American Health Insurance

Hi Col
Glad you are back with us , like Mike I was going to comment today, maybe PM Rich to see if he knew anything.
If you have to pay for prescriptions you must be younger than I thought ;), try to hang around long enough to get your monies worth from your pension. :D

Brian
 
Holy Cow. What a way to add weight to a thread. They say a glass or two of wine a day is not a bad thing for the heart... Take care, Col.
 
Still got the fags - I bought loads in Spain last year, s'pose I'd better lose them somewhere:rolleyes: I must have about 800 at least.

Col

Was the a la carte up to scratch, or more like served from a horse and cart?:eek::D
 
If you have to pay for prescriptions you must be younger than I thought ;), try to hang around long enough to get your monies worth from your pension. :D

What was it 'The Who' said? - I hope I die before I get old.

I always thought 65 was a good age to go - who knows, if it was a different artery, it could have been last week. (I'm not eligible for free bus pass till next year)

Col
 
well- time to start slowing down anyway

don't stop cos that way you will keel over ...- get yourself sorted then go see your doctor-- gentle exercise - a bit of swimming is good muscule excercise while the water will take the weight and you concentrate on the fitness- but for gods sake speak to your doctor before you start anything - walks are good - and you should be ok by spring

look after yourself...

g
 
What was it 'The Who' said? - I hope I die before I get old.

I always thought 65 was a good age to go - who knows, if it was a different artery, it could have been last week. (I'm not eligible for free bus pass till next year)

Col

Well, I'm glad you're still here and doing OK. So, what clued you in to the fact that you were having a heart attack? Were you having chest pains?

Just an FYI, when we call 911 here we get a speedy response and good treatment as well. The main problem is just figuring out how much your insurance will cover when it's all said and done. All in all I'm not unhappy with the system and the level of care we have here, but there are some things about your system that are attractive.

Here in Tulsa we have a subsidy on our City bill (water/sewer) that also includes an ambulance fee, so if we have to call for an ambulance we wouldn't have to pay out of pocket for that. Jim and I have dual insurance coverage so we haven't had to pay a lot out of pocket to date, because what one insurance comp. doesn't pay for the other usually picks up. It's worthwhile for us with the two littleuns. After each has had an upper respiratory infection and a case of pneumonia since Christmas, we've been to the doctor 4 times in the last 2 months. I was joking with the nurse practitioner the last time we were there that we just needed to schedule a recurring time slot for every other Friday. I think we've already met our deductibles for the year and we haven't had to pay anything out of pocket yet except for prescriptions.
 
Thank you Cindy and Wayne for your replies, I guess I'd still be working if I lived in the US, assuming ageism didn't force me out.

brian

There is also Medicare for those who are retired, but from what I understand it is inadequate. I must admit I don't really know though, not having had to use it yet. :cool:
 
In 1985 my son was a near drowning at my ex father-in-laws ranch. Two and half days later he died. His insurance, Farmers Ins. Group, came to me and told me they would cover all my expenses and that there would be enough money left over to make it worth my while. I told the adjuster he nor anyone else had enough money to make it worth my while. A few weeks later Farmers found out that the boy who had died was related to my father-in-law (they did not know this up to this point due to the two last names not being the same). After they found out, they dropped my father-in-law, after he had paid his premiums for 18 years and then contacted me and said they were not going to pay for anything. Know why? cause we have a law here that in order for me to get them to pay I would have to sue my mother and father in law and it would be a jury trial. In this this trial, by law, the insurance could not be mentioned, so the jurors would be lead to believe that the kids are suing the grandparents for their child drowning on their land and they would have never known the real story that we were suing cause the insurance would not do what they said they would do for a person who paid them premiums for over 18 years. We ended up settling out of court for $12,000.00. It didn't even cover the hospital stay much less anything else like air vac'ing, ambulance, doctors, test, and the list goes on and on.

Shane, I'm so sorry to hear that. I can't even imagine the anguish over losing a child, and then to be stiffed by the insurance after. I'm trying to understand, was it his homeowners insurance that did this? I've never liked Farmers, although all homeowners insurance companies can be squirrelly as is evidenced by the devastation in Hurricane Katrina. We had some similar problems here (on a smaller scale) after the May 3, 1999 tornado that struck Moore and OKC. I think that one was primarily State Farm, but I'm not sure. However, when we had damage to our house in December during the ice storm our insurance company (Allstate) was pretty fair to us, so no complaints there to date.

I know you have a legitimate gripe about the insurance companies with everything you've been through and are still going through. I agree with what you said, too. My parents were complaining a few weeks ago about how insurance companies won't pay for alternative cancer therapies and the FDA won't look into the clinical effectiveness of any alternative therapies because the drug companies have such a strong influence over what goes on here. They are just as bad as the insurance companies sometimes.
 
Shane, I'm so sorry to hear that. I can't even imagine the anguish over losing a child, and then to be stiffed by the insurance after. I'm trying to understand, was it his homeowners insurance that did this? I've never liked Farmers, although all homeowners insurance companies can be squirrelly as is evidenced by the devastation in Hurricane Katrina. We had some similar problems here (on a smaller scale) after the May 3, 1999 tornado that struck Moore and OKC. I think that one was primarily State Farm, but I'm not sure. However, when we had damage to our house in December during the ice storm our insurance company (Allstate) was pretty fair to us, so no complaints there to date.

I know you have a legitimate gripe about the insurance companies with everything you've been through and are still going through. I agree with what you said, too. My parents were complaining a few weeks ago about how insurance companies won't pay for alternative cancer therapies and the FDA won't look into the clinical effectiveness of any alternative therapies because the drug companies have such a strong influence over what goes on here. They are just as bad as the insurance companies sometimes.

Thanks Cindy. Yes it was his home owners insurance. He (my exfather-in-law) had a little over 80 acres down by Elgin, Okla. and it happened beside one of his barns. There was a mud puddle that had gathered by the barn and he was found face down in it. I'm from Okla. so I'm very familiar with the tornado that hit Moore and the ton of stories that came from that. I have an everyday experience in dealing with insurances too. I have been providing medical equipment for over 20 years and that can certainly be an adventure too.
 
The worst thing people can do is grow old and be a pain to the family or society in needing care. Life (at that time) is non-existent, and you are just basically waiting to die, you have little or no control over anything.

My role in life now, is to care for my wife who has multiple sclerosis - it's quite probable that she will die first of bronchopneumonia, the most common killer of people with MS.

After that time, my work is done, it'll be a question of selling everything, getting all my affairs in order, sorting out about the money and any goods I may have, get the will finalised etc etc.

Then I'll move into a 5 star hotel. Then it's a quick visit to the Intercity express line to London for a walk along the track. Job done - everything neatly taken care of. That way I won't vegitate senselessly in a care home and end up a jibbering senile wreck who can do nothing.

I have no real family to worry about (no kids) my sisters will be in their 70's (or older) by then.

All that is about 7 years away. (That's a shorter time than I've been a member on these forums)

Col
 
Col,
THere is more to life than this , while there are tradegies , you as a person still have much to give and much to recieve .


Write a book , become an actor , be a polictical nusiaance, be a leader of the grey brigade-

your life could start at 65
 
Col,
Write a book , become an actor , be a polictical nusiaance, be a leader of the grey brigade-

your life could start at 65

It depends how fit I am. Obviously after I've sold everything and amassed the money assets - I'll blow the lot on sun, sea and anything else that's available for rent. I'm not giving it away to ungrateful relatives who never contact you.

Age 65 is a generic figure - health is paramount, I'm not going to rot in a home.

Col
 
Then it's a quick visit to the Intercity express line to London for a walk along the track.Col

Likely to give the poor engine driver a heart attack then though, easier to ride the bike at speed straight into a wall, although they say that drowning is quite a pleasant way to go, I've never figured out how anyone would know though:confused:
 
Waterboarding? And, yes, the train thing would be shocking and require clean up. Col, what about getting a pet rather than pumping all your money into some hotel baron's coffers? I recall from way back when that you are a pretty good dog trainer...
 
What was it 'The Who' said? - I hope I die before I get old.

I always thought 65 was a good age to go - who knows, if it was a different artery, it could have been last week. (I'm not eligible for free bus pass till next year)

Col

Owing to sex discrimination legislation 60 is the magic age for getting things free, and in Liverpool gyms at reduced rates following my victory over the council, not that I go but it was the principle. :D

Being 66+ I'm a bit worried about Col's fixation with 65 :( , I feel that I've got years ahead of me yet, I want to grow old enough to be a nuisance to the kids and get my own back :D

Seriously like Col and no doubt everybody else its the incapacities and pain that are the problem not the growing old or dying.

Brian
 
Likely to give the poor engine driver a heart attack then though, easier to ride the bike at speed straight into a wall, although they say that drowning is quite a pleasant way to go, I've never figured out how anyone would know though:confused:

nearly drowned twice (different occasions) hmmm
 
So here's the questions

a) Are there any Americans here willing to confess they have no health cover?

b) How much does it cost?

c) What does it cover?

This isn't an anti-American bash, just trying to understand how it all works.

Col
Hey Colin,

I have never followed politics, and I don't intend to. But, take it from an outsider (someone who has walked the streets and seen the effects of the leadership in this country).

George W. Bush has to be the worst president of the United States ever to hold the office. My father went to prison 3 years ago, and in 1 week he is going home. He told me that when he went in, fuel costs in the US were 40% lower than they are now, unemployment rates were lower, and people were actually nice to you when they spoke.

I guess I can agree with him, although I don't keep my nose in the news. But, I can say that everytime I see George Bush in the news, he's never talking about fixing his home country's problems. He's always talking about THE WAR, spreading democracy, and whatever the hell else he thinks is important. If your leader did that, your country would fall over on its ass, just like the United States has. The only thing that has kept this country afloat is the hardworking people. And there aren't too many of them left here! Laziness has really shown it's ugly face in this country.

I hope to god that didn't result from the wonderful leadership we have over here! Because, it sucks...
 

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