My husband i make $100k COMBINED

[jtyangel]

$6500?  A YEAR?

Granted, I pay more than you in property tax, but not nearly enough to justify 13 times my home insurance rates.

yep...my dad lives in south florida--Broward County. Saw the insurance bill myself. He showed it to me and then added that if the screened in back porch was not covered because it would cost an extra 1500 a year(they are well over 10 grand to replace btw--they enclose the pool, porch, etc.--said he'd just let it blow away if another came through). He said the rates increased dramatically after the 2 hurricanes taht swept through a few years back and even more dramatically then they did after Hurricane Andrew in '92. And he's lived there for well over 25 years now so he's well aware of what the rates have been. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen the bill myself. 

And I don't live there now. I was down there over the summer and that's when I got a gander at his insurance premium. 

[Traveshamockery]

While I sincerely applaud you and your husbands financial planning, and the great charity towards your kids that you've shown by paying for their educations.  Considering the rampant inflation, with the price of health care so vastly exceeding inflation... without changes... shivers, I apologize for using that adjective.  It's almost impossible to plan for the unknown expenses of health care... even than, few will have the means.  Even with hundreds of thousands in the bank, and quality health insurance, people are generally still capable of having to declare bankruptcy over medical expenses.  Although I'm not stating that Obama's method of change is what's best...

Oh thanks for that ~ now you've given me something ELSE to worry about.   

I realize that one serious illness could wipe us out.  But we also realize that if we both live good long lives and stay healthy, we'd like to be able to at least live decently. 

Where I get a little angry about the taxes is that if we make the effort to plan ahead and then if we decide to cash everything out and take off in an RV, we would be giving more to the government in terms of capital gains. 

[MrsSmith]

Oh thanks for that ~ now you've given me something ELSE to worry about.   

I realize that one serious illness could wipe us out.  But we also realize that if we both live good long lives and stay healthy, we'd like to be able to at least live decently. 

Where I get a little angry about the taxes is that if we make the effort to plan ahead and then if we decide to cash everything out and take off in an RV, we would be giving more to the government in terms of capital gains. 

Hey, it could be worse.  You could live in Oregon, where they'll refuse to pay for your care, but offer to pay for assisted suicide. 

[LadyLiberty]

If you make 100K you have to have at least one skill that could get you a job at a place that has health insurance.  Walmart is always hiring.

That's right, unless they both happen to work for a small business owner, which I somehow doubt.

They did say that they were (both, I assume) told that "it isn't the law to provide them with health insurance." No employer would outright say that to their employee. They were offered a job, and they accepted it as is, with the benefits, as is. They took it, they have to deal with it, and they sure can.

Instead of looking to the Fed. government to screw something else up, why doesn't this dumbass seek another employer who offers better benefits OR get their priorities straight, which is at least provide health care for their kid. Of COURSE they were turned down for the welfare health care coverage in that state, because they can afford to provide it.

"Can't afford it", my ass. They just don't want to pay it, and then they tried to get the state to pay for their kid because they don't want to do that either.

What a crock.

[JohnnyReb]

$800 a month for just the 2 of them? They must wanT "FULL" coverage.

If I made a $100,000 a year, I'd ask about a $5,000 deductible....for each... and see what that did to the monthly or semi-annual cost. The savings alone would probably cover the $5,000 deductible, if you didn't have a major health problem for the first couple of years.

[Traveshamockery]

I've told the story before, I had a vasectomy, my insurance paid for it, but I got to see the itemized bill.  $25 for Neosporin.  Now, the incisions took one stitch each, the amount of Neosporin applied to them was practically microscopic, but the insurance company gladly reimbursed them 25 bucks for it.  The administrative costs for the hospital to fill out the necessary forms for the government and the insurance companies contribute heavily to these ridiculous prices.

For some reason my husband takes it personally if I use the term "microscopic" in relation to anything in the area where vasectomies are performed.

 

[CactusCarlos]

Are you "too good" to buy less expensive food? 

You unfeeling bastard - don't you know what tofu and organic greens cost these days? 

[Atomic Lib Smasher]

I do believe the health care system in this country is terribly flawed, and I blame the government AND the insurance companies for it.

I've told the story before, I had a vasectomy, my insurance paid for it, but I got to see the itemized bill.  $25 for Neosporin.  Now, the incisions took one stitch each, the amount of Neosporin applied to them was practically microscopic, but the insurance company gladly reimbursed them 25 bucks for it.  The administrative costs for the hospital to fill out the necessary forms for the government and the insurance companies contribute heavily to these ridiculous prices.

Damn, and I thought the itemized bill I had for my last surgery a few years ago was high... they charged me $6 for a box of crappy facial tissue that's in the damn room to begin with.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

lumberjack_jeff  (1000+ posts)     
Tue Oct-14-08 11:18 AM
Response to Original message

25. Insurance wouldn't be nearly as expensive if everyone were covered.

Actually, Lumberjack-off, the opposite is true. The more money you feed into a system the more prices go up.

Mr Snuggle Bunny's Rules of Economics #3: If everyone were a millionaire a loaf of bread would cost $10,000.

Poor people actually keep costs down because producers will lower prices to attract a wider market share. If you start a system of seemingly unlimited money everyone will scramble to get as big a share as possible.

And that isn't necessarily about greed either. If you don't try to gain as much money as your competitor then you cede to your competitor the capital needed for expansion, better help (translation: higher paid, more skilled labor), advertising, new equipment, etc. A business would have to be suicidal to NOT try and claim as much of the money trough as it could in a competitive market.

And don't say you don't want a competitive market, you tool; because we both know if The Chosen One were to say that on TV he would be 20-points down in the polls.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Actually, Lumberjack-off, the opposite is true. The more money you feed into a system the more prices go up.

Mr Snuggle Bunny's Rules of Economics #3: If everyone were a millionaire a loaf of bread would cost $10,000.

Poor people actually keep costs down because producers will lower prices to attract a wider market share. If you start a system of seemingly unlimited money everyone will scramble to get as big a share as possible.

And that isn't necessarily about greed either. If you don't try to gain as much money as your competitor then you cede to your competitor the capital needed for expansion, better help (translation: higher paid, more skilled labor), advertising, new equipment, etc. A business would have to be suicidal to NOT try and claim as much of the money trough as it could in a competitive market.

And don't say you don't want a competitive market, you tool; because we both know if The Chosen One were to say that on TV he would be 20-points down in the polls.

That's why I cringe every time Obama's BS 'Health Plan Contrast' radio ad comes on here, it winds up with three cornerstones o fhis plan after dissing McCain's in various ways that don't completely add up.  One of his cornerstones is 'Control medical costs' and another is 'Recruit doctors and nurses for underserved areas' (both utterly beyond his power to do or even significantly influence as President).   

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

...One of his cornerstones is 'Control medical costs' and another is 'Recruit doctors and nurses for underserved areas' (both utterly beyond his power to do or even significantly influence as President).   

Socialist code-speak for wage and price controls.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Socialist code-speak for wage and price controls.

Wage and price controls have about as much chance of working on the medical profession as BHO's "95%" tax decrease.  They are unbelievably adept at parsing services and labor into an indecipherable tangle, and then modifying protocols to justify entirely new fee structures as soon as insurance companies finally figure out they were billed $10 for an OTC ibuprofen tab.

[JohnnyReb]

Socialist code-speak for wage and price controls.

Also code-speak for more Indian Muslim Doctors.

[DarkHalo]

 When one deducts all the donations to the Obama campaign. Maybe they can't really afford anything

And the necessary donations to DU as well. Do they have stars by their name? lol

[NHSparky]

You unfeeling bastard - don't you know what tofu and organic greens cost these days? 

It's only because "Teh Wun" couldn't get more guys to grow arugula, dontcha know.

[Chris_]

It's only because "Teh Wun" couldn't get more guys to grow arugula, dontcha know.

He should be able to quadruple the growth rate by the laying on of his wholly hands.