I drew some heavy blowback today from angry conservatives within some of the many Facebook groups that I didn’t even know that I had joined, on a few of my Addicting.Org articles, and of course on the Examiner website.
But, one of the craziest arguments I had was over health care, because I wrote a Facebook post about this six figure guy who didn’t have any health insurance but was convinced that his six figure salary would be enough to keep him paying out of his pocket, so he wouldn’t need any of Obamacare’s crummy, government-run health care.
A couple of conservatives immediately began to lobby for paying out of pocket instead of having some form of health insurance. Yes, they actually tried to convince me that paying out of pocket is cheaper and more efficient, but to me such claims are misleading at best.
Their argument was framed on the belief that a healthy person could go for years without needing to go to a doctor, and if that person did get sick, one visit paid out of pocket wouldn’t be nearly as expensive as a monthly or weekly, health care premium. And, the conservatives do have a point there—but if only life was that simple.
Okay conservatives, so you might be a healthy, vibrant, virus free individual with not a germ in sight, but if you look over the humanity horizon you’ll be able to see unforeseen problems that are soon to be heading your way.
Problem number one, if a healthy person ends up with a debilitating condition or a creeping, terminal condition and is unable to work at their six figure job, you could be in some serious trouble financially just based on pharmacy costs alone, and that’s not including hospital time. And if you have to get a series of tests done, it will take a six-figure job to pay it out of pocket.
Problem number two, if this once healthy person found himself or herself so debilitated that they could no longer care for themselves, there is the possibility that someone would have to be brought in to make house calls, and that too can be very tough to sustain out of pocket.
Problem number three, if a healthy person has any children, they will go to the doctor at some point, and that’s not debatable! Children have lots of reasons to go see the doctor, and paying out of pocket could be extremely risky on that venture. The odds of someone with no health insurance managing to get their child or children the care that they need out of pocket without totally emptying almost every pocket are just not that good—especially if a major illness shows up.
But for all of the conservatives out there who are still convinced that they can pay out of pocket and still manage to escape unscathed, I’ve got one more scenario that just might rattle your unconcerned cages once and for all. Problem number four, like a medical doctor, everyone will be forced to visit this entity at some point during their lives, and that entity is the dentist!
I don’t care what conservatives say. When and if you have to go and see the dentist, you will pay and pay dearly. Do you realize how expensive a trip to the dentist’s office is? It’s almost highway robbery, and here’s the granddaddy of them all! If your child or children have to go to the dentist, it will also be costly, but that cost will pale in comparison to the cost that you will face if one or more of your children ends up needing braces! That will whittle down the numbers of out of pocket carnival barkers in a hurry, because braces are paycheck killers.
And then there is problem number five, don’t even think about being airlifted, and don’t even think about taking a ride in the ambulance, because you just might send your pay it out of pocket wallet into a financial coma!
Basically, I’m not sold on all of this paying out of pocket is better crap—not even for one minute. It sounds about as genuine as Fox News. Most sane people are happy to get insurance, and they are usually unhappy when they lose it. This is the first time that I’ve heard this uninsured is cool thing, and it just doesn’t sound valid to me. If President Obama was not the president, I don’t believe this happily uninsured, pay out of pocket paper tiger would even exist.
Health (Photo credit: 401(K) 2012)
You know, Bryian, I would bet that most of those people you were arguing with DO have health insurance. Conservatives like to brag that they “plan ahead” and “make good choices” and that’s why they don’t need any government help.
So.. anybody who “plans ahead” and “makes good choices” is going to have health insurance. They are just arguing PRINCIPLE.
Did any of the morons fess up to having health insurance? Do they understand that, if they like their health insurance, nobody is forcing them to get a different kind of health insurance?
And are the morons going to vote for Romney, the father of Romneycare? It doesn’t bother them that Romneycare is working in Mass, but Romney doesn’t want it to work anywhere else? And that he is a lying hypocrite?
The reason that these “out of pocket” conservatives feel they can do better on their own is that the hospitals and Drs know that collection costs at least half the bill. All they do is offer to pay half and it is usually accepted in cases where the patient is uninsured. Considering that a one week stay in a hospital in the midwest cost me over $80,000 plus another $10,000 afterward I’d say that they would be hard pressed to pay even half in one lump. That means the hospital and Dr has to pass his costs along to those patients who are bright enough to be insured. I guess in today’s “every man for himself” conservatism this is OK. It doesn’t make for a very orderly society tho.
PS: That $90.000 medical bill came withing a year of my wife loosing her 3 yr battle with cancer which ran well over $5000 pr month just for meds and another $3,000 for Drs. How many have that kind of change laying around in the sock drawer?
Everyone is afraid of those catastrophic illnesses or accidents but I thought I’d throw in just a few simple realities.
I have no insurance. I had to leave my job prior to retirement with only a small pension to care for my mother and could not afford the COBRA payments. I have a congenital heart malformation (preexisting condition) and still do not have insurance…but I do have medications. My medications even with drug programs (I’m very grateful for them) cost me $800 every 3 months which is 1/3 of my income for the same time period. Everyone knows that when you take medications you have to pay (and I do mean PAY) a visit to your doctor to renew these meds. One simple visit plus lab work costs me $400.00 WITH their “low income” plan.
Well, shame on me, I like gardening – it distracts from the horror/tedium of caring for a person with dementia. I got bit by a ground spider and developed an infection. It spread up my arm which was swollen to twice it’s size. I had to see a doctor so I went to the “low income” clinic. $235 for the visit. $300 for the prescription. Their payment plan was $50.00 or don’t see a doctor – the rest due in 30 days.
Ordinary things – inordinate expense…yeah…that’s prudent. Of course, when you can afford a staff of caregivers and gardeners one doesn’t have to think of these things. The majority of people have to make these choices every day..