But, They Want Me Dead

[Joanne98]

There is one obvious advantage to our system of employer-provided health care. Working people are our healthiest people. They have the strongest immune systems, for one thing. It isn't until people reach near-retirement age that any significant percentage of working people are in need of expensive health care. And, obviously, this means that tens of millions of working people would probably gamble on their continued good health throughout their twenties, thirties, and even forties before deciding that insurance was a good investment if they didn't receive health insurance as part of their basic compensation package.
By pulling tens of millions of healthy people into the pool of the insured, it makes it possible to offer somewhat reasonable rates to people who are entering the high-risk categories in older age. Millions of people benefit when they get sick because they have insurance they would not have bought on the free market with their own disposable income.

That's the good part. The bad part is that you are probably insured by a corporation whose first reaction to you making a claim is to seek any and all rationales to deny you coverage. Maybe you made an error when you filled out your paperwork. If you did, your premium payments may turn out to have been completely in vain. Wouldn't be nice to have a law that says that any insurance company that has accepted your monthly premium payments must refund that money if they ultimately rule that you were never eligible for insurance in the first place?

The truth is that you pay money for health insurance but your insurer doesn't want to pay for your health care if you actually require it. They want your premium payment, but they don't want to give you anything in return for it. They have armies of bureaucrats whose entire reason for being is to deny you coverage. They stand between you and your doctor, seeking to kill you rather than prolong your life at their expense.

Is that something you want to pay for? Why would you want to pay for that? I have no health insurance because I cannot afford it. And I sure as hell don't want to take what little money I have and give it to someone who would rather see my die quickly than present a drain on their coffers. I think everyone feels similarly.

I do not see any reason for health care to be something that is insured. I should pay for my health care while I am working so that I don't have to worry about it when I retire. I should have health care coverage, not insurance. Other than those few that die suddenly, all of us get ill and decline and require expensive care. Why insure against a near certainty? It doesn't even make sense. I might as well buy insurance against the Sun rising in the East tomorrow. I know it will happen eventually, why would anyone bet against it?

It simply doesn't make any sense to have a system of for-profit employer-based heath insurance. Employers shouldn't be responsible for the health care of their employees, and we shouldn't be forced to buy insurance against the inevitable from people that want us to die much more than they want to pay our claims.

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http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2009/7/11/03922/0400

[truedelphi]

1. I am afraid that when historians look back at this time in our history

They will see that there was a "silent holocaust" on those aged 45 and up.

Hard to be healthy in that age group. Oh our parents were able to be healthy - they grew up eating organic foods, as pesticides did not come into play until after WWII.

But those of us that are over fifty, we grew up on white bread and pesticide-laden groceries. Worked our earlier years in rooms contaminated by second hand smoke. The smokers eventually were made to stop, but though the smoke is gone, the copy machine toner, Febreeze and Lysols from the midnight cleaning people cause near epidemic lung diseases.

By the time a person is in their late forties, it is difficult to be healthy. And without the added zest, it is difficult to stay employed. Worse yet, once downsized, you will probably never see employment opportunities as ripe as they were previously.

The high premiums demanded by insurance companies of the employers mean the employers do not want you either. The employer cannot afford to pay the premium on your ass, so they will hire a younger person.

Thus you end up without much to rely in terms of health insurance.

You are unemployed (or underemployed) and without the care of a physician, and without any insurance.

[slipslidingaway]

2. knr nt