Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Blogs, the Better Sleep Aid

I haven’t been waking up rested, so I thought I’d try the Trazodone again.  Bad idea.  Seems as if I wake up in the middle of the night when I take it, and then can’t fall back asleep.  I’m hoping writing down my thoughts will calm my mind so I can sleep.  A bowl of cereal will probably also help (with the sleep, not with my dress size).

Go, go, go, busy, busy, busy!

It’s been busy!  Playdate, Vet appointment, Thesis class/meeting at school, grocery shopping… Yeah, I was barely home today.  I remember feeling important or somehow validated when I was “barely home” in high school… now it’s just exhausting!

Healthcare Access

So this week in Health Law, we’re looking at the volume of uninsured and healthcare access.  I’ve come to a few conclusions.

Healthcare should not be tied to employment.

  I think I’ve mentioned this before.  Why, oh WHY is it illegal for insurance companies to offer services across state lines?  Why can we not buy health insurance like we do car or homeowner’s insurance?  People shouldn’t lose insurance when they lose a job… or I suppose I should say, people who are left with half (or less) of their income on unemployment shouldn’t be saddled with deciding whether or not they could/should/would pay 4x as much for health insurance when their pay has been decimated.

I’m frustrated as to why there hasn’t been one simple bill to take care of this problem.  It’s a huge barrier in the industry.

Imagine being able to really shop for insurance.  Instead of employers offering their limited plans, there would be so many possibilities!  Perhaps employers could offer a tax-free subsidy instead of the current method.  Think of the cost savings for employers there!  How many HR administrators does it take to manage health insurance at any given business?  Why do businesses need to specialize in health insurance as well as their core competency?

We need to stop counting those living here illegally as “uninsured / underinsured.”

  Yes, there are sad stories and good people out there.  Yes, they work hard.  However, there are legal means to live here and become a citizen.  I don’t think our country should be burdened with the duty to provide health insurance to the population of the world, which is where our current path is taking us. 

We need to admit that some people simply make “bad” financial decisions.

  Many people who “can’t afford” health insurance CAN AFFORD expensive cars, iPhones and the corresponding spendy data plan, new TV’s, etc.  Most of these people DO understand the value of health insurance, but they don’t prioritize it like they do housing and food.  We have a culture with a screwed up view of priorities.   STUFF has become a priority for many.  This is also why we have so much consumer debt.

Granted, there IS a problem.  I’m not denying that.  But let’s stop with all the political correctness here and look at some of the real underlying issues.  We can’t fix it by looking at surface data.  There is a level of personal responsibility that should be expected.

Now it’s time to see if I can catch some ZZZzzzzs.  Happy Wednesday!

3 comments:

  1. Can you tell me *why* the laws are written as such that companies cannot sell policies across state lines? Did it start of in any way a good thing (i.e. a means to ensure state laws were met)?? I agree with what you say about car/homeowners insurance being available across lines and health insurance should be as well... I'm just trying to understand why these laws in the first place?

    I think you make a good point about it not being tied to a particular job/company. I don't understand how it would work another way (though I would like to.) None of these questions are personal to me (we have TriCare with Chief's retirement, no matter where he works or if he works) but I would like to understand better for my neighbors, friends and kids. Surely there is a solution ~ one that is not a part of the thing being promoted out east....

    And COBRA is a crying shame. My dad is a railroad retiree and when they switched from one form of health insurance to another on a certain birthday, (not by choice maybe private to medicare?) my mom was no longer covered because of she didn't turn whatever age yet. they had to buy COBRA for her for 4 months. It was ridiculous!!!!

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  2. Health Insurance in your country is... weird. I've never understood it. Here, in Canada, your employer can offer you benefits that tend to be better than you'd get if you were covered by a governmental plan (the price of which is reduced if you are low or no income). The Insurance companies can give better rates based on how many in your company, ages, etc. I wonder if where you live (in terms of province) plays a part as there must be statistics that come into play. But the larger insurance companies sell to various provinces, I'm sure of it.

    I like our health care system. I've never heard of anyone suffering because they have no insurance. Though you hear lots of stories of people suffering because of long wait times for surgeries. And yes, if you can afford it, you can opt to get 'better' care. And I've never heard of someone paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for medical care. We may pay into it with our taxes, but it's so nice feeling that safety.

    I'm not sure why the Americans are so freaked out by the Canadian health care system. For the most part, it works really well, imo.

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  3. And that being said, I hope you get some sleep soon, A!

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