Tough Choices for Self Employed

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am on Cobra right now for my wife and I. It runs out in Sep and I will rely on my VA and her on a major Med policy, hopefully.

My Cobra is 1475.00 dollars per month for my wife and I. That is what it costs my company to have insurance for Self +1.

Medical costs are projected to triple in the next few years. It is very likely that the cost of insurance is going to cost over 1k per person to cover someone in the National Health Care Pool.

So how many uninsured people could afford to plunk down 3500 K + per month for a family of 4. Not many I know.

So is the Govt just going to basically provide health coverage for all non insured.

The money has to come from somewhere.

What we have to do is free doctors to practice medicine . Example..

My wife had an allergic reaction to crab the other night. We had to go the emergency room.

She needed a shot of Epinephrine. I have seen my dad do it many times over the years as an old country doctor and patients coming to our house.

He gave her an injection of Benadryl. I had already given her 2 doses orally. She did not need that.

Then he gives her an injection (Prednisone) steroid for the rash. Once again not contact dermatitis- she did not need it.

Then we get a Prevacid Orally--- Once again not needed. and that was a ####### ?

Now we get down to what we came for --The EPI we got it ... Yeah.. 30 mins later she is almost asymptomatic. 2 hours later, you would never know she had been sick

We got a script for 2 EPI Pens-- cool we needed that

We got a script for a round of prednisone-- I filled it in case needed it later but told her not to take, once again not needed unless rash persists as in poison ivy and other contact dermatitis. No one should take prednisone unless needed. Not really good for you.

Get this we got a prescription for Diphenhydramine . Guess what that is.. Benadryl and dirt cheap over the counter. I threw it away.

So why do you think the doctor so so over treated her.

A. She had good insurance

B Law Suits.

We should have been able to go to an aid station. See an RN. Get an EPI injection and been gone. What is so frustrating is I knew exactly what was wrong and what we needed.

Instead the Hospital will bill the insurance company 1000 +. They will be rejected. They will retro review. They will approve but write it down to about 400.00 bucks. After 3 months and many hours spent on the claim it will be paid. The claim will cost more than the treatment should have.

Fix Medicine first.

And you thought I was joking about bailing out of this BULLSH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you qualify for Medicaid it saves a family of 4 a couple thousand dollars AT LEAST per month. Much more if you are on maintenance medications like I am. My medications cost more than $1000 per month alone. That means you need to make, in my case for example, $3000+ MORE than the limit for medicaid just to break even! Just to NOT be working just to pay medical costs, Who would do that??? WHY would you do that?

Now, your wife is not a citizen yet and that figures into it, but YOU are not precluded from getting benefits and they will even pick up the cost of adding you to her insurance (if she has insurance at work) PLUS give you the medicaid level of coverage which is the BEST. You rwife likely qualifies for local benfits which are not means tested federal benefits and are not covered by the I-864. Our community has a very nice health clinic with prices based n a sliding scale and alos our huge hospital coplex offers FREE medical care for any service they provide to people under certain income levels. Check with your hospital financial office. This is how our hospital maintains is "no-profit" status. It is a privately funded program. Vermont will have single payer health care for ALL residents next year.

Also Vermont has a state insurance program now, which we have had for several years. It is not means tested, it is not welfare, you pay a premium but it is very reasonable. This system is being replaced with the single payer system next year.

Check what you have, I bet it is much more than you think. Your local hospital should have a financial department or patient advocacy department that can tell you everything you need to know.

I don't disagree with you on your other points, you are exactly right. But you need to cover your family.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

And you thought I was joking about bailing out of this BULLSH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you qualify for Medicaid it saves a family of 4 a couple thousand dollars AT LEAST per month. Much more if you are on maintenance medications like I am. My medications cost more than $1000 per month alone. That means you need to make, in my case for example, $3000+ MORE than the limit for medicaid just to break even! Just to NOT be working just to pay medical costs, Who would do that??? WHY would you do that?

Now, your wife is not a citizen yet and that figures into it, but YOU are not precluded from getting benefits and they will even pick up the cost of adding you to her insurance (if she has insurance at work) PLUS give you the medicaid level of coverage which is the BEST. You rwife likely qualifies for local benfits which are not means tested federal benefits and are not covered by the I-864. Our community has a very nice health clinic with prices based n a sliding scale and alos our huge hospital coplex offers FREE medical care for any service they provide to people under certain income levels. Check with your hospital financial office. This is how our hospital maintains is "no-profit" status. It is a privately funded program. Vermont will have single payer health care for ALL residents next year.

Also Vermont has a state insurance program now, which we have had for several years. It is not means tested, it is not welfare, you pay a premium but it is very reasonable. This system is being replaced with the single payer system next year.

Check what you have, I bet it is much more than you think. Your local hospital should have a financial department or patient advocacy department that can tell you everything you need to know.

I don't disagree with you on your other points, you are exactly right. But you need to cover your family.

I have full coverage from the VA. I am planning on buying her a catastrophic policy, the using a savings account to pay for routine care. However I will check out what kind of gumberment freebies we can get.

I have paid 100's of 1000's into the system. Why not start getting some back,, right ?

[Darnell 8,478]

yer extending yer VA stuff to cover her, right?

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

yer extending yer VA stuff to cover her, right?

it does not work like that

She is young and healthy. If I keep 5K in an account and buy her a major medical we should be fine

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

it does not work like that

She is young and healthy. If I keep 5K in an account and buy her a major medical we should be fine

Woman's stuff is inherently expensive. I don't know if major medical covers diagnostic stuff, and her being from a third world country that doesn't do diagnostic stuff, you may want to rethink your strategy. One ultrasound will wipe out most of that 5K. I hate to think what a pregnancy costs these days.

[james&olya 1,121]

Democrats are racist and always have been. First they killed 600,000 Americans in support of slavery, then fought against equal rights and now have changed tactics to make blacks dependent on government to keep them under control. I can assure you that Dee Dee will always live, work and raise her children exactly where the local democrats want her to. She will eat whatever they decide she is allowed to buy with food stamps. She has no freedom, no choices, and neither will her children. If you disagree with that, they will call YOU a racist.

This was made abundantly clear during Hurricane Katrina and yet we allow it to continue and continue and continue.

Here in Vermont a recent exposee in a local paper "exposed" that Asian massgae parlors were actually (wait for it!) offering SEX for money! Now, no one here is going to get too excited about prostitution since it barely rates as a crime and in a state where a female pekinese can legally marry a female doberman pincher, no one gives a sh*t about an Asian woman giving an American man a hand job...but this was EXPLOITATION!!!!!!!!!! EXPLOITATION I TELL YOU! HUMAN TRAFFICKING! OMG

Why? Because their immigration status "was not clear" (this means they are illegal) and they were not being paid proper wages and receiving benefits...just tips...and were "trapped" in these massage parlors, sleeping on beds in a separate room. Really? They were not paying withholding taxes and had no workman's comp insurance (who'da thunk it?) The massage parlor owners are PROFITTING from these exploited pretty women!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet it is OK to have Hispanic men working on dairy farms for little pay, no benefits, sleeping in the barns living in filth, using the field for a toilet, smuggled in by Coyotes...THAT's OK. Pretty Asian women lubing you up and getting you off in a clean massage room with a shower first and sleeping on a normal bed in a separate room is somehow horrible! Sleeping in a barn, bathing with a garden hose, using the weeds as a toilet and working long hours for little pay and no benefits...that's OK

We should SLAM closed ANY employer that exploits humans for profit. But so far only pretty Asian women get any protection...screw the brown men cleaning cow sh*t

THAT's how Democrats feel about the underclass...

He is pandering to Walmart.

He is scared he will lose the Senate in the 2014 election if Obamacare is fully implemented. There is a proper procedure for this...it is called REPEAL. There is no procedure for the President to simply strike down a law or parts of a law...except in Obama's Amerika.

I agree with most of what you say but blaming this solely on democrats is BS! If the republicans did not support the current staus quo they have the majority in the house to pass corrective legislation.

The other thing I disagree with is implying that the pretty asian prostitute is better off than the mexican farm-worker. Both have it bad but if I had to choose the life of one or the other I would far more prefer to work in the fields and take cold showers with a hose than be forced to have sex for money with whoever my boss takes money from!

[james&olya 1,121]

I am on Cobra right now for my wife and I. It runs out in Sep and I will rely on my VA and her on a major Med policy, hopefully.

My Cobra is 1475.00 dollars per month for my wife and I. That is what it costs my company to have insurance for Self +1.

Medical costs are projected to triple in the next few years. It is very likely that the cost of insurance is going to cost over 1k per person to cover someone in the National Health Care Pool.

So how many uninsured people could afford to plunk down 3500 K + per month for a family of 4. Not many I know.

So is the Govt just going to basically provide health coverage for all non insured.

The money has to come from somewhere.

What we have to do is free doctors to practice medicine . Example..

My wife had an allergic reaction to crab the other night. We had to go the emergency room.

She needed a shot of Epinephrine. I have seen my dad do it many times over the years as an old country doctor and patients coming to our house.

He gave her an injection of Benadryl. I had already given her 2 doses orally. She did not need that.

Then he gives her an injection (Prednisone) steroid for the rash. Once again not contact dermatitis- she did not need it.

Then we get a Prevacid Orally--- Once again not needed. and that was a ####### ?

Now we get down to what we came for --The EPI we got it ... Yeah.. 30 mins later she is almost asymptomatic. 2 hours later, you would never know she had been sick

We got a script for 2 EPI Pens-- cool we needed that

We got a script for a round of prednisone-- I filled it in case needed it later but told her not to take, once again not needed unless rash persists as in poison ivy and other contact dermatitis. No one should take prednisone unless needed. Not really good for you.

Get this we got a prescription for Diphenhydramine . Guess what that is.. Benadryl and dirt cheap over the counter. I threw it away.

So why do you think the doctor so so over treated her.

A. She had good insurance

B Law Suits.

We should have been able to go to an aid station. See an RN. Get an EPI injection and been gone. What is so frustrating is I knew exactly what was wrong and what we needed.

Instead the Hospital will bill the insurance company 1000 +. They will be rejected. They will retro review. They will approve but write it down to about 400.00 bucks. After 3 months and many hours spent on the claim it will be paid. The claim will cost more than the treatment should have.

Fix Medicine first.

Your knowledge of medicine is pathetic. But go right ahead and treat yourself as you 'know' best. Maybe you can turn it into a Darwin award!

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

You were saying ?? LOL

[james&olya 1,121]

Sorry, I haven't posted here that much since the format got tweaked. So I will say it again just for you nature boy. Your knowledge of medicine and what different medications do is pathetically lacking! But you seem pretty sure of yourself so I hope you go right ahead and always do what you 'know' is right. They give 'Darwin Awards' for this sort of thing to those whose contribution to humanity consists in the removal of their ability to contribute to the gene pool. Maybe you can qualify!!!

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Sorry, I haven't posted here that much since the format got tweaked. So I will say it again just for you nature boy. Your knowledge of medicine and what different medications do is pathetically lacking! But you seem pretty sure of yourself so I hope you go right ahead and always do what you 'know' is right. They give 'Darwin Awards' for this sort of thing to those whose contribution to humanity consists in the removal of their ability to contribute to the gene pool. Maybe you can qualify!!!

Well maybe you can share with us what exactly it is I am so wrong about ?

[james&olya 1,121]

Epinephrine, while effective, has a very short duration of effect. Steroids like prednisone, which is an orally administered drug, and other injectable steroids, while slower to take effect, are much more effective over the time it takes for the body to get beyond the potential for an allergic reaction to be fatal. Benadryl is also quite useful as an H-1 antihistamine. Less well known is the use of some drugs usually used for acid reflux but which are also useful in dealing with allergic reaction symptoms. If you were dealing with a true anaphylactic reaction the course of treatment you describe was pretty standard of care. Keep those epi-pens handy and use them if needed but always head to an ER immediately for the rest of the treatment that will keep you exchanging CO2 and O2!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I agree with most of what you say but blaming this solely on democrats is BS! If the republicans did not support the current staus quo they have the majority in the house to pass corrective legislation.

The other thing I disagree with is implying that the pretty asian prostitute is better off than the mexican farm-worker. Both have it bad but if I had to choose the life of one or the other I would far more prefer to work in the fields and take cold showers with a hose than be forced to have sex for money with whoever my boss takes money from!

Regarding this topic in particular the Repubs have voted to repeal Obamacare in the House. Obama has now suspended it unconstitutionally for particular people and not others. He has no authority to suspend laws, especially not in a way which profits certain people over others.

As for the other, I am not choosing which is better. Both are wrong. Illegal human trafficking exploits humans for profit. BOTH parties allow it to continue for their own agendas

Republicans want a cheap labor force Democrats want a path to citizenship for 11 million more members of the permanent underclass. They KNOW they will become unemployed "legals" and be replaced by employed "illegals" but the Dems will have the votes eventually

SLAMMING the employers would shut off the reason the illegals are here and they would self deport but that is too easy and too effective and not what anyone really wants. So we have to accept that along with that goes sexual slavery. Don't worry, be happy.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Epinephrine, while effective, has a very short duration of effect. Steroids like prednisone, which is an orally administered drug, and other injectable steroids, while slower to take effect, are much more effective over the time it takes for the body to get beyond the potential for an allergic reaction to be fatal. Benadryl is also quite useful as an H-1 antihistamine. Less well known is the use of some drugs usually used for acid reflux but which are also useful in dealing with allergic reaction symptoms. If you were dealing with a true anaphylactic reaction the course of treatment you describe was pretty standard of care. Keep those epi-pens handy and use them if needed but always head to an ER immediately for the rest of the treatment that will keep you exchanging CO2 and O2!

\

Thank you captain Google. I got as far as you saying Prednisone was not an injectable , and stopped. It very available and often used in allergic reactions, that may have a protracted outcome. It also has some undesirable side effects.

[Karee 4,190]

I agree with most of what you say but blaming this solely on democrats is BS! If the republicans did not support the current staus quo they have the majority in the house to pass corrective legislation.

Not sure if you're aware of how our current form of government works in the U.S. The Republicans in the house can pass all the legislation they want. If the Senate doesn't also pass it, and the president doesn't sign it, well then that legislation is dead. Although I guess you could use it to wipe your a$$ if you run out of toilet paper, so it guess it may have some use.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Karee

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Not sure if you're aware of how our current form of government works in the U.S. The Republicans in the house can pass all the legislation they want. If the Senate doesn't also pass it, and the president doesn't sign it, well then that legislation is dead. Although I guess you could use it to wipe your a$$ if you run out of toilet paper, so it guess it may have some use.

Exactly. Obamacare was passed without a single Republican vote. All of the wrangling and deal making was with Democrats. Democrats passed this and Democrats have refused every effort to change it. Until Obama simply waved his hand and suspended parts of a law for certain large employers.

The reason Obama made this unconstitutional move is because he wants to save the 2014 election from another huge loss like 2010 and does not want the Repubs to have a hand in changing the legislation