Health Insurance

[Mirage]

Personally I wouldn't even get in my car if I didn't have health insurance, but more and more people nowadays are skipping out on this once "necessity" of life.

This is not meant to offend people who do not have health insurance, but instead at least try to convince you to get it.

A lot of people who don't have it do so to save money. What good is $150 a month if you are healthy? Well what if you get in a car accident and require surgery? You will still get the surgery, but not the top priority, and in many cases if you can't afford to pay for it, they know, and will be hesitant to do anything extra for you.

Anybody ever seen the movie John Q with Denzel Washington? I think it's a great movie and it definitely promotes having health insurance at all costs. If it means getting a second job a few days a month I think it is more than worth the alternative route.

 

[Blueyes]

I do have to say though if my job did not offer health insurance I would NOT be paying for it on my own because it is way too freaking expensive and thankfully looking back on things now I'm not a sickly person.

 

[Bananas]

I don't (......but then we have State provided health care.)

When I am older and I start to feel the pains of life a little more, if I can afford it I will probably consider getting private healthcare insurance just for the small convenience it provides.

 

[Swiftstrike]

I have health insurance.

However it is a crappy HSA and I dont get a deductible until I spend 2000 on medical expenses.

Luckily my company is covering the first $1500 on a personal account.

But most people that dont have insurance simply are not offered it or the coverage is limited or they cant afford it.

I dont like the shift with HSAs and 401ks in recent years. It puts more of the burden on the working individual than on the company. So even if the average middle-class American's salary is higher than say a decade ago the dollar is worth less and the taxpayer is more liable for medical and retirement.

I think company's need to be held more accountable they certainly earn enough.

 

[Merc]

I live in MA so they forced us all to get it (an absolutely ridiculous idea by the way).

 

[Jeanie]

Wow, this is a really old thread but I'm glad it got bumped.

No, I don't have health insurance. I can't afford it. I have nothing left after I pay all my monthly expenses. Nor is it an option for me to get a second job a few days a month, because then I'd have to pay that much more in day care and I'd have no time with my daughter.

Hybrix, no offense but your position is a little naive. It's not as simple as getting another job so you can afford it.

Furthermore, those of you who do have health insurance are not as secure as you'd like to think you are. If you have an illness whose cure is considered to be "experimental" by your insurance company, they won't pay for it. Or you could get stuck with the bill for an ambulace ride if your insurance company decides you should have gotten prior approval, even if you were unconscious at the time the ambulance was needed. Or maybe the closest hospital to you isn't one where your insurance company will approve treatement, so you have to drive across town to the hospital your insurance company approves, but by the time you reach that hospital it may be too late.

All of the above stories happened to real people and are documented in the film Sicko. In two of those cases, the patient died even though they had insurance.

Don't kid yourself. For-profit insurance and health care isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Then there are the people who have been turned down by insurance companies because of a pre-existing condition...

 

[Merc]

Ehh . . Michael Moore, king of the hot dogs . .

I wouldn't call him very reliable, but it is true that forcing health insurance onto people is not a great idea and doesn't guarantee life-saving care.

 

[Jeanie]

I wish people could get past the fact that the movie was made by Michael Moore. The information is the same regardless of whose name is attached to the film.

Lack of insurance is something that hangs over my head every day like a dark cloud. Every little lump or bump, every pain, sends me into a panic because if something happened to me, say if I needed an operation or emergency care, I'd be in debt for the rest of my life. I'd be completely screwed, through no fault of my own.

 

[Merc]

Would you watch a film on abortion by Anne Coulter and be able to ignore the fact that she made it? I know I couldn't. Moore is just extremely biased, plain and simple. I just don't like extremeists because basically extremeism=narrow mind. Not to mention, it's very easy to spin some of these stories.

I really wish I could give an intelligent suggestion for health insurance because people really need it, but since I live in MA, I can tell you that a really bad idea is to require it.

 

[Hi_Im_Tim]

I have it, but I have a $1000 deductible on my plan.