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Is health insurance REALLY necessary?

SDET

SDET

Banned
DP Veteran
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May 1, 2015
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Location
Texas
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Political Leaning
Libertarian - Right
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
 
SDET said:
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
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Great. So now my tax dollars will be paying for your emergency room visits. But at least we don't have universal healthcare, right?
 
Why would you think emergency will cover problems that would require multipel visits. Do you think they will give you a heart rtanspalant or chemo in emergency?
 
SDET said:
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
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They don't have to go against your protected assets. They'll just kick you out unless you pay. They can do that as long as you are not in immediate health danger. They'll roll you out to a bus stop and lift you out of the wheelchair and set you on the sidewalk. Have a nice day.
 
Is health insurance REALLY necessary?
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Yes. Going without it in the US is a horrible idea.
 
I have watched people die in ambulances because the primary hospital deemed the patient safe enough to transfer to another facility that regularly accepts uninsured patients.

Good luck with you and your loved ones. I am glad you think your old age is more important than the protection of your loved ones in your prime.
 
lwf said:
Great. So now my tax dollars will be paying for your emergency room visits. But at least we don't have universal healthcare, right?
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Since you're happily paying for illegals in emergency rooms, the least you can do is pay for your fellow Americans.
 
My dependants are citizens of Brazil. They have options there. I will take the hit if this turns into a losing bet for myself.

Quag said:
Why would you think emergency will cover problems that would require multipel visits. Do you think they will give you a heart rtanspalant or chemo in emergency?
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Why not just go for affordable subsidized universal emergency care? The cash for service routine care is growing and becoming more available.

lwf said:
Great. So now my tax dollars will be paying for your emergency room visits. But at least we don't have universal healthcare, right?
Click to expand...
 
Quag said:
Why would you think emergency will cover problems that would require multipel visits. Do you think they will give you a heart rtanspalant or chemo in emergency?
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He'll never get it till it happens to him. There are people who just can't see beyond their own scope at present time.
 
SDET said:
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
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Why is your family premium so high?
 
Two adults plus dependants comes to that. You can do a high deductible with HSA, but it still comes out to about that. My current employer contributes zero to employees coverage. That's what would be taken out of my check for their coverage.

chuckiechan said:
Why is your family premium so high?
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I found a short term plan from United Healthcare with a family premium of $365 per month with $12,500 deductible and 40% co-insurance after the deductible to a maximum $10K. It's available for six months.
 
Barnacle said:
Since you're happily paying for illegals in emergency rooms, the least you can do is pay for your fellow Americans.
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You mean like Obamacare?
 
SDET said:
My dependants are citizens of Brazil. They have options there. I will take the hit if this turns into a losing bet for myself.
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So basically you are betting on living a healthy life until you die, odds are against you
 
lwf said:
Great. So now my tax dollars will be paying for your emergency room visits. But at least we don't have universal healthcare, right?
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Its interesting the people think paying for emergency room visits is cheaper than paying for a lifetime of healthcare.
 
lwf said:
Great. So now my tax dollars will be paying for your emergency room visits. But at least we don't have universal healthcare, right?
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You know, my wife was in a car accident, a year ago today. Let me tell you about ER Visits...

First, we went, gave them our insurance information. They dutifully took it all, and then sent us the 10k bill. But then they sent us a 3k bill. Then it stopped. I figured that was the marked down bill after insurance. Since it was a wreck, not our fault and the other party had insurance, we had our lawyers on it. Well lo and behold, after 7 months, the Hospital went to court, took out a 10k LIEN AGAINST US. No notification they went to court, our LAWYERS found it when trying to sort everything out.

Why? The hospital called our insurance, who said "we're not paying someone else is" and that someone else is told the hospital "They aren't insured by us..."

When I learned it all, the 10k is the amount charged if you have insurance, the 3k was for uninsured. When they found out we had insurance again and are citizens in the county, they went after us in court. WITHOUT going back to our insurance. Once our lawyers got on it, it got paid.

That whole "No insurance so tax payers pay" only comes into play if the persons are unable to actually pay, or are not legal residents.
 
If you want to ensure health and financial well being, yes.
 
Renae said:
You know, my wife was in a car accident, a year ago today. Let me tell you about ER Visits...

First, we went, gave them our insurance information. They dutifully took it all, and then sent us the 10k bill. But then they sent us a 3k bill. Then it stopped. I figured that was the marked down bill after insurance. Since it was a wreck, not our fault and the other party had insurance, we had our lawyers on it. Well lo and behold, after 7 months, the Hospital went to court, took out a 10k LIEN AGAINST US. No notification they went to court, our LAWYERS found it when trying to sort everything out.

Why? The hospital called our insurance, who said "we're not paying someone else is" and that someone else is told the hospital "They aren't insured by us..."

When I learned it all, the 10k is the amount charged if you have insurance, the 3k was for uninsured. When they found out we had insurance again and are citizens in the county, they went after us in court. WITHOUT going back to our insurance. Once our lawyers got on it, it got paid.

That whole "No insurance so tax payers pay" only comes into play if the persons are unable to actually pay, or are not legal residents.
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I'm sorry to hear that. That should never happen in a first world country, and we ought to work to bring the American Healthcare system up to the standards of the rest of the first world countries.

SDET said specifically: "I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas." Therefore, if this is in fact true, his medical bill would then be paid by your and my tax dollars. Obamacare didn't pay the medical bills of those who could pay their own medical bills. It paid for those who couldn't, much like Medicaid does. The difference is, it forced those people who couldn't pay outrageous healthcare costs to contribute what little they could into a federally managed system, rather than letting them pay nothing and then get free emergency medical care paid for on the back end by our tax dollars anyway.
 
SDET said:
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
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Yes, it is, because if something goes wrong, you get hurt, require surgery, or other unforseen things, you likelywon't be able to afford it and be like so many people in this country, they are bankrupted by healthcare costs.
 
SDET said:
My health insurance lapsed a few months ago. The negotiated cash price with my primary care physician is less than my co-pay was. I have found cash based lab test providers and radiology providers that charge less than what I paid previously as a co-pay. Emergency care can't be denied for lack of insurance. My family premium would have been $1,500 per month. I now put that money in a 401-k much of which I can access if I need to penalty free (see rule of 55). A 401-k cannot be attached by a healthcare provider. All my assets are judgment proof. That means I can choose not to pay a medical bill and get away with it. Wage garnishment is illegal in Texas.
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Sounds like you've got a very well-thought-out plan to offload your costs onto the rest of society.
 
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