Do me a favor

[know1]

The problem is that everyone equates health care with health insurance. Health insurance is what's WRONG with the system....not the solution.

Think about it, to ensure its own survival, the health insurance industry wants to create a situation where health insurance is a necessity...i.e. driving up prices so nobody can pay for them out of pocket on the spot...and they've pretty much succeeded.

In doing so, they've eliminated competition from healthcare providers to attract customers by lower prices.

Let's face it, healthcare is now being paid by the health insurance industry who is not only paying for the healthcare, but also for the salaries and corporate expenses that go along with it PLUS MAKING A PROFIT.

In my opinion, if you want to fix the mess, let's take steps to move people to paying for day-to-day health care out of their own pockets and shift more toward health insurance to cover catastrophic and large-scale medical situations such as serious illnesses and major surgeries. We don't use our car or homeowner's insurance to change the oil or change a lightbulb, do we? Imagine what car insurance would cost if we did.

[Grumpy]

It never ceases to amaze me how so many people believe that Senators and Congressmen/women have some elaborate, lucurative, and wonderful Retirement Benefits and Health Care entitlements.

Believe me, I don't like most of them any more than anyone else does but it is just not true that they have "some exclusive health insurnace" or some "golden parachute retirement plan" that I have seen referred to when people say that they should be put under Social Security the same as the rest of us.

In reality, they are under the same retirement plan (mostly Social Security) and health benefits plan as any other Federal Employee. Not only that but so are the President, Vice President, all Cabinet members and other administration employees, Federal Judges, etc.

Any Senator or Representative (as well as the others I just mentioned) that has been elected/employed since 1983 is under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (which offers choices of many different insurance companies and plans) and their retirement plan is the Federal Employee Retirement System, which is comprised of a SMALL annuity, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan (a form of 401K). The annuity is used to pay for the continued Life Insurance and Health Benefits.

Granted, the pay scales for most of these people are at the high end of the Federal Pay Scales and thus their entitlements will be higher than the average American worker but they also pay more for their benefits and into Social Security. Some of them, such as the President, VP, Senate Leaders, and Speaker of the House will receive some additional pay for travel and office staff but most of them have the same requirements for Retirement and get the same Health Care as any other Federal Employee.

I agree that we should write to the Senators and Representatives about the pending Health Care changes, but don't give them an opportunity to ignore the real issue by accusing them of having benefits which don't exist. Believe me, when you do that, their reply will dwell on your mis-information and not on the real problem that you are writing about.

Thats my opinion,

Grumpy

[bcnitro]

I agree with "know1", I myself work for a large company with good benefits, I chose not to take the high dollar package with the most coverage because I pay attention to my families health and teach my wife and child how to be responsible and pay attention to things to avoid accidents that send us to the doctor or hospital. I took the higher deductible plan and pay for all doctor visits out of pocket. This saves us a great deal of cash flow and actually the difference goes to my kids college fund. I think the insurance companies scheme most folks into being scared to death of not having coverage and then throwing the smaller co-pays into the deal to make folks feel more comfortable or less afraid to call the doctor. Therefore, doctor business stays very steady with every runny nose. This kinda goes along with the drug companies making a drug for every little discomfort in the world. I am sure all you have thought to yourself about a drug advertisement to fix a headache or allergy and they all seem to come with a ten fold warning of the other discomforts you could have when you take the drug. I think it is easier to just tough the problem out for a little bit and avoid the ten other issues you might have to deal with when you pop the magic pill. Good Lord people, one thing we need to learn here is how to take care of ourselves and not depend on others to do it for us. I know I strayed from the subject, sorry, I read what you guys say everyday, I guess this one hit the nerve right. rant is over