tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069955.post3364114092224151265..comments2023-10-26T08:02:44.948-04:00Comments on Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State: HEALTH CARE BULLDOZED BY PUBLIC OPTION?Don Pescihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11167988001948356357noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069955.post-75923574823138014902009-06-08T23:30:46.401-04:002009-06-08T23:30:46.401-04:00We all deserve to have the type of health care pro...We all deserve to have the type of health care program that Republican Congressmen and representatives have.<br />As a federal employees Republican congressmen, (who think everyone else should be on a private plan), get a taxpayers funded plan that pays for 75% of their insurance premiums.<br />Here's how The office of Personnel management describes their taxpayer funded plan<br /><br />"Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country. You can choose from among Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan."Hamsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10045933530624125001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069955.post-35570339401578817372009-06-08T21:49:55.295-04:002009-06-08T21:49:55.295-04:00Here is another option that no one has talked much...Here is another option that no one has talked much about<br /><br />First, a little story.<br />My wife and I are in our early 60's and self employed.<br />We pay for health insurance out of our own pockets. We do not receive any employer contributions to our health care like most Americans who get a paycheck nor do we get taxpayer subsidized healthcare like our dear California Congressmen McClintock who is lucky enough to be federal employees and enjoy wonderful health benefits.<br /><br />At our age, our health insurance company , Blue Shield would be charging us $1500-$2000 a month for coverage...if we could afford that.<br /><br />Since we can't ....we opted for the cheapest option available to us at our age....a catastrophic healthcare option with a $10,000 deductible. So in essence we pay for all our own doctor visits, prescriptions, dental cleanings...up to $10,000 per person per year. Only after we've paid out $10,000 will our insurance company's benefits start to kick in.<br />Monthly cost for that lousy plan....$900 a month!!<br /><br />I would call a healthcare plan like that...pretty crummy.<br /><br />So what have we been doing to get healthcare we can afford??<br /><br />Well, for the last 4 years we've been hoping on a flight to Thailand every November where we take care of all our aches and pains, dental work and physicals....for about 1/10th the cost of what we would pay for the same medical services in the good old USA.<br /><br />That's right. $2500 worth of physicals...ultra sounds, blood tests, ekg's, stress tests, bone density scans, mammograms...for $300. An $2500 operation for dysphasia...for $100. $100 Dental cleanings... for $20...by a real dentist and assistant, not a dental hygenist.<br /><br />The flight is 14 hours and costs $900 roundtrip ...but the savings are so huge and the service so great that even after the airfare...we come out way ahead.<br /><br />The US healthcare system is broken. But Americans need not become victims.<br />Foreign countries offer excellent medical care for a fraction of the cost.<br /><br />In fact, if more people would opt to have their healthcare needs taken care of in Mexico, India or Thailand, it would go a long way to introducing more competition in the US healthcare market.<br /><br />What is even more amazing is that Thailand has a public healthcare system that even American's can use.<br />I now have a medical card to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok and I used my US passport as ID.<br /><br />I no longer have to worry about outrageous medical bills and insurance premiums in America. <br /><br /><br />See the YouTube video I did on the subject<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiYqqeRe1uwHamsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10045933530624125001noreply@blogger.com