tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213637816867597284.post9200150594500296742..comments2023-04-05T03:59:10.137-07:00Comments on Health Insurance Issues with Dave: Watch Where You StepDave Cunixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356604734843290624noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213637816867597284.post-60136903526527191942013-06-22T13:51:28.215-07:002013-06-22T13:51:28.215-07:00Part 2 of Susie's comment on the website:
Hea...Part 2 of Susie's comment on the website:<br /><br />Health care for the masses is a massive responsibility – one that only a massive authority can resolve and govern. For the ‘Obama phone’, it was the telecommunications industry that stepped up to the plate to serve the underserved (see link above). Who in the health care industry has stepped up to the plate to partner in a solution to the health care problem? Let’s hear it from the drug and medical device industries! Let’s hear it from the leading hospitals! The resounding response brings an old familiar song to mind: http://youtu.be/FaSFzp6IDgw. <br /><br />So… without an industry leader willing to come to the forefront, the only massive authority left is the Federal Government. Please do not blame the President for trying to bring into an effect a needed solution to a problem that industry leaders consider a hot potato and will not tackle. <br /><br />The only pet peeve I have is the government’s seeming need to reinvent the wheel. I would have hoped that it would have studied nationalized health insurance in other developed countries and adopted the best practices of each, but that is not apparent.<br /><br />Thanks for yet another great article, Dave.<br /><br /><br />Dave Cunixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18356604734843290624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213637816867597284.post-36233767580585094922013-06-22T13:49:54.526-07:002013-06-22T13:49:54.526-07:00Susie Sharp says:
June 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm (Edit...Susie Sharp says: <br /><br />June 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm (Edit) <br /><br />Dave, thanks for the humor and insight. You’ve been my ‘go-to’ guy for years when it comes to insurance matters and have been a proven straight shooter for the folks I’ve sent to you for guidance and advice.<br /><br />I’ve always thought it a shame that the richest nation in the world couldn’t find a way to provide medical care for its own people. The U.S. stands almost entirely alone among developed nations lacking universal health care. (Map: http://bit.ly/N1YwPr) <br /><br />Who would have thought just a few short decades ago, that the words “homeless” and “veteran” would be commonly used in the same sentence in the grand old US of A? (Same with “homeless/hungry” and “child.”) US politicians are seemingly obsessed with sending rice, chocolate and MREs off to 3rd world countries lest those countries look to Russia, China or the Taliban for support – all the while our own citizens go without, sleeping under bridges, in back alleys and in city streets. <br /><br />While insurance executives consistantly manage to eke out livings on meager 7 figure compensation packages, I love to hear how they begrudge food assistance, early child care assistance and ‘Obama phones’ for the unemployed and struggling (Note: To be factual, they should be called “Woodrow Wilson phones” – see history: http://bit.ly/VjGVF.)<br /><br />There needs to be basic dignity associated with life – and death. The folly of ‘trickle down economics’ has long been exposed as a mere ruse to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice….<br /><br />I was 13 in 1968 and worked the summer at minimum wage – at a grand $2.30/hour. After 3 months of working/hoarding, I was able to take my summer savings and buy myself a cherished Yashica D 120 TLR 2.25″ economy box camera. (Picture and stats: http://bit.ly/14e6wn7) At 13, I was living at home with my parents, fully supported/fed/clothed and housed. My only real worldly concern was the increasing awareness of an untenable military situation in Vietnam. My only financial concern was acquiring that camera before school started in the fall. My hands still remember the feel of that familiar and well-loved brown leather case.<br /><br />Flash forward to 2013. The consumer price indexing site shows that 1968′s $2.30 minimum wage translates to $15.40 in today’s dollars. (http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl) And what, you wonder, is Ohio’s current minimum wage? $7.85. So all who want to argue that minimum wage keeps pace with inflation can now suppress that nonsense before it dribbles out of your mouths in an undoubtedly alcohol fueled conversation. <br /><br />There’s a difference between a minimum wage and a living wage. In 1968 three months of labor (while living at home) provided me with the means to afford one inexpensive camera. If I’d worked an entire year, I would have been able to buy a total of 4 cameras. – IF I lived at home.<br /><br />Today, at HALF that 1968 dollar’s value, people who live in the US are expected to be able to pay rent, buy food and medicine, feed and clothe their families, pay electricity, gas and water and educate their children. Where’s the disconnect?<br /><br />The disconnect lies in a lot of places. The most glaring example in recent history that stands out in my mind is when the American auto company executives wanted to beg for their bail outs and all flew to Washington in their own separate private jets with their own separate private pilots in the cockpits. FAIL.<br /><br />But I digress…<br /><br />Dave Cunixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18356604734843290624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213637816867597284.post-22242921910196410872013-06-21T16:58:19.911-07:002013-06-21T16:58:19.911-07:00scary and stupid stuff. I remember when I had my ...scary and stupid stuff. I remember when I had my Dad with us -- it was the first year to pick a Medicare plan for meds. It was crazy, so many plans to wade thru with so many companies. I only listened to a salesmen where he already had his Medicare supplementary healthcare insurance just to simplify things. After just reading what all was out there, this was the easiest way to go. I know Dad trusted that company since he already had life insurance with them as well. But what about the older couple who doesn't have an RN or knowledgeable son or daughter to help with these decisions?? I am sure it is worse now, which will get even worse with the PPACA. God help all who have to deal with all of this. Whenever the government becomes more involved in healthcare, the waters just get murkier. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com