Comments on: How do you handle health insurance?

By: Corinne McKay

Corinne McKay — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:31:53 +0000

Excellent post! We purchase our own health insurance through Blue Cross/Blue Shield and pay about $460 per month for two adults and a kid. We’ve been extremely happy with the policy but we have a $2,000 per person deductible and we would pay 20% of any inpatient hospital care. Although we are very fortunate to get pretty comprehensive coverage for a reasonable price, it’s horrifying to think that if we had a very major health crisis, even 20% of the total could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:54:39 +0000

The more I hear about health care in the US, the less I dream about coming back. See this from a libertarian (!) website: http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/07/why-prefer-french-health-care.

Barack Obama’s mother is a good example of what can happen when Americans try to return home without insurance through their jobs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham#Illness_and_death.

By: jillsommer

jillsommer — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:12:34 +0000

I hear that, Kevin! I got really good care when I lived in Germany. I keep telling my Republican friends that the “socialist medicine” care I received in Germany was awesome and extremely comprehensive. I never had to wait to see a doctor and got all kinds of tests done that I would never have gotten done here in the U.S.

By: jillsommer

jillsommer — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:11:13 +0000

I can’t believe people would choose to go without health insurance either. I had surgery a few years ago and only had to pay the deductible. There is no way I would have been able to afford the actual costs. Plus, health insurance companies negotiate lower rates for medical services. I view my health insurance like I look at renter’s insurance – nice to have in case of an emergency (like a fire or flood) and I hope I never have to use it, but if I do I’ll be glad I have it. I know a couple people who had to declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. I don’t want that to be me.

By: Kevin Lossner

Kevin Lossner — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:02:11 +0000

How do I handle health insurance? I stay in Germany where I can’t be turned down by the statutory providers. Even with the insurance coverage I had in the US, various minor health issues over the past 10 years probably would have ruined me if I had stayed in the US. So if the US is unable to achieve real health care reform, my advice would be to emigrate to a civilized country. Maybe Canada will accept refugees.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:20:30 +0000

Thanks for the mention! I was a little surprised to see that some of the commenters on my blog said they just went without health insurance. I’m healthy, but knowing how expensive out-of-pocket medical costs can be makes me very reluctant to go that route. In fact, I believe that medical costs is one of the most common reasons that people file for bankruptcy. Very scary stuff!