Health Insurance premimums based on acturary tables?

[esmith]

Let me try and explain why I don't trust the government with health care.
I joined the US Navy at 18, when re-enlistment time rolled around we always were told "free health care for life". Yeah I know, don't trust a recruiter. However, I re-enlisted many times and ended with a 20 year career. When I got my "retirement ID" right on the back it said "no civ health care after xxxx" (the day I turned 65). A couple of years after I retired I went to a military base hospital and was told "we don't have the manning for retirees". Went to the VA and was told they were under-manned and under-funded but if I wanted to be put on a "waiting list" fine. All I was looking for was a simple physical. Too make a long story short retirees finally got the Government to fund TRICARE. Great program, had some very minor policy issues...but cost was very reasonable and covered both myself and my spouse. Turned 65 and guess what, had to switch to Medicare and if I wanted TRICARE for Life (pays what Medicare doesn't) I had to sign up for Medicare Part B. Not a problem, was a lot better than what non-military retirees get. What really ticked us off was the government lie that health care was "free" for life if we retired. Now I understand that some in government thinks that we are getting too good a deal and wants to modify our health care again.

I don't care what the government tells you, if they want to change something they can and probably will.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Let me try and explain why I don't trust the government with health care.
I joined the US Navy at 18, when re-enlistment time rolled around we always were told "free health care for life". Yeah I know, don't trust a recruiter. However, I re-enlisted many times and ended with a 20 year career. When I got my "retirement ID" right on the back it said "no civ health care after xxxx" (the day I turned 65). A couple of years after I retired I went to a military base hospital and was told "we don't have the manning for retirees". Went to the VA and was told they were under-manned and under-funded but if I wanted to be put on a "waiting list" fine. All I was looking for was a simple physical. Too make a long story short retirees finally got the Government to fund TRICARE. Great program, had some very minor policy issues...but cost was very reasonable and covered both myself and my spouse. Turned 65 and guess what, had to switch to Medicare and if I wanted TRICARE for Life (pays what Medicare doesn't) I had to sign up for Medicare Part B. Not a problem, was a lot better than what non-military retirees get. What really ticked us off was the government lie that health care was "free" for life if we retired. Now I understand that some in government thinks that we are getting too good a deal and wants to modify our health care again.

I don't care what the government tells you, if they want to change something they can and probably will.

Well, no one in the current administration is trying to change medicare. Romney-Ryan is.

There's nothing wrong with having UH. Put it in place for all Americans. Have every dime accounted for. Make it unlawful for the government to touch any of the money paid into it by tax payers. I'm over simplifying it but I see no reason why it couldn't work.

I think we all can make a case is to why it won't work. Both repubs and dems are in the pockets of big oil and big insurance.....:sad:

 

[esmith]

Well, no one in the current administration is trying to change medicare. Romney-Ryan is.

yes and medicare is going broke...thanks Obama

There's nothing wrong with having UH. Put it in place for all Americans. Have every dime accounted for. Make it unlawful for the government to touch any of the money paid into it by tax payers. I'm over simplifying it but I see no reason why it couldn't work.

I think we all can make a case is to why it won't work. Both repubs and dems are in the pockets of big oil and big insurance.....:sad:

Take a look at the Social Security Trust Fund....it is full of IOU's. Most politicians are incapable of keeping their hands out of the cookie jar. They can always come up with a reason why they are using monies from one program to support another. Where do you think the majority of Fed Gas Tax goes? It is supposed to go to maintain the Nations highway system. Politicians have been raiding it every since it was put in place. And if you think they will not raid a health care program you also believe in the tooth fairy.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

yes and medicare is going broke...thanks Obama

It's going broke but I fail to see how it's his fault. We all knew it was going broke. This whole thing about him "raiding" medicare to tune of 716 billion and every reputable media outlet and fact checker has been showing how baseless this claim is but it doesn't stop liars from lying (i.e. Romney-Ryan). It's all they have. They figure if they keep lying to those who don't fact check then they'll have the election in the bag......ask them what they want to do with that 716 bil......(NOT) give you any I bet......

FactCheck.org : Cutting Medicare?

"The Romney campaign says that President Obama’s health care law has cut $716 billion out of Medicare. But that’s a reduction in the future growth of spending over 10 years, not a slashing of the current Medicare budget. And the reduction extends the life of the Medicare trust fund."

Fact Check: Romney’s Plan to ‘Restore’ Medicare Spending Cuts - ABC News

"A bigger issue with Romney’s plan to “restore” Medicare cuts under Obamacare could be the impact on the solvency of the program, which was extended by 8 years to 2024 under the health care law."


Fact Check: Romney Ad Slams Obama for Medicare "Cut" - 8 News NOW

"This claim is true but there are two caveats worth mentioning. The figure came from a July 24 letter that Douglas Elmendorf, director of the neutral Congressional Budget Office, wrote to Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. The letter estimated the spending and revenue effects of a House Republican-led effort to repeal the health care reform law approved by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. By repealing the law, "spending for Medicare would increase by an estimated $716 billion over that 2013-2022 period," Elmendorf wrote. The Washington Post, quoting an analysis of the health care law by author John McDonough from his book, "Inside National Health Reform." reported Tuesday that most of the reduced Medicare spending comes from reductions in reimbursements to hospitals and private health insurance companies. Here's one caveat to the ad: A budget plan from Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who is Romney's running mate for vice president, proposed roughly the same amount of reduced Medicare spending. In a July 1 appearance on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," Ryan conceded as much when asked whether his Medicare savings would be applied toward deficit and debt reduction. Ryan responded in the affirmative, explaining that the purpose was to extend Medicare's solvency. Here's the second caveat: Elmendorf also informed Boehner that repeal of the health care reform law would actually increase the nation's budget deficit by $109 billion over the next 10 years, which is noteworthy because other ads have criticized Obama for not doing enough to reduce the deficit."

And if you think they will not raid a health care program you also believe in the tooth fairy.

Like I said...fact-less and baseless. :sad:

 

[esmith]

It's going broke but I fail to see how it's his fault. We all knew it was going broke. This whole thing about him "raiding" medicare to tune of 716 billion and every reputable media outlet and fact checker has been showing how baseless this claim is but it doesn't stop liars from lying (i.e. Romney-Ryan). It's all they have. They figure if they keep lying to those who don't fact check then they'll have the election in the bag......ask them what they want to do with that 716 bil......(NOT) give you any I bet......

I believe in you previous post you stated "....
no one in the current administration is trying to change medicare..."
Now you say it is going broke but you fail to see how its Obama fault. Well guess what, if Obama is not doing anything about Medicare going broke then it would be his fault if it goes broke.

Like I said...fact-less and baseless. :sad:

I assume you mean that the Social Security is full of IOU's. Please read this

Social Security Trust Fund

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The reason I am bringing this forward is that I am 70 years old and on Medicare. My Medicare payment is almost $100.00 a month. In the past 15 years I have never been to the doctor except for a yearly physical. I am not overweight, do not smoke, exercise 6 days a week, and the wife wants me to stick around so she feeds me healthy food. Yet I pay the same as overweight, smoker who doesn't get of the couch.
It seems to me the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicare would be an excellent choice for me. The government gives me X number of dollars and I purchase a very basic health plan that covers major medical with a X number of dollars deductible. Of course I would want to see the sliding premium plan. However, since I am over 55 I could not qualify for this plan unless it was offered.

Health is not always something you can control. If I make it to 70, I will not be walking because I have had knee problems since I was born, and my left knee already resembles that of someone in their 50's, and I am not quite 26.
I do agree that certain choices like smoking should put someone at a higher premium, but the facts are that there are so many variables, both controllable and uncontrollable, the only way to judge who gets what premium based on particular health conditions would require even more government involvement, more costs, more bureaucracies, and would only make things a mess. Someone's BMI will say they are overweight, but it will require someone to verify it is not because of too much body fat but because of muscle mass. Someone hasn't exercised in over 20 years, and someone will have to see if that is a choice or if they have limited mobility. If someone has emphysema are they are smoker or did they work in a field that exposed them to asbestos? Did a heart attack patient who has high cholesterol have such a level because of a bad diet, or because of genetics? Or do they just have a weak heart to begin with?
That is why it is much easier just to have everyone pay the same.

Foxophobia is a debilitating & highly contagious disease, which is becoming epidemic in the US & Canuckistan.
Sypmtoms: Loss of ability to spell "Fox", obsession with Fox, belief everything bad is Bush's fault, having a
"Hope & Change" poster on one's bedroom wall without ironic intent. Treatment requires a daily dose of the
Drudge Report, & laying off of high fat sources like MSNBC, NYT, WaPo, HuPo, NPR & Michael Moore movies.

My solution is The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. With them at least it's a given they are comedians and do edit and spin things to their position to make them funny. Such as Jon Stewart writing the big red spot on Jupiter is a sign it has herpes. There is also the Onion, but I'm personally not into them that much.
It's also a sad reminder of how bad journalism is, when a comedian has a better track record with facts than someone who calls them self a journalist.

Real health insurance would cover catastrophic things and not routine visits.

Routine visits are not like an oil change though. Routine visits, even for something simple, are necessary as even the small things can turn into major life-threatening emergencies. One of the main reasons people are living longer is because of routine visits and check-ups, that keep us healthy and able to survive many ailments. Take something very simply and very easily treatable, like a sinus infection. You get a stuffy head, massive head congestion, go to the doctor, get some antibiotics, and get better. Or, as you suggest in your scenario of not covering routine things, you get a sinus infection, and it develops into pneumonia, which is far more costly to treat and far more dangerous than what it was when the problem first began.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

I believe in you previous post you stated "....
no one in the current administration is trying to change medicare..."
Now you say it is going broke but you fail to see how its Obama fault. Well guess what, if Obama is not doing anything about Medicare going broke then it would be his fault if it goes broke.

Since under the ACA it extends Medicare by 8 years then how do you come to this.....(he's responsible for allowing it or making it go broke). I've already shown that, that kind of assertion is patently false. Now what change do you think he made to Medicare because I can actually show with facts that the only change he made was for the benefit of those on it. Ryan once wanted to completely get rid of Medicare. Talk about change.....that is tragic and reckless. Now because it's not politically correct he now wants to voucher most of the program. Again, tragic......