[Rhodes22-list] Coastal Living - Insurance

[Robert Skinner]

Here in Maine, the Togus VA facility is 60 miles 
away from Portland, the most populous city in the 
state.  From the Togus web site:

"Transportation to Togus VAMC:
Although there is no public transportation 
available to Togus VAMC, Disabled American 
Veterans (DAV) provides a Transportation 
Network for veterans."

It's 260 miles from the northern cities in Maine.

That sucks.

/Robert
--------------------------------------------------------
Hank wrote:
> 
> Other issues with the VA are that it only covers the vet, not his family.
> Healthcare is still needed for the family.  Getting appointments at the VA
> is a major PITA and it is not conducive to folks who are also working. If
> you have an appointment there, plan on spending the whole day. It's more for
> major illnesses and not well suited to handle daily issues that a Primary
> Care physician could handle (i.e. flu, strep throat, sprains, etc.)  And as
> Herb said, if you don't live where they have a hospital, you are SOL as you
> can't go to another provider and have the VA pay for it.
> 
> Hank
> 
> On 2/25/08, Herb Parsons <hparsons at parsonsys.com> wrote:
> >
> > Surely you're not comparing what's available to vets now to what would
> > happen under the libs views of  "universal health care"! Vets "depend"
> > on the VA as a last resort, not because of quality of care, but because
> > of availability of services. I think there's roughly 150 VA hospitals in
> > the US. I think there are almost that many private hospitals in the DFW
> > area. If you throw in doctor's offices, I'm sure the goes way up.
> >
> > The current health care systems WILL pretty much go away because the
> > vast majority of people are going to depend on their rich uncle to "take
> > care of things." As they do so, those private companies will go away
> > because, unlike the government, their business requires a profit, and a
> > profit requires a steady stream of INCOME, which will have pretty much
> > stopped (or been cut way back).  By the time the masses realize what
> > they've lost, it'll be gone.
> >
> >
> > Michael D. Weisner wrote:
> > > Herb,
> > >
> > > You asked:
> > >     Once it's provided, the current health care systems are going to
> > >     pretty much go away (why would anyone PAY for the gubment
> > >     is giving away for "free"?)
> > >
> > > If this were true, no veteran would have health insurance.  Most vets
> > > use the VAMC only as a last resort, even though the system can save
> > > many quite a bit of money on drugs and DME (scooters, wheel chairs,
> > etc.)
> > > Contrary to popular belief, the VAMC is providing quite a good level of
> > > care, much better than many private hospitals.  They have vastly
> > improved
> > > their capabilities over the last 20 years.
> > >
> > > So why will the current health system go away?
> > >
> > > Mike
> > > s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
> > > Nissequogue River, NY
> > >
> > >
> > > From: "Herb Parsons" <hparsons at parsonsys.com> Monday, February 25, 2008
> > > 12:12 PM
> > >
> > >> Your last paragraph says a lot, for those that can read between the
> > >> lines. Here's one of my BIGGEST issues with "universal health care".
> > >> Once it's provided, the current health care systems are going to pretty
> > >> much go away (why would anyone PAY for the gubment is giving away for
> > >> "free"?)
> > >>
> > >> The employer I have now is the same employer I had 15 years ago (new
> > >> company, but same owner). He's a big believer in self-insurance. We (as
> > >> a company) pay our own insurance, and pay out or own benefits. One of
> > >> the big advantages to this is the amount of beauracracy that it avoids.
> > >> Several years ago (again, different company, but same employer), the
> > >> insurance administrative company was balking on paying a claim on one
> > of
> > >> my many daughters' hospital bill. After a week of arguing with various
> > >> folks, I finally went to the owner of the company. He made one call
> > (and
> > >> I got to listen to it) and said "It's a valid claim, please pay it
> > >> immediately". Ta-daaaa the claim was paid.
> > >>
> > >> That will go away with the government provided universal health care.
> > It
> > >> will be run by beauracrats that are more interested in putting in the 8
> > >> hours than actually taking care of business. That's the downside to any
> > >> government "business".
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Brad Haslett wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Mike,
> > >>>
> > >>> YES! Insure against the things you can't recover from without
> > help!  When
> > >>> I
> > >>> queried my insurance agent about his inability to insure me against
> > >>> earthquakes, his response was, "the odds are so small".  Well, that's
> > >>> true,
> > >>> but my wife has an advanced degree in geophysics paid for by the
> > >>> University
> > >>> of Memphis which lured her away from the Beijing Seismological
> > Institute,
> > >>> but more importantly, if it ain't a risk, why wouldn't you just steal
> > the
> > >>> money from me for something that ain't gonna happen? BS.  They looked
> > at
> > >>> the
> > >>> risk and passed.  Life is full of risks and if you have half-a-brain,
> > you
> > >>> take the most risk you can afford and pocket the money.  The risk of
> > >>> losing
> > >>> my home isn't the end of the world, but I'd like to have enough money
> > to
> > >>> forget all about the old neighborhood and what if might become (post
> > >>> earthquake) and I'm willing to pay for that option.  They won't take
> > the
> > >>> other side of the bet, so they obviously see some risk there.
> > >>>
> > >>> Health insurance for all is a different issue - the way the current
> > >>> debate
> > >>> is being framed isn't about sharing risk, it is all about 'sharing'
> > >>> outcomes.  Here's a novel idea: ask for health insurance from your
> > >>> employer
> > >>> instead of income!  Income is taxed, most benefits aren't (we are
> > >>> assuming
> > >>> you have or are seeking an employer). Everyone loves a tax as long as
> > the
> > >>> other guy has to pay for it.  If everyone who supports universal
> > health
> > >>> care
> > >>> would volunteer $300 per month to pay for the health care insurance of
> > >>> one
> > >>> other person, the problem would be solved - overnight.  But no, they
> > >>> don't
> > >>> want to pay for it, they want someone else to.  And you can put me in
> > the
> > >>> category of "my family comes first!" BTW, that 'other' person is the
> > >>> target
> > >>> of the current wave of populist candidates.  That would pretty much be
> > >>> all
> > >>> of them!
> > >>>
> > >>> Brad
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> On Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 10:25 AM, Michael D. Weisner
> > >>> <mweisner at ebsmed.com>
> > >>> wrote:
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>> From: "Herb Parsons" <hparsons at parsonsys.com> Monday, February 25,
> > 2008
> > >>>> 12:25 AM
> > >>>> {clip}
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>> As people discover that they, through the power of their vote, can
> > >>>>> require insurance companies to pay damages for coverage that they
> > were
> > >>>>> not paid for, force them to do business where it is not economically
> > >>>>> viable, force you and I to pay for health care for those that are
> > too
> > >>>>> unmotivated to find the means to do so themselves; I fear we are
> > headed
> > >>>>> down that path.
> > >>>>>
> > >>>>>
> > >>>> This is nothin' new.  Just take a look at the rules for airline
> > >>>> operations.
> > >>>> In order to serve the lucrative markets, they are forced to run
> > >>>> scheduled
> > >>>> flights to markets that never earn money (not that I particularly
> > agree
> > >>>> with
> > >>>> this regulation.)
> > >>>>
> > >>>> You know, it seems that when I learned 'bout insurance in school, the
> > >>>> concept was that the risk was spread over a large pool.  The
> > definition
> > >>>> of
> > >>>> insurance went something like this "Insurance - a system to protect
> > >>>> persons
> > >>>> against the risks of financial loss by transferring the risks to a
> > large
> > >>>> group who share the financial losses."  Providing insurance where it
> > is
> > >>>> "not
> > >>>> economically viable" was balanced by providing coverage to those
> > whose
> > >>>> risk
> > >>>> was much lower but wanted insurance anyway.  That's why insurance
> > needs
> > >>>> to
> > >>>> be "sold" to folks.  Really good salesmen can sell coverages that
> > most
> > >>>> consider uneeded (100 year floods in dry regions.)  If insurance was
> > >>>> only
> > >>>> offered where there was very low risk, there would be no life
> > insurance
> > >>>> coverage for anyone over 30!
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Many of us coasties never get flooded and rarely experience
> > disasterous
> > >>>> wind
> > >>>> or storm damage.  We purchase full homeowner coverages, albeit with a
> > 5%
> > >>>> deductible for storm related damage, at a reasonable rate.  We insure
> > >>>> against losing everything, not to file a claim for a window broken
> > >>>> during
> > >>>> a
> > >>>> storm.  People need to rethink why they buy insurance in the first
> > >>>> place.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Mike
> > >>>> s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
> > >>>> Nissequogue River, NY
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>> __________________________________________________
> > >>>> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>> __________________________________________________
> > >>> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >> --
> > >> Herb Parsons
> > >> S/V O'Jure - O'Day 25
> > >> S/V Reve de Pappa - Coronado 35
> > >>
> > >> __________________________________________________
> > >> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________
> > > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> > --
> > Herb Parsons
> > S/V O'Jure - O'Day 25
> > S/V Reve de Pappa - Coronado 35
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
> >
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list

-- 
Robert Skinner  "Squirrel Haven" 
Gorham, Maine         04038-1331
s/v "Little Dipper" & "Edith P."