Check the stock prices of publicly traded insurance companies like Aetna, UnitedHealth, Humana, and WellPoint.
Oh, Canada
I have had the pleasure of working with some Canadian surveyors in the past.
Years ago, one of my Canadian colleagues and I both needed emergency gall bladder surgery. In a small town in Ohio I got laporoscopic surgery on a Saturday morning and walked out of the hospital at noon the next day in my street clothes. My Canadian colleague, although in Toronto at the time, got the 1920's era eight inch incision and was out of circulation for several weeks. That was due to the fact that there no 'scopes available at the time in Toronto.
Another Canadian had been transferred to Dallas, and had some health problems there. He complained loudly that he had $5000 in of out of pocket expenses which would have been covered completely in Canada. First he was asked if his medical care in Texas was good.
"First rate" was his reply. Then he was asked what his income and sales taxes would have been in Canada compared to the same in Texas. After some thought, he said: "well, at least $5000 more in Canada". True stories. Make what you will of them.
Brad, my friend
"But keeping a business alive and going is more serious and no matter how one considers this healthcare deal you've got to stay on top of it and be prepared if possible. Figure out what's real and deal with it!"
You are exactly right, Mr. Day.
With respect,
Don
Oh, Canada
Antecdotal silliness.
Don
Oh, Canada
> Antecdotal silliness.
>
> Don
Thanks for your kind and insightful comment.
Never worked with Canadians, eh?
Then you live in an anecdote free zone. You have my sympathy.
Have a great evening.
Oh, Canada
As a Canadian I can verify that this is true.
Except - there was this one time back in 1975 when I was in Ms. Goldring's second grade class....
Here is the article I read about the costs going up:
I read another article in Forbes that says the Aetna CEO is just posturing and costs aren't going up that much, so don't buy into the scare tactics.
Time will tell.
At least here in Maryland, the card is certainly Not "carte blanche". Health care is restricted to the most basic available. No referrals to specialists. Nothing more than a very basic cleaning at the dentist.
Wandering into an emergency room may be different, have not done that. I do have neighbors with serious health issues who are being hounded on a regular basis due to the system not being "carte blanche".....
Back when I was solo I had a major medical policy for our family of four (2 young children, wife, myself). It was affordable 100-200/month if I recall. Deductable was 10k or so, but it would save from bankruptcy in the case of a catostrophic accident or illness. Late 1990's NY passed a law requiring insurance companies to accept those with preexisting conditions. All the companies with these type policies moved out of state (mine was mutual of omaha) and the insurance became unavailable in NY.
Did not have any insurance for a few years until I took a teaching job. But the thing is, your concerns are not new, the phenomenon is not new. Costs have been going through the roof for decades. For instance, here is an article from 2009 detailing the cost rise for the previous decade (131% v. 28% inflation) and projecting ahead a decade (161%).
http://business.time.com/2009/09/16/health-insurance-premiums-up-131-in-last-ten-years/
Businesses have been forced to adjust to the market for health care for a long time. There has already been a huge shift to part time workers instead of full time. From a 2012 msnbc article: "No one has collected detailed data on part-time workers at the nation's major retailers. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that the retail and wholesale sector, with a total of 18.6 million jobs, has cut a million full-time jobs since 2006, while adding more than 500,000 part-time jobs."
Businesses will certainly have to adjust to the new law just as they have always done in the past. Only time will tell if this new approach, or something that stems from it, can eventually improve the system. But it certainly was not working well before.
People are simply too costly and inefficient in todays technological world. But I would encourage the wife to continue working until it becomes a wash, and maybe even beyond that. Othewise the honeydo list gets too long and cuts into my paying work.
IT IS SO NICE . . .
When we can talk about such an issue and basically keep the "politics", on the far side of the Maypole.
BUT . . .
I'm very curious of how many surveyors who run businesses have more than 5 or so employees.
I'll assume that we are the epitomy(sp), of what a "small" business really is.
Solo Health Insurance Cost !Awesom Thread!
Thank you gentlemen. This is the sort of discussion that this board is meant for.
Some opinions, some fact, lots of interest but no politics.
My wife and I are without health insurance. Does not fit into the current budget. I am concerned about where the new system will take us. Neither one of us can stay healthy forever, can we?
I will follow this thread or another one like it with gusto.
Thanks, again.
JA, PLS SoCal
Solo Health Insurance Cost !Awesom Thread!
Anybody thinking their health insurance is going to be cheaper now, is dreaming!
Probably not...
"Neither one of us can stay healthy forever, can we?"
It is currently estimated that the average baby boomer will need $250,000 of investments to fund health insurance during their retirement. Subtract that from your total investments and see what's left...
Probably not...
Keep some cash in the sock. If large medical bills are faced, then, since pr-existing conditions are covered by this law, spend what is in the sock for the needed insurance. When no longer a problem, drop the insurance and refill the sock. I think that the only way for anyone to come out is to just ride the wave, take full advantage at every opportunity and learn a foreign language.
jud
Solo Health Insurance Cost !Awesom Thread!
Yea and they will get what they vote for.
Oh, Canada
Gee, and our State run news outlets make us believe that the Canadian system is the best in the world and we should be the same!
Solo Health Insurance Cost !Awesom Thread!
I have difficulty thinking of anything bougt in quantity that doesn't have a lower unit price.
Solo Health Insurance Cost !Awesom Thread!
We shall see!
> I have no insurance plan. One of my employees cut his hand last summer while I was on the job site and required medical attention. I had another employee drive him into town and said "Do not go to the emergency room, go to the clinic", so of course, they went to the emergency room. $1100 for 5 stiches. I went to the hospital to settle the bill and asked if they gave a discount for cash since we had no insurance. Long story short, $1100 with insurance, $487 without. You do the math. Maybe the hospitals are as much to blame as the insurance companies.
>
> Bruce
Bruce,
The difference is the overhead to bill the insurance company and the time delay to get paid. If you do a $500 dollar job and know you will not be paid until the doctor and another employee invest total of 3 to 5 hours filling in forms (hard copy or online) you add the 5 hours as overhead. Then knowing that the system may take 60 days to process and question your bill, and likely will contest the details (another 30 min of doctor time and 1.5 hours of administrative time) you add overhead for 60 days interest on the $500 as well as on the overhead hours. Doctors and hospitals keep track of the overhead and interest on borrowed money. They roll these costs into the bill if they know insurance is involved.
Innovation and new business models might make a dent in this mess:
Somebody better do something for sure.
