health insurance (Fred)

[Susan Kline]

Hi, Fred

I could agree with you if the system which everybody by default belonged to 
was for catastrophic coverage such as you described, and all the daily 
little stuff was either paid for out of pocket, or for the indigent, was 
provided by public clinics, partly government-funded and partly funded 
through private charity. I could especially agree if the universal coverage 
were honestly and thriftily run. What is the chance of that?

Medicare cheating is a huge problem. So are excessive lawsuits and 
settlements. The patchwork of private health insurers, some downright 
rapacious, and the amount of time and money spent on their individual 
paperwork is ruinously expensive and inefficient. And we all know about the 
pricing policies and profit margins of big pharma.

If the machine one is expected to join to keep from taking advantage of the 
public purse is so completely corrupted and broken, and if one, being 
self-employed, will have to get the shortest end of the stick, is one still 
morally obligated to jump right in? I didn't set up this mess! And I don't 
think that most prescription medicines and standard medical practice are 
all that effective. In fact, I think that a lot of what doctors do is 
downright dangerous. I see those ads talking about seniors forced to choose 
between food and medication, and I wish they'd have the sense to buy the 
food and just leave the multiple dubiously-interacting prescriptions in the 
pharmacy. Well, it's their choice, but I know what I would do.

Like you, I am a very light user of medical services, and I try to make 
healthy choices. I think that I am unlikely for the foreseeable future to 
burden the public purse with medical costs. All but the worst eventualities 
I can pay for out of pocket, even though I would be forced to pay the 
inflated prices needed for the huge labor force generating paperwork for 
other people's insurance.

At the very least, the government could mandate standard billing forms. 
Even that would save billions of dollars.

I see your point, but I don't think that this is a black-and-white issue.

The real nightmare for me would be if I were forced to pay 20% of my income 
for medical services I despised, distrusted, and never intended to use.

Susan Kline


>Hi Susan,
>         Nope, not chronically ill. ALmost never seen a doctor. My total 
> health bill  for my entire life is well under $5000. Adult life, under 
> $500. (Dental is another story). However, I do know many, many people who 
> have suddenly found themselves in a health situation: sister-in-law who 
> has had repeated cancerous tumors in bladder and kidney; close friends 
> who have come down with MS; etc. And when I did a cholesterol test last 
> year, on hitting 50, I found that I have real high numbers - very easily 
> could have had a heart attack like a somewhat younger colleague. Very 
> easily could still, though I have done a great deal to avoid that (mostly 
> in the form of aerobic exercise - I was not overweight, nor did I eat 
> unhealthy food).
>         I am very sympathetic (on an emotional level) with the rugged 
> individualist, go it alone philosophy. But as I have grown older, and, I 
> think, wiser, I have realized that there is really no such thing as 
> alone. We are connected whether we want to be or not - and not just on a 
> spiritual level, but in very practical ways. Suppose you are uninsured, 
> and you are the one diagnosed with cancer, completely out of the blue. 
> You end up with easily (very optimistic case scenario) $250,000 in bills. 
> Who pays? Well, first your assets are liquidated. Then family and friends 
> are called on. But in the end, either the hospital absorbs it (meaning we 
> all pay in higher costs), or you are bankrupt and on Medicaid, and we all 
> pay in taxes.
>         IOW, the non-insured route is an irresponsible one. It's like the 
> person who rides the motorcycle without the helmet, saying "Hey, it's my 
> neck that would get broken." But that paraplegic will be a public charge 
> for the rest of his/her life: we all pay.
>         That's where I am coming from. I say we should all pitch in and 
> do it together, rather than this hodge podge system we have (where we end 
> up all paying anyway). The days of the private practice physician are 
> over. You're either in a system, or you're out on the street. Why not a 
> public, non-profit system?
>Regards,
>Fred
>
>
>
>
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