[Boomer]

Last night. A little late. For me anyway. I came back into this thread with the intention of continuing my purposeless rant about how somebody needs to solve this healthcare mess. I view the whole healthcare coverage meltdown as a big picture. I have never been good at worrying about just myself.

So anyway, I was in here, trying to climb back on my soapbox to do a little addendum to yesterday morning's tirade. Well something happened and I lost it. Not my temper. My thought provoking addition to my post.

I told you in some other thread recently about my Folgerian slip when I spilled coffee all over my keyboard. I don't think I managed to resuscitate this thing completely and the keys stick sometimes. I really need to confess to Mr. Boomer so that he produces a new one for me from his basement computer components museum. But I digress.

Anyway, here is what I think about sometimes:

Why can't somebody figure out how to do an early Medicare buy in for early retirees?

It would cost the early retirees some money, but the access to a good plan would be there, without all the roadblocks that catch so many who are of an age.

And I know I harp on hating ridiculous taxation, and I know a subsidy to such a buy in for early retirees would probably have to add a little tax to everybody. Maybe? Maybe not? Better than subsidizing a bridge to nowhere, at least in my book.

And did you notice I said BUY IN?

It seems to me that this would be a big picture solution for a few across-the-board reasons:

1. People would not try to hold on to jobs when they really want to retire. Holding on for healthcare insurance can be pretty miserable.

2. If an early BUY IN to Medicare were available to all, can you imagine the stress related illnesses that could be headed off at the pass. It seems like that would be a no-brainer good thing for the overall healthcare system.

3. And just think of how what's left of American jobs that could open to our kids and our grandchildren, too.

OK. So maybe make this buy in available starting at 55. Well, I guess I will let them negotiate me up to 58. That seems to be an age where a lot of people I know want out. But at 58, you still have all that 7-Year Itchin' to do until 65. But being able to buy in to the system for those years would sure help a lot of people who are out there trying to navigate those shark-infested waters of the individual plans.

Why wouldn't business like such a plan?

Oh, and TV could sell even more houses.

I really do not know why business would not approve, but I am sure there are many reasons that somebody can haul out.

And besides, like I always say, Boomer is but a bumpkin anyway. A bumpkin who thinks too much.

So, gimme that soapbox, "Aaannnnddddd, if I am elected. . ."

Boomer the Bumpkin

[Villages Kahuna]

...and it probably should.

Healthcare insurance is one issue. Finding a doctor to treat you is another. Good docs are in short supply around TV. Why would we expect otherwise? TV annual population growth is at a rate larger than the towns that many of us came from. In fact TV population grows by 3X the size of the Chicago suburb I lived in...each year!

Combine the health insurance mess with the fact that fewer smart kids are opting for medical school and fewer still choosing internal or family medicine, and you can see the problem.

Any doctor who comes to TV will have to decide beforehand that he's willing to make his living on Medicare assignments. With the payments to doctors scheduled for substantial decreases in the next few years, you can see why many doctors are shying away from taking on any new Medicare patients. If you're paying attention, I'm sure you all know many family members or friends who have been shut out from doctors who will no longer provide treatment to Medicare patients, whether or not they have supplemental coverage.

Yep, this is almost certainly a subject for the political forum.

[Sidney Lanier]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Any doctor who comes to TV will have to decide beforehand that he's willing to make his living on Medicare assignments. With the payments to doctors scheduled for substantial decreases in the next few years, you can see why many doctors are shying away from taking on any new Medicare patients.

This is true not only for Medicare enrollees; it's true for virtually all health insurance companies who negotiate a payment rate with physicians and other medical service providers for how much to pay for what.

An example: My wife gets a routine blood test from time to time which ordinarily costs about $26. Now with Medicare--but also pre-age 65 with the health insurance plan she had as an active employee--the lab gets about $3 for drawing the blood, sending it stat (immediately) to the lab for processing, generating results for her and her MD, and of course all the paperwork. How can they possibly do this for $3? When I asked, 'Why say the charge is $26 when you get paid only $3. Who pays $26?' And the answer? 'Why, the uninsured, of course, pay full freight.'

Maybe the uninsured have to hock their eyeteeth and their firstborn to pay.... Is this not outrageous? And yet this is how health insurance, whether Medicare or private insurance, works nowadays!

[efrahin]

It is a big problem when people want to retire in their 50's and the live expectancy is higher every year. If you can retire early than the required date for benefits, means that you have done well and you will have to plan to pay for the priviledge. There are some demagogues offering the public coverage for 40 extra millions people, of which 11 Millions are Ilegal Inmigrants; Who is going to pay for that??? We waited until 65 for our Medicare and bought the supplementary which cost us around $1,000 a month for both of us, but I budgeted that figure before my retirement. I guess that people get inpatient and dont want to wait, but you must make a choice. Socialized medicine does not appeal to me, we are used to go to the doctor we like and when we need a procedure we wanted it yesterday, well, that cost money. It is one or the other.

[linandvin]

Anyone know if Doctors in TV accept GHI (a northern health coverage)?? This would be an important consideration for us before moving.
thanks

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by efrahin

It is a big problem when people want to retire in their 50's and the live expectancy is higher every year. If you can retire early than the required date for benefits, means that you have done well and you will have to plan to pay for the priviledge. There are some demagogues offering the public coverage for 40 extra millions people, of which 11 Millions are Ilegal Inmigrants; Who is going to pay for that??? We waited until 65 for our Medicare and bought the supplementary which cost us around $1,000 a month for both of us, but I budgeted that figure before my retirement. I guess that people get inpatient and dont want to wait, but you must make a choice. Socialized medicine does not appeal to me, we are used to go to the doctor we like and when we need a procedure we wanted it yesterday, well, that cost money. It is one or the other.

However, another component to this mess has nothing to do with paying for the coverage. There are a lot of financially well off people in their late 50's and early 60's who can afford insurance but who have "pre-existing" conditions". If they move here and they had a local HMO up North they often cannot find a company that will even sell them insurance.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

Last night. A little late. For me anyway. I came back into this thread with the intention of continuing my purposeless rant about how somebody needs to solve this healthcare mess. I view the whole healthcare coverage meltdown as a big picture. I have never been good at worrying about just myself.

So anyway, I was in here, trying to climb back on my soapbox to do a little addendum to yesterday morning's tirade. Well something happened and I lost it. Not my temper. My thought provoking addition to my post.

I told you in some other thread recently about my Folgerian slip when I spilled coffee all over my keyboard. I don't think I managed to resuscitate this thing completely and the keys stick sometimes. I really need to confess to Mr. Boomer so that he produces a new one for me from his basement computer components museum. But I digress.

Anyway, here is what I think about sometimes:

Why can't somebody figure out how to do an early Medicare buy in for early retirees?

It would cost the early retirees some money, but the access to a good plan would be there, without all the roadblocks that catch so many who are of an age.

And I know I harp on hating ridiculous taxation, and I know a subsidy to such a buy in for early retirees would probably have to add a little tax to everybody. Maybe? Maybe not? Better than subsidizing a bridge to nowhere, at least in my book.

And did you notice I said BUY IN?

It seems to me that this would be a big picture solution for a few across-the-board reasons:

1. People would not try to hold on to jobs when they really want to retire. Holding on for healthcare insurance can be pretty miserable.

2. If an early BUY IN to Medicare were available to all, can you imagine the stress related illnesses that could be headed off at the pass. It seems like that would be a no-brainer good thing for the overall healthcare system.

3. And just think of how what's left of American jobs that could open to our kids and our grandchildren, too.

OK. So maybe make this buy in available starting at 55. Well, I guess I will let them negotiate me up to 58. That seems to be an age where a lot of people I know want out. But at 58, you still have all that 7-Year Itchin' to do until 65. But being able to buy in to the system for those years would sure help a lot of people who are out there trying to navigate those shark-infested waters of the individual plans.

Why wouldn't business like such a plan?

Oh, and TV could sell even more houses.

I really do not know why business would not approve, but I am sure there are many reasons that somebody can haul out.

And besides, like I always say, Boomer is but a bumpkin anyway. A bumpkin who thinks too much.

So, gimme that soapbox, "Aaannnnddddd, if I am elected. . ."

Boomer the Bumpkin

This idea is way too logical and makes way too much sense to be a gov't program

[golfnut]

efrahin, did I read your reply correctly??? you have medicare and pay $1,000 a month for supplemental coverage?????* I don't have medicare and pay $1,000 a month (for 2 people) for BCBS premier plus coverage.

[efrahin]

The figure was wrong because I included the Brand Name medications my wife needs. It is $500.00 for the Supplemental Insurance with United Health Care (AARP), $130.00 for the prescriptions coverage with Xpresss Prescriptions, $100.00 for the Dental Ins.(This is for both of us) which amounts to $830.00 monthly for the Insurance portion only. My wife takes two brand name medications which cost $195.00 each for 3 months supply. So as you can see is close to the $1000.00 monthly.

[efrahin]

rshoffer: You are right. We had previous coverage for about 20 continuous years and some clerk in the Social Security Office made a mistake and it has taken us more than a year to straighten it out. She wrote the wrong date for our starting coverage. Dealing with Medicare is the closest thing to hell, mostly because you impotent to do anything about and is no use to complain.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by rshoffer

This idea is way too logical and makes way too much sense to be a gov't program

Hey thanks, rshoffer,

Another point to add to what I said is that with an early Medicare BUY IN available to early retirees, those early retirees would actually help rates. They would be the young ones in the pool. Young ones in insurance pools help drive rates in the right direction. Maybe early retirees do not seem all that young, buy hey, everything is relative you know.

Oh well, I am glad you think my idea is logical and makes sense, at least. Although there is no hope for it I guess.

Oh well. . .

Ah. . ."I coulda been a contender."

Boomer

[serenityseeker]

Excellent points by many of you. I dearly wish we could get a groundswell of support from intelligent and well informed folks like those of you commenting here to make noise...and a lot of it because we have to have change in our present system and we are already so far behind in addressing the problems you note above and multitudes of others. I don't know how many folks realize that Medicare is essentially funded on borrowed money at this point(yes..foreign borrowed money like nearly everything else) and is in dire straights for some of the reasons noted by Kahuna, Lanier and others.
This is totally lost in this election at this point. We really need a massive cadre of people that demand intelligent responses and ideas regarding revamping this broken system we cling to.

[Shirleevee]

I don't have medicare and pay $1,000 a month (for 2 people) for BCBS premier plus coverage.

Please tell me where you live.........I pay $887.47 for BC/BS HMO, just for me (NY).

Shirleevee

[golfnut]

This coverage was written out of Michigan where I used to work.

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by serenityseeker

Excellent points by many of you. I dearly wish we could get a groundswell of support from intelligent and well informed folks like those of you commenting here to make noise...and a lot of it because we have to have change in our present system and we are already so far behind in addressing the problems you note above and multitudes of others. I don't know how many folks realize that Medicare is essentially funded on borrowed money at this point(yes..foreign borrowed money like nearly everything else) and is in dire straights for some of the reasons noted by Kahuna, Lanier and others.
This is totally lost in this election at this point. We really need a massive cadre of people that demand intelligent responses and ideas regarding revamping this broken system we cling to.

What seems to be happening is that when one crisis surfaces the previous crisis goes quietly to the back burner. Example being the health care crisis. Everyone knows our health care system is broken and needs serious attention at many levels. However, once gas hit 4 dollars a gallon.... WHAM... T Boone Pickens got on the TV and suddenly alternative energy is the burning issue. In fact, Pickins is absolutely correct, however, the health care issue has been momentarily silenced. I'm curious to see if it comes up in the debates.