Insurance: what a joke!!!!!

[kersh]

The economy is in the crapper, gas prices are at all time highs and people are losing their homes. How did this all come to be? Why does it take two parents working full time just to get by when 30 years ago only one parent had to work while the other could stay home and take care of the kids? Well, I feel that the reason for all of these problems came from the same source...INSURANCE COMPANIES. They have not been around as long as other businesses, but they have had more of a negative impact than big tobacco, alcohol manufacturers, and casinos can ever be blamed for. Where do they get off charging $130.00 a month for auto insurance on 1 car? And making it mandatory to have it? I know people that only make $11.00 an hour and have to pay $200.00+ every two weeks for health insurance that won't even pay for half of the physical ailments a human can have, and what they do cover they try to get out of paying. I went and had two teeth pulled and
I had to pay 50% of it before it was all said and done. So why do I pay for the insurance when I could have put that money back and paid for it all and still came out ahead? The price of health care is so damn expensive that it will run you $400+ for a visit resulting in neosporin and a bandaid. And if you want to work for most companies you have to have it. I wonder what would happen if there was not any insurance how would our economy be then?Because I know that all the money the insurance companies get from us each year is way more than what they fork out in payments. It's a multi-billion dollar industry and the fact of the matter is: as americans we should have a choice as to whether or not to purchase it, but they, over the years, have paid off legislators to make it where you have to have it or pay fines or find a job that doesn't make you use their insurance, which is usually a job that pays minimum wage. The company I work for pays $325.00 a week per employee and we pay $67.00 a week for family insurance that won't cover crap and has a $1000.00 deductible for what it does cover. What if we got that extra $392.00 a week? Couldn't we live more comfortably and be able to put back money to pay our own hospital bills? What does everyone out there think?

[yee-haw]

I think you need to look for some independent health care.
Esecially if you got an ol' lady and youngans...
I can't believe the company you work for makes you pay for their insurance thats ridiculous, I work as a machinist in a sublet of nasa glen, their insurance rates are thru' the roof.
I go indy. myself, you should maybe look into it.

P.s.
You need to ask general septem or ballzack, I'm sure they could give you better advice!

[MrJim]

Go to Canada, Mexico, Australia, or some other socialist country and you won't have to worry about health care... of course, you'll have to give most of your wages to the government and wait in line dying to receive any care, but.. meh...

[General Septem]

After my recent accident I can say that I would be completely boned if it weren't for insurance. It's the kind of thing that you're dead without.

It's also the kind of thing that can be your best friend or your worst enemy if you're not a smart shopper. I don't know a whole lot about insurance, but shop around and compare some deals. Plan ahead. It's a hassle but you will end up regretting it if you don't.

As far as automobile insurance goes I recommend State Farm. They were great. Made everything easy. I'm not sure if it's just the location or if the whole company is like that, but they're the ones I'd go with.

[England Expects]

Go to Canada, Mexico, Australia, or some other socialist country and you won't have to worry about health care... of course, you'll have to give most of your wages to the government and wait in line dying to receive any care, but.. meh...

Or you could just stay in the US, where you can expect to die on a waiting room floor while people just ignore you.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/07/01/hospital.death.ap/index.html

[General Septem]

Or you could just stay in the US, where you can expect to die on a waiting room floor while people just ignore you.

That's funny, I've never had that problem. I could just as well expect that to happen in any country, though. There are no more assholes in the USA than there are anywhere else.

[ballzack]

Agreed.
The world standard is dropping, not just here in America.
Overpopulation, and extended lifespans have put a burden on the health care systems world-wide. Such as they are.

[freakazoid]

Or you could just stay in the US, where you can expect to die on a waiting room floor while people just ignore you.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/07/01/hospital.death.ap/index.html

RE: you won't have to worry about health care"

Neither will you have to worry about that pesky little thing called "freedom" or the other commie "S" word...Self reliance.

[England Expects]

Surely the entire idea of insurance conflicts with the principal of self-reliance and personal responsibility????

Gen has had his accident, but the people who paid the insurance companies are paying for his recovery. Surely in a "free" country, he should not be subsidised by people who are more fortunate than he is?

[ballzack]

Good argument, E.

However, just because a Capitalistic society is into self reward does NOT mean it is without compassion for the fellow man.
And it does not mean that you can not PERSONALLY BUY something for your protection. A Gun, a Pit Bull Terrier, or an Insurance plan.

And, by the simple fact that an Inurance plan is designed for profit in and among itself, it not only works to help the General out now, but it also works to help out the money-grubbing Capitalists like myself who invest in these companies! Oh, the SHAME, the SHAME! But I love it!

[General Septem]

Surely the entire idea of insurance conflicts with the principal of self-reliance and personal responsibility????

Gen has had his accident, but the people who paid the insurance companies are paying for his recovery. Surely in a "free" country, he should not be subsidised by people who are more fortunate than he is?

See, I have health insurance too. The difference is, it's not a government institution. I can shop for the best plan. I wouldn't trust any other company to hold a monopoly on insurance, I sure as hell wouldn't trust the government to.

Personal responsibility means being prepared, even if it means paying someone else to do something that you cannot easily do yourself. The problem with having the government do everything is that they also have the power to throw you in jail.

[England Expects]

The prevailing argument before was that people didn't want their tax $$ wasted helping those who were worse off.

Any time you buy any kind of insurance, thats what you do. It's collectivism, plain and simple. Almost Stalinist in a way.

Zack says he can make money from health insurers. I'd rather potential profits go to providing better care, rather than having providers cut corners to improve shareholder dividends.

[freakazoid]

Surely the entire idea of insurance conflicts with the principal of self-reliance and personal responsibility????

Gen has had his accident, but the people who paid the insurance companies are paying for his recovery. Surely in a "free" country, he should not be subsidised by people who are more fortunate than he is?


RE: "Surely the entire idea of insurance conflicts with the principal of self-reliance and personal responsibility????"

Buying insurance and paying for it yourself IS self reliance, euro-trash. Duh!!!!!!

[England Expects]

Not really. Paying insurance premiums is like buying membership of a collective that will support you if you need help.

Self-reliance would be to pay those premiums into a savings account specifically for the purpose of relying on yourself.

[General Septem]

Self-reliance would be to pay those premiums into a savings account specifically for the purpose of relying on yourself.

Which is also something anyone smart should do, in case they get fired or the SHTF.

[MrJim]

And, by the simple fact that an Inurance plan is designed for profit in and among itself, it not only works to help the General out now, but it also works to help out the money-grubbing Capitalists like myself who invest in these companies! Oh, the SHAME, the SHAME! But I love it!

Don't forget... Insurance companies crashed HUGE during the 80's.

[WhiteRaven]

"Paying insurance premiums is like buying membership of a collective that will support you if you need help."

Yes, but that's not exactly the opposite of self reliance. You're still paying for it after all. here, is an example of not being self reliant:

"ROAR!!!! THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PAY FOR ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING SO EVERYONE CAN JUST SIT ON THEIR ASSES!!!!!!1111ONEONEONEONEONEONEONEoneoneoneoneon eeleventy-thousandelevenhundredeleven"