Planning on dropping Health Insurance. Change my mind.

[two_bit_score]

Like most my age the public/private healthcare systems is a concern to me. Understanding there are going to be fewer and fewer healthcare resources for many of us I am daily giving thought as to how to reduce my care needs by addressing the way I eat, move and think. After 4 years of doing this my health and health markers at age 67 are better than 30 years ago.

To go without healthcare or not is on more minds than ever. I lost a good friend at the age of 65 yesterday to cancer. The too good to be true promises of a few years ago left him without good insurance when it could have been a factor to have helped him live longer.

Obituary | Gary C. Miller | Byrn Funeral Home

What were the “too good to be true” promises?

TBS

 

[Jstpssng]

Right now there's a lot of uproar because "preexisting conditions" are no longer covered. My question; "How can there be preexisting conditions when we've had mandatory health insurance for the last 8 years or so?" Perhaps I should cancel my homeowner's insurance and only renew the policy after my house burns down.

 

[ultrarunner]

At 87 I can understand not wanting to do IV Chemo (rat poison chemo), but at least a lumpectomy, radiation and oral chemo depending on the particular cancers would seem to be doable.

Dad went through the full regimen and almost died but came back requiring dialysis for 5 months and then remission that lasted about 7 months... felt and looked great and then it came back and 9 weeks he was gone...

He said it was a second chance and he did take mom on a trip they had talked about for years to Alaska and had the best time ever... she said Dad was like a kid again and they were very happy...

On the other hand my sister in law had cancer and was given very low odds to beat it... she was fit, no vices and Mom to 3 little ones... did not meet any of the target groups...

She went through it all... lost all her hair... sick as a dog with a 3 month old... I and Mom were taking turns staying at the house taking care of the kids... with the oldest being 5...

It has been 10 years now and see has had an amazing return to health...

Her problem was being dismissed by the Docs... she complained and she was told each pregnancy is different or you just gave birth... finally, they went outside the Health Plan and paid to see a specialist... he said if he could do surgery today he would and she had it the next morning... colon cancer... when she went under she was told to expect a colostomy bag at age 32... no bag but has to be careful with eating as she has very little colon left but enough to be healthy and fit...

So you never know...

Dad was having issues and his Docs were baffled... he happened to be on a plane seated next to a retired cancer Doc... they got to talking and the Doc wrote down the specific test he should have and his phone number for consult... the stranger on the plane was spot on...

Really does make you wonder just how advanced things really are when symptoms are so easily dismissed.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had minor "old guy" problems for 10 years before I could find a doctor to operate. The first said there was nothing wrong with me and the blood clots I was seeing were just "concentrated urine." The second guy said not to worry about it; by the time I found someone who would actually do something I was having problems passing water because the blood clots were so bad. Luckily mine wasn't life threatening, I don't worry about staying near the bathroom anymore and I can now go the way I did when I was twenty. It bugged me for years that I and my insurance paid thousands of dollars to the first guy who told me three things at three different appointments; with the last being the exact opposite of what he told me the first time.

 

[D2Cat]

Something to consider about one's life style, for elective surgery many Dr's insist you have no nicotine in your blood, if you're a diabetic your A1C is 7 or less, and you're not over weight...three things that effect one's healing ability.

I know someone who needed a hip replacement, and the Dr. said she could come back in 30 days for a blood test to be sure she had eliminated nicotine! If not, we'll try another 30 days.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

What were the “too good to be true” promises?

TBS

In Kentucky the premium price jumped way up making it very expensive relative to the income of many that signed on under the original promises after major insurers pulled out of the state.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Something to consider about one's life style, for elective surgery many Dr's insist you have no nicotine in your blood, if you're a diabetic your A1C is 7 or less, and you're not over weight...three things that effect one's healing ability.

I know someone who needed a hip replacement, and the Dr. said she could come back in 30 days for a blood test to be sure she had eliminated nicotine! If not, we'll try another 30 days.

We are going to see this more and more I expect. It was one factor that helped me change the way that I eat, move and think about my health 4 years ago so these things did not prevent me from getting any future surgery that might be needed. The funny thing is my health and health markers are better at 67 than 30 years ago. Hopefully one side effect of my changes will delay/reduce my need for surgery in future as well.

I have come to think just going into a hospital carries a high risk of getting other serious health issues.

 

[Jstpssng]

Something to consider about one's life style, for elective surgery many Dr's insist you have no nicotine in your blood, if you're a diabetic your A1C is 7 or less, and you're not over weight...three things that effect one's healing ability.

I know someone who needed a hip replacement, and the Dr. said she could come back in 30 days for a blood test to be sure she had eliminated nicotine! If not, we'll try another 30 days.

I get a 20% discount on my premiums by participating in my employer's "Health Program." I roll that into my flex account and save a bit more.

 

[two_bit_score]

We are going to see this more and more I expect. It was one factor that helped me change the way that I eat, move and think about my health 4 years ago so these things did not prevent me from getting any future surgery that might be needed. The funny thing is my health and health markers are better at 67 than 30 years ago. Hopefully one side effect of my changes will delay/reduce my need for surgery in future as well.

I have come to think just going into a hospital carries a high risk of getting other serious health issues.

What were the main changes you made?



TBS

 

[two_bit_score]

In Kentucky the premium price jumped way up making it very expensive relative to the income of many that signed on under the original promises after major insurers pulled out of the state.

Thanks for the reply. That is a problem many places. Since the ACA it seems there has really been unpredictability in the health insurance market place to the detriment of those on fixed incomes with little room to cut expenses.



TBS