Im Sick Of This! "I Cannot Afford Health Insurance"

[ItsTime]

I just into a heated debate about health care with one of my fiacees friends. She was saying all the typical talking points and then at the end of the discussion she said "well I just cant afford health insurance".

I asked her well how much a month is it for you? Youre young and healthy it cant be that much. She did not know how much. She had never looked into it.

Then I said well I bet it is not as expensive as your trip to Hawaii or your 2 trips to North Carolina or your trip to Florida that you took this year.

That about ended the debate. Im just sick of these people coming out of college expecting me to pay for their crap!

[TCE]

I just into a heated debate about health care with one of my fiacees friends. She was saying all the typical talking points and then at the end of the discussion she said "well I just cant afford health insurance".

I asked her well how much a month is it for you? Youre young and healthy it cant be that much. She did not know how much. She had never looked into it.

Then I said well I bet it is not as expensive as your trip to Hawaii or your 2 trips to North Carolina or your trip to Florida that you took this year.

That about ended the debate. Im just sick of these people coming out of college expecting me to pay for their crap!

College teaches students that the government is responsible for evening the playing field. If Bill Gates has something, theoretically, I should be entitled to it too. However, Gates won't voluntarily give it to me, so the government has the duty of forcing him to give up his wealth for the greater good.

It is sad that I am actually paying for this "information."

[Bman]

Im just sick of these people coming out of college expecting me to pay for their crap!

I didn't come out of college thinking such. I just decided I wasn't concerned about purchasing health care when I was in my 20's.

[Bman]

College teaches students that the government is responsible for evening the playing field.

What? The faculty advisor to my fraternity, who taught American government at my college was far from left.

[TCE]

What? The faculty advisor to my fraternity, who taught American government at my college was far from left.

All of my professors are far from Right. In fact, I have yet to have a professor who is not a far left liberal. I am one semester in and I have two projects on global warming, ten pages each, from different professors. And no, unfortunately, I can't use one paper for both classes.

[Bman]

All of my professors are far from Right. In fact, I have yet to have a professor who is not a far left liberal. I am one semester in and I have two projects on global warming, ten pages each, from different professors. And no, unfortunately, I can't use one paper for both classes.

These are for classes that teach government?

[brandon]

My insurance costs $60/month. About the same as a tank of gas....

[DirtMcGirt]

Ive lived in three states the past three years and my insurance has varied from 68 to 78 dollars a month. No pre-existing conditions and the companies have been Aetna and Blue shield.

I had the same discussion with my health care wanting friend and she said "whoa, I didn't know you could get it for that price."

These people haven't even tried to f'n look for insurance.

[Bman]

My insurance costs $60/month. About the same as a tank of gas....

Hmmmm.. about the same cost as a cell phone. I bet most people who cannot afford heath insurance have and can afford cell phones.

[ItsTime]

Hmmmm.. about the same cost as a cell phone. I bet most people who cannot afford heath insurance have and can afford cell phones.

Or go to Dunkin Donuts/Starbucks every morning for coffee.

[Bman]

Or go to Dunkin Donuts/Starbucks every morning for coffee.

Yeah, I wonder has anyone done an actual survey to really how many people truly cannot afford health insurance? For some reason I see that 40 million number dropping like a bag of bricks.

[ItsTime]

Yeah, I wonder has anyone done an actual survey to really how many people truly cannot afford health insurance? For some readon I see that 40 million number dropping like a bag of bricks.

Without a doubt.

[Bruno]

I had the same discussion with my health care wanting friend and she said "whoa, I didn't know you could get it for that price. I thought I had to give up my freedom so government could make choices for me in order to get it"



mine in bold. :D

[Cowlesy]

Someone made a point that and said "Well I just can't afford it. So GIVE IT TO ME" --- you kind of validated that person's point.

gimme gimme!

[anaconda]

I just into a heated debate about health care with one of my fiacees friends. She was saying all the typical talking points and then at the end of the discussion she said "well I just cant afford health insurance".

I asked her well how much a month is it for you? Youre young and healthy it cant be that much. She did not know how much. She had never looked into it.

Then I said well I bet it is not as expensive as your trip to Hawaii or your 2 trips to North Carolina or your trip to Florida that you took this year.

That about ended the debate. Im just sick of these people coming out of college expecting me to pay for their crap!

I'm relatively healthy and no one would insure me because I answered the questions honestly on the application. I was lucky to get on a group plan recently through my domestic partner and I pay nothing for it, except $5 per doctor visit. Otherwise I would be screwed.

[Chester Copperpot]

hey you guys with the $60 a month health insurance.. can one of you pm me some info? I mean I live in NJ and its crazy here, but id like to see if i can use whatever company you guys are using and see if i can get a love connection.. ya know? much appreciated.. but pm me, because i doubt ill find this thread again

[dannno]

Healthcare is too expensive because of government.

If government wasn't involved in healthcare, then there would be affordable OPTIONS for everyone.

My roommate had leukemia and it cost $2.5 million for chemo... There are alternative treatments for cancer that are effective which cost less than a few hundred dollars... yet everyone who gets cancer MUST get chemo and spend $2.5 million.. That is why healthcare is expensive..

If people were trying different options for things like cancer we might find a safer and more effective cure that anybody could afford.

[dannno]

hey you guys with the $60 a month health insurance.. can one of you pm me some info? I mean I live in NJ and its crazy here, but id like to see if i can use whatever company you guys are using and see if i can get a love connection.. ya know? much appreciated.. but pm me, because i doubt ill find this thread again


www.ehealthinsurance.com

Compare, contrast, and price different plans from different carriers.

They are who I got my health insurance from between college and job and between jobs last time as well.. only had it for a few weeks. I was paying less than $60/mo, but they had much cheaper plans for catastrophic coverage that I probably shoulda gone with, but I had it for such a short time that I decided to get more insurance just in case (especially since I had no income in sight IF i got sick)

[DirtMcGirt]

hey you guys with the $60 a month health insurance.. can one of you pm me some info? I mean I live in NJ and its crazy here, but id like to see if i can use whatever company you guys are using and see if i can get a love connection.. ya know? much appreciated.. but pm me, because i doubt ill find this thread again

http://myinsuranceexpert.com/

I PM'd you the address. These guys were very helpful and speedy in getting back to me.
Took me all of 20 minutes for them to get me the right plan.

[Ninja Homer]

I'm sick of people that cry about the cost of health insurance when they're really referring to full health coverage. High deductible health insurance is usually pretty reasonable.

[ShowMeLiberty]

I'm sick of people that cry about the cost of health insurance when they're really referring to full health coverage. High deductible health insurance is usually pretty reasonable.

Yeah, if you're a youngster. Wait till you hit the big 4-0.

Two people, over 40, no pre-existings: $280 per month on a high deductible plan that covers very little.

I do not want government run health care but things do need to change.

[Knightskye]

She doesn't know how much it costs, but knows she "can't afford it." Hmm.

[fahayek]

Yeah, if you're a youngster. Wait till you hit the big 4-0.

Two people, over 40, no pre-existings: $280 per month on a high deductible plan that covers very little.

I do not want government run health care but things do need to change.

That's what my wife and I pay for car insurance.

[mamakar]

A bumper sticker read:
If you think health care is expensive now, wait till its free

[LittleLightShining]

Healthcare is too expensive because of government.

If government wasn't involved in healthcare, then there would be affordable OPTIONS for everyone.

My roommate had leukemia and it cost $2.5 million for chemo... There are alternative treatments for cancer that are effective which cost less than a few hundred dollars... yet everyone who gets cancer MUST get chemo and spend $2.5 million.. That is why healthcare is expensive..

If people were trying different options for things like cancer we might find a safer and more effective cure that anybody could afford.THIS.

As an aside, I could not afford private health insurance. VT did a great job of over-regulating insurance companies until only 2 remain-- Blue Cross and MVP. Coverage for my family of 5 would have been $1200/mo.

There are a number of state programs which we've utilized since having our first child because regular insurance wasn't an option for us. Personally, I'm really conflicted about the whole issue because on the one hand it's not my right to anyone else's labor-- I fully understand that. However, because of the govt regulations reality dictates that we use whatever coverage we can get that we can afford-- which happen to be state programs. Vermonters cannot get coverage from out of state companies.

Now that said, the state run programs we've been on over the years are really good, well run programs with benefits that make sense. The premiums are on a sliding scale. Realistically the premiums for the kids should be much higher than they are for our income bracket. 3 kids with full health and dental costs me $40/mo.

The kids are on the Dr. Dynasaur Program which includes Vermonters who are under age 18 and ineligible for the (children's) Traditional Medicaid program with family incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Between my 2nd and 3rd children we earned too much to qualify for the adult program (Vermont Health Access Plan (VHAP)) that we were on. We still could not afford to get private insurance so we went without. Then I became pregnant with my 3rd. We went looking for insurance but it was too late. I could pay the $1200/mo for all of us and not get prenatal care because it was a pre-existing condition or just skip it. So that's what we did. We paid cash for our kid and my prenatal stuff. (btw we looked into HSA's but the monthly premium was close to $600 for a $10k deductible.)

Now the state has come up with a new adult program, Catamount Health, which provides coverage for adults who make a little more money than what VHAP covers. The premium is on a sliding scale and our rate is near the top end of that. The coverage isn't as good as it was when we had VHAP and from what I understand they haven't enrolled as many healthy, young people as they had expected to so the premiums will end up being substantially more expensive for less services.

I'm telling you guys all this because I think this is the direction we're gonna see the federal system go. All of the programs except for the Catamount Program are the brain children of Howard Dean whose administration is responsible for the hemorrhage of at least 6 insurance companies from VT. Our governor has had a few meetings with Obama to discuss the Catamount program which was created under Douglas' Republican administration.

If you want to see what programs the state of VT offers look here: http://www.greenmountaincare.org/about/green_mountain_care_programs.html#vhap

The crazy thing is that there are people here who are still not satisfied and they are pushing single-payer for the next legislative session-- even while the feds are debating all of this. Honestly it makes no sense to me.

eta:


Yeah, if you're a youngster. Wait till you hit the big 4-0.

Two people, over 40, no pre-existings: $280 per month on a high deductible plan that covers very little.

I do not want government run health care but things do need to change.This is what we pay now for our Catamount coverage.

Also eta: I know this is probably going to change how some of you regard me. I wish I could afford private health insurance and I'd rather not be on the state dole but I don't see any other way.

[ShowMeLiberty]

THIS.

As an aside, I could not afford private health insurance. VT did a great job of over-regulating insurance companies until only 2 remain-- Blue Cross and MVP. Coverage for my family of 5 would have been $1200/mo.

There are a number of state programs which we've utilized since having our first child because regular insurance wasn't an option for us. Personally, I'm really conflicted about the whole issue because on the one hand it's not my right to anyone else's labor-- I fully understand that. However, because of the govt regulations reality dictates that we use whatever coverage we can get that we can afford-- which happen to be state programs. Vermonters cannot get coverage from out of state companies.

Now that said, the state run programs we've been on over the years are really good, well run programs with benefits that make sense. The premiums are on a sliding scale. Realistically the premiums for the kids should be much higher than they are for our income bracket. 3 kids with full health and dental costs me $40/mo.

The kids are on the Dr. Dynasaur Program which includes Vermonters who are under age 18 and ineligible for the (children's) Traditional Medicaid program with family incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

Between my 2nd and 3rd children we earned too much to qualify for the adult program (Vermont Health Access Plan (VHAP)) that we were on. We still could not afford to get private insurance so we went without. Then I became pregnant with my 3rd. We went looking for insurance but it was too late. I could pay the $1200/mo for all of us and not get prenatal care because it was a pre-existing condition or just skip it. So that's what we did. We paid cash for our kid and my prenatal stuff. (btw we looked into HSA's but the monthly premium was close to $600 for a $10k deductible.)

Now the state has come up with a new adult program, Catamount Health, which provides coverage for adults who make a little more money than what VHAP covers. The premium is on a sliding scale and our rate is near the top end of that. The coverage isn't as good as it was when we had VHAP and from what I understand they haven't enrolled as many healthy, young people as they had expected to so the premiums will end up being substantially more expensive for less services.

I'm telling you guys all this because I think this is the direction we're gonna see the federal system go. All of the programs except for the Catamount Program are the brain children of Howard Dean whose administration is responsible for the hemorrhage of at least 6 insurance companies from VT. Our governor has had a few meetings with Obama to discuss the Catamount program which was created under Douglas' Republican administration.

If you want to see what programs the state of VT offers look here: http://www.greenmountaincare.org/about/green_mountain_care_programs.html#vhap

The crazy thing is that there are people here who are still not satisfied and they are pushing single-payer for the next legislative session-- even while the feds are debating all of this. Honestly it makes no sense to me.

eta:

This is what we pay now for our Catamount coverage.

Also eta: I know this is probably going to change how some of you regard me. I wish I could afford private health insurance and I'd rather not be on the state dole but I don't see any other way.

This doesn't change my regard for you one bit, LLS. You've been squeezed into the same corner a lot of us will probably find ourselves in once the federal gov't "reforms" health care on a national scale.

You have to take care of your family as best you can. In the real world that sometimes means having to do things that go against your political principles.

At least you are trying to do something about the system that forced you into that corner. I'll save my low regard for the people who do nothing and/or think they have a right to whatever they can get from the gov't.

[LittleLightShining]

This doesn't change my regard for you one bit, LLS. You've been squeezed into the same corner a lot of us will probably find ourselves in once the federal gov't "reforms" health care on a national scale.

You have to take care of your family as best you can. In the real world that sometimes means having to do things that go against your political principles.

At least you are trying to do something about the system that forced you into that corner. I'll save my low regard for the people who do nothing and/or think they have a right to whatever they can get from the gov't.Thanks :o

The part I bolded is exactly the point I was trying to make.

[Isaac Bickerstaff]

60 dollar health insurance is a RIP OFF!! It does not matter what reason you have for going to the doctor or what deductible the policy has; you are NOT covered.

I fell into the trap of "$60 health insurance" once. When I was working construction, I separated my shoulder, I even asked my agent specifically what would be covered. He told me that my policy was designed exactly for my situation. When I finally got my shoulder worked on--according to what my agent advised me to do--I was repeatedly denied.

I added up all the money I had paid into my insurance, and it was less than what my total bill for my shoulder was. When I confronted my agent he told me that eventually I would grow up and get a job that had insurance benefits. He said he just didn't want to sell me an expensive plan because I was young and self-employed.
(I finally did get reimbursed when I drove to their corporate headquarters and called them out face to face)

That was ten years ago and I am still not working for anyone else. I can more than afford "decent" health coverage now for my family but I will not. Insurance is gambling. The house ALWAYS wins. At least you $60 people are not being taken by the $600 or $1200 version of the scam. $60 a month is a relatively cheap education, but it will still sting when reality come crashing down on you.

Why the hell would you pay someone who has shitloads more money than you to tell you that you are not covered? If you are trying to get by inexpensively, they know that you don't have the resources to go after them for their crap.

Sixty dollar health insurance . . . [shakes head]

[Time for Change]

I too am sick of the people crying for a COMPLETELY free ride.
What really gets me is a neighbor of mine, who is carrying 2,400 /mo house pmt, 1,400 /mo for one car and one truck, travel trailers on the side of the house, expensive lawn maintenance contracts, a pool boy, plenty of bling, always have a cup of starbucks, trendy clothes, bigscreens, the latest and greatest computers, eat out 4 nights a week, etc complain about NOT being able to afford insurance.
“God, everything is so expensive”

Yes, it is expensive, but they are fully capable of paying for insurance if they want to.
They just do not want to accept the fact that they do not make enough money to support the lifestyle they want.

No amount of reason can reach these people either...it is just sad.

[specsaregood]

College teaches students that the government is responsible for evening the playing field.
My Business Law professor said, "95% of the laws passed are unconstitutional and passed due to a bullshit interpretation of the interstate commerce clause".
Yeah, he didn't fit that "leftist" mold.


My insurance costs $60/month. About the same as a tank of gas....
Here in NJ the cheapest I can find is about $190/month. One state over in PA, the same search criteria comes up $90/month. NJ has has minimum price laws on insurance, the insurance companies are forbidden from competing on price. So screw them.

[libertarian4321]

My insurance costs $60/month. About the same as a tank of gas....

If your health insurance is $60 a month, you must be very young, single, and healthy, or have very minimal coverage.

A better estimate is to look at what you'd pay for a company provided group health plan. Before I retired, I was paying about $120 a month for at a group plan rate for single coverage. On top of that, my company was tossing in $480 a month- so that was $600/month for health coverage (and that was 3 years ago, I'm sure it's significantly higher now).

This was for a large company with more than 10,000 employees (large companies get lower rates than small companies or individuals).

The point is, health insurance is NOT CHEAP unless you are very young, single, and in perfect health- we don't further our cause by pretending that the average person can get decent health coverage for $60/month or some such absurd number, because they can't.

The health system in this country is a mess- a mish mash of government and private care. We won't win by pretending everything is fine when most people know it is not.

We need to convince people that a truly free market system (we sure as Hell don't have that now) is a better answer than a government program, but don't blow smoke up their asses and try to make them believe what we have now is great.

[werdd]

Tell them to think of it this way.

If you are like an average person in america then you pay ~4k USD every year to the federal government in income tax every april 15. Do you think you could afford healthcare if there was no income tax?

[ashura]

If your health insurance is $60 a month, you must be very young, single, and healthy, or have very minimal coverage.

A better estimate is to look at what you'd pay for a company provided group health plan. Before I retired, I was paying about $120 a month for at a group plan rate for single coverage. On top of that, my company was tossing in $480 a month- so that was $600/month for health coverage (and that was 3 years ago, I'm sure it's significantly higher now).

This was for a large company with more than 10,000 employees (large companies get lower rates than small companies or individuals).

The point is, health insurance is NOT CHEAP unless you are very young, single, and in perfect health- we don't further our cause by pretending that the average person can get decent health coverage for $60/month or some such absurd number, because they can't.

The health system in this country is a mess- a mish mash of government and private care. We won't win by pretending everything is fine when most people know it is not.

We need to convince people that a truly free market system (we sure as Hell don't have that now) is a better answer than a government program, but don't blow smoke up their asses and try to make them believe what we have now is great.

But what makes health care expensive in your example isn't age, marital status or coverage. It's the fact that you're in a company provided, one-size-fits-all model which totally separates the consumer from the product. Covering the health of 10,000 individuals with different individual needs is insanity and leads to higher costs. Would switching to purely individual driven health care lead to $60/month for everyone? No. But it would sure as hell be a lot cheaper than $600.

And that's leaving aside the other argument that insurance should be just that, insurance, and basic health needs should be paid for out of pocket.

[MelissaWV]

I can't believe no one has mentioned this to Ms. "Cannot Afford it":

Under proposed bills, if you "cannot afford it" but the Government thinks you can, they'll slap you with a fine. Can you afford that? Too bad.

* * *

Personally, heath insurance is $200/mo. I have a damned good plan, though, and I need it :) $200 would be about what one visit costs at the doctor I frequent. I've been to four doctor visits this month, two labs, etc., and have gotten three prescriptions filled. People who can't afford the insurance also can't afford to get sick, really, in most cases. They'll find it can happen to them whether or not they're ready for it.

It's the first time in a decade I've had health insurance. I made "too much" money to qualify for the clinics in my area before, even though I was hauling in a whopping $9-$15/hour (depending on which job I was at). My husband didn't work very often. There was no "employer health plan". I've got a great deal of catching up to do, and it's my own fault, hence I'm paying for it. I'm unsure why it is that so many people (out there in the realm of the "general public") think that's silly.

[gls]

I've been without health insurance for a while now and finally did some research to see what it would cost. The cheapest plan I could find had a $20,000 deductible and would cost me, a single 26 year old non-smoking male, $84 a month. I work for a very small business that doesn't offer a plan. Technically I can "afford" it but my budget is stretched pretty thin already, so I don't see the point in paying that much for something that there is a 99.5% chance I'll never need.

Besides, if I ever require major medical care it will likely be as a result of a car accident, which is covered up to $400K through my auto policy with only a $500 deductible.