That is what we are led to believe----that if we do not have health insurance, and then get in a car wreck, or get cancer, that it would be a catastrophe. Maybe that assumption is incorrect. Maybe the main catastrophe would be that suddenly the insurance companies would go out of business, and we would get better care.
WHAT IF you saved all the dough you are paying into insurance, and then offered to pay cash for the services that you need, should you have some such emergency? I am meeting more people all the time who find that it is cheaper not to play the game, even when it is surgery and advanced medical care that you need. You can get much better deals on medical services if you work directly with the provider and are willing to pay up front. The inflated rates on medical care are largely due to the insurance companies refusing to pay the whole cost of care. The cost is inflated so that the providers can get paid enough via the insurance system.
=-] Thanks for the kum ba ya offer. I hope that you know that your disagreements with me are welcome; that's how I learn! My positions are carefully considered and yet malleable given new information. I have socialist sympathies sitting right beside my libertarian ones. I am only recently registered Republican, and that was for the purpose of supporting Ron Paul, who is one of the clearest-thinking politicians I have ever encountered. Ultimately I believe he is right about what is happening to our nation and planet, given a broad historical perspective. We humans would be better off for the long run if we'd listen--but we won't because we're having too big of a party.
I think most people here in the US are painfully ignorant about politics and history. Their views on the so-called "healthcare debate" have more to do with fear and indoctrination than with facts or understanding.
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timeasmymeasure
catastrophe
Date: 2009-10-01 07:54 pm (UTC)WHAT IF you saved all the dough you are paying into insurance, and then offered to pay cash for the services that you need, should you have some such emergency? I am meeting more people all the time who find that it is cheaper not to play the game, even when it is surgery and advanced medical care that you need. You can get much better deals on medical services if you work directly with the provider and are willing to pay up front. The inflated rates on medical care are largely due to the insurance companies refusing to pay the whole cost of care. The cost is inflated so that the providers can get paid enough via the insurance system.
=-] Thanks for the kum ba ya offer. I hope that you know that your disagreements with me are welcome; that's how I learn! My positions are carefully considered and yet malleable given new information. I have socialist sympathies sitting right beside my libertarian ones. I am only recently registered Republican, and that was for the purpose of supporting Ron Paul, who is one of the clearest-thinking politicians I have ever encountered. Ultimately I believe he is right about what is happening to our nation and planet, given a broad historical perspective. We humans would be better off for the long run if we'd listen--but we won't because we're having too big of a party.
I think most people here in the US are painfully ignorant about politics and history. Their views on the so-called "healthcare debate" have more to do with fear and indoctrination than with facts or understanding.