance, the is no moral right to it..we have the right to be responsable for our own health and how we pay for the SERVICE provided by the health service industry, nothing more...no one owes any of us the way to pay for these services...sorry healthcare/insurance is a commodity to be sold on the open market and purchased , the price set by those selling and buying.....the government has no right or power to dicate how it is run or to provide it for anyone....

John David Lewis: Health Care, Why Call it a 'Right'?

(forget where it is from, the article is right on)

Then we have this article:

The Claremont Institute - Is Health Care a Right?