Wages and Unions - moved from: Things to do to keep feeling "normal" while living out of your van?

[bullfrog !]

To find a good source of information about Medicare and plans in your state each state has a Senior Health Insurance Program, so simply Google search SHIP for your particular state and contact them.

 

[Cajunwolf]

^^^the problem is in my opinion(Lol!!!) we have allowed a big game of Monopoly to occur over several years and now we are at a point in the game there are only a few players left. Some form of socialism is required to reshuffle the chance cards so that capitalism has a chance to return from what we have now and allow more players to stay in the game. Competition from diverse development techniques improves the outcomes usually but monopolies prevent their influence from being felt as it may not be as profitable for those monopolies to continue with what they have by preventing competition from occurring. Yes there are people that put money over making our country better.

"Yes there are people that put money over making our country better."

You think? Well said. I don't care how pure of heart a homo sapien is; given too much money/power (they're one and the same), sooner than later, greed will start to raise its envious head, and once we've tasted the drug of wealth and power, there is no going back. We talk of self-governance, LoL; that will happen if everyone starts getting on the same page and civilly talking to each other, accepting the variety of opinions present without demanding censure. Yeah, right. The problem with Congress is that everyone involved is on the take for one thing or the other.

 

[towboater]

I don’t know about Medicare, itself, but don’t we all have some supplement to Medicare?

Not just Medicare, alone?

I don’t really understand it all, but my current plan with Aetna, and before that with others such as Health Alliance, since retirement 16 years ago, cover me when traveling in the US, Canada and elsewhere for emergencies.

It would depend on your plan, who it is with and the plan within that you have selected, but I honestly don’t know that Medicare doesn’t cover us anywhere in the US.

I think it does, actually, as I have to have regular lab work, get that wherever I am, insurance covers it and Medicare always pays their part.

I’m not an insurance agent or expert, everyone needs to look at their own plan and speak with them before travel, which is what I do.

I was referring to hospitalization, as then it is Medicare paying the brunt. But then again I might be full of crap. Just what I checked out on line.

 

[RonDean]

The majority of the countries on the list require u give something back to your country by way of some type of military service. Iceland, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands do not. It varies from full conscription or just basic training and a possible call up if needed. One of the greatest comments I ever heard from a politician (and will never hear again from either party) was John Kennedy "Don't ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".

Giving something back is not a bad thing. I think we might find that many countries DO require some form of service, but that doesn't mean it's a Quid Pro Quo just for their health care. I am old enough to remember the draft and the US sending many of us off to war. I do admit the military provided free medics.

 

[Gr8ful]

This will be a good idea!

 

[LargeMarge]

Just a few points...

* ...Regulation[s and bureaucrats are] necessary to reign...

*I would also submit...

* ...Dad...never had a new one, but the price of used ones was within his ability...

* ...a small number of bad people to terrorize their population...

.
A few of these points are instructive.
.
One)
Ethical individuals have zero need for regulators.
Unethical individuals either:
a -- ignore regulators, or
b -- buy regulators.
We see the latter in the American Foods&Drugs Administration, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer/Moderna and Proctor&Gamble.
.
The word 'reign' suggests a dictatorship.
Perhaps the control for a horse -- 'rein'?
.
Two)
I have a problem with submission.
But you go right ahead.
.
Three)
I buy used vehicles.
This comes after:
Mid-1970s, I acquired a new Chevrolet van, payments of us$74 each and every month.
Making payments from Baja beaches and the middle of the Yukon drove me up a wall.
I quickly sold it to a contractor chum.
.
Fore!)
re -- bad people terrorizing the straights.
Around here, we call them 'the Protected Class'.
Apparently, my suggestion is still premature:
* "Public gallows, a few short steps from the jurors"
.
I will try again in a few weeks...

 

[LargeMarge]

Everyone I've discussed it with at least prefers it to the US...it's 10/11, so not exactly a stellar score...

.
a)
I pay cash.
Every physician, every dentist, each script.
Simplifies paperwork for everybody, reducing costs.
.
b)
Rather than sitting in a doctor office in proximity to the unwell/dying, I prefer prevention:
* organic,
* probiotics and pre-biotics,
* exercise,
* sprinting outside with the dogs.
Accordingly, physicians and scripts are a very minor part of my budget.
.
c)
Where are people like me on that nifty-neato graph?
Invisible?
That works for me!
.
.
Also:
* I think wages are good.
* I think unions are a private matter, best kept between consenting adults...

 

[RonDean]

.
a)
I pay cash.
Every physician, every dentist, each script.
Simplifies paperwork for everybody, reducing costs.
.
b)
Rather than sitting in a doctor office in proximity to the unwell/dying, I prefer prevention:
* organic,
* probiotics and pre-biotics,
* exercise,
* sprinting outside with the dogs.
Accordingly, physicians and scripts are a very minor part of my budget.
.
c)
Where are people like me on that nifty-neato graph?
Invisible?
That works for me!
.
.
Also:
* I think wages are good.
* I think unions are a private matter, best kept between consenting adults...

Marge,
I can't argue with any of your comments - for you. I've known many a rugged individuals that sit their horses confidently and spit into the wind. But I've known far too many folks that actually need or want (always a distinction there) a few of societies niceties to not consider what might be best for those not quite so rugged. Or perhaps in a current state of health or otherwise to need some help. So, for them, my previous comments stand.

 

[rruff]

I pay cash.

That's what we did when I was a kid. It wasn't hard for a normal person to afford it. Insurance companies have not done us any favors. If I could pay 1970 money for 1970 healthcare, that would be fine with me.

In the US I think it's best to be poor. I've lived most of my life below the poverty line ($5-14k/year in today's money), but I also squirreled away a pretty good stash in my 20s (when I had a career) that has mostly grown since. I like the stash because it reduces money concerns. I never worry about being able to pay for anything, I only very occasionally look at my balance, and if it's dropping I know I need to make adjustments to my "lifestyle". I don't mind making adjustments.

I've always lived in a way such that the potential for physical injury is pretty high. Diseases and illnesses I treat myself, and just wait them out. Before Obama I bought catastrophic insurance with a very high deductible, just so I wouldn't wake up after an accident and find out my stash had disappeared. It was cheap. I also never used it in the 30 years I had it.

Now, I no longer have an option for HC. There is really only one provider in the state, and they are somewhere between free and very expensive, depending on your income level. I'm accidentally in the later category, which means I'm subsidizing other people, which I'm not complaining about. I'm legally required to have it and pay it. The part that sucks is that I don't even have good insurance, since I'm not really covered out of network... not very useful for a vagabond.