Guest Post by Eric Peters
I mentioned the Obama Out to one of my friends the other day. He is baffled by my refusal to “take advantage” of the “exchanges” and just buy “affordable” insurance and comply with the mandate – as he has done.
Some context: We’re both self-employed and divorced; money’s tight and the cost to buy insurance on what’s left of the “free” market is exorbitant, especially for the self-employed. Which I suspect is one of the true reasons for government-mandated health insurance; that is, to discourage and then make it economically impossible for anyone to be self-employed.
Such outliers must be corralled and “nudged” – prodded – into the feed lot of corporate employment, which amounts to government control over their employment and thus, control over them.
This is to be accomplished by making insurance mandatory and unaffordable – outside of corporate/government employment.
The self-employed person still enjoys a degree of almost unimaginable liberty. He sets his own hours; is much more able to deal with whom he wishes to deal – and not – on his terms. No one looks over his shoulder; he answers to himself – and his customers.
Most of all, he is utterly free from management by “human resources” fraus – those harridans of the Cube Farm. He does not have to suffer through Teach Ins about “diversity” and “inclusiveness.”
In the case of self-employed writers such as myself, there is the liberty to write and say what one thinks – honestly – without having to duck one’s head like a just-caught turtle out of dread you may have “offended” someone.
Well, you may have offended them – but they have no power over your job.
Anyhow.
My friend argues I ought to sign up for the subsidized Obamacare insurance because “the money is there” and I have already been forced to pay a great deal for all these “benefits” whichI refuse to partake of.
He thinks I am foolish.
I may be that. But I prefer not to be a hypocrite – which he isn’t because he does not make a living as a Libertarian writer, as I do. He wrenches, which is honorable work – but the point is, his taking advantage of Uncle’s largesse – that is to say, of Uncle’s redistribution of other people’s wealth – does not make him a hypocrite.
It merely makes him a typical American – and therein lies the problem.
Americans still talk a lot about “freedom” – though less than they used to for all the obvious reasons (one thinks – for those still inclined – of the scenes of audiences clapping a bit too eagerly for Stalin, then stopping when the bell rings). But they have very little respect for it.
It’s hard to be free when others are free – legally empowered – to force you to pay them money, whether to fund their “health care” or some other thing.
To expect freedom in such circumstances is not much different than expecting a ship with a leak not to sink – and being surprised when it does.
I may indeed be “foolish.”
But I feel better about myself, in the manner of the POW who doesn’t squeal on his fellows for the sake of early release. I’d rather stay in my cage, if it comes to that.
“Coverage” be damned.
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I’m self employed as well. I’ve carried health insurance through my wife’s employer for over 20 years. I had a heart attack and open heart surgery a few years ago, and the bill came to right at $300K. Thank God for the insurance.
Now she is being forced to quit her job due to health issues of her own. If I go with a private insurance company, any heart-related ailments are considered pre-existing conditions and would not be covered for at least 1 year.
So I am forced to go to the exchanges — I can’t be without coverage for a year.
And thus is the scare tactics used by the insurance mafia, and the politicians. Do you really think that any heart surgery is actually 300K to perform? Did you know that the “non profit” hospitals charge that much just so that when the individual can’t or wont pay it, they can show that as a loss? How about the insurance company? They take that high price and then claim that against the Obamacare requirement that (don’t remember the exact figure) lets say 80% of the money they collect from you must be used for care, and they are only allowed a 10% admin profit. As an insurance company, would you not rather have 10% of the claimed 300K “cost” than say 10% of 15K (actual cost for procedure)? See the insurance company does not want lower costs in healthcare, they actually want higher costs. Their profit for “admin” that they are allowed to keep is based on that cost, so the higher the cost for the procedure, the MORE profit they get to keep. Twisted ain’t it?
Hospitals and insurance have a largely symbiotic relationship, each can get away with massive accounting frauds, completely in the open, and at the same time make you keep coming back for more.
Now, go on over to the Surgery Center of Oklahoma –
and see what medical care would look like in a true free market system, without the larded on scams of the charge master, insurance mafia and the rest of the crooks.
The entire health insurance scam is a scare tactic to make you fear, and believe you are forced to carry their idiotic “insurance” to keep from bankruptcy. It is just false.
Only way out is to stay healthy. Medicare will soon be ruined if the socialists/free shit army get their way. Medicare Advantage plan works well for wifey and me-as long as we stay healthy. Nothing like the 10-12 years we spent throwing $800-$1,000/month for our high deductible (pre-Obamacare) coverage. We now pay the $135.50/month for Part B and have not had even a couple hundred dollars out-of-pocket for the 5 or so years we have been on Medicare. As I said at the beginning: Only way out is to stay healthy.
if you need a rehab stay or long term nursing home stay,check now & see if your medicare advantage plan will cover it & even if they do,some have a reputation for booting you for one excuse or another-
Note the disclaimers at beginning and at end: “Only way out is to stay healthy”. Otherwise, you are probably SOL.
The US is a scam. You can find it in almost everything.
Unfortunately hypocrisy has been socially acceptable for a long time.
We need to bring back shaming! XD
My wife has had cancer (now in remission). Talk about a pre-existing condition! But we are on the exchange, albeit in a weird way; the local medical mafia have two or more competing “families”, we belong to the one that lists her doctors. We pay around $200 a month to cover us and our youngest child. He will have to get his own plan soon, like his sister does.
No one is going to cover someone who has already had cancer; they worry it might come back. No matter how long you are in remission, they won’t write you a policy at pretty much any price (premium) because cancer treatments can cost big bucks.
Not that they should; she is on a generic med or two that costs little (out of patent). Between her meds, my meds and my kids meds, we about break even on it (pay as much in premiums as the drugs cost, plus an occasional office visit / lab test or two). But the real problem is the disconnect: because no one pays real bills from real doctors anymore, no one can OBJECT to the inflated (imaginary) numbers that show up on the treatment bills. And since you pay the INSURANCE to the medical mafia conglomerate, and they pay the BILLS (usually before you even see them) NO ONE can effectively say, “Wait, NO: I did not see that doctor / have that treatment / take that medicine; and I will NOT PAY IT”. They will often say X is WORTH $10k and settle on $2K of which you owe $150, but all that happens without your input.
THAT is by design; the medical mafia get paid on imaginary numbers with no justification given BEFORE you can object. All you can do is complain afterwards, or quit being insured; at which point the imaginary numbers become REAL, and you have to hire an attorney to fight off the collections ….
Reality cannot be denied forever, and when the SHTF insurance companies and the medical mafia are going to take MAJOR hits, and deservedly so.
Boy is that a mouthful
I’m with you. Never paid a penny for the obamanation, never will. I was trained to kill commies, not become one, and damned if I will become one now. I swore an oath and I meant it.