Comments on: Out Of Work, Out Of Insurance, Out Of Luck

Unemployed Search, Some In Vain, For Affordable Medical Insurance After Losing A Job

[LikeSoup]

The economy is bad and may get worse. The stock markets are bad, the home mortgage and other credit systems are broken, the jobs situation could possibly continue to deteriorate. Who knows what else looms? You deserve a good news alternative. LikeSoup.com

[mycommentspg]

I am not for a socialized country, but paying taxes during your lifetime should give you access to healthcare when life deals you a situation where you cannot afford coverage. Taxpayer money sure provides Congress with good healthcare. http://mycommentspage.blogspot.com/

[davinci08-2009]

There appears to be more support of Obama''s health plan proposals because of increased coverage including pre-existing conditions. Who could say no to that? However, what would happen to the cost of health care if insurance companies were forced to provide this coverage.
Private companies will not sacrifice profit. The increased costs will be passed on to consumers. Then what do we do? Demand higher wages to pay for it? Insist that taxes be reduced further to help with the burden? Obama''s proposals create more questions than answers; questions that he can not and answer specifically. McCain wants to eliminate barriers to competition so that insurance companies have to compete for your business. It''s clear that competition reduces costs. Think Walmart. They have chosen to really examine their business to reduce their cost of doing business so that you and I can have an opportunity to products at lower prices. Look what Walmart has done already in terms of Prescription prices. Their system may not be perfect but without a doubt they have helped many of us purchase things even prescriptions at better prices making them more affordable. Other companies followed Walmart''s lead on the prescription program. Now there is more affordability throughout the system. Has anybody questioned Walmart? Essentially, that''s McCain''s plan. While his tax credit seems modest to some of you, when health insurance and prescriptions become more affordable, the tax credit will look much better.

[awinslow2]

We as a nation need to provide some type of health insurance coverage to those who are without coverage. I have been saying this since 1988 election. Employers such as Walmart need to provide a portion of coverage to every employee. You shouldn''t be the nation''s largest employer and only provide health insurance to 30% of your employees. Everyone with insurance is paying for those people that do not have coverage anyway.

[sepa2]

Time to stop fooling around and just have a single payer health insurance system. No lines, you can choose your own doctors; government would not be running health care, just providing health insurance.
Posted by dlawrenceb

I guess that explains why all the Canadians come to Florida for their surgery? How many people would go into medical care as doctors, nurses and the rest, if the government controlled medicine? Even the VA has problems getting American born doctors, most at the local one are Indian or from someplace else. Don''''t miss-understand, the level of care is very good, but they have to import doctors because the ones here won''''t work for the paltry $100,000 they are paid. Imagine if none made over that and lawyers still made much more. What do you think would be the profession of choice????
Single payer = price controls and doctor shortages!!!!

Posted by bob5ford at 11:42 AM : Nov 03, 2008
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100k is about what a scientist or an engineer with P hD (who discover most medical devices and medicines which doctors prescribed)earns. Under current practices we should say medical bussiness not care. With 20% GDP already being gobbled and employers dropping medical benefits like hot potetoes where do you think medical bussiness would end up?

[godseyesore-2009]

Constitution Preamble states "promote general welfare".
Declaration of Independence states "...certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
I defy anyone to argue that a state of happiness can be held or maintained without general wellbeing and access to health care. If you are sick, you are not happy.

[easeup-2009]

You can even go to Mexico and get sooner, better, cheaper, care than in the States. How long is the lineup of americans for medication in Canada ?


Posted by middleman8 at 12:32 PM : Nov 03, 2008

Better medical care in Mexico??? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

How''s the taxes up there, eh?

[middleman8]

bob5ford;
I have lived and worked and served in us military and now live in Canada (Gods country ). and am real appreciative of that. My kin still live under the capital
ripoff in the states.
When young I watched my sister die of appendicitis from lack of transportation to a hospital. Please, Please don''t quote the "constitution" to me. It was written by of bunch of slave owners and carpetbaggers.( The only thing George had right.) You can even go to Mexico and get sooner, better, cheaper, care than in the States. How long is the lineup of americans for medication in Canada ?

[williamfold]

curse914,

you said "Your "rights" are fully spelled out in the US constitution. I do not see medical care, welfare or free education there.

A standing Army isn''t in the Constitution either, but we have one.

[theroux1]

Why do some people have such a hard time grasping this concept?

Socialized medicine is a safety net for those people unable to afford other coverage. Can you upgrade to "better" care if you can afford it? Of course! Are their longer waits and sometimes a shortage of doctors? Definitely. But this is coverage for the non-insured and under insured.

Read Obama''s plan folks! What he is proposing is that you can keep your current insuance if you wish but don''t we have a responsibility as human beings to help those less fortunate than ourselves? You never know when your own situation might change. Don''t you want that safety net for your family?

I do!

[singlemom81]

The McCain plan is unrealistic in terms of providing health insurance. He obviously has not priced health insurance on the open market. I shopped for an insurance plan when my daughter became older. The cheapest I could find was about $800 per month for just her with a large deductible. The $5000 tax credit that McCain proposes does not go very far when the cost is $9600 per year. The cost difference is even larger for a family. The insurance companies also can drop you if they feel you have become to too sick or have a "preexisting condition." He also wants to tax the medical insurance that we get through our employment. It will destroy insurance through work. I was able to get reasonable insurance through my work for my daughter but it is still $400 per month and many low income families would not be able to afford that amount. Many people in the US are frightened of single insurance because they fear long waits and lack of choice of doctor. There are, however, other single payer health systems in Europe that work very well where you can see the doctor you want in a timely fashion. The successful single systems need to be studied for what would work in the U.S. Personally, I think the German system is one that could be adapted to the US and offers portability of health insurance. In the neighborhood I live in there are people dying because they lack health insurance. Something has to be done, but McCain''s plan will make it worse. Obama%u2019s is at least a start.

[middleman8]

All the ridiculous medical prices in the state is a rip off. It is the only country in the world with such a rip off on what should be a right to the people.
Just look north to Canada and see what a medical plan should be like. Don''t listen to those who tell you different, they have probably been on government insurance all their live, like the politicians etc. If you let this rip off go on and on it is your own fault.

[antoniof123]

Most importantly, she''s worried she''ll lose the security it took her a year and a half to find.

"I''m very nervous about that," she said. "I would hate for them to come and replace the health coverage I have."

This is an example of a moron, she has not even looked at the web sites of each person.

Obama web site says you can keep your existing coverage. McCain says you can too.

I swear some people either need to learn to read or go back to school.

[dlawrenceb]

Time to stop fooling around and just have a single payer health insurance system. No lines, you can choose your own doctors; government would not be running health care, just providing health insurance. It would cost 30% less in additional taxes than we (workers and employers) are paying now in premiums. The only ything we would miss would the the millions of hours spent now trying to get private insurance companies to pay whqt they promised. This wouod be like medicare, except all physicians would take it.
All indiviiduals would benefit, so would businesses large and small. Our companies would be more competitive with those countries that have national health insurance. We could retrain health insurance workers to do productive work, the best of them would run the single payer system.

[observer2020]

Suggestion.. Get a prescription.. Go to central America.. get your prescription filled and have a good time on the beach.. If you take many meds you will come out cheaper then buying them in the US.
Posted by swensbckcuf

If you can''t afford health insurance or afford to pay for perscriptions, how are you supposed to afford a trip to South America? I can''t even afford to change my mind in today''s economy. And after tomorrow, it''s just going to get much worse. Can''t even vote for the lesser of the two evils...they''re both just as bad when you weight it out, just in different ways. Vote for NONE OF THE ABOVE!

[dburfears]

McCAIN/PALIN HEALTH CARE PLAN:

"DROP DEAD! WE DON''T GIVE A D*MN!"

"Pre-existing condition?" Forget it! No insurance. Drop dead."

"We will give you $5000 but take away $12,000 for the actual insurance"

"If your insurance company decides to drop some coverage, or reduce your benefits, then TOO BAD FOR YOU. If you DIE BECAUSE YOU CAN''T GET TREATMENT, THEN SO WHAT?"

"If you are one of the 25% of Americans with personal paid coverage, then you BETTER HOPE YOU DO NOT GET SICK. Because we don''t care that your insurance company will DROP YOU any time you get sick. DROP DEAD!"

"If you are one of the 20% of Americans without health care, CRAWL AWAY AND DIE. We don''t give a d*mn about you."

"Tax your company-provided health benefits". YOU CAN AFFORD IT!

"I got mine, good luck getting yours"

"We''ll eviscerate corporate health plans to enrich the insurance companies"

"As government paid politicians, we have a great medical plan. Who cares if you DIE because YOU can''t get one!"

[grouchyjohn]

There are public health departments in most states/cities. Most drug makers will give indigents medicine for free (google rxassist or pparx)and Wal-Mart has over 300 medicines listed for $4.00. Also, all veterans are eligible for the VA, although some may have a co-pay. The problem is more of perception and wanting the government to take of you then one of not being able to get treatment or medicine. Here in a county of 14,000 in rural Florida no-one goes without health care or medicine unless they want to. I find it hard to believe that people really do anywhere in the US. They may not like the lines or the wait, but it is available!!!!

Posted by bob5ford at 09:30 AM : Nov 03, 2008





Public health departments DO NOT provide medical care!!!

Where did you get this ultra-bizarre information from?!?!?!

[hitoyou1]

Yes a crook and a no good has won. Obama.

[billh971]

IF I CHANGED JOBS MY FAMILY COBRA COVERAGE WOULD BE $1300 A MONTH. IF I LOST MY JOB, I AM A DIABETIC IF I HAD TO BUY MY 5 PILLS A DAY AND INSULIN AT FULL PRICE WHO KNOWS. EVERY YEAR MY 3 PERCENT RAISE IS ABOUT EQUAL TO MY 3 PERCENT INCREASE IN HEALTH CARE COST. IF I HAD NO JOB NO INSURANCE WELL EVEN IF I DIDN''T GO TO THE HOSPITAL MY CHOICES WOULD BE EITHER PAY MY BILLS, PAY FOR COBRA, PAY FOR MY MEDS OR DIE? NO OR! MY JOB SUCKS. I PAY 50% OF MY HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. IT IS ABOUT $5,6OO A YEAR FOR FAMILY COVERAGE OUT OF MY POCKET. THAT IS OMLY 1/2 OF THE COST. THE FULL COST $11,000 A YEAR IS THE COBRA COST. THE $5600 A YEAR DOES NOT INCLUDE COPAYS FOR DOCTOR VISITS OR PERSCRIPTIONS.I WORK FOR A MID SIZE BANK IN TENNESSEE. IF I GET $5000 FROM THE MCCAIN HEALTH PLAN AND MY HEALTH CARE BENIFITS ARE TAXED I GO IN THE HOLE EVEN MORE! THIS ARTICLE DOESN''T TELL THE WHOLE PICTURE! I STAY AT MY JOB NOT FOR THE PAY, BUT FOR HEALTH CARE INSURANCE!

[usedeqbroker]

Our very rich country, the richest in the world gives other countries so much aid and lets us stand by hoping some bread will fall off the table. Health care should not be an issue in this country. Our leaders have turned their head to us one to many times on this issue... we the people, are in need and deserve to be better taken care of. Shut down the money funnel to outside countries and we will have insurance, we can shore up social security, we can balance the budget and change the direction of this country... Even for profit corporations provide these things for their employees... and with the taxes we pay it''s kin tow working half the time for he government anyway... we shouldn''t have to beg. If the government managed it''s revenue properly, we would have it... but it is being stolen and give a way...