Comments on: Health Insurance Has Become Prepaid Health Care

By: The High Cost of Doing Business in New York and Medicaid : RSSBinghamton.com

The High Cost of Doing Business in New York and Medicaid : RSSBinghamton.com — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:43:38 +0000

[...] written before about my search for affordable health insurance. It’s a sad thing when Medicaid recipients get better health benefits than those of us who [...]

By: The Real Cost of Timothy’s Law - $1,464 per Year per Family : RSSBinghamton.com

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:04:07 +0000

[...] hey, I considered it a bargain. I’m paying that amount as real “insurance” (not a prepaid health plan) against a catastrophic illness–something that would bankrupt us if it were to happen [...]

By: Jim Willis

Jim Willis — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:28:16 +0000

Thank you Pastor Kipp, for a great series of comments! Very insightful. I wish more information on self-insuring was available. Unbelievably, it’s difficult to find anything about it, even on the Internet. I have been looking for options like you stated, where you self-insure and invest the money. Unfortunately on the health insurance front, my wife has gone back to work so we can get a decent health insurance policy. Right now she isn’t making much above minimum wage, but when you calculate the value of the health insurance policy and what the plan would cost out of pocket, she’s making the equivalent of $20/hour!

For everyone who reads this comment that gets insured via your employer, know that you are receiving a benefit worth $10-$15,000 per year for a family plan. Next time you calculate your hourly rate, be sure to include it.

By: Pastor Kipp

Pastor Kipp — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:46:59 +0000

I just read your Oct. 23 article on Health Insurance. You hit the nail right on the head on several issues.

One issue in particular was the $300 cost for blood work. If hospitals and doctors get enough patients for blood work they will be able to buy some more new gold fixtures and maybe a third vacation house with a new Lexus.

A pastor friend of mine, when we lived in Maryland, had NO insurance. Although the State required auto insurance, he chose another option – he posted a bond – so in essence, he was “self-insured.” He never had an accident, so after he died his family sold the car and got back the bond money plus interest.

Nor did he have health or life insurance. Instead he “paid himself” by depositing to a savings account the amount the premiums would have been if he had taken out insurance.

Through careful investment, he was able to leave his family over a million dollars. I might mention, that he also opted out of Social Security (which clergymen are permitted to do), so when he died there weren’t thousands of dollars left to the government.

As for medical expenses. He and his wife had three children. Each time when she went to the hospital she was asked about insurance. When she told them that they didn’t have any, amazingly, the hospitals’ and doctors’ bills were slashed a great deal — probably to the amount it should have been for everyone.

He paid off his bills via a payment plan and everyone was happy – and he was the richer for it. Of course the doctors might have had to settle for a Buick – that is what I drive.