[quote=ocrenter]I listened to the same interview today in whole and I didn’t get anything negative out of it.
the freelance thing is really just a way to say “involuntary temperary part time jobs.” as for 2-3 jobs. that simply means most employers out there are trying their best to game the system by making sure their employees stay “part-time” and therefore they are not on the hook for benefits. think of it this way, I would rather hire two part timers each at 20 hours a week instead of a full time worker working 40 hours.
as for getting on her parent’s insurance. I think otherwise in the great majority of cases, the young adult would have simply gone without insurance. something catestrophic comes along and it’ll be on our dime.[/quote]
I agree, ocrenter. Not ONLY is it difficult for the young 20-something college grad to land a job with benefits, SOMEONE is paying the premiums for them to have coverage until age 26, if necessary. It could be a parent (out of their payroll deduction), along with their parent’s employer. But they’re not getting “free” coverage. SOMEONE is paying the premium and is is NOT the taxpayers. As I recall, this was part of the health care reform bill that was passed in March of this year. It’s would be logical to believe that the mix of these young people on a plan can only HELP rates for the many millions of adults in other age groups.
Back in my day, when we couldn’t get benefits at this age, we just went without and/or used community clinics. Obviously, today’s young people might try to (and successfully) qualify for Medi-Cal if a medical emergency happened to them and they were without coverage. But this coverage WOULD be on the taxpayer’s dime.
What angers me the most about the recent healthcare “reform” bill is that thousands of folks in my demographic (i.e. “baby-boomers”) cannot now be denied an individual policy. It’s NOT that they CAN’T BE DENIED that bothers me . . . it’s that ALL insurance companies recently received permission to raise ALL INDIVIDUAL PREMIUMS on 10/1/10 to help absorb these losses (just as I predicted earlier in the year). I have an individual health policy that I was “put thru the paces” a few years ago to obtain, namely, I had to have these things done and then wait another 60-90 days for “underwriting review:”
EKG
Height/weight
full length color photos – all views
several blood tests
blood pressure
treadmill stress test
physical exam
open up my entire medical record
All done by the insurance co’s contract nurse. I was recently notified that my premium is going up $38 month on October 1, 2010, and, after having “taken care of myself” over the years, I have been nothing but a “profit center” for them. IMHO, this is only the beginning of many more increases to come.
Why?? Let’s look at how some of my previously-uninsurable “peers” have taken (or not) taken care of themselves over the last 40 years, excepting those that suffer or have suffered from birth defects, injuries from accidents or non-alchohol/tobacco-related or inherited cancers:
-alcoholism, which led to cirrhosis;
-obesity, which led to diabetes, heart disease, collapsed, necrotic veins and poor circulation;
-former crystal meth usage, which led to strokes, partial blindness and rotted teeth and gums (which led to heart disease);
-former crack cocaine usage which led to strokes;
-former heroin and LSD use which led to flashbacks, schizophrenia and even lupus;
-former and current smoking, which led/leads to heart disease, lung cancer and COPD;
-and, former and current use of chewing tobacco, which led/leads to mouth cancer and ulcers.
My large medical insurance carrier is on the east coast and my premium is based on two things (1) health care costs in my service area; and (2) typical health care usage of my demographic.
I am now lumped into the mix with the 300-lb, 40 year chain-smoker living in Kentucky that they formerly freely rejected.
All I can say is, I hope Medicare is still around when I need it :={
