Healthcare costs

[pomtzu]

The 50 million number is HIGHLY debateable. And, as most statistics, subject to a great deal of contextual explaination... How many of those people CHOOSE to not have insurance? I know I chose to not have any for a long time when I was younger. When I needed to go to the doctor, I paid for it. How many of those people are between jobs?

Those 50 million, DO have ACCESS to healthcare. Just not insurance. And isn't that what Medicare/Medicade is for?

But paying for a doctor visit is nothing compared to what you would have paid had you needed anything more than that. Something as simple as a broken bone can run into BIG bucks. When I broke my wrist last time, I had to have it surgically repaired and not just casted, and the external outrigger alone that was screwed into my hand and arm was $14,000. Then of course there was the E.R., the surgeon's fees the O.R. fees to have it placed, and then again 7 weeks later to have it removed, many x-rays, P.T. --- could you have paid all that on your own? And God forbid a catastrophic injury or illness....

And you practically have to be living in a tent to qualify for Medicade, so not everyone qualifies for Medicare/Medicade. Those that don't will go to the E.R, knowing that they won't be turned away, and the people that do have insurance are the ones that end up paying their bills in the form of high premiums. When I had to retire on disability, law required a 2 year wait before I could be on Medicare. In the meantime I continued my insurance thru COBRA, and those premiums took almost half of my Social Security disability check every month for those 2 years. Not all people are willing or able to do this. So for many, many people, being uninsured is the only choice that they have, but not necessarily what they want.


ETA: Correction - my employer paid my premiums for the first 6 months, and I paid the remaining 18 months.