Going Without

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People think it’s crazy to go without health insurance – not that it’s any of their business. But they think it is their business – and so we have Obamacare and almost Trump Care, which at least would have resurrected some connection between the cost of premiums and the insured person’s risk profile, including such variables as their age and pre-existing conditions.

If you are older or have an established chronic illness, you’d have paid more for coverage under TrumpCare.

Egads!

This is considered by some to be morally outrageous.

These same people don’t, however, complain about the iniquity of car insurance costing convicted drunk drivers or teenagers or the glaucomic elderly more.

But if my health and track record of physical problems should have no bearing on what I pay for insurance (less or more) why should my DMV record, age or any other such factor affect what I pay for car insurance?

Isn’t the principle the same? Or am I uncouth for mentioning it?

Glaucomic old lady

I don’t have diabetes, high blood pressure or any chronic health problems at all. I’ve incurred (cue Dean Wormer from Animal House) zero point zero in medical costs to the cartel. I am still relatively young and very healthy. I don’t smoke, I hardly drink and I exercise often. No allergies. No medications. My BMI is “fit” and I am the same waist size today that I was in high school. I run 3-5 miles every other day.

My health insurance premiums do not reflect any of this. Which is very odd.

Very unfair.

It doesn’t matter, Obamacare-wise, that I am a low-risk candidate. The premiums quoted for an individual policy are in the $500-plus a month range and based not on my health but on the not-so-great health of others, whose care my and other healthy people’s premiums subsidize. This includes such things as maternity care, which I as a single male am not likely to need – and pediatric care, which I as a single male without children also am not likely to need. But which I and other single men without kids are made to subsidize.

Which makes our premiums – which ought to be be very low – extremely high. It’s exactly like having to pay $2,000 annually for a car policy because my neighbor is a habitual drunk driver and keeps mashing up his car.

Well, I’d like to have the same principle applied to car insurance – for the sake of equality and fairness.

If it doesn’t matter – and it doesn’t, under Obamacare – whether I am an obese chain smoker who lives on fast food and Hoovermouths a medicine cabinet full of expensive prescription drugs every morning and night – then why should it matter, car insurance-wise, whether I have a couple of speeding tickets under my belt? Or whether, for that matter, I am a habitual drunk driver? 

It is outrageous that some people pay higher car insurance premiums based on such “pre-existing conditions” . . . is it not?

Some will tell me that it is a choice – deliberate bad behavior – to break traffic laws or drive drunk and that by doing so, you are demonstrably (statistically, at least) a person who is more likely to have an accident and therefore it is reasonable to charge you more, especially since you could choose to not speed and could drive more cautiously.

Well, sure – certainly.

But why, pray, does the same principle not apply to health insurance? People do not become morbidly obese because an evil genie waved a wand and – presto! – their formerly lean and lithe selves were transmogrified into People of Wal Mart. No one is forced to visit McDonald’s daily, as many people do – or drink several sodas a day. Or forbidden to go to the gym or even for a walk. These are all choices as much as the choice to exceed the speed limit and arguably, less morally defensible because there is no doubt at all that being morbidly obese and eating shit food will result in health repercussions while driving faster than the speed limit will probably result in no repercussions at all.

Why is it considered mean-spirited to expect the Tubby and the Lazy or even the elderly, for that matter, to pay out more for the cost of their actually higher and more frequently necessary medical care – as opposed to the cost of insurance for the young and not-tubby and not-lazy, who generally need less and often no medical care?   

Of course insurance ought to be based on risk – else it’s not insurance and absurd to call it that. And yet – uniquely, bizarrely – the element of risk is entirely excluded from this one kind of insurance. Which explains why it’s bankrupting everyone, including most of all those who don’t even use it.

Like myself, for example.

For the 15 years I was married, I was “covered” under my wife’s policy, which she got through her work. But – other than an occasional physical (done at her prompting) I never darkened the doctor’s door. I am blessed with good health but also take very good care of myself.

At some point, eventually, I recognize that I will probably need a doctor’s services. But for now, not. So, after my divorce, I checked out what it would cost me as a self-employed individual, to buy a basic plan – which, per Obamacare, isn’t available. I must buy coverage for things I do not need, such as maternity and pediatric care. And of course, the cost of my premiums reflects the costs of other people’s health problems which – selfishly, I suppose – I am not particularly interested in paying for.

Because I can’t afford to do so. My resources are limited; other people’s problems are unlimited.

I would pay for a policy that took into account my lack of physical problems, past or present – and the probably much lower-than-average risk of my having them in the foreseeable future, based on my health and conditions and habits. I’d go in for a thorough physical to establish such things as my blood pressure and resting heart rate (62 beats per minute, if you’re interested) and which took into account that I exercise a lot and am not likely to become pregnant and don’t have children, pre-existing or otherwise.

I’d pay for it, because (ta da!) it wouldn’t cost $500 per month – based on the fact that I would likely not use it much.

If I did, then it could go up – fine, that’s fair.

But I’m not paying $500-something per month –  which is the lowest quote I could find –  for nothing . . . to cover other people’s problems, which is what Obamacare amounts to. Which takes no cognizance of my risk profile and which charges me for other people’s risk profiles and for things I absolutely do not need (such as maternity care/pediatric care).

I did the math – and find that pocketing the $500 per month instead leaves me with $6,000 more in my pocket at the end of each year and that covers a lot physicals and even a few stitches, if I happen to have a mishap with the chainsaw again.

Over the next five years, say, that $6k per annum comes to $30,000 in my pocket. Over ten years and it’s $60,000. That would pretty much cover anything less-than-catastrophic that might occur – and leave me change, too. And if nothing catastrophic did occur, I’ve got $60,000 I would otherwise have spent on . . . nothing.

Well, nothing for me – selfish prick that I am.

It’s true I might have a heart attack or get cancer. Something catastrophic might happen.

But probably won’t.

For which insurance would be great.

A high deductible/low-premium policy based on the remote risk of a payout, that would cover me if such an unlikely thing were to happen. Kind of like the way my car insurance premium assumes I won’t cause a major accident, based on my track record of not having them – and charges me accordingly.

But Obamacare isn’t insurance – and neither was/would-have-been TrumpCare. They are not even pre=paid medical care plans. They are wealth transfer plans from the young and healthy and responsible to the old and sick and irresponsible.

No one wants to talk about this, which is why the problem is going to get worse (cost everyone more) and make no one happy.

The People of Wal Mart will continue to abound; there will be less and less incentive to not join their ranks, too.

Why not? Working out is . . . work. Hey, I like fast food, too. And if I’m going to be charged as if I were a Super Sizer, why not at least enjoy the lifestyle of a Super Sizer?

Until I no longer get dunned for “speeding” and other such “pre-existing conditions” when it comes to my car insurance, I don’t see why I ought to be made to pay for non-existing conditions when it comes to (cough) health insurance.

Maybe someone will explain it to me.

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98 COMMENTS

  1. Its a very flawed system. If you do got to hospital without negotiated discounts by an insurance carrier you will get destroyed. You should be paying less as a cash customer but instead you’ll pay far more. Without a free market in health care I dont see a solution.

    • Hi Mark,

      I’m self-employed and make just enough to pay my necessary (unavoidable) bills; paying through the nose for “health insurance” is avoidable and so I do avoid it. I’d like to buy a catastrophic care policy – but the government has forbidden it. But I will not buy a government-mandated “bundle” of crap coverage I don’t need (including substance abuse counseling, maternity care) even if I could afford it, which I can’t.

      The only solution as I see it is to live a healthy life and hope for the best. The alternative being to work to pay insurance – which strikes me as batty.

      • One workaround might be to get ex-pat health insurance for a foreign country. Some plans are very cheap like <$40 month.

        Check out the ex-pat forums for some South American countries for stories of the level of care and cost you can expect. I was very surprised by how good the reports of care and how the low costs.

        All that saved money would get a ticket to the country of choice and lodging while there.

        Have not needed to do this myself but there are stories of others who have. One America to Argentina ex-pat family father had open heart surgery and the deductible was only about $200us.

        Might be worth investigating.

  2. Hi there. Coming at this from a slightly different angle. (I got raked over the coals yesterday with a Dexos oil change, and the Googles brought me here.)

    I appreciate the math you included about why Obamacare appears to be right for you at this point in your life. To be honest, it’s not something I tend to hear from the loud-yelling idiots that seem to get a lot of airtime (before I change the channel or stop reading, that is). I’m a lefty Canadian, and I tend to surround myself with lefty Canadians (and others), so obviously my perspective on this is going to be quite… um… unlike yours.

    I, too, am a healthy guy. Rarely visit a doctor, try to eat right, wear sunscreen, all that jazz. But, with our single-payer system — and everybody paying into it — that has shifted our country’s perspective in the past few decades on health care as being less of a commodity and more of a right. Most of us view it as just part of the “cost of membership” of being a Canadian citizen, and very few people here ever complain about having to pay for it. Are our taxes high? Yeah, they are. But we generally tend to feel as if we get a good value for our tax dollar with decent schools, infrastructure, and of course health care.

    I have a slight bone to pick with your characterization of people that you deem as being too “lazy” or “People of Wal-Mart”-ish as being the only types of people that could ever cost the health care system more money. It goes along with the saying, “there but for the grace of god go I” — you can lose your job, break your leg, come down with some sort of ailment, and… bingo. Everything’s down the tubes, through no fault of your own. Or perhaps you were born into poverty and have had a tough go of it, despite doing things the right way.

    I mean, this is your life we’re talking about here, not car insurance. There’s a fundamental difference between the two.

    Again, thanks for the perspective. I hope you take mine into account, in return. Cheers.

    • Hi JT,

      We have a different view of rights. My view is that I have a right to myself, to the things produced by my mind and body and effort. These things are – properly – mine and no other person’s.

      I do not believe I can have a right to the things produced by the minds/bodies/efforts of others. That would amount to a form of slavery, as I see it. To say I have a right to (for instance) health care means I am saying others are obligated to provide it… with the or else always present.

      I prefer to not have high taxes – and to be left free to decide what’s best for me. To not be told by others what is best for me – and be told I must submit.

      In other words, what I object to is the violence that underpins “lefty” (and “righty”) politics.

      I am fine with socialism – provided socialists don’t insist I be involved!

      • “I am fine with socialism – provided socialists don’t insist I be involved!”
        Exactly – socialism is not the issue, it’s the involuntary part that is objectionable. If “you and him” want socialism, go to it. But include me out.

        • Well… like I said on my original comment, we’re coming from very different places. As Canadians, we’ve affirmed our commitment to the single-payer system over and over since the 1960s, and it’s become a pretty integral part of our national identity. We’ve agreed that it’s going to be something we all chip-in on, whether we need it now or not. (Chances are we’re going to need it later, and then others pay for us.)

          I wouldn’t necessarily call this “socialism,” unless you want to call the rest of the industrialized world socialist, because the rest of us have single-payer systems to various degrees.

          I know this is largely a car-focused site (as I mentioned earlier), but… if someone doesn’t own a car and doesn’t use the roads much, should they get a refund on their taxes for the part that pays for their upkeep? How many “opt-out” bits should there be in terms of the taxes people pay?

          Canada is far from “socialist.” We’re just kind of a little left of you folks down there — but fairly close to the rest of the western world in terms of our programs, policies and general outlook on things. There are plenty of capitalists up here, don’t you worry; we’ve just chosen to largely exclude them from health care. Personally, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about how much insurance coverage I get from my job, or if I change jobs how much all that changes, or how much my premiums are, and all that stuff. When you’re laying in a hospital bed (as most of us will, at some point in our lives), do you really want to have to think about all that? I know I wouldn’t.

          • The USA is not Canada or Sweden or Cuba or whatever utopia of medical care that is held out as an example. The USA is run by a bunch rent seeking oligarchs still angry over the american people rejecting their company towns about a century ago.

            In 1910 medical care was too cheap and that’s how the government was brought in. It’s done a wonderful job with the aims of increasing profits and sucking more wealth into the medical sector. When this system collapses under its own weight and gets replaced with single payer it will be hell. It will be an excuse to micromanage us and make sure the exploitable live and the used up die. Had it been left alone by today medical care would be dirt cheap.

            In the 1960s end stage renal disease became single payer in the USA. As a result the treatment is stuck in that era. I could go into the details but renal failure doesn’t have to be the horror it is today. The problem was solved in the free market but the market for dialysis treatment is free. So people die and have a horrible quality of life for the years to that end. That is the model which will become US single payer medical care.

            The problem with a collective is that someone has to run to it.

          • Hi JT,

            You say “we.” Note that you presume everyone agrees. I expect some do not. What of them? They are forced to go along. That is the defining attribute of socialism and other forms of coercive collectivism. They do not respect the right of the individual to be left in peace, to live his life according to his own free choices, provided he causes no harm to other people thereby. Instead, a bureaucratic elite that claims to represent “we” – the collective – imposes by force various “plans” on everyone. You soft-pedal it, but the fact is men armed with guns will cage people whose only “crime” is resisting the collective by such actions as declining to pay what the collective claims they “owe” to support such schemes as your single payer system.

            It is Soviet Lite, or East Germany on the installment plan.

            Also, what we have is not capitalism with regard to healthcare. It is precisely because it’s not that there’s a problem with cost and access. The system is a wealth transfer program, just as yours is.

            You get “free” health care – but you’re taxed through the nose for it and so your general standard of living is lower.

            All of which would be fine with me if it were freely chosen. If you want to pay into a collective and subsidize the care of countless strangers, by all means – feel free. Just as you should be free to invite as many homeless people into your home to live as you like.

            But, please – leave me out of it!

            • I’m Canadian. I don’t agree with,

              “As Canadians, we’ve affirmed our commitment to the single-payer system over and over since the 1960s, and it’s become a pretty integral part of our national identity. We’ve agreed that it’s going to be something we all chip-in on, whether we need it now or not. (Chances are we’re going to need it later, and then others pay for us.)”

              Or the fact that the last part is a Ponzi-like steal from the next generation scheme.

              Same questions I always ask my fewer and fewer ‘freinds’ who demand (with the threats of their proxy army of bureaucrats) I be part of their great collectivist utopia, “What if I don’t want to be part of your collective?, “Where can I opt -out?”, “What gives the ‘wanters’ the right to demand I be one of them?” .

      • >”I am fine with socialism – provided socialists don’t insist I be involved! “<

        If only! But of course, socialists/communists demand that everyone participate, otherwise the majority of capable, responsible would stay away, 'cause nothing's in it for them; and only a bunch of rag-tag do-nothings and deadbeats would "participate", but there'd be no wealth to redistribute, because all of those people are recipients and not providers.

        Just like the Bolsheviks or Castro or Stalin, they'd rather slaughter the non-participants in their qwest to "serve humanity", than to let them live as they choose at their own expense.

        • But don’t forget it’s all one big party for the people who have good social skills while those who’s balance falls on the end of ‘keeping the lights on and the sewers flowing’ are left to deal with their weaknesses on their own after being knee-capped where they are strongest.

          I think that’s part of why the societies fall apart once the socialism gets beyond a certain point. Men who keep the lights on and the sewers flowing end up doing all the work, having the fruits of their labors taken, and thus there’s nothing in life for them. Their value in society is reduced to nothing. Not value to society, that remains the same, but in society they have none. They are just there to produce and get nothing. Slowly the production stops and those with the social skills, the institutional skills, cannot do it. Things decay and fall apart.

          • Exactly why I stopped playing (and paying for) the game. Paid off everything, living simply, consuming the minimum, as self sufficient as possible.

            I used to be a very productive high skill (highly taxed) member of society, right up until I saw what I worked hard for given to the entirely unproductive. Now I don’t even pay income tax as my level of income is below poverty line and often less than my friends yearly car payments. I don’t pay Canadian healthcare premiums either.

            Starve the system.

    • Justifying paying high taxes “because you get more services, better schools, etc.” is bogus. If you can afford to pay those taxes, you can just as easily afford to purchase whatever services you want/need on the free market, and at a much lower price, because you’re then not forced to deal with the inefficiency of government; lack of competition; and having to pay for freeloaders.

      I used to live in one of the highest taxed places in the US (Which included Nassau/Suffolk/Westchester counties New York; San Francisco California, and Boston Massachusetts). Want to send your kid to a private school of your choosing? You still have to pay the absurd property taxes to send the 12 kids of the guy nextdoor to the pooblik school. Want to take your garbage to the dumps or burn it, or hire the lowest bidder to pick it up at the curb? LOL! You pay on your taxes for the over-priced Mafia-owned company of t5he township’s choosing to pick it up.

      In short, such a scheme is nothing more than soft socialism, and amounts to you having no choice and no control over your own property and life; and when it comes to a service like healthcare, which affects your own body and very life, not having total control or unlimitred choices, is no different than not having access to healthcare at all. In fact, it is worse, because you (or others on your behalf) are paying for it.

      To make an analogy: Imagine if they had socialized clothing! You pay higher taxes, but now you get your clothes “for free”- but you can only choose the styles that the government dictates be manufactured, because the mills now work for the gov’t and not the people/market. Oh! Too bad the gov’t has decreed that all clothing be androgynous/”unisex” so as not to “offend” anyone (Considering what’s happened in Canada l;ately, that would actually be the next logical step!); or that you must wear only certain colored shirts, depending on your profession or other qualifiers.

      I’d much rather live in a tent and scratch in the dirt and be able to do what I want, than to be a slave and yet have all of my needs provided for. And you know what? Having all of your needs and even most of your wants satisfied is not very hard to achieve, if you live within your means, but only if you live in a place where the cost of living is low, and taxes are not oppressive- which is why I left NY many years ago, and can now enjoy my life, and some freedom in one of the “poorer” states. If you’re poor in a place like NY, CA. or MA. you’ll NEVER break the cycle, because the cost of absurd taxes and cost of living because of those taxes and absurd regulation of everything makes everything so expensive- which us why they need socialized this and free that, because half of the population will live as paupers all of their lives, while the other half live as slaves supporting them.

  3. All of this nonsense – ObamaCare, TrumpCare and it’s variants, are all designed to fail. They are there to smooth the way to a single payer, “National Health” system. And if you think healthcare is expensive and non responsive now, wait until it free, and administered by a million woman army of apparatchiks with all the bedside manner of the DMV lady. And that will also be accompanied by a massive surveillance and compliance grid to make sure that all the “human resources” exercise and eat right.

    • I agree 100%, Anti. Starting with Medicare/Medicaid, then HMO’s; then mandated employee insurance, it’s all just been a long march to a nefarious end. In Russia, the Bolsheviks came in and foisted communism on the population all at once through swift violence. Here, the commies have achieved the same end; only through gradualism over the course of 100 years. And now the Russian people have had their shackles loosened a little, and are advocates of freedom, while Americans are crying for more socialism.

      And I do believe that it will be through the auspices of communized medicine that the final embers of our freedoms will be extinguished- because as the Supreme Court has long ago declared, “government has the right to control that which it subsidizes” (even though the money comes from us!!!)- So essentially, once our health is fully subsidized, our every action that could possibly affect our life or health will be subject to control and prohibition- from what we eat, to how we travel (No motorcycle for you! Too dangerous! The people would be forced to have to pay for expensive if you go splat! Possessing motorcycle is now crime! We send SWAT team, make you go splat! That will teach you!) to where we live. [“Can’t live half hour from nearest hospital! Too dangerous!”]

      Our enslavement will sooon be complete.

      • Started long before LBJ.
        1910 when what are now called NGOs commissioned the flexner report to do something about the low price of medical care.

  4. So you finally got the crud , eh ? Well you have my sympathy . despite getting all the silly ass vaccinations ( free right , someone pays for them) I usually manage to acquire some particularily virulent late season crud and its usually , knocks you on your ass .When I get this stuff its a contest of wills to get out of bed and keep the fire burning , the energy is just not there . Didn’t think I would ever say this , as I venture into the seventh decade of life , I just don’t feel the need for compionanship as strongly as in days of yore , when the Wife was gone for a bit over 9 months , it was simply great- feed the critters , fix a Ramen or not , then to bed , undisturbed sleep. I love my Wife , if She leaves , doubtful if I would try hard to fill the void. There is one thing though I wouldn’t be able to replace if She leaves , thats right Health Insurance – how did this CF ever happen ?

    • Hi Kevin,

      Yup. Same crud. Everyone in my neck seems to have received a slice. I am still somewhat tuburcular. Growly lungs, filled with nasty whatever-it-is.

      It wiped me out. I hope it wasn’t too noticeable here. The writing mojo was badly gimped and even now, I am not quite back on an even keel…

      • I honestly thought I was going to smother , during a couple of nights of that ordeal . If Healthcare wasn’t so dang expensive, people would self insure . When I was a kid you could pay the ER with what you had in your pocket or cookie jar , the abuse of providers like “Blue Cross” goes back a long ways. Providers of care used to encourage people to have unnecessary tests and what not , just to Milk the ol’ Cash Cow a bit , in other words a few days of bed rest , with the Insurance company footing the bill .

  5. If we had anarcho-capitalism, basic healthcare services would be affordable. Insurance would only make sense to cover serious illnesses. With the insurance mafia dead, that would also be less expensive. With Big Ag nonexistent, we’d no longer have a shitty food supply. Locally owned family farms would thrive again. Big Pharma is no more. Not only would we be healthier, we’d be wealthier, too. That’s if we’ll ever witness the birth of anarcho-capitalism. *sigh*

  6. It might be easier to first repeal federal drinking and smoking ages. Federal seat belt laws. Drunk driving laws. Mandatory auto insurance laws. Handicapped laws and discrimination laws. Advertising laws. Media laws. Obamacare can be tackled last.

    Each sovereign state can have its own local laws. Or no laws on each topic. An executive order could do this.

    Repeal all the federal shit they’ve ramrodded thru since the 60’s.

    • Man! That would be sweet! Do all of that, and the rest would fall into place, and we might even avert a civil war.

      But of course, with all of our population now having been in government “schools” from the time they were 3 until they’re [often]30, and so many millions working for Uncle or an industry which Uncle subsidizes; or on the dole, it’ll never happen…..

    • So Tor what you’re suggesting is to follow the constitution. No where in there does it mention the feds have any of those powers.

      • Insomuch as the constitution makes America great, there may be a hat tip to it by some among Trump’s hard power econ nationalists.

        These are follow the law guys, but more as a general populist literal read of US law than a nuanced philosophy as law evolved sequentially from Euro law, Virginia charter law, Virginia Burgess Lords law, Articles of confederation house of commons law, and then fed republic constitution law.

        They might bring executive branch law nearer the original intent. But the specifics are left to congress, so long as they work for most Americans and put Americans first.

  7. Your cats can ruin your relationship and debilitate you.
    http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2008/10/05/toxoplasma-the-brain-parasite-that-influences-human-culture/

    Toxo carriers tend to show long-term personality changes that are small but statistically significant. Women tend to be more intelligent, affectionate, social and more likely to stick to rules. Men on the other hand tend to be less intelligent, but are more loyal, frugal and mild-tempered. The one trait that carriers of both genders share is a higher level of neuroticism – they are more prone to guilt, self-doubt and insecurity.

  8. IMO the entire point of Obamacare is so people are NOT self employed. It is designed to enslave us to corporate employment. It also eliminated catastrophic insurance policies. So that cheap policy that will cover being hit by a bus isn’t allowed.

    • “IMO the entire point of Obamacare is so people are NOT self employed.”

      I absolutely agree, Brent. Unless one is making a lot of money as a self-employed person, buying a policy on one’s own is financial lunacy – if it’s even feasible at all.

      My situation, for instance.

      The cost of insurance would consume the lion’s share of my monthly income and leave me with no capacity to save and put me in constant peril of “one thing” pushing me over the edge into not being able to pay my bills. And for what? $6,000 a year – just chucked out the window. In one year. If I remain healthy for the next five years, per my article, and don’t use the insurance, I’ve spent $30,000 on …. nothing.

      Isn’t it smarter to just put the $30k aside?

      And factor this over 20 years. That’s $120,000!

      Barring some highly unlikely catastrophe, I’ve got $120k in my bank account.

      This does not factor opportunity cost – what I might have done with that money, in terms of investments – which could have doubled the sum.

      Insurance is, in a word, bullshit.

      • But Eric, that would be your money. The way it is now, you give it to them, and it becomes their money. See?

        It’s very simple, actually.

  9. Mandated purchase of insurance is literally a protection racket. Why does the public put up with this criminal behavior. Ten years ago most people I knew would have refused to participate in any forcible purchase of a..n..y..t..h..i..n..g!!! I get a bit angry with people who increasingly participate in being willing victims of government criminal schemes. I thought it was bad with so many people running to the bank to get back into debt with the Cash for Clunkers Scam. Now people give me this bullshit-horror look when I tell them that I refuse to purchase health insurance, in addition to intentionally canceling what little I did carry. They decry the injustice of cavity searches at commercial air travel facilities, yet still voluntarily throng to use them! What about all that wonderful 4-wheeled transportation they have been ass-raped and eternally consigned to pay for??
    Our politicians have become public sponsored rapists because most of their supporters are begging for it right up the ass! It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to have any hope for, let alone respect for, such a spoiled, self-centered, self-abusing society!

  10. Eric, millions of words of digital ink have been spilled on this topic, and this article is the best, clearest on the issue. And on a car site to boot! Well done, and three cheers for low premium, high deductible catastrophic insurance here in the Land of the Free.

      • Eric – if you had decent health insurance, you could have gone to a doctor. He would have told you what you already knew, sent you to a specialist, requested x rays, blood tests and follow up visits. He’d likely give you prescriptions for 2, maybe 3 different drugs, none of which would be covered by your plan. The specialist would have ordered new x rays, because the originals wouldn’t be exactly what he was looking for, so he’d want his own. He would also need to schedule a pulmonary function test, but you’d have to go to another facility for that. Then you’d have to go back to have the specialist confirm for you that you do indeed have the flu. And of course you would need to go back to the original doctor so he could monitor your progress, perhaps with another blood test and x ray. A cat scan might also be a good idea at this point. Now mind you, each of these visits will cost you a 50 or 60 dollar copay, and most won’t be covered 100%, but you should only have to spend about $1500 of your own money – your insurance will pick up the rest! And the good news is, with the help of the health care system, you could have been cured in, oh I dunno, maybe about 10 days! Geez, I just can’t understand why you don’t want insurance ?

  11. Ask yourself why there are so many women employed by DMV and other Govt. departments of the like. For the most part, they get the benefit of unreproachable power, and virtually no accountability. Same goes for politicians; women politicians, double. Most women are brought up to be dependent on men, so socialism is appealing to them, i.e.. share the power without burden of responsibility or accountability. Which is why most single women come across as Left-Wing Socialist
    Liberals, which most (if not all) are.

    • Also men are more likely to prefer working for a living rather than just mooching. Not saying all, just more likely.

    • Hi Graves,

      I’m coming around to this point of view, too. And losing interest in women. I miss my ex-wife, despite everything. But I find I have less and less interest in a replacement. Just not worth the hassle. It’s odd. My desire, even the purely physical, is just not there. I’d rather read a book with a cat on my lap and nod off to sleep.

      • I think your testosterone is low due to your aversion to doublethink and doublespeak. Too much truth and candor is unhealthy and makes you unattractively beta to all the faux alphas who facilitate fools triumphing in their folly.

        Time are tough. Life is short. Dial your principles down a notch. Gold is most virtuous, but silver is more useful and popular.

        There’s still quality women around. Try here for example. https://voat.co/v/TraditionalWives/1599933
        Forget replacing what you lost. Imagine instead what feminine correspondence still exists these days.

        • Hi Tor,

          Could be.

          But I’m becoming comfortable with The Situation. Meaning, alone – and free of the hassle. My wife, I’ve got history with her. I have feelings for her. But some new chick? I just don’t give a shit. Not interested… enough.

          I feel too tired to even try. Not interested in making the effort. I don’t want to go out and put on a performance. I am up working at 4:30 in the morning; I work all day – writing and then keeping the house up. Come five or six int he afternoon and all I want is some peace and quiet, maybe a nice steak and something interesting to read afterward, then sleep.

          I know, I am getting old. But I am ok with it.

          I’m not 25 anymore. The Lure is just not there.

          The thing I miss most about my wife is just hanging out with her and making dinner and watching the shows she and I used to watch together.

          • If there’s any chance of her return, it’s seeing you with another woman.

            Robin looks good…

            Dont care what you make, for money isnt everything.I dont need a man to take care of me and buy me things. I can do that for myself.

            What I need is a man to fill whats missing.My fav. thing and biggest turn on is the purr of an engine.Love american muscle.

            Im attracted to more to a slender guy than a excessively buff guy.peircings and excessive tattoos are not a turn on either.

            Age: 43, Pisces
            Height: 5 ft. 7 in.
            Hair, Eyes: Red, Hazel
            http://www.datehookup.com/user-138384830.htm

              • Absolutely Eric! Women are not worth the time, money, aggravation and heartache to bother with. rent one if the need becomes too much to bear. Other than that, who needs them?

                • That’s where I am now, Bill.

                  I guess I’m burned out/cynical. I don’t have much to offer, frankly, in the way of excitement. I’m a homebody. I don’t stay out late. There is no way I’m going to bars. I don’t want someone else’s ex-wife who hates men and is on the cusp of menopause and I’m not interested enough in the younger ones to put out the effort.

                  I think I’m officially Retired.

                  • I personally think I’m evolving into a Vulcan. I only mate every 7 years or so and there’s usually a lot of collateral damage.

                • Hey guys, there’s a whole community of us who have awakened to the reality of the futility of bothering with women now-a-days.

                  It’s called “MGTOW” (pronounced Mig-tou”) which stands for Men Going Their Own Way.

                  More and more men are realizing that most women today are worthless; and that the laws in the Western world are stacked against us, so that things like marriage and procreation are becoming just a way for women to take our wealth and for the system to further enslave us.

                  Feminism has ruined everything for both men AND women.

                  Lots of good listening on Youtube on this subject. One of my favorite channels is “MGTOW Is Freedom”

                  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4DyPLVr8OsvTtShvPEEk4w/videos

                  Me? I quit dating c.25 years ago and never looked back. Never found what I was looking for, and I’ve enjoyed my life of peace and quietness with no drama.

                  Urges? Yeah, I’m 55 and still will pop an unprovoked boner for no reason- but it won’t kill you to resist an urge!

                  It helps also to not seek out temptations- especially in this overly-sexualized world, where virtually every song, movie, novel, ad, etc. is about sex/romance.

                  Once you come to the realization that women are no longer very desirable, and that you are NEVER going to find what you are looking for, because it does not exist (thanks to feminism), you pretty much become not only immune to all the extraneous stimuli, but you actually scoff at it.

                  Just like most other aspects of life today, we’ve been conditioned to desire certain things and think of them as necessities; made to lust after them- be it “free” healthcare, or a dedicated sex partner- but just like all of the other things, once you have the appropriate outlook, you realize that what is being touted as so necessary an evil, isn’t necessarily necessary- just evil 🙂

                  Hey, I’m freaking ITALIAN and I can do it….so for any mere mortal, it should be even easier! 😀

                  God gave me one johnson and two hands…so even though I’m alone, I can have two partners!

                  The Little Rascals were right! Long live the He-Man Woman-Haters Club! (Well, now you know where “Spanky” got his name from!)

                  • Wise words, Nunzio…

                    Something clicked off in me like a light switch… I still love my ex but have nothing left for anyone else. I’m dried up. Like you, I miss sex sometimes. But it’s not everything and the desire passes. The idea of having a partner who has your back and won’t ever give up is very appealing – but I’ve come to believe it’s a fantasy and once that bubble pops, it’s not something you can unpop. The illusion is gone. And with it, your faith and (for me) the desire to have anything to do with it anymore. I don’t think I could be someone else’s boyfriend, much less husband. I’m broken. Not fixable.

                    • Wow! You “get it” Eric! And you’ve expressed it very eloquently!

                      It may be hard for others to understand, but once you’ve experienced it, it becomes obvious.

                      Some may feel sorry for us, and think that we’re somehow missing something; but in reality, it is a great thing, as we have been freed from a fruuitless pursuit; from a seemingly never-ending lust and desire which can never realistically be satisfied, and which destroys most people’s lives and sanity and makes them miserable, much like someone who thinks that the only way they can ever be happy is by winning $100Million in the lottery, so spends their entire life neglecting everything else in the present to buy lottery tickets in the hope that they will eventually win- but meanwhile, had they enjoyed what they had in the present, and worked on improving themselves and what they already have, they could have been far happier than having spent their life pursuing an illusive dream that which even if they did realize at some point, probably would not bring them the happiness which they supposed it would.

                      And learning the self-discipline to not covet- be it wealth or women or power [and pretty much all Libertarians have already aced that last one! 🙂 ] is truly liberating- not only for our own peace of mind and happiness, but it makes us virtually UNCONTROLLLABLE- ’cause if ya haven’t noticed, those who seek to control us, when they’re not/can’t do it by overt force, are doing by manipulating our desires for wealth, women and power.

                      It’s like” Once we’ve gotten to this point, we are on a different level than most people. We’ve mastered a major step in life, and have been able to move on and move forward!

                      And you can never go back! Funny thing is, now that I don’t care anymore, I’ve never gotten so much attention from women! Not fat ugly old women either! They must sense that we don’t care; or maybe it’s the air of confiedence we project when we no longer care- who knows- but I’ll tell ya, it makes me feel good- but I’m not even tempted.

                  • I don’t care for labels and MGTOW is yet another label I don’t like. Anyways…

                    Simply put there is a realization of market reality. Cost is A and benefit is B. It has been assumed by the state and feminists that men will absorb ever increasing costs for ever decreasing benefits. It’s like law makers who thought they could pass taxes and not hurt demand. Socially it has often been expected even demanded that men ‘man up’ to whatever the cost level is. Never mind it is orders of magnitude greater than it was just as recently as the 1930s or even 1970s.

                    It’s just a market reality that as the price of something increases the number of buyers decrease.

                    • Yep. That’s pretty much the MGTOW message in a nutshell.

                      I don’t care for labels or defining myself by inclusion in a group either- but sometimes you have to have a general way to quickly describe something; a short-hand.

                      It’s true even of “Libertarian”. If Gary Johnson’s a Libertarian, what am I? ‘cauise I’m certainly not what he is!

                      Ditto MGTOW. Some of the MGTOW vloggers are talking about “artificial wombs” and surrogates, so they can procreate without having to get involved with a woman. I mean GTFOOH with that! Can you imagine a man raising a baby?! (I’ve senn it- My neighbor’s wife abandoned him and the kid when the kid was a few months old… Believe me, it ain’t pretty!) -Or some speak of sex-robots and such. I mean, Jeez….if they need what a woman can provide so badly, just get a woman!

                      But just like any group or label- it’s just a generalization (Unless one is some sort of mindless conformist…)- I mean, it’s a lot easier to say MGTOW than it is to explain that you’re not queer, and that your plumbng is just fine, and you’re not a pedophile, etc. but you just don’t find it beneficial to bother with women.

                      Believe me, as someone who’s been this way for half of my life, it’s nice to have a label that at least comes close to describing it, because friends and relatives know I’m not a homo, but I’m sure they’re all scratching their heads wondering why it is that they never see me with a girl, or why I never married. (Funny though, the spinsters in the family seem to manage to avoid that same scrutiny! ).

                      Hey, I’ll take “MGTOW” over “weirdo” any day! 😀

                    • But like all labels that go against the weight of popular belief it is the extreme weirdos that define the label to those who know only what the mainstream media tells them.

                    • >”But like all labels that go against the weight of popular belief it is the extreme weirdos that define the label to those who know only what the mainstream media tells them.”<

                      Yeah, but that's true of ANYTHING which is perceived as being outside of the norm. Until people get used to the idea, that's the way it will be, whether you affix a label to it, or describe it intimately.

                      It's not the label that people react to- nor even the extremists/weirdos who may be affiliated with a given movement (because the average joe only has a vague concept about any given subculture), but rather it's the unusualness/unorthodoxy/newness of of a given thing that they often react to- unless of course it truly is some kind of really weird or abhorrent group- and even then, look how people have been conditioned to accept faggotry.

                  • Spetsnaz & Messenger Rising are two more MGTOW Youtube channels that come highly recommended by yours truly. 😉

                    • It’s amazing how fast this MGTOW thing is growing! 6 months ago, I thought I was probably the only guy in the world who was thinking like this, and that such an attitude would be about as popular as peeing in the pool.

                      Turns out, disgust with the whole culture of women must be so great and so universal, that guys of all ages and walks of life are jumping aboard. Even some teens are getting into it!

                      Shouldn’t be a surprise though- this is really just the logical outcome of “the sexual revolution” and feminism.

                      Interesting thing too: MGTOW seems to be leading a lot of people to libertarianism (or maybe just Libertarian types are coming to MGTOW?)- But I do think that the realization that women are the ones demanding that the state support them and their children, and that the state give them special rights and privileges to make them “equal”, is indeed causing a lot of men to see the true nature of the state, and liberalism is being used against us- to squelch our rights and steal our wealth.

                      The same could be said about certain minorities- but the thing is: Most men have dealt with women and been effed-over by the system at least once or more, and have seen first-hand what is going on- while those same men may have never personally viewed what is going on in projects or ‘hoods, nor had any personal dealings with that “lifestyle”.

                    • I have a friend who is egging me on to date; says I need to. I tell him I’m just not interested and he clearly thinks there’s something wrong with me – and maybe there is. On the other hand, maybe not. Why would I want to put myself in the firing line? I will never be able to be believe in some of the things I used to believe in, even if they do exist. Besides which, you’re right about the rest, too.

                      The obsession with “safety” and the given that they are sheep-dipped in every orthodoxy and expect obeisance to the same. Some of the unattractive ones may not be – but then, they’re not attractive. So what would be the point?

                      Remember Crom…

                    • Ah well, Eric, that’s the good thing about getting older, like me- When you’re younger, they try and push women on ya- like they have a mission to make your life miserable like their own or something. When you get older, they leave you alone.

                      Of course, unlike the ladies, us men tend to get better with age, so the paradox is: Others don’t have to try and fix you up….the women start making plays for you themselves. From old disgusting hags, to young hotties. (I’ve almost been tempted by a few of the young’uns- early 20’s- but luckily, I gave it some thought, and realized the futility of it).

                      Women are pretty much done by the time they hit 35. Many these days even earlier due to poor lifestyle; and the younger ones are even crazier than the old 35 year-old hags….so really, what is out there? Absolutely NOTHING! Even foreign women from [what ysed to be] more traditional cultures are infected with the same afflictions as our dingbats….

                      Heh, I remember the one fix-up I went on. I was around your age, and was guilted into it because “It wouldn’t kill you just to spend a few hours with this nice girl”- “Girl”, yeah, right- she was the oldest woman I had EVER went on a date with- 32!!! She was O-K looking, but nothing to get excited about; and was nice enough- but again, nothing to get excited about- I was pretty much bored before pulling out… [of her driveway 😀 ]

                      About 45 minutes into the date, I started getting so bored that I just stopped caring, and wanted to be sure that I wouldn’t have to go through some kind of song and dance to not see Miss Makemeyawn again, so I started belching and farting loudly, in public.

                      It did the trick.

              • And if/when you do get “urges” there’s plenty of young women who are happy to take off their clothes (and more if you find yourself in Nevada) for “rich” old men.

                • Hi Eric,

                  I’m not rich or old, just sick of it. Or rather, no longer much interested in it. I can’t summon the necessary motivation to bother with it. I am too old to “date.” And, to what end? I’m not looking for a replacement; such does not exist. I broke the vase. No use trying to glue it back together.

                • Far better option is a trip to someplace relatively free like Tijuana or various tropical places in the orient. Even the working girls understand men far better than feminized American women.

  12. Health insurance isn’t insurance. It is a scam. Look at your medical bill, insurance magically lowers the bill by 90%.

    Also, health insurance today is like having routine maintenance covered on a car plus future repairs. A nice option, but it should be an option.

    You can’t shop around for a plan that fits your needs. You are tied to with whatever your job picks for you.

    Getting sick is a fact of life. Being forced to get treatment so government can keep its slave healthy to generate taxable income.

  13. It’s not crazy to go without “health insurance”. In fact quite the opposite. If the idea that insurance would give peace of mind and prevent bankruptcy, it’s failed pretty badly. It does neither. Even if i had insurance, a major thing would still bankrupt me. So it’s useless in my book, because a major thing is a very low risk.

    I haven’t had it since college back in the 1990’s. The only reason I had it in college, was that the school required that I do. I was going to present a fake policy made on a computer (a common practice then by students, even the “affordable” (affordable to who?) policy offered by the school was expensive), since there was no way to afford it even then. But the folks paid for a policy from their insurance carrier then. That was the last time i had it. It was a complete waste of money, as I went to the doctor exactly zero times those years.

    Some of my lefty friends were posting a stupid meme about how Ryancare was going to increase the cost of a person making $20,000 a year from $1,400 to $14,000. They didn’t like it when I pointed out that $1,400 may well as be $14,000. As $1,400 is hardly affordable on $20,000 a year either. And that’s if there was such a plan at $1,400 (there isn’t). None of them could produce such a policy.

    It’s a stupid system getting even more stupid. But it’s all a plan by those who want single payer. Just wait to the problems that system will bring us.

    • Excellent link Nick. This guy has real, common sense proposals that might actually fix our health care system. Don’t know anything about Denninger or whether he has the ear of anyone influential, but I sure hope so.

      • Hi VZ,

        This may sound prick-ish and it’s not meant that way…. but, I try to avoid the use of modifiers such as “our” health care system. It’s certainly not mine – and I want nothing to do with it. 🙂

        • I get it Eric, and certainly agree with you in principle, but the reality is that “we” are stuck with this bullshit whether we like it, or want to participate, or not. My wife was an “administrator” in the health care system for almost 40 years, so believe me, I know more about the bullshit than most. The stories she has would make your head explode, but when you have a heart attack, trauma or some serious illness, where else ya gonna go?

          • Hi Vz,

            It’s just me now – so if I have a heart attack or whatever, it’s ok. No one depends on me and when I’m lights out, I won’t care anymore, either.

            • Seriously Eric, you’re sounding a bit depressed. I know that the troubles of the world and the BS that goes on in this country can get ya down, but hey, it’s always been thus. I have good friends, good beer, a dog that loves me. A wife who adores me and two great kids. I know you don’t have the wife anymore, and never had the kids. I too get concerned about what’s happening around us, but I also know that I can’t change it, so as much as possible, I just go with the flow and try to stay under the radar. I know what’s really important, and it sure as shit ain’t government or politicians. You sir, are doing something to change the world, and I dare say that your website has made a huge difference in the lives of many of us. You should be proud of that. Whether you know it or not, my guess is you’re not really over the wife yet, but give it time, things will get better, I promise.

          • It’s still ‘their’ system, not ‘ours’.
            It’s a wealth transfer mechanism from us to them.

            The political involvement in medical care has been to increase the prices doctors and others in the system could charge from day one over a century ago.

  14. Thanks for the fatty pix Eric, especially the woman in shorts; I’m never going to be able “unsee” that ?

    • Hey Mike
      I remember you thinking about moving to Florida a while back. Well, if you like that picture, come on down – our Wal Marts are full hotties just like her. Oh, and unlike MA, they wear shorts all year!

  15. Oh, and Eric, LOL- why is it always the women who prompt for physicals? (Because they buy into all of the BS?)

    Had to laugh when I read about your ex prompting you! My mother still prompts me, and I’m 55!

    And it’s ridiculous. I knew a guy whose wife prompted him to go for a physical because there was a history of heart disease in his fambly. He goes and gets a clean bill of health….and then dropped dead two weeks later….from….(you can probably guess) a heart attack.

    • I think wives might be the key to solving the health care problem. If they’d stop making us go to the doctor, costs would go down by half almost over night!

  16. Over the last three decades, [I’ve never had health insurance] I’ve spend about $10K on healthcare. Imagine what paying for insurance would have cost over the course of those 30 years! Probably $150K- not to mention things like deductibles and co-pays…..

    Health insurance “advocates” don’t seem to understand that insurance is only viable, -only a good deal, when you have lots of people paying in and only a few people receiving benefits. “Insurance” where 99% of the people who pay in actually use the coverage, is not insurance, it is paying for your own, plus subsidizing others, plus paying administraticve costs and profits for the insurers and all who deal with them- and thus not only is of no benefit, but actually ends up costing more than just paying for what you use.

    Imagine how much more expensive car insurance would be if 99% of drivers had claims multiple times per year!

    And the subterfuge of the medical billing practices are also used as a deception to push insurance. Someone gets a CAT scan and sees a bill for $1500 and thinks that that is what the CAT scan costs- but in reality, the ins. co. paid $600 for that CAT scan- but the hapless victim doesn’t realize that if he were paying out of pocket, his cost would be $600 too, and not the mythical “$1500” which is just a “list price” that no one actually pays, but which is used just to calculate a percentage (which is the real price) which the insurance companies and Medicare pay. (And that is what really started all of this nonsense- when the gov’t got into healthcare by establishing Medicare. And how ironic- THAT is what led to healthcare becoming so expensive, and yet people are begging Uncle for help in making it cheaper!)

    • The thing is if insurance worked like it should, if the medical system worked like it should. You’re insurance cost would be well under $100 a month, more like $20. It would only cover certain extreme things and have a very high deductable, maybe $25,000. You would pay cash for everything.

      You would also not get it through your employer because the gov’t would have never limited wages which created it in the first place.

      Once everyone paid cash that cat scan cost might be $100 because very few people would elect to have it done if they needed to pay $600.

      The only things in our economy that get more expensive are the two most highly regulated. Doctors and cars. Everything else gets less expensive as technology grows.

      I was looking at msrp for a 1970 duster 340. $2,549 which is $16,000 in todays money. Sure you can add $2000 for fuel injection good brakes and some other upgrades but the point is for $18,000 you could have great, fun cars. Whats a new challenger, $40,000?

      • They actually do have “catastrophic policies” which are as you describe, it’s just that many people don’t seem to know about them.

        I had this discussion with a neighbor years ago. He told me he was paying $900 a month for ins. for his fambly of 4. I said “Do you even use anywhere near $11K worth of medical services a year?”- He admitted no, not even close. Biggest expense was when his wife had the last baby, and that was c. $3500. [And that was the “list price”- the actual cash price would have been about half of that].

        He said “I have to keep the ins. though in case I get cancer or have a heart attack or something”. So I told him about catastrophic policies, where it might cost him $100-$200 a month, depending on deductible, with anywhere from a $5K to $15K deductible.

        He didn’t do it though. So instead, he gets 2 hours sleep per night, if that, ’cause he’s got a full-time job; farms, and has a business. So he’s destroying his health so he can pay for health insurance.

        • Hi Todd and Nunzio,

          Absent government intervention it is likely that most people would have catastrophic policies. Such policies would encourage self-rationing of medical care, more personal concern for health, better and cheaper medical services and innovation in the provision of those services. Basic, but good quality care, would be available to the poor, likely on the “lodge practice” model which was destroyed by collusion between the AMA and government.

          For years, tax policy has created an incentive for employers to offer low deductible policies as part of total compensation. The mechanism is that “wages” in the form of health insurance are not taxed. Whereas, higher money wages to compensate for either providing no insurance policy or a “catastrophic” policy are taxed at the full bracket rate. Thus, both employees and employers are punished for choosing the vastly superior model of “catastrophic” insurance.

          Only if high deductible policies were the norm would competitive pressure drive down the cost of medical care, which is the real “crisis”. Despite what people claim, access is rarely an issue, but cost is. While some “catastrophic” policies still exist (though less so with Obamacare), they are not a good deal. For such policies to make sense, out of pocket expenses for medical care would need to be much lower. The rub, of course, is that these costs will never go down until the majority of people pay for routine health care themselves.

          The effect of government intervention has been to drive up costs. This goal was explicit in the first intervention (licensing laws intended to destroy “lodge practice”). Subsequent interventions (mandates, restrictions, tax subsidies, etc…) have had the same effect, though increasing cost is never acknowledged as a goal.

          While elimination of all intervention should be the goal, this happening is a pipe dream given political reality. However, if politicians and “activists” genuinely desired a better, cheaper and more accessible health care market, they could do something within the bounds of political reality that would help. Namely, peg the tax subsidy to the size of the deductible rather than the cost of the policy. This would create an economic incentive to purchase more responsible “catastrophic” policies which would be cheaper, leaving more money in the hands of the consumer, and eliminate the tax penalty for choosing the economically and socially more responsible option. An added benefit would be that competition would drive down costs, increase quality and create better options for the poor. All of which would mitigate against the “need” for intervention.

          Jeremy

      • Hi Todd,

        “The only things in our economy that get more expensive are the two most highly regulated. Doctors and cars”.

        I think you need to add quite a bit to that list, education for instance. Still, this point is lost on most people. Interventions always increase cost, which then “requires” more interventions, which increase costs, etc… It is interesting to compare the electronics industry to the healthcare industry. Somehow, technological innovation always drives down the cost of TV’s, computers, etc… but always serves as an excuse to increase the cost of health care. Hmm, I wonder why.

        The tragedy is that there would likely be no health care “crisis”, if people were just left to themselves to provide for their own needs. Most people have no idea that the first health care crisis “fixed” by government was that of low cost and high access.

        http://freenation.org/a/f12l3.html

        Jeremy

    • I’ve been in the same boat since I hung out my own shingle 7 years back. When I started it would have been outrageously expensive to insure my family and self, something like 1200/month. Now thanks to communism, I can get it for only $2200 a month with 3 adult kids out of the house. We use about $1200-$2000/year for the lot of us.

      Interesting also, my (legally adult 18 year old) son had an inflamed appendix and had a routine appendectomy. They kept him in the hospital overnight after this (basically arthroscopic) minor procedure. They tried to charge him $24 grand. After going back and forth for most of a year, and we would have gladly paid an honest bill in the $4000 range, they instead wrote the WHOLE DAMNED THING off!

  17. Eric the problem is that all your neighbors can’t drive and crash the car constantly. Insurance is a group funded plan. It’s not a pay as you go sort of thing. It relies on healthy people paying in to cover the sick. If everyone drove like they treated their bodies, you wouldn’t be able to afford car insurance either.

    Insurance should be cheap, it should be insurance, not a payment plan. The problem is gov’t has it all mucked up and our health is a mess. They have driven costs up so high that you can’t afford to be treated if something did happen. I’m not sure how to fix it.

    Ban health insurance other than catastrophic coverage?
    End ALL regulation over drugs and licensing?

    That is never going to happen.

    • Hi Todd,

      “Eric the problem is that all your neighbors can’t drive and crash the car constantly.”

      Sure they can – and some do!

      But at least I’m not charged a higher premium because of it.

      On the other hand, my health insurance costs are higher because of all the fatsos, smokers, breeders and various other irresponsible people who incur massive costs that are are shifted onto the backs of those who do not incur them.

      “Insurance is a group funded plan.”

      Yes, exactly. But it must be based on individual risk else it’s just a wealth transfer/subsidy. Insurance should be about not paying out – should be based on unlikely-to-happen What If scenarios. Not used to pay for routine, expected expenses. Imagine using car insurance to pay for oil changes. That’s what Obamacare is.

      The solution? Remove coercion. Leave people free to buy what they need – and say no to what they do not want or need.

    • “Ban health insurance other than catastrophic coverage?
      End ALL regulation over drugs and licensing?

      That is never going to happen.”

      Yes it will happen. The current system will collapse under its own weight. Thanks to Obama it will probably happen sooner rather than later. It’s the old, “Democrats want to drive us over the socialist cliff at 100 mph, Republicans want to drive 55.”

      • I think the next step is going to be medicare for all, that will hang around for a while. Care will get crappier and crappier.

  18. Yeah, I went uninsured after Obamacare passed and the premiums went even higher.

    RyanCare wouldn’t have fixed the fundamental problems that Obamacare caused, the problems that created a gigantic insurance death spiral. The main thing it would have done would have fucked over any member of the Stupid Party who voted for it, since now they would own the problem after running on repealing the damn thing. Took the swing votes of the Liberty Caucus to block RyanCare.

    Maybe they rest of their gotdamn party will get a clue and finally repeal Obamacare, but — you can’t fix stupid.

  19. I agree. I have an HSA that I use to pay for routine care (trips to the dentist & the occasional “quick-med” visit). The rest of the time I’m earning interest on it. What I want out of a policy is catastrophic coverage – in case I get cancer or am in a car wreck. And *that’s it.* But you can’t find those policies any more. The ACA made them illegal.

    One step that will get us on the road to sanity is opening up the insurance markets to nationwide competition. Since insurance works by shared risk, having more people in the pool lowers costs for everyone. The other is to stop treating insurance like pre-paid healthcare. And the last is for doctors to post price boards in their waiting rooms for routine care, so patients can price-shop.

    • 100% agreed. Also, we might consider allowing alternative health care clinics in the US operate without fear of being shut down by the FDA. I believe that alternative healthcare would rapidly improve the health of people in the US as well as drive down costs as people become healthier.

      • Ignore the “food pyramid”.

        It was designed by the Department of Agriculture, so no surprise that corn & grains are what is most recommended by them. They’re the cheapest source of calories in the US, and they’re in *everything*.

        Also learn the technical names for substances. Splenda sweetener (“Zero calories”) has Dextrose as it’s first ingredient, which is another name for Glucose, which is sugar. A packet actually has 4 Calories, which by the rules is below the 5 calorie reportable limit, so they can say zero.

        • Amen, Chip.

          I mostly eat meat and simple carbs (apples, fruit) and shun corn and gluten. I maintain about 190 pounds (6ft 3) without otherwise “dieting” at all.

        • Chiph,

          The problem is people don’t care about health or the food pyramid. They buy that stuff because it is cheap, it is cheap because of the farm bill.

          it makes no sense that a box of crackers which takes massive tractors, rail road, tractor trailers, industrial machinery to manufacture and packaging. Costs less than a head of lettuce which can be grown locally and takes a hoe and a knife and a pickup to get to market.

    • Chiph,

      That would be nice. Imagine having the cash available to use as needed. If not needed can save it for use at a later time. If you die before using give it to whom ever you choose. (I am assuming that you could do that with funds in a HSA.)

      Eric,
      Well stated. For my mom it was less costly to stay on COBRA coverage than pay for ACA when her job left to Colorado.

      Although your writing is excellent, the math is off in this case.
      Over the next five years, say, that $6k per annum comes to almost $40,000 (exactly 30,000) in my pocket.

      • The question about what happens to the funds in the HSA when you die is a good one. I assume they become part of your estate. Contributions are generally post-tax (if your employer funds any, that part would be pre-tax), so your heirs “might” just get it all. Depends.

        The idea is to accumulate funds in there so that when you retire you’ll be able to use it to pay for your Part B policy. Yes, this is all way too complicated and could use a good hammer to beat it into simplicity.

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