health care

[Maverick74]

Quote from Burtakus:

Maverick,

Your idea is reat until some unexpected accident comes along and puts you in the hospital. I had a three day stint in the hospital a few years back due something beyond my control. The bill was just over $12,000. At the time I was in college and fortunate to still be on my dads insurance. The point is sometimes shit happens and unless you have insurance a lot of hospitals and doctors will not see you. And if they do your bill could wind up being more than the value of all of you assests. That is the reason I keep insurance.

Yes, I understand this. I am talking about this from a probability perspective. It's a really bad bet. It's kind of like buying extended warranties in stores. Do you know what the real odds are that you have to use it? I think it is something like 250 to 1. Yet people continue to buy them just in case. Would you believe it if I told you that Best Buy actually makes more money on the warranty itself rather then the actual product they are selling.

My point is for most people it's a really bad bet. I'm just talking about odds here. Let me ask you something, do you trade for a living? If you do, do you trade stocks? If you do, do you think it's possible that one of the stocks your long could be halted and gap down 50 pts on you. That could cost you 50k to 100k or more. Yet I bet that doesn't stop you from trading. So you are willing to accept that risk which is actually quite common but you are afraid of some freak accident costing you 12k? This is assuming you trade of course. Just think about it, it's a bad bet, really bad bet.

 

[Burtakus]

I do not trade for a living yet. I do understand your point on probabilities. However assuming the maximum that you could ever be out is roughly 1 million without insurance (I've seen it happen, but they had insurance). If that 1 million hits you late in the game then it is not too big a deal, however if it hits when you are still young like me, you can be screwed for the rest of your life. Or declare bankruptcy and then be screwed for at least 5-7 years. To me $200 a month is not that bad for right now. And at $200 a month it would take 5 years to cover the 12K assuming that is all that happened. That also covers my wife.

Neither one of us is right and neither one is wrong. It is just a matter of personal taste as to how much risk you want to take.

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from Burtakus:

I do not trade for a living yet. I do understand your point on probabilities. However assuming the maximum that you could ever be out is roughly 1 million without insurance (I've seen it happen, but they had insurance). If that 1 million hits you late in the game then it is not too big a deal, however if it hits when you are still young like me, you can be screwed for the rest of your life. Or declare bankruptcy and then be screwed for at least 5-7 years. To me $200 a month is not that bad for right now. And at $200 a month it would take 5 years to cover the 12K assuming that is all that happened. That also covers my wife.

Neither one of us is right and neither one is wrong. It is just a matter of personal taste as to how much risk you want to take.

Yeah I agree. Let me ask you something. Would you be willing to spend 120k on very very very deep OTM options? Probably not right? The probability of losing all that money is very high. However at 200 a month for 50 years that is exactly what your spending. I would much rather be the seller of that premium to you and that is why insurance companies have all the money. Haven't you ever wondered why they are so willing to bet against you?

 

[jimmyz]

For a family plan I pay 750/month.
Single person was 235/month
trader plus one was 550/month

hope it helps
just call the different insurers and they will be able to help you.

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from jimmyz:

For a family plan I pay 750/month.
Single person was 235/month
trader plus one was 550/month

hope it helps
just call the different insurers and they will be able to help you.

Is it any wonder how Warren Buffet made so much money? He said there is no better business in this country then owning an insurance company. I think he is right. I would love to take in that kind of premium every month.

 

[Free Thinker]

"A better alternative is medical savings accounts. At least the money is yours. You can take it off your income and invest the money tax deferred till your 65. And if you live a healthy life and don't need, you get to keep all the money you invested plus all the gains. That is a much better deal then paying monthly premiums. Of couse since it makes so much sense, very few people will actually take advantage of it."

the msa account has been ruined. i recently dropped mine after 5 years because the rates went out of site. the reason being is congress stipulated so many mandatory coverage on the insurance companys selling msa that it made the msa much higher than regular coverage. in my case my msa through golden rule cost 665 a month for 5000 deductible. i was able to replace it with a regular non msa plan through fortis insurance with similar deductible for about 350 a month.
congress just passed a new plan called an hsa that is supposed to have better options than the msa with the same ability to save money tax free for medical expenses. im still waiting for quotes on that from the insurance company to see if it will pay off.

 

[opmtrader]

There are also medical discount card which can save you 30% off your hospital bills. For many minor procedures this will be very comparable to what you will pay for your deductible and the cards can be had for as little as $30 a month for your whole family. But make sure you get some kind of catastrophic insurance for anything serious.

Maverick, do you have any links or company names where I could investigate this medical discount card? Thanks.

 

[Aaron]

Quote from Maverick74:

Is it any wonder how Warren Buffet made so much money? He said there is no better business in this country then owning an insurance company. I think he is right. I would love to take in that kind of premium every month.

Lots of different insurance companies are publicly traded. Go ahead and buy yourself part of an insurance company if you like.

 

[Aaron]

Quote from opmtrader:

Maverick, do you have any links or company names where I could investigate this medical discount card? Thanks.

I use the Galaxy Health Network medical savings card (www.galaxyhealth.net). It costs $10 per month for my family and the savings on dental cleanings alone more than pays for the card. We also save money on doctor visits, vision care, and prescription meds. We don't get any hospital or emergency care fee reductions with this card, though. I think there are other medical savings cards that cost more that also have hospital benefits.

It is a bit of a hassle trying to find in-network doctors, but so far the savings have been worth it. It is ridiculous how much doctors, dentists, and hospitals have jacked up their "list" prices (the prices uninsured people pay) to game the insurance and medicare systems.

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from Aaron:

Lots of different insurance companies are publicly traded. Go ahead and buy yourself part of an insurance company if you like.

The insurance stocks suck. It's the cash flow I want from the premiums.