POLL: Health Insurance is KILLING US!!! - who/what do you use?

First let me say, I feel your pain. We had a plan through the National Association for the Self-Employed that was MUCH too expensive. I spoke with my agent and he recommended another company called American National Life Insurance Company of Texas. Don't let the name throw you. American National is the administrator for SouthCare. Our premiums were cut in half and the deductibles much lower. They have a website: www.anico.com.

Simple Care is nothing more than "fee for service" which is the way medicine was before the HMO's took over. The reason I know this is, I've worked in healthcare for twenty years and was a consultant for about ten of those years.

I think SimpleCare is great but, you can accomplish the same on your own with a little forethought. For example, you may have a physician you're seeing now that you are perfectly happy with. Let them know that you are a "self pay" patient.

Self pay means just what it implies, your're paying for office visits out of your pocket (whether by check or credit card). Most physicians offices would be willing to offer lower fees since you are actually saving them time and money by lowering their overhead expenses.

Most people are not aware that after expenses, physicians only make .40 to .50 cents on each dollar they earn because of all the HMO and Medicare nonsense they have to contend with. You're doing them a huge favor by paying them directly.

Make sure your doctor knows that you are self pay. Tell him or her when your're in the exam room for the first visit. Also, when you fill out that form in the waiting room, write SELF PAY in all caps at the top and in the section where it asks for insurance info.

As for prescription meds, my last two primary care doctors always gave me free samples, when they were available, because they were aware of my payment status. Can't get any cheaper than free! If you can't get samples, consider buying your meds via mail order, both from the U.S. and other countries.

Contrary to what anyone tells you, it is very safe to buy overseas. Not to mention, a heckuva lot cheaper! I know, I've been doing it for six years without any problems. Here is a website that has a wealth of information about where and how you can safely buy medications for a lot less money: www.nvo.com/promedica

Hope this helps,

MacLib

Eat organic foods, use quality vitamin and mineral supplements (pref, liquids) stay healthy and avoid health/drug care insurance completely. Big pharma is part of our problem, learn all you can about prevention.

but I'm not too familiar with the PIFATOS plans.

I did sell a lot of the "catostrophic" plans. That was really all we offered. You could get a high deductible plan for around $100-250 per month depending on # of family members and it had a $5-10,000 deductible. It was a good plan for my family because it still covered for 3 doctor visits per family member per year with a $30 co-pay. It also covered "wellness" visits, like physicals, pap smears, mammograms, prostate checks, etc. up to $150 per year. It worked well for my family because we're all in good health and really only use the doctor for emergencies. This plan allowed us to go to the doctor if we were sick, without breaking our bank.

It also was a "100% all the way up" plan. Instead of being 80/20 like BCBS. That way, if you had a $100,000 bill, something catostrophic like cancer or a major accident... it covered 100% (after the $5,000 or $10,000 deductible). That means a $100,000 medical bill would only cost you $10,000 max, while on BCBS you'd have to pay $20,000. (20%)

The only time it would cost you more money than BCBS was if you had a bill between $1000 and $10,000. Since the monthly premium was MUCH cheaper, the best thing is to put a couple of hundred per month into a HSA plan (still saving you $$$), to use in case of an emergency.

This way, you're putting $200 per month in a health saving plan to pay for the bill if you do have one of those $1K to $10K bills... but it was only costing you around $400 per month total for the family... instead of $800-900.

So... If you had to go to the doctor for a common illnes, it only cost you the $30 co-pay. If you had a catostrophic illness, it covered more than BCBS.

Worked out really well for us while we were on it. Now I'm paying the same amount for SINGLE coverage with BCBS, and the rest of my family isn't covered. SUX. I can't afford almost $900/mo. I'm the oldest and most likely to get a bad illness, so I'm the only one covered for now.

To find good natural cures for most illnesses, I recommend http://www.mercola.com . He's an excellent doctor with a weekly newsletter. He's also a Ron Paul supporter and a big-time proponent of getting rid of the FDA and Big Pharma. Great site.

if she finds out what is causing it. I know many people (including myself!) who had horrible asthma til they quit eating dairy! Dairy is very very mucus-forming. It is very hard to digest (esp. pasteurized). Also get rid of the dust with its dust mites.
I used to have asthma that was so bad I couldn't sleep at night. Since i quit dairy (except for occassional raw goat cheese) I have had NO asthma.

I am not allowed to think for myself when it comes to this topic.
The state legislature has saved me the trouble of thinking, by mandating that I purchase one of the products that they approve of.
Now I can get back to more important things like watching dancing with the stars.

Whilesome carriers are allowing some alternative care, mostly chiropractic care, you aremostly limited to allopathic care with any insurance company. Many illnesses are (in my opinion) are better treated using the wholistic approach of almost any ofthe non-allopathic systems. It is a big machine, churning patients through the doctors' doors where they have been trained to write a prescription for whatever the patient says is bothering them. Doctors aren't even the ones getting rich these days, it is the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. Your monthly premium to one, your "healthcare provider" keeping you addictively (in the truest sense) spending money on the other.
Keep your money, learn self-care and stay away from all doctors if you possibly can. If you ask yourself "should I have a doctro check this out?" the answer is probably "No." When you need to see a doctor, it is obvious. For instance, you fall down and stand up to find your left arm now has 2 elbows. THAT calls for the assistance of a doctor. Your cold, your flu - if you are generally healthy otherwise, you will almost certainly survive those without emptying your wallet at the altar of the Healthcare System.

Do you buy the service contract that is offered when you buy appliances and many electronic devices? I never do because I buy the products consumer reports shows to be the best value with good reliability. Plus you are limited to where you can get the repairs done if something does go wrong and you can't be sure the people entering into the contract will really perform, or even still be in business later on.

I think people are finding out prepaid service contracts in medicine (HMO's) are a bad deal also. Some contracts are just bad ideas.

What would the world of medicine be like if medical insurance were made illegal under the premise that such contracts are not in the public interest; of course this is not an idea that should be entertained by freedom loving people, but just for the thought experiment assume such a law were passed to outlaw medical insurance contracts of all types.

First of all, you would have in your pocket the money you would have otherwise spent on insurance premiums. If you have insurance provided by your employer, then he would have the money in his pocket and could maybe afford to pay you more. The cost of operating all these insurance companies would disappear because they would be out of the health insurance business, so that is one big savings right there. Changing jobs would not cause you to lose you insurance because it would not exist for anyone.

Certainly people would be a lot more cautious about going to doctors because they would bear the cost directly themselves and this inclination to take all the medical treatment you could get because it is free would be a thing of the past. For what medical care you did buy, you certainly would suddenly have a great interest in getting a reasonable price.

Would doctors and hospitals go away? No. Would they be able to charge excessive prices with nobody objecting? No. Would you be able to afford most common medical treatments? Yes. Would old people try to postpone the inevitable by end of life medical heroics that are common today? Probably not. What would happen to you if you had a disaster and could not pay a large medical bill? Charity from either organized groups or the doctors and hospitals themselves, just like it was many years ago when the cost was related to your ability to pay. Would people have an incentive to take better care of themselves through lifestyle changes? Yes. Would some people die from lack of access to medical services? A few, but probably no more than under the insurance system.

I think the underlying problem is the existence of insurance. Government provided insurance and prepaid medical services (HMO's) are the worst. Employer provided insurance is worse than self provided. But it is all bad. The least objectionable is accident insurance, which is closer to the true purpose of insurance.

I think we would all be better off were medical insurance a thing of the past.

I suggest you triage your health, i.e., start with the cheapest, most direct method. I go to an MD or DO only when the situation is urgent, and I have excellent health insurance.

1. Board Certified Chiropractors can solve or treat many chronic problems, including asthma, migraine headaches, even nervous and stomach disorders. Chiropractors has been around almost as long, get as much education as an MD or DO and more education in musculoskelatal disorders, nervous disorders and nutrition.

2. Take an ORGANIX test, prescribed by a chiropractor. This simple urine test will measure your body's metabolic and catabolic processes.

3. Have the chiropractor recommend a good health food store or nutritionist (NOT dietician).

4. Take a good multivitamin, trace minerals and endocrine supplements.

I've had serious chronic problems ALL my life, and ALL of them have been cured in this manner. I

I've lost to many friends to cancer.
I don't eat anything now that I don't cook.
Lots of fish oil but the stuff refined in a vacuum so the heavy metals are removed.
Pollution must be the cause as non industrialized poor countries don't have all our sicknesses.
So I'm thinking an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I thought this was a crazy thing until I read big Pharma was buying up all the vitamin companies while getting the FDA to ban natural cures. So what's their problem? Why cover both sides?
Well, folks here is the thing.
I made a friend who worked for big Pharma.
He designed the drugs you take.
This is what he told me.
"There is no way we can build the molecules that are exactly like those we find in the natural product. What we can do is get close and mimics the natural molecule. This seems to be effective with 40% of people who take our product in large quantities."
Knowing that what do you think?
I thought I'd get the natural product.
It's goofy.
If you want to take Cayenne and Cynamin you can buy it in the food market, but buy it in a gell tablet you will pay 100% more. You can buy the capsules in some health stores and make your own. Or you can throw a teaspoon in a smoothy of good stuff, pinch your nose, and drink it. Ugh! Horrible! Add strawberries and some yogurt and you know it is pretty good.
Also if you like pepper. Take Broccoli Broccoli sprouts and juice then, Don;t cook them. Add the at the end.
Very peppery. Scientists have found Broccoli has amazing anti cancer powers but they don't know why. They say wait until they work it out and design a pill. I say eat the broccoli while big Pharma works on a pill.
Do a google as the temperature is important.
Very interesting is that enzymes are the latest health cure.
They exist in our food but are usually destroyed in cooking.
Hmm!
Now we don't make Vitamin C in our bodies like dogs do. So we have to consume it. Why? Oh, yeah! Primates are chewing on fruit with tons of Vitamin C, like forever. All through evolution. So we didn't need it. Then we ate what the government could supply. Fruit is in season for a short time. All primates move to those trees at the right time. They fight other primates for those trees. This means we have tribes (I think).

I'm sorry but I'm taking that natural stuff as long as they don't concentrate the heavy metals. I buy milk that has no growth hormones. I grow most of the vegetables we eat. I will tell you that the simple potatoe dug up for the Sunday dinner tastes awesome. Tomatoes get their flaour just before they get ripe. Same with fruit. My lemons are sweet but acid. If you shake some raw sugar on them they are sweet and deliious. We have limes from South east Asia that are so good. Look like little oranges but taste of lime.The tree fruits all year!

Ron Paul people are open and fight for freedom.
Maybe that means freedom from the TV and the bullshit that earns the corporations their millions.
They don't have knowledge, they have exposure.
They own what you know.

Imagine you eat right and don't get sick?

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http://www.youtube.com/wa...
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
Watch and feel the power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waste of money. I study physiology full time, and have developed a system for people to take care of themselves.

People don't realize that the medical establishment is an even greater fraud than the federal reserve. Somehow, they have convinced almost everyone in the world that we die of diseases, when in fact, diseases are self-protecting mechanisms. Yet we spend a fortune treating them: Really we are spending a fortune killing ourselves.

I could do that for free.

I have never held health insurance... and I am a physician. A study was done about 20 years ago in one area of our state, in which same condition patient charts and files were analyzed for 'has insurance' or has no insurance', and costs with and without, and life expectancy... what a shock to some... those without insurance spent less money out of pocket total, and had a longer life expectancy!! Simple reason.. the number one diagnosis in many hospitals is... "has insurance", a joke among some but carefully avoided on the outside!
We recommend no insurance, and you are safest to state upon entry to the hospital, if you are lucent, that you have no insurance! You will get the 'cast instead of pins', home faster, faster and better healing! The number one group dropping insurance is doctors, and if you place into savings what you now spend, you will come out ahead. The biggest holders of cash are insurance companies. They profit on a lie... it is sold by convincing people they need it, when their profit charts tell them you do not need it!
Some maintain that there is NO need for any insurance companies... they 'push the system, and work closely with the pharm industry. Dr. Paul has well thought out proposals which would be a blessing to this nation should they be enacted. There was a day when money was valuable, and health care was seldom needed, let alone accessible.

"Suspicion is a Virtue, if in the interests of the good of the people." Patrick Henry

"We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of Nature has placed in our power... the battle, sir, is not to the strong alone - it is to the

Because if people have it, they use it and I think they get sicker.

But here is some info that I don't know for sure is good or bad, but something to consider.

Advantage Plus Plan: (Single ) $139.95-monthly
Health/Dental/Vision/ER/Accidental Death & Dismemberment/Pharmacy
Sick Visits: $25 per visit (5 visits per yr/per member)
Hospital Stay: (30 days-per member)
*up to $7500 Intensive Care
*up to $3750 treatment for Substance Abuse
*up to $3750 Mental Illness
*up to $3750 skilled nursing facility
*up to $7750 hospital stay (inpatient)
Dental: $1000 annual benefit per member
Accident Coverage: $2500 per occurrence per member
Accidental Death & Dismemberment: $5000
RX: $15 co-pay (generic) and huge savings on brand drugs.
Vision: $15 co-pay (one eye exam per yr) per member

Preferred Plan: (Single ) $219.95-monthly
Health/Dental/Vision/ER/Accidental Death & Dismemberment/Pharmacy
Sick Visits: $50 per visit (5 visits per yr/per member)
Hospital Stay: (30 days-per member)
*up to $15,000 Intensive Care
*up to $3750 treatment for Substance Abuse
*up to $3750 Mental Illness
*up to $3750 skilled nursing facility
*up to $15,500 hospital stay (inpatient)
Dental: $1000 annual benefit
Accident Coverage: $5,000 per occurrence per member
Accidental Death & Dismemberment: $10,000
RX: $15 co-pay (generic) and huge savings on brand drugs.
Vision: $15 co-pay (one eye exam per yr) per member

diet of organic nature. Go to my website and look at the links there for tons of more websites:
www.livefoodfactor.com
If you have catastrophic insurance, for accidents, AND you do the proper diet & exercise, you will feel safe. I used to fear cancer because virtually everyone in my family gets it sooner or later. Now I have NO FEAR OF DISEASE. I AM IN CONTROL OF MY HEALTH! How liberating! How FREE I FEEL! I do not even get check ups to see if I have cancer because I know what causes disease and I know that I will never get a disease....if I feel the beginning stages of disease, I know how to get my body alkaline and do some juice fasting to get back on track.

NOW, if you REALLY WANT TO see something RADICAL, and see how you can even get by with NO health insurance, read We Want to Live by Aajonous Vonderplanitz! (or google him up). This guy---and I have met him personally several times---actually brought his son back out of a coma (which 4 MDs said to pull the plug on!) using raw foods----so he wouldn't even go to a hospital in the case of trauma!!! I know other raw foodists like him that would use conventional medicine (esp. drugs) under NO CIRCUMSTANCES.
Go to http://educate-yourself.o... for info on the drug scam of the Rockefellers (same family that brought you the Federal Reserve .)
OH, and by the way, my DAD WAS AN MD!!! (Surgery, drugs, etc.) Guess which one of us has superior health? When he was my age he was FAR LESS HEALTHY than I am now....and sadly, I don't expect him to live much longer...
Unfortunately having an MD dad means I probably got more than my share of toxic vaccinations....(:-(

No health insurance since 1979. I do have county health here in ABQ, which was absorbed by UNM hospital. So I do have some coverage if I was in an accident. This is only offered to low income people however. I am self employed and couldn't afford health insurance on my own.

Trade with all nations; alliances with none. ~Thomas Jefferson

Ten (?) years ago, I did pay the $100 for the insurance offered by the elementary school.

My daughter fell off her bike, broke her arm, and needed actual surgery.

That $100 policy actually covered the entire deductible, as well as my 20% portion.

Since that surgery also put us over the deductible, I submitted all other medical claims for the year. As I recall, I came out *ahead* by $800 or so!

If you get laid off, make sure to keep an insurance policy *active*. I think that allows policies to transfer with you (even if you have "preexisiting" conditions?)

COBRA is extremely expensive and only lasts for 18 months, I think. I suspect it's so expensive, because anyone healthy can find other insurance.

I have been self-employed for 20+ years.

Many years ago, with just my daughter and me , I had to change away from Blue Cross/Blue Shield when it went from $400/month to $500/month!

I currently have the Unicare SuperSaver 2000 plan. [Bizarre - I just used their site to verify 2000 or 2500 and can't find that plan at all!]

It is my understanding that Unicare is *not* "insurance", but is a discount plan. If you go to their doctors, the doctors are only allowed to charge what Unicare allows, I think, with a $30 copay for the doctor (lab tests additional, possibly after deductible).

I can go to my own doctor, but any excess over Unicare's limit is my own responsibility.

You can see what doctors are affiliated from their site (do *not* use zip code - I think I got totally erroneous results).

I get Unicare dental via www.dentalplans.com for about $110/year. Again, if I use their dentists, there are dramatic savings for crowns, root canals, etc., with some free coverage for routine maintenance.

My recent horror experience:

Although my recent walk-in at Dreyer Medical Clinic was simply for a renewal of 2 prescriptions (since I had moved), on the basis of a 10-12 minute meeting (I had a blood test given at 15 minutes after my appointment), that idiot doctor turned in *3* diagnoses, 2 of which could have made me uninsurable! Within 10 days, Unicare increased my monthly premium by over 20%-

When I even dealt with the *President* to get a copy of the handwritten notes from my appointment, I was told that Illinois does not have a law that requires that the doctor's manual notes be kept after a typed transcription is made!

In my subsequent research, it turns out that people who have sued for malpractice in Illinois have lost their cases, *because* the medical records evidence went "missing"!

Given the blatant errors in my *simple* medical records (like mention of a sprained elbow that must have been a different patient that day!!!!) and the blatant *lies* about *30 minutes face-to-face* and (boilerplate?) that he explained all drug warnings, symptoms, and possible drug interactions, it's almost enough to move out of Illinois!

If this is what "limiting the fee" means, Hillarycare will be an absolute disaster!

on your ideas of health, but my husband and I are both self employed also, with children, and of lower middle class income, and have never been able to afford health insurance. Of course there were always the emergency room visits, for bike wrecks, broken arms, etc. But still, the totals at the end of the year were still WAY less than what health insurance would have been. We used midwives for delivering all our babies, which is cheaper than insurance for the hospital. We go to a naturopath except for broken arms, etc. If we could afford it, we would still only get catastrophic insurance,for car accidents, or such, because regular insurance doesn't cover naturopaths anyway. I grow and pick all my own herbal antibiotics and medicines. The medicines we have ever been prescribed by the doctors made us ill, and almost killed us. Dental insurance would be nice, but that usually only covers maintenance, and not major things anyway.

I haven't had health insurance for......oh........ten years or better. My only health insurance is the YMCA. I keep fit, eat right, and put back some of my earnings in an IRA. I can withdraw from it for health reasons with no penalties. Doing this allows me to save money and be more careful about what I eat, do, etc. It also frees up money to do things like donate to the Ron Paul campaign, which we are doing April Fools Day. The Old Media thinks we are down for the count!!! Ha ha ha ha ha! April Fools! You can find the thread here....

http://www.dailypaul.com/...

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

-George Washington

has some plans that aren't too bad...

.

in your town. They have excellent coverage & you will be able to join a very large group.

Any links for Anthem? What state is this?

The cost of the policy is $410 per month. We have a $2500 deductible and drug coverage. After the deductible is reached, everything is covered at 100% except for the drug co pays.
My husband is on a separate plan (medicare supplement) and his plan is $165 per month.
I researched this for over a year before deciding. We had been covered under my husband's employer's plan for over 30 years prior to having to find individual coverage due to him retiring. If we would have continued with the same plan we had when he was working, it would have cost us over $1400 per month, and that was 3 years ago.
I hope this information helps.

is out of control because the fed govt got involved and supported the creation of the HMO's - to manage care, of course!

My health insurance in Massachusetts is $1350 per month. And a friend who is 55 his is $1650 per month. It is out of control here. Any other ideas for health plans

They only have 5 doctors in California!?
None in "my" area. ;-(

I guess you could just haggle with your own doctor?

I'm self employed and used to buy my own insurance, but after I reached a certain age, the premiums skyrocketed and I dropped out.

Now I'm on the 99cent program, if the 99cent store doesn't have it, I do without, or I try Walgreens.

Same for dental, I need a couple crowns, but with the price of gold... !!!