Rant, Rant, Rant....Warning... Rant

[LisaNJ25]

If his kids have free health care, he is making a paltry salary and can probably not afford to pay anything but the rent and car it takes to get back and forth to work (maybe the heating bill but I doubt it). If you were a Christian, you would be compelled by your love of Christ and fellow human to feel compassion and want to help, but I guess you are an agnostic or atheist. As a Christian, I would pray (and bet) that most agnostics/atheists and non-Christians would also feel compassion.

No compassion for him here... according to the OP he is blowing money on vegas trip and drug.

 

[Caradana]

Honest to God (or Humanist ) Opinion: I don't really mind it. I pay for my health insurance, max out my 401(k), and still get slammed, SLAMMED by taxes. I still don't mind, because (here comes the less popular part of my argument) the economy needs people working for low wages and making overall dumb decisions to keep fueling itself. The bottom of the ladder supports the top of the ladder.

Also, I want the kids to be protected. Kids shouldn't be made to suffer medically when parents make colossally stupid decisions. Isn't that what we tacitly believe about parents who smoke?

 

[ILUVMYBRIT]

No compassion for him here... according to the OP he is blowing money on vegas trip and drug.

Did I miss that part???

Anyways from someone who has been uninsured in the past...and had to use food stamps. Try not to judge EVERYONE so harshly, or hope that you never find yourself in the position of needing it. Yes there are people who take advantage, but there are some who need it if only for a short time. I no longer need food stamps and have a great PPO through my employer. But...I also work 7 days a week at two jobs and see my kids very rarely because of it. But for a short time, they needed state medical and the food stamps til I got back on my feet after my divorce.

 

[PattnFmly]

Where both I & my DH works, we are also not allowed to opt out of health insurance unless we bring in proof that the spouse carries the family plan. There is not an option to NOT have health insurance. But that being said, we know someone who chose not to work, because she didn't want to pay health insurance. She'd rather get welfare/food stamps/mass health than work. She said it just took too much of her paycheck and she'd rather be home anyways. Imagine! If only I could keep what I pay in health care costs! I'd be practically rich! There has to be a better way of insuring all but not bankrupting those who are trying to make ends meet.

 

[Marseeya]

Did I miss that part???

Anyways from someone who has been uninsured in the past...and had to use food stamps. Try not to judge EVERYONE so harshly, or hope that you never find yourself in the position of needing it. Yes there are people who take advantage, but there are some who need it if only for a short time. I no longer need food stamps and have a great PPO through my employer. But...I also work 7 days a week at two jobs and see my kids very rarely because of it. But for a short time, they needed state medical and the food stamps til I got back on my feet after my divorce.

Same here. When my DH and I were separated, the kids and I had to get food stamps and medical until we could get back on our feet again. It was a dehumanizing and humiliating experience -- I try to have compassion for those who end up in that position.

 

[4cruisin]

If his kids have free health care, he is making a paltry salary and can probably not afford to pay anything but the rent and car it takes to get back and forth to work (maybe the heating bill but I doubt it). If you were a Christian, you would be compelled by your love of Christ and fellow human to feel compassion and want to help, but I guess you are an agnostic or atheist. As a Christian, I would pray (and bet) that most agnostics/atheists and non-Christians would also feel compassion.

Another story-- a friend was working for a company who just stopped paying their employees and robbed them of two weeks of their lives. The company also failed to pay their part of the health insurance for a month and a half without telling the employees. They didn't know until their claims were refused. But of course, it's all the employees' faults with their entitlement mentalities. How dare they expect to be paid for their work and actually expect their agreed upon benefits to continue? Do they think they are just entitled to money from a boss because they show up every day and work?

I'm sure you Republican "entitlement" freaks would say the poor company was robbed blind by the workers who demanded to be paid and wanted some benefits. Actually, one of the owners robbed the other blind. Those are the people that make me sick.

You have no clue what you are talking about. I know for a fact how much this guy earns. I also know his lifestyle involves using that money for poor choices, drugs, partying, trips to Vegas etc. His kids rec'v free care because the state does not know he is living w/ his gf and the kids...now they are having #3. Please do not try to insult me by judging whether I am a Christian or not. I refuse to help someone just because they constantly make poor choices and then expect someone else to deal with their problems. I could say a lot more to you on this whole Christain subject but I won't because you will climb into your Bible to justify your beliefs .

I am done with this discussion. I have valid reasons for feeling the way I do.
Have a great day everyone.

 

[Bob Slydell]

You have no clue what you are talking about. I know for a fact how much this guy earns.

You need to stay out of other people's business. I don't know what anyone around me earns and that's fine with me.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Did I miss that part???

Anyways from someone who has been uninsured in the past...and had to use food stamps. Try not to judge EVERYONE so harshly, or hope that you never find yourself in the position of needing it. Yes there are people who take advantage, but there are some who need it if only for a short time. I no longer need food stamps and have a great PPO through my employer. But...I also work 7 days a week at two jobs and see my kids very rarely because of it. But for a short time, they needed state medical and the food stamps til I got back on my feet after my divorce.

Yep, Quote from OP

"Before his "accident" he was gainfully employed with a very good wage, plenty of overtime. He spent his money on clubbing, going to Vegas for long weekends, drugs and partying."

I dont see anyone judging EVERYONE here..

I do have compassion for those who fall on hard times.. I was pregnant at 17 and had to go to the state for insurance. I used it for a short period of time during my pregnancy. 3 weeks after my son was born I got a job that provided benifits. Back than I was only making $5.xx an hour and still paying for them.

It is great that is there for when unexpected things happen in our lives.

Insurance should be a priority in life.. not vacations and partying. The man the OP is talking about is expecting his Third child. He needs to stop muching off of the state and grow up.

 

[nliedel]

I am done with this discussion. I have valid reasons for feeling the way I do.
Have a great day everyone.

I am curious why you posted this here then? One of the things this site does is give us all differing opinions, thoughts and ideas. A new way of looking at the situation. No matter how cut and dried I think a situation is someone will always look at it a different way. That's the magic of this site. It's not a good place to come if you want 100% of the posters to agree with you. While I understand you have reasons for your opinions if you did not want to hear dissenting opinions then this might not have been the best venue to air your thoughts.

Your initial post invited comments "What's the point of working hard, being responsible and not expecting others to pay for your problems? " and then invited people to flame you. No one flamed you but you had a lot of people saying maybe there is more here than meets the eye.

Also you stated that by going on welfare you could get the best medical care. I have dear friends who have to be on welfare and trust me, they do not get the "best" care. They barely get care at all. Nothing is ever black or white. You are so upset about this. Which I can understand. What I don't understand is why you are so very upset that people do not all agree with you?

 

[ChrisnSteph]

You have no clue what you are talking about. I know for a fact how much this guy earns. I also know his lifestyle involves using that money for poor choices, drugs, partying, trips to Vegas etc. His kids rec'v free care because the state does not know he is living w/ his gf and the kids...now they are having #3. Please do not try to insult me by judging whether I am a Christian or not. I refuse to help someone just because they constantly make poor choices and then expect someone else to deal with their problems. I could say a lot more to you on this whole Christain subject but I won't because you will climb into your Bible to justify your beliefs .

I am done with this discussion. I have valid reasons for feeling the way I do.
Have a great day everyone.

It sounds like this man opting out of health insurance is just one of many issues you have with this particular guy. You sure know an awful lot about him and his personal life for just being his coworker. If everything you say about him is true, then I can understand how frustrating it might be to see him mooch off the system. But not everyone who opts out of coverage or relies on the state for medical coverage is like this person.

 

[mrsltg]

Painting with a broad brush is generally a bad idea. I can understand the OPs frustration though. One of my best friends has a sister who used to have a drug and alcohol problem. She also managed to have 5 kids in 8 or 9 years not to mention several abortions the family paid for. Now, she has been collecting welfare payments and various other handouts from the state for as long as she's been a mom (14 years, maybe?). This infuriates me. It infuriates me that money that could be used on someone/something worthwhile is not because of this woman. On the flip side, the kids have to eat. Luckily my friend and the rest of her family chip in to provide for these children. However, the mother has never had to hit rock bottom. What's the answer in that situation?

Of course many people need the benefits provided by the state, however, there are more than a few who abuse the system. I'm always leery of anyone who believes the money should flow with no obligation.

As far as the Christian/Republican angle - I'm both. Charity isn't charity when it's forced. Christianity is having compassion for others and doing something about it yourself. Digging deep into your time, talent, and treasure is the measure of compassion - not paying taxes. So while some may want to pat themselves on the back for believing the government should be an endless source of handouts, it's not exactly "Christian" to spend someone else's money and then profess "compassion" because of it.

Erin

 

[Brier Rose]

If I'm missing something, somebody please clue me in, but DH and I don't have health insurance because we choose not to, but I don't see why this is so wrong.

He is self-employed, and we have always just payed straight out of pocket. I can't understand why it would be better to pay $500-$600 a month for insurance just "in case" we had a medical emergency, rather than just put that money in the bank to use "IF" a problem comes up.

I would much rather pay what I owe for medical services we have received rather than just pay all that money out for the possibly of something happening.

Every DR. we have ever been to have one set of charges for self-pay, and one set of charges for patients with insurance, so even though we do pay out of pocket, MOST of the time we do it at a discount.
For instance..I only paid $12.00 each for shots, but they bill the insurance companies $25.00???

When I was pregnant with DS it cost us about $11,000 in total. We just set up payments with the hosiptal while I was pregnant, with the last payment being due in my delivery month.
I don't know..works for us.

We do carry disability insurance though, and we have been talking about getting some major medical coverage that only covers like after the first $5,000 or so.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I work as a medical case manager in a hospital, and in my state, this man would not get Medicaid unless he had an injury/illness that was expected to last a minimum of a year. There is no state-paid insurance coverage for adult men over 21 and under 65 otherwise (unless they are totally and permanently disabled) in my state. I know this varies from state to state.

I am definitely in favor of a national health care system--I see people all the time who don't get the health care they need because they can't afford it. It's mostly large companies in Florida that provide health insurance, and it's very expensive. Many smaller employers don't offer it because of the cost.I think health care should be provided to everyone, just like education. I don't have any kids--I'm not complaining about the huge property taxes I pay to fund education, because I think it makes our world a better place, just like health care!

In MA if you have no healthcare your kids can get masshealth
most parents wont get it unless theres is something wrong with them OR idf they are like 300% below the poverty rate

 

[AllyandJack]

I don't care if people choose not to have health insurance and want to pay out of pocket. Whatever works for you.

I don't even blame the people. The government makes it so easy for people to behave this way. There is no sense of personal responsibility because certain people know the government will always be there to take care of them.

Another fun tidbit: My best friend had no insurance. Her DH had no job and worked under the table for a towing company. He made over $800./week clear. they got free care at Mass General in Boston because they had no reportable income. She gets pregnant on purpose and goes on MassHealth. He gets a real job and continues with his under the table job. They get insurance, but MassHealth is their secondary. His income from the other job is only half of what he actually makes, but the under the table job is picking up the slack. He still takes home about $800./week. They have great insurance - but, MassHealth pays for their co-payments. They also don't pay much attention to referrals and crap like that because if Blue Cross denies, MassHealth is right there.

It's frustrating, but then I realize, they'll never own a home earning half their income under the table. I just wish MassHealth kicked them off when they got insurance. They can pay the $10. for visits to the doctor. There seems to be no standards at all and the worst part is people who actually NEED the help are denied because people like this get the resources.

 

[Hannathy]

Brier rose you have the right to choose to do what you are doing and for all your examples it works but you may consider getting a policy that only starts paying when the proceedures are very high like 25,000. Our insurance doesn't cover visits or er stuff but will kick in for like heart surgery. we pay out of pocket to but seeing bills approaching 1/2 million pretty quickly with a bad accident or Ca I know I couldn't cover that and went with insurance only for the high extremes.

I also agree with the Op and it makes me very angry at how people work the system and if you play by the rules you get the short stick.

I worked at a hosp. once were one of the clerks was on her 4th child with the 4th guy all on state aid she only worked what she had to to qualify for aid she was in her very early 20's, when they came around to collect for her shower I refused. The supervisor said but we have to support these young girls in their choices I said I already am with taxes and it goes against my beliefs so I am not. Everyone else complained about it but wouldn't stand up for their beliefs and grudgingly gave something.

 

[iwaseeyore]

Every DR. we have ever been to have one set of charges for self-pay, and one set of charges for patients with insurance, so even though we do pay out of pocket, MOST of the time we do it at a discount.
For instance..I only paid $12.00 each for shots, but they bill the insurance companies $25.00???

My guess is you are paying the same or more then the insurance company. Working in a billing office you'd be surprized what insurance companies actually pay. The amount billed is not indicative of what the payments are.

They get insurance, but MassHealth is their secondary. His income from the other job is only half of what he actually makes, but the under the table job is picking up the slack. He still takes home about $800./week. They have great insurance - but, MassHealth pays for their co-payments. They also don't pay much attention to referrals and crap like that because if Blue Cross denies, MassHealth is right there.

I'm not sure where you got your information but this categorically wrong. MassHealth doesn't cover the claims for copays for the primary. I'm not sure what the exact verbiage is but I can tell you there is no payment. Also, there is no secondary coverage that will cover a claim denied by the primary. They will deny saying it the service is not covered by the primary. And as an aside, an insurer of last resort like MassHealth pays as little as possible.