Planning on dropping Health Insurance. Change my mind.

[goeduck]

I do not keep an appreciable amount of money in my checking (debit) account to worry too much about and like the convenience of not writing a monthly check, but I see your guys point.

 

[Fuddy1952]

The cost of medical care is sick. We were in a bad wreck. Idiot rear ended us as we waited to make left turn. Wife was in hospital a while. Bill was 75K. I asked hospital to lower the bill down, they said they would not do it. Turned around as asked them to bill wife's medicare and coinsurance. They did, for the tune of 25K. Why can't they negotiate prices down for uninsured instead of demanding full price? The entire system sucks. Medical and nursing care are 2 areas that should not be for profit. Yes, I believe in universal medical coverage for all. Why should someone lose their home because their child needs medical care?

That's socialism though, may as well move to Venezuela or Sweden.
One could also say why should they be penalized if they have money, don't have kids, and have to pay high insurance rates and hospital costs?
Free everything is great until you run out of other people's money. A hospital aspirin may be $5, paid by those who can to offset the 50 aspirins they gave out free.

 

[KubotainNH]

I do not keep an appreciable amount of money in my checking (debit) account to worry too much about and like the convenience of not writing a monthly check, but I see your guys point.

This is sorta how mine is with the caveat that I have multiple checking/debit accounts at my CU that I can move money to. They are set not to overdraft each other so I use one for all online transactions and it just has enough to cover what I'm buying. I move money to it as I buy items. Something I read recently said a check is now way less secure than a debit/credit card. I also have a normal credit card I use for bigger items like plane tickets and such. That one gives me money back which is nice. I do agree though that kids are often not taught well on how to use things like a CC, often the parents don't know how to use them either. It took me a long time to figure them out as I had no good financial examples to follow.

 

[3Ts]

Something I read recently said a check is now way less secure than a debit/credit card.

One of the banks I had an account in was bought out by another, in the paperwork that said what would happen to the account said something like: If a check was presented for payment, they would process it. It did not matter if the proper signature was on it or if it was even signed. Also means that if someone got your account number, and could make a valid check, that's all it would take to clean out the account.

 

[KubotainNH]

One of the banks I had an account in was bought out by another, in the paperwork that said what would happen to the account said something like: If a check was presented for payment, they would process it. It did not matter if the proper signature was on it or if it was even signed. Also means that if someone got your account number, and could make a valid check, that's all it would take to clean out the account.

Right. That and you can take a picture of a check now and deposit it electronically. Seems like today's copiers would create checks quite nicely.

 

[aczlan]

Why the rush to pay off the home loan? It’s probably your largest tax write off.
Here is my last six months of using medical insurance.
Driving to work and some a hole runs a light and t bones me totaling my car...dr visits the whole thing.

Why would that hit your medical insurance? In NY, that would be your auto insurance's responsibility.

I have friends in the healthcare industry in Southern California. Time and again, hospitals are bankrupted from the same source. An indigent pregnant young woman, crack-addicted or meth-addicted, shows up. There has been no record of healthcare during the pregnancy, and the flurry of activity begins. Then a preemie baby weighing just a few pounds is born, and it costs $1 million or more to nurse the unfortunate infant to become as normal as it is capable of being. Mom and baby then checks out of the hospital-- paying nothing-- leaving a bill of seven figures behind for someone.

Yep.

Aaron Z

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Well I signed up for coverage 2019, I guess I support the elderly and druggies another year lol.

I had the choice of 3 plans this year. The cheapest being a cost sharing plan of 80% on most of the categories if the hospital was in network, outside of network it was 50%, stuff like doctor visits, hospital, prescriptions etc. being if something happens, like a wreck and I’m unconscious, I’ll wake up in whatever hospital they send me to, 50% of that bill would prob give me a heart attack lol.

The middle plan was $107 Bi-Weekly ($214) per month. This plan had copays of $25 for doc visit, $200 for ER etc, same coverage I had last year just for $25 more per paycheck. The deductibles were a bit less on this one compared to the one I have now for $80.

The premium plan was $250 Bi-Weekly ($500 per month).

I added the better dental plan ($17 Bi-Weekly), eye ($3 Bi-Weekly) and some odds and ends diff coverages for a few bucks per month.

So going into 2019 I’m pretty well covered for about everything. I do need new glasses and some work done on the teeth so those I will use. The most expensive one will most likely go unused (healthcare).

 

[Fuddy1952]

I doubt if you'll be helping out the elderly since most are covered by Medicare which they paid into for many years.
Insurance is all a gamble. Everyone should at least have catastrophic high deductible insurance.

 

[goeduck]

I doubt if you'll be helping out the elderly since most are covered by Medicare which they paid into for many years.

Exactly.

 

[D2Cat]

Sadly, the folks you will be helping are usually the younger who have no insurance, have babies etc. Somebody has to cover for them! It's the working folks, helping those who don't/won't!! And they learn quickly how to get every thing available to them, so the tab keeps going up.