This past weekend was 'meet the parents' - round 1, up in the bay area. I think it is suffice to say it went well, and we all had a good time. Perhaps some photos soon, I haven't even looked at them all yet.
I had a thought yesterday on my way home from work, as I was changing stations on the radio and finally landed on NPR where they were discussing (and that might be a stretch... more like reporting on) the fact that 70% of people who voted for Obama listed health care as one of their primary concerns. In the past, I've been quite against any sort of government run health care. Look at the DMV and how disorganized that is! There are horror stories of other countries that have gov't run health care - not that they all end up that way, but it is easy to focus on the bad.
At the same time, there are some aspects of the way things are that I dislike perhaps even more. The first is business provided health insurance. Why does where I work have anything at all to do with my health insurance? The history probably has to do with the business being able to get it cheaper and ensure that those who otherwise wouldn't qualify for insurance now can get it, because others that qualify easily are under the same umbrella of company X.
My third thought on the issue is that the system is harmed by people who go to the doctor simply because they can, not because anything is wrong with them - and it's already covered by their insurance. You have a cold? Then go home and sleep and take vitamin C... stop infecting all the other people in the doctor's office... and wasting the doctor's time, and insurance's money.
Item number four on the issue is the idea of a 'provider network'. If I have to go to the hospital and I'm in Maine, then it should be equivalent to a visit within my home area. To think otherwise is ridiculous, and stems from the fact that medical expenses have multiple sets of costs... one set for the well insured which offsets another set for the uninsured who are charged less. If you're in the network, those hospitals are going to be nicer to the specific insurance company. Ridiculous.
The last issue that really peeves me, my company effectively would pay me more (via paying more for my insurance) if I chose a different plan, or if I was married or even more if I had kids! All of these things have absolutely nothing to do with my job, and should have nothing to do with my overall pay and benefits.
At the same time, I really like my insurance... high deductible with a medical savings account. It gives me a good choice of doctors with the ability to have 0 net medical expenses on the year. It also creates incentive for me to find cheaper care when available for things not fully covered, so that more money stays in the savings account for the future. I think that is overall good for the industry.
Taking all this into account, the thing I would love to see happen (although it probably won't anytime soon) would be a Federal Government run high deductible with medical savings account system for every US citizen. It appears to solve everything other than the fact that I'm not a fan of the gov't getting involved in my life. The federal government puts money into the savings account annually, or monthly and it can only be used for medical expenses or to meet the deductible for the high-deductible insurance. Citizens can opt to put more money into the account on a recurring basis and take tax deductions on those amounts. Preventative care is of course covered in full, but other doctor visits would be covered based on the care needed. Things like colds would not be covered by insurance, and the patient would have to pay for this out of the savings account or out of pocket if they've exhausted the account. More serious items would be covered once the deductible was met. Perhaps a form of income tax to fund the system would be put in place, but that should be offset by the businesses not having to pay for insurance directly and thus paying the employees more.
My employer up here has a good system. Everyone has one base amount per month they'll contribute to your health care. Then based upon which plan you choose (and there are five or six to choose from) they either deduct or credit the difference. If you choose not to use the insurance, you can have the full amount, if you choose a more expensive plan (because you have many dependents or what not) then you might have some extra you chip in. I get around $35 added to my paycheck because I'm single and I chose a plan less than the amount the employer contributes so that is one of your insurances. I am pleased with my insurance. I also like that it covers 100% of all preventive care. So no copay for annual visits, vaccines, etc. It's a good thing for them to do to encourage people to get preventive care to avoid costly bills later on.
Good job impressing the parents. I remember what Sarah's father said to me when I asked for his permission. He said, "if she's happy then I'm happy. If she's not happy, then I'm not happy", spoken in a bit of an ominous tone. Regarding health care, you could always be a private contractor. Lots of people at my work do it. Your income could double! But, then you see how 40% goes to taxes, and the rest to benefits. The guy I talked to says he pays $1000 per month for his family (wife and two kids I think). Anyway, I for one am happy with the health care here. If you don't like it that people are uninsured then go find one and pay for it! It's called charity. It's a shame that the church doesn't do more. A lot of hospitals were started by churches back in the day, to care for the sick. Now we just wait for the government to do it for us. sad.
I understand that I could go by the way of contractor, and I've given it some thought. I think financially I'd come out ahead, but the issue isn't just that I realize that the economy has really improved a lot in recent years (not counting the las few months), but more so because the majority of people in the US are also unaware.
I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning, my 2nd normal cleaning at this particular dentist, and in a long time as it happens. The first time they did a whole bunch of xrays. The second time they did what was called the 'bitewing' xrays. My dental insurance, which is supposed to be 'good', covers the full-mouth xrays once every few years (I'd have to find the details again), and the bitewing xrays once a year. However, when the dentist charged the insurance the first time, the insurance code for full-mouth included bitewing. Of course, when I got the statements after the first visit this detail was on there, but in typical medical abbreviated fashion... who doesn't know how to interpret "full mouth xray w/ bw". So the second time, when the dentist actually did the bitewing xrays, and charged it to insurance, that claim was denied. After talking with insurance, the answer was basically "yeah, sorry, that's just how it is." So even though the actual work I had done should have been covered, because of these stupid medical codes it wasn't. Now, I probably could have fought with insurance, and I'm sure given enough time they likely would have ponied up the $50. I could also fault the dentist for not using the right codes. That is what brings me to my point... if my dentist had known how my insurance worked they would have just done all the xrays the first visit. Should I fault them? At first I thought yes. Then I called my insurance provider, and she spent several minutes with me on hold determining if the Boeing policy for their insurance allowed them to cover it. So it wasn't just the provider, but their tailored plans for every business (at least big business). There's no way the doctors can be aware of all the intricacies of all their patients insurance plans. By the same token,
this is the 3rd insurance plan I've had in the 5 years with Boeing. Its impossible for me to know all the intricacies either, at least if I want to have a life too. For me it just resulted in a $50 bill, so I'm thankful for that.
I think my mom wants to marry you now. Does that mean you overshot? ;-)