Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Health Meeting
We had a health meeting at work today. In the meeting, we learned how to eat good protein. Eating protien helps to break down fat faster. So basically, we learned how to lose belly fat. It was great. By eating good protein, your muscles are strong and you lose fat. I, as a meat eater, love this idea. I can eat more meat and lose weight at the same time. Now I just need to find the money to buy all that extra meat.
My Two Cents
A couple of years ago, I saw the movie Sicko. If you haven't seen it yet, I would highly advise that you do. After watching that movie, I can understand why other countries laugh at America's health care system. Other countries are more healthy and no one has to worry about going backrupt when the unexpected happens. In America, land of the free, if we get seriously sick or get into a serious accident, we may get better, but we will be spending the rest of our lives as slaves. That's right, slaves to medical bills. Even if you have insurance, you will have thousands of dollars to pay back if you have a serious accident and garaunteed, your insurance premiums will go up or it may be cancelled altogether. Yes, America has the best medical resources in the world if you can afford it AND if you never have to use them. Once you use them too often, you may be saddled with debt that you will never be able to pay back.
There is a tidal wave coming. Many people in America get their health insurance from their employer. We don't see the cost that our insurance runs when we don't see the full bill. However, that bill is still there and for employers, it's high. And it is not getting any lower. In fact, it is getting higher. As that cost rises, a employer needs to cut back in other areas. These areas include your salary. Have you noticed that wages for everyone have not kept up with inflation? The cost of living continues to rise, while wages have been stagnant. Also, at the same time, health costs have risen by 8 percent each year. Think about it. Your wages aren't increasing, but your employer's health care costs have increased each year. Your employer is using your salary increases to pay for the increases in their medical costs. This problem is only going to get worse. Pretty soon, because medical costs will continue to rise unless something drastic is done, employers will no longer be able to cover your medical insurance costs, putting more and more of the bill on you. Remeber, your wages haven't increased, and all of a sudden you have to pay this large insurance cost because your employer can't do it any more.
Insurance companies don't know you from Adam. All they see are the balance sheets. Like any other business, if costs in one area start to increase, they will either replace that area with something cheaper or increase their prices to cover that rising cost of theirs. This is a huge problem when it comes to health. Your health is one of the most basic things you need to survive. Insurance companies don't answer to you, the customer. They answer to investors. These investors want to see a return on their investment. If the insurance company they are investing in starts losing money, they will pull their money out. Insurance companies know this. They want to keep their profits rising and their costs low. You are their source of both. If your cost to them increases, you are now a huge liability to them and they will work to get rid of that liability. They will either dump your coverage for whatever reason or raise your rates until you voluntarily drop yourself. Either way, their increased cost is gone and their investors are happy. This way of thinking is what stands between your good health or your nice funeral. Insurance companies don't know a thing about your health or what your health needs. All they know is how to keep costs low and profits happy and their investors happy.
This is our healthcare system. Actually, I wouldn't put the word care in there at all. I am all for health care reform and having the public option out there. Don't try and scare me with words like socialism or takeover. That's the same propaganda that killed health reform 15 years ago. I know people in countries like Canada and Austrailia who love their health care system. If they get sick, they go to the doctor that they want and get the the care they want. We need that in America. In America, if we get sick, we don't go to the doctor because it will cost money and so we try and take care of it ourselves. We gamble with our own health in this country. It should never, never be that way. A public option would be the fall back if you lose your insurance so you still get care and your health is assured. Don't try and scare me with saying that will put the insurance companies out of business. You obviously don't understand business enough by saying that. If insurance companies want to stay in business, they will need to be competitive. Right now, even though there are a number of companies out there, they aren't very competitive. They are as competitive as one Walmart store competing against another Walmart store. If we have a public option, it will benefit everyone. Those without coverage will have their needs met and those who have coverage will have their costs go down because again, insurance companies answer to investors and will need to stay in business in order to keep those investors happy.
The status quo cannot be maintained. In a number of years, something will give and unless we enact real reform, not bandages, now, we will be looking back on this and feel pity for ourselves for not enacting real reform when we had the chance. Real reform, right now!!
There is a tidal wave coming. Many people in America get their health insurance from their employer. We don't see the cost that our insurance runs when we don't see the full bill. However, that bill is still there and for employers, it's high. And it is not getting any lower. In fact, it is getting higher. As that cost rises, a employer needs to cut back in other areas. These areas include your salary. Have you noticed that wages for everyone have not kept up with inflation? The cost of living continues to rise, while wages have been stagnant. Also, at the same time, health costs have risen by 8 percent each year. Think about it. Your wages aren't increasing, but your employer's health care costs have increased each year. Your employer is using your salary increases to pay for the increases in their medical costs. This problem is only going to get worse. Pretty soon, because medical costs will continue to rise unless something drastic is done, employers will no longer be able to cover your medical insurance costs, putting more and more of the bill on you. Remeber, your wages haven't increased, and all of a sudden you have to pay this large insurance cost because your employer can't do it any more.
Insurance companies don't know you from Adam. All they see are the balance sheets. Like any other business, if costs in one area start to increase, they will either replace that area with something cheaper or increase their prices to cover that rising cost of theirs. This is a huge problem when it comes to health. Your health is one of the most basic things you need to survive. Insurance companies don't answer to you, the customer. They answer to investors. These investors want to see a return on their investment. If the insurance company they are investing in starts losing money, they will pull their money out. Insurance companies know this. They want to keep their profits rising and their costs low. You are their source of both. If your cost to them increases, you are now a huge liability to them and they will work to get rid of that liability. They will either dump your coverage for whatever reason or raise your rates until you voluntarily drop yourself. Either way, their increased cost is gone and their investors are happy. This way of thinking is what stands between your good health or your nice funeral. Insurance companies don't know a thing about your health or what your health needs. All they know is how to keep costs low and profits happy and their investors happy.
This is our healthcare system. Actually, I wouldn't put the word care in there at all. I am all for health care reform and having the public option out there. Don't try and scare me with words like socialism or takeover. That's the same propaganda that killed health reform 15 years ago. I know people in countries like Canada and Austrailia who love their health care system. If they get sick, they go to the doctor that they want and get the the care they want. We need that in America. In America, if we get sick, we don't go to the doctor because it will cost money and so we try and take care of it ourselves. We gamble with our own health in this country. It should never, never be that way. A public option would be the fall back if you lose your insurance so you still get care and your health is assured. Don't try and scare me with saying that will put the insurance companies out of business. You obviously don't understand business enough by saying that. If insurance companies want to stay in business, they will need to be competitive. Right now, even though there are a number of companies out there, they aren't very competitive. They are as competitive as one Walmart store competing against another Walmart store. If we have a public option, it will benefit everyone. Those without coverage will have their needs met and those who have coverage will have their costs go down because again, insurance companies answer to investors and will need to stay in business in order to keep those investors happy.
The status quo cannot be maintained. In a number of years, something will give and unless we enact real reform, not bandages, now, we will be looking back on this and feel pity for ourselves for not enacting real reform when we had the chance. Real reform, right now!!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Bath time
My wife loves taking a long hot bath after a tiring day with the kids. I don't mind, I understand that taking care of 3 little kids can really wear a person out. I don't know how she does it every day. Our last house though only had a tiny tub in the main bathroom so she didn't get a relaxing bath often. Luckily our house here has a really big tub in our master bathroom, that sold my wife on the house. I bet she'd love one of those walk in tubs that you can sit in and fill up to your shoulders. Actually I know she would, because every time a commercial for those comes on she says, "that would be so nice!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
