Call me naive, but, I just really figured everyone had health insurance. Either thru their employer, Medicare, or Medicaid.

Does anyone truly not have health insurance??

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I know some people who have chosen not to have it.

They make too much to qualify for government assistance, he's self-employed and she a SAHM, they are into homeopathic medicine, and just don't want to spend big money on monthly premiums to have reduced rates on visits to an MD when they don't go to MD's anyway.

If they were in an accident or someone in their family got cancer, I don't know what they'd do.

I'm sure there are many who truly don't have it. That would be a top priority for us, but for some whose employers don't offer it or who are self-employed and would have to foot the entire premium themselves, it's not.

An ER has to treat anyone who walks in the door in need of medical care, but that doesn't mean they will be treated for *free*.

Myself and my husband have no insurance at all!!!

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My mother does not have health ins. It's not offered though her work and private ins. is way beyond what she can pay.

Unfortunately she broke her arm last month and needed surgery. She now has 10k in bills, but believe it or not that's less than she would have paid for a years worth of health ins.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

Me ! I can't afford it. I'm a cancer survivor and for this I have been Punished Per insurance companies wiling to cover me. DH's job offers a family policy to the tune of " 850.00 a MONTH for us.

Needless to say, I don't go to the doctor unless I'm on death's door. Last time I had my yearly I had to have blood work done it cost us out of pocket 759.00 to the lab, 550.00 for the Breast exam, 100.00 for my pap and 252.00 for the doctor's visit...

I have ONLY been to the ER 2 times in 10 years. 1st was for Ecoli and the other for a reaction to some cough medicine the doctor gave me. The 1st ER visit was 1350.00 plus 259.00 for the doctor 2nd was for 721.00 and 259.00 for the doctor. I "applied" for a program that the intake lady told me to apply for ( helps pay the bill or reduces it or something like that ) got a letter telling me I didn't met the requirements for the help Go Figure !!

So yep can say I'm 1 of the ones you never thought had NO coverage at all, everything is paid for in cash from doctor visits to Rx's. My many thanks for beating cancer !.

My daughter's best friend and her family have none.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

Same here also, If we do a family policy with me, DH company only pays 10% of the cost or 85.00. If I stay off of the policy they pay 100%..
DH's policy pays 80% of visits, 100% for ER and 100% w/ 250.00 co pay for hospital stays and Nothing for rx's, Add me it drops to 20% for visits, 20 % for ER and up to 15,000.00 for Hospital stays with 500.00 co pay and stays the same with rx.
Family policy is 850.00 x 12 = 10,200.00 a year.
DH makes right at 30,000 a year thats 1/3 our yearly income for insurance.

None here either. Not offered through DHs work, too expensive to pay out, we make too much to qualify for state aid.

When DH worked for our church we paid $800 a month. At $100 a Dr. visit, it is MUCH cheaper to just go when we need to. The kids still get their annual check up (as do I) and that is all we ever used it for anyways.

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Calling a illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist."

Please try mentioning the Hill-burton act when you use these facilities or find a hospital that does, The act requires the dr and hospitals that receive grants under the hill burton act to treat for free the uninsured and needy for free for 20 years. See if this helps you. It just mightI know many people who have used this over the years.

Neither of my DD's have insurance, and it is so scary. Thank goddness they are young and healthy. They are to told to be on my policy, and private cost way too much. Scary!!!!

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*** Find A Need , Fill A Need ***

Yeah, we have it. And we have very good coverage. And we pay a LOT for it every month. However, when DS was diagnosed with cancer, we pretty much got hosed. Call me bitter if you will, but the kids who had NO coverage, came out a lot better off financially than we did, given the hospital's "Good Will" policy. Our insurance paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for his coverage. But we still had co-pays that added up left and right. But we had moms in the clinic boasting about how they had no co-pays, and how they couldn't wait to go shopping for black Friday deals-laptops, video games, etc. So they come out of treatment for free, but us w/ good insurance, hard working individuals are still up to our butts in debt from treatment. Almost would have been cheaper for DH to quit his job and for us to go on welfare-how pathetic is that?

We have insurance, but pay through the nose for it. I have two teens and just cannot stomach the idea of not having coverage when/if needed. Basically, I work to get insurance for myself and two kids (husband is covered through work --not a great policy, i.e. pays $50 per Rx copay (hallelujah for those $4 walmart and target scrips)and have gas money.

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Yes I know many people without insurance. We get our insurance through my dh work but every year it goes up $150 a month. I am scared that there will come a time when we can't afford it any more.

They say that thousands and thousands of people don't have health insurance. I'm not sure why you think that everyone is covered by an employer, Medicare, or Medicaid. There's millions of people who don't work or insurance isn't offered if they do, aren't old enough to receive Medicare, or poor enough to receive Medicaid. That's probably most of America!

I absolutely have no health insurance.I feel I really don't need it.The last time I "stupidly" went to the ER, I had already diagnosed myself,and had done all the research I could and already knew that only taking care of myself with time would do any healing.But because I was insecure of my own diagnosis I went to the ER, where the doctor diagnosed me with what I already knew I had and sent me home with pills that did nothing for me except make me gain weight,damage my kidneys,and put off any healing that needed to take place.
And for that 5 minute diagnosis and prescription paper ,I have close to a $1,000 bill.
Never again!

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Health insurance is one thing they need to fix in this country. We have always had it through our employer. We have had to pay part but it is not high. We have used it too. Two years in a row my husband was sick to the tune of $148,000. That was the insurance part. We paid about $5,000 out of pocket costs for those 2 years (plus premiums). My 3 kids have had various surgeries and hospitalizations too. We spent about $150 a month on meds. It would be about $500 a month without insurance.

I have never been without health insurance, and only took a job without it because I was covered under DH. I am trying to get an understanding as to why people do not have health insurance. This has not been such a big issue for me since it didn't effect me, but, I'm trying to gain a knowledge of what others are dealing with.

I guess "back in the day" company sponsored health insurance was a given???

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

My SO is disabled and does not qualify for any of the governement programs (in process of fighting the denied disability application).

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There are LOTS of people out there without health insurance. DH and I went for 10yrs without any type of health insurance whatsoever. And DH had severe sleep apnea for most of that time (and probably even the high blood pressure then, too) but we didn't know it for many years because we (and particularly, he) rarely went to the doctor. DH was self-employed and my work did not offer insurance. DH and I did not qualify for any type of state aid. We "fell through the cracks", as they like to call it. We didn't make enough to be able to afford health insurance on our own, and yet made too much to qualify for any assistance. I would get my annual pap & pelvic at the Health Dept for cheap.... but, other than that, we'd have to be near death to go to the doctor. Thankfully, they let us make payments when we had to pay for DH's CPAP, which was about $1200. The sleep study was another $300 up front.

I was, however, able to get free medical coverage through the state for DS until his 19th B-day. The guidelines for children to qualify for state aid are much more lenient than state aid for adults. But thankfully, DS has never had any major health issues. He's been without health insurance for almost 3yrs now, but he recently got hired full-time (with great benefits) at Zappos.com. He'll soon be at his 90 days, and his insurance will then kick in.

Where DH works now (and the past 3yrs), his health and dental premiums are paid by his employer. For me to be included on his policy costs us close to $350 a month. And even with the insurance, DH's Rx co-pays are $84 a month out of pocket.

.

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I think it WAS common. Every company I knew had it but then but insurance fees rose and employers discovered that people would still work for them even if they didn't offer it. It costs companies so much to offer it and the price of insurance through the private sector is so sky high that most people just can't pay it.

My company insurance almost lapsed seven years ago when I took an extended leave of absence and Blue Cross wanted $480.00 a month to insure me privately - and I've never been sick a day in my life! No pre-existing conditions, no claims, no health problems ever AND that was for just me! That $480 didn't cover my husband or children. I had to go in part time just so I keep my company insurance. If I stayed on part time, I only paid $6 per paycheck for my family to be fully covered. If I left indefinitely, I'd have paid $480.00 just for myself and I couldn't afford it. That's over $5000 a year and it would have left my husband with nothing - my husband's company did offer insurance but charged $75 a month and his didn't include dental so mine was a better deal and I had to stay on the payroll. I know 4 people who want to retire but can't afford to lose their insurance so they're still working. We're afraid not to have insurance because paying cash for just one operation could break us financially. My FIL's heart attack and artery surgery cost $84,000.

I'm scared of losing everything I've worked for all my life if something like that happens so I still work just to be eligible for company insurance. I signed a contract with my employer way back when and it was the best deal I ever made! My contract states that I will pay $25 a month for full coverage for myself, my husband and any minor children and my company contract states that my premium can't ever go up. No matter what the insurance company charges them, my employer has to eat the difference and my share remains the same. Where will I ever find a deal like that? So I stay on.

The reason people are going without is they just can't afford insurance. If it cost that much 7 years ago, it must be even higher now. The people who have insurance want more benefits (husbands now want to take weeks off when their wife has a baby!), the doctors want more money, the employers want to make a higher profit and the insurance companies want to make a sky high profit and raise premiums all the time. With everybody wanting more money, it leaves hundreds of thousands of people with nothing at all and I feel sorry for them. If I retire early, I might be one of them!

People can buy medical insurance on their own. When my sons came off our insurance whe asked at our local hospital what insurances that they accept. They gave us phone numbers of places to call.
You can do a google search for medical insurance in your area.
Edited to add link: https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi...o18811&sid=BUY

As with any type of insurance the higher the debuctable is the lower you monthy payment will be.
Some of the same insurance companies that handle car insurance, fire house insurance, also offer medical insurance.

Quite frequently such coverage was due to the influence of employee unions which have been in decline since the 80's.

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Ana
The Republicans have been putting lipstick on a pig for 8 years. Is a pitbull wearing lipstick an attempt to keep us from noticing the pig?

Not everyone can get medical insurance, my DH went 5 years without health insurance because no one would cover him because of his heart disease. He has insurance now only because he got his SSD and is on Medicare.

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That is true some may have a harder time of finding insurance. But al least people should at least try to their own to get insurance if your company does not offer it. Laws are now starting to go into effect that people can not be turned down for insurance, you still might have to pay more for it.

In Walmart the other day the cashier was telling another cashier that she was dropping her medical insurance because she wanted to buy a new car and needed the money to made the car payments. I asked her what kind of car she was buying it was a 2008 model. Will I feel sorry for this type of person when she needs the medical insurance and can not get it...NO.

One of our biggest mistakes was when my husband retired at age 55. I am seven years younger and somewhere along the line, the company decided to not fully cover insurance. He hit age 65 and his part was more reasonable, but mine for the last seven years has been from 500 to 700 a month. I never thought I would be relieved to hit age 65. Our insurance coverage takes about half of his pension. On Oct.1 we get to keep about 400 a month more than we do right now. With all that leftover money, maybe I can afford to get some new eye glasses or go to the dentist.

I think that "back in the day" things were much different.

I'm 41, and I believe the bill from the hospital when I was born was about $100ish.

Now that we have so very much technology and ability and so many physicians who have specialized in fields where practically miraculous things can be pulled off to cure rare and deadly diseases - or at the very least help them - there is a lot more to pay for.

Forty years ago if someone got cancer they likely died from it. End of story. Today they have the option for lots of CT scans and radiation and chemo and surgeries and MRI's and hospitalizations and can end up very much alive and healthy....and it might cost $250,000 to make that happen.

The overhead associated with all those new capabilities is staggering and the overall impact on the cost of things like insurance - and even basic care - has risen to a level that most people couldn't afford to pay out of pocket for these services that didn't exist 20-40 years ago. But we consider them to be necessary because they save our lives and make us comfortable and help us function.

I admit I'm always feeling rather out of the loop when people talk about employers bearing the costs of health insurance. I grew up in a self-employed family and so my parents paid for insurance they obtained through my dad's professional organization. Thinking back, pretty much everyone we spent time around was self-employed except for those who worked for the railroad, the only 'big employer' in town... and really they weren't *in* our town, we just happened to be one of their main crew-changing stations and a lot of locals were employed by them. The head office was far away. Otherwise, people farmed, ranched, had flower shops and there was a little one-screen movie theater and a mortuary and there were ministers at churches and waitresses in the one restaurant we had....... and there were a lot of small oil and gas production companies that perhaps employed a secretary and a pumper.... but there simply *were* no big companies buying insurance for *anyone* where I grew up.

So when I hear people saying that it should be the responsibility of the employer to take care of that expense, it doesn't computer with me. Not everyone has an employer and not every employer makes enough in their business to pull that off and still pay the salaries they do. My DH's employer has a group policy and they pay 50% of our premiums, and we pay the other 50%. I really do consider it a blessing and a benefit....but not a right.

LOL because it sounds funny but I know it isn't because that's all too true for so many people. Ony one month to go, huh? I'd be watching the calendar!

That is not necessarily the case anymore--Emergency Rooms MUST stabilize a patient, they do not have to "treat" them. The ER is not in the business of being a clinic and providing on-going care. An ER visit for an ear infection is easily 3-4 times what a trip to an Urgent Care would be.

While I know it's really easy and convenient to go to the ER with the mind set of "I don't have insurance, and they HAVE to treat me"--that is not necessarily the case anymore. Please people, use the ER for what it was intended! EMERGENCIES!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

It saddens me to hear about people without health insurance, whether by choice or not. 2 years ago I had a sudden illness that required an extended hostpitalization, costing about $750,000. We payed about $5,000 of that. Without insurance, we probably would have been bankcrupt.

I agree with you. I guess I fundamentally view insurance differently than many here. Insurance is primarily meant to cover the catrastrophes; not simply to be cheaper or break evan on well visits and minor mishaps and illness.

If you think about car insurance, you might choose to opt out of comprehensive if the car isn't worth being fixed or replaced if lost....but I don't think you can make the same choice with your life or that of your loved ones.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Up until last year, we paid $700 monthly for insurance through my husband's employer - very expensive, but having insurance was a priority for us. We would have loved to have a new car or fancy vacation, but never would go without insurance.

Last year I went back to work so that we could reduce our health insurance costs, as my employer covers me and my kids at NO cost. I know we are very lucky, but we work hard every day.

My bf's employer gives everyone an extra $160 a month to use for insurance or for whatever else they want as some people don't want insurance.
Which to me is better than having money taken out of his check each month for something we never use.

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My son doesn't have insurance and he cannot afford it. I also have a sister without insurance. She was diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago. Nobody will write it.

How can you say that you will never use insurance? Maybe you do not get sick often, but accidents happen all the time. I have not been to the Dr's office in years, but what if I fall down the stairs or involved in a car accident? People need insurance just in case.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

My husband has a pacemaker and has numerous blood clots all through his body and we cannot afford health insurance. He can't even afford the medicine to thin his blood so he doesn't get a clot in his lungs and dies. I stress over that every day of my life, as you can tell. He hasn't had his pacer checked in a bout 5 years, either. We don't even know if it works anymore. Much less any other health issues that arise.

His work offers it, but there is absolutely no way we can afford it. Not and eat or anything.

[quote=dollydeal;3037156]My bf's employer gives everyone an extra $160 a month to use for insurance or for whatever else they want as some people don't want insurance.
Which to me is better than having money taken out of his check each month for something we never use.[/QUOTE

You never know when you might need it. A few months ago my 20 year old son had a trama emergency and was in the emergency room for about 12 hours. The bill for that 12 hours was over $30,000. With no insurance we would be paying for that for a long time.

We went years without it. Dh's work didn't offer it, couldn't afford a policy on our own. We had to pay for a birth even. That was awful. At least $10,000. Insurance isn't everything. My baby cousin needed a liver transplant. His primary and secondary both said they would pay for it. One would pick up what the other didn't. All lies. They did 2 transplants, the insurance wouldn't pay for any surgery related to the transplant. My cousin's family ended up declaring bankruptcy because they couldn't pay the one million dollars in medical bills.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

When the kids were small, we weren't making alot of money. DH job covered his, and the kids got KidCare, DD got SSD, and I was without. Thankfully times have changed, and we have great coverage now. I know when I had my gastric bypass and all the surguries and complications I dipped into my lifetime maximum already. I was on TPN for 8 months to a tune of 3500. a week, just for that.

Can't get life insurance now though, with my medical history. They also just denied DH because of his weight to height ratio.

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Eileen

**Some people are like Slinky's, not really good for anything, but you can't help laugh when you see one tumble down the stairs**

I do have private insurance but I pay $778 per month for coverage for JUST me

My pension is $681 per month which doesn't even cover my medical insurance premiums.

If I can hold out until Medicare kicks in for me (in about 4 years!), things will be a little easier for us financially.

Thank God, DH is on SS disability so he has Medicare coverage.

My brother Micheal does not , he was working for the city of New York for the public parks, same job my dad had, He decided after 23 years he had it with the long drive about 1 hour 20 minutes. He quit just like that. Not only did he lose one of the best medical coverages which is GHI, he now has to wait until he is 65 to only collect 27 percent of his pay. He only needed 7 more years and he would have been 49 and retired with full benefits. Mind you he has 3 kids and his wife. She gets only coverage for herself from her job, so its truly hard. My dad is trying to work out a deal and go half and half with him to get some kind of coverage because you never know when you will need it. Especially since my eldest nephe Micheal like my son Thomas as a serious heart defect and has missed 2 appointments. Very sad. Peace, Catherine

We don't have it here. Our jobs don't offer it and we can't afford it on our own.

I'm an RN and let me tell you..........MANY people do not have insurance.

We had to buy our own years ago when DH was self employed. It was SOOOOOOOOO expensive but we had no choice but to buy it. We gave up on other things to pay that premium each month.

People that don't have it are irresponsible. Why do you think medical costs are so high? We have so many self paying people at our hospital and most of it gets written off (they don't pay). Well, guess who pays for it? EVERYONE ELSE!

To those that don't have it, I hope to God nothing happens to you. It is YOUR responsibility to pay the bills if you do accrue them. I'm so sick of people saying they can't afford insurance yet they drive new cars, shop until the sun goes down and live in nice homes.

Perhaps SOME of the uninsured drive new cars. shop excessively and have nice homes but not ALL the uninsured do. You can't make a blanket statement like that and not expect to get slammed. There are many reasons for not being able to afford health insurance.

I am a depressed diabetic with hypertension and high cholesterol. I could get insurance but even without the prescription coverage it would cost much more than I can afford AND I wouldn't get any coverage for 12 months. That means I would be paying thousands of dollars for a year with no benefits. Then after the 12 months if I had any medical problem that could be traced back to my diabetes, depression, hypertension or cholesterol that particular problem would not be covered. Life right now is a gamble. I just pray I stay problem free until I qualify for Medicare in 7 years.

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I think it's very sad and irresponsible that your brother quit his job with no thought for the implications to himself and moreover, his family. Why do people do stuff like that?

No sympathy here (not that you were asking for it.....)

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I agree to some extent.If bf doesn't want insurance for himself ,I'm not going to be bothered either.It only takes me 3 minutes to take him to work and the 2 streets I go on are pretty empty.I try to be careful and take care of myself so I'm not real worried about me.I worry about my bf more than me.He has a lot more haazardous job than me.One time he almost sliced his head off. And just the other day he told me about a flaming piece of aluminum that shot through the air just missing a few guys he works with.

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1) if something like you describe happened to your BF, then that would be a work comp claim (and probably what we call a "Cat" claim. "Cat" short for catastrophic)

2) you can be careful all you want, and take care of yourself, but crap happens! My youngest DS slipped getting into my Jeep, fell backward and went to catch himself--broke his wrist! This was in our freaking driveway at 730 in the morning! I was sitting at my desk at work and had excruciating chest and upper back pain--was a gallbladder attack and I had to have surgery a day later! You're not going to be "bothered" with insurance? You are incredibly naive...

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Well, I wouldn't say naive,but maybe a bit of a gambler.It does make you extra careful when you don't have it.

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cjs216, you are completely right with what you said about my brother, it was totally wrong, my dad was so upset with him that he jsut quit after all those years, especially since he has a wife and 3 kids. And again he did give up one of the best health coverages there are out there. Also when he reaches 65 he will only collect 27 percent of his pay, which is not alot at all. My dad worked 30 years his full time needed and for my mom and him he has the best health coverage, which is so needed because of all my moms; health issues. And when my dad turned 65 he has been collected 100 percent of his pay.Right now my brother drives for a private limo service, he does make pretty good money, but no health insurance. He truly did a foolish thing, because there are so many people out there that do not have it and he walked away from it all after almost 23 years on the job. Peace to all. Catherine

There's a HUGE differences between NOT having it because you want that new car or a shop till you drop life style and NOT having it because you have a past medical history that deems you HIGH risk and you can't AFFORD it. You can rest assure this uninsured doesn't drive a 'New car' Nor has a life style where she shops till she drops.

Here's a shocker for you all. I work in a HOSPITAL and do NOT have health insurance coverage!!!! I work as a PRN employee or per diem employee. We had a full time worker quit and I asked if they were going to replace her that they consider me. They decided not to fill her position. It is way cheaper for the hospital to not offer workers insurance. I actually go to THEIR doctors and pay cash. I figure that I come out cheaper this way anyway. When I had bronchitis last year I went to an urgent care clinic and was given a discount for paying cash. I also got a HUGE discount on my regular Dr.'s visit. And I go to the community clinic for my well woman exams. Yeah, I worry something might happen. Unfortunately I would hope the hospital I work for would at least take care of me. I hope I don't have to find out. I had someone tell me to go get a job anywhere full time where I can get benefits. Considering how much I make PRN doing what I do, minimum wage just would not do it for us. I prefer to pay cash and try to keep some money in savings for medical or other emergencies. If I were to buy independent insurance, I probably couldn't afford it.

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I thought you get paid much more as a per-diem or temp employee precisely because you do not get company benefits. I thought the idea was that the extra salary was to compensate for that and you need to manage your overall compensation and benefits yourself.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips