You have choices. I think you are self-employed which puts all the choices in your hands. You can go back to old style insurance and get an indemnity plan where you pay 20% and they pay 80%, you can choose any HMO or PPO you like, or you can become self-insured. You have more options than any other person in America because you are self-employed. Craig White wrote: very small risk pool and is the type of thinking that leaves people declaring bankruptcy from a single event. Craig On Wed, 2008-02-13 at 07:40 -0800, keith smith wrote: > You can become self insured. > > > > Craig White wrote: > On Tue, 2008-02-12 at 21:12 -0700, Jason Hayes wrote: > > On Tuesday 12 February 2008 7:14:33 pm Kristian Erik > Hermansen wrote: > > > > > > +1. For Michale Moore, you could tell he was holding back > to try > > > being "fair and balanced". Health care in the USA is a > joke compared > > > to the UK. You don't believe it? Watch the movie and ask > any of your > > > friends who have had care in both places... > > > > Or you can ask me. I endured the Canadian health care system > for over 30 > > years. To clear things up, it's not the panacea you appear > to think it is. > > The US health care system -- expensive as it may be -- is > light years ahead > > of the Canadian and British systems. > > > > A few quick examples from my own life experience. > > > > 1) I had to wait over 18 months to get a simple, outpatient > operation to fix > > an inguinal hernia in late 2004. The only reason I was > "rushed" in at the 18 > > month mark was that I was to the point where I could barely > function any > > more. If I hadn't pushed the issue, the surgeon's office > would have let me > > sit on the waiting list for my originally scheduled date -- > six months later. > > > > 2) My mother waited over 2 years to get one hip replaced and > has waited over > > two more years to get the other done (four years and still > waiting). > > > > 4) My wife's step-grandfather was diagnosed with prostate > cancer in November > > last year and was told that he will need to wait until June > to get in to see > > the specialist to determine how they will treat his cancer. > Eight months of > > letting the cancer grow before they will even take a first > look at it. > > > > 5) My wife and I lived in Calgary, AB for five years. In > that time, we were > > only able to get our kids into a pediatrician once, after we > were referred by > > another doctor. Additionally, none of the doctors we could > find were taking > > on new patients, so any time we needed health care, we went > to walk-ins > > (urgent care) or the emergency room. > > > > Those are the first few examples that come to mind. If I > needed to, I could > > dig up a lot more. > > > > Regarding your first assertion, Michael Moore doesn't have > the first clue what > > life is like under socialized health care and you don't see > him traveling to > > Cuba for his check ups and surgery, do you? > > > > The simple truth is that people are dying on wait lists in > Canada, Great > > Britain, and France. Worse, they're made to wait like that > after having paid > > 50%+ taxes for their "free" health care. > > > > Don't fall for it. The grass is not greener on the other > side of that fence. > ---- > oh but it is... > > In any of the countries you mention above, you are not subject > to > exclusions for pre-existing conditions, large deductibles, > medical > decisions made by health insurance companies and of course, of > all the > countries mention, this is the only one where people routinely > have to > declare bankruptcy because of the phenomenal costs of health > care, and > this hits both insured and uninsured people. > > Then add to the equation the vast numbers of uninsured, the > percentage > of the nations GDP that is given to the health care industry > (and > rising) and the cost escalations for health care the last 5 > years and > the projected increases in health care costs over the next 5 > years and > it is clearly a system that is deeply broken. > > For every 'horror story' that you list above, there are surely > 10 horror > stories in the American health care system... > > http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-kaiser4may04,0,335770.story?track=tothtml > > Oh yeah, this is a great health care system we have here in > the US... > > Craig > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - > PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > > ------------------------ > Keith Smith > (520) 207-9877 > PHP Programmer > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Looking for last minute shopping deals? 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