Paying my health insurance premium: advancing our health-care discussion
Yesterday, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds announced that they will voluntarily pay 20 percent of their state-funded health insurance premiums. Branstad also signed an executive order creating a new insurance plan for state employees that will allow them to do the same for the rest of the year. According to the CRG, “State Auditor David Vaudt and Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said they planned to follow Branstad’s lead, as did state Senate GOP Leader Jerry Behn of Boone, who urged other legislative leaders to do the same.”
Bobblehead has written (at least twice) that he would gladly pay a portion of his own state-funded health insurance premium. Given the opportunity, and The Moustache’s lead, I expect him to be the first in his office to do so. (You’ve talk the talk, my friend. Now it’s time to walk the walk. Bwahahahaha!)
I wanted to write about this last month but June slipped by — much to the joy of my checkbook. Much like December, June is the month when everybody wants a check from The Quiet Man. Last month I paid federal tax estimates, state tax estimates, my legally required car insurance premium, and my health insurance premium, which was a few cents shy of $1,900.
Needless to say, I have taken a hard and annoyed look at that $1,900 (a six-month payment, so my total health insurance bill for the year is $3,800). It is tough gristle I would love to cut from my personal expenditures. However, as a man of foresight, I chew it as best I can and ask for more. (Not the best metaphor for a vegetarian, but it gets the point across.)
Looking back at my previous posts about paying health insurance, I notice that my premium was originally $1,500. Since buying my plan when I returned to Iowa, I have not seen my general practitioner once. I have not gone to my doctor for anything. Frankly, I have no clue who my doctor even is (my fault). I am sure if I called to make an appointment, the office would request my medical history and screen me as a prospective patient. (The first time I used my health coverage was a few months ago when I visited the chiropractor.) Despite this, my six-month premium has increased $400 in less than two years. Why? To cover rising administrative expenses and medical costs.
Is there a better way to do this? If there is I do not know what it is.
Apparently, 56 percent of Americans want the debate about heath-care and the Affordable Care Act to stop; they want their representatives to move on and solve other problems. However, I doubt that will happen. We will need to endure the back and forth until the ACA is eviscerated or it works and talk of repealing it becomes political suicide. However, perhaps it is best that the debate continues — as long as it is civil, objective, and productive (which will not happen).
I do not know what more I can add to the discussion, especially since it is two years old. However, I will say that the focus has only been on care and how best to administer and pay for it — not on health. Everyone has been talking about how to take care of people, not about our national lifestyle, how it affects our health, and why we need care. As we (hopefully) move forward with the health-care debate, I think the focus needs to be shifted to health, the root of our national care conundrum. Will it happen? Only if we make it.
Bobblehead has written (at least twice) that he would gladly pay a portion of his own state-funded health insurance premium. Given the opportunity, and The Moustache’s lead, I expect him to be the first in his office to do so. (You’ve talk the talk, my friend. Now it’s time to walk the walk. Bwahahahaha!)
I wanted to write about this last month but June slipped by — much to the joy of my checkbook. Much like December, June is the month when everybody wants a check from The Quiet Man. Last month I paid federal tax estimates, state tax estimates, my legally required car insurance premium, and my health insurance premium, which was a few cents shy of $1,900.
Needless to say, I have taken a hard and annoyed look at that $1,900 (a six-month payment, so my total health insurance bill for the year is $3,800). It is tough gristle I would love to cut from my personal expenditures. However, as a man of foresight, I chew it as best I can and ask for more. (Not the best metaphor for a vegetarian, but it gets the point across.)
Looking back at my previous posts about paying health insurance, I notice that my premium was originally $1,500. Since buying my plan when I returned to Iowa, I have not seen my general practitioner once. I have not gone to my doctor for anything. Frankly, I have no clue who my doctor even is (my fault). I am sure if I called to make an appointment, the office would request my medical history and screen me as a prospective patient. (The first time I used my health coverage was a few months ago when I visited the chiropractor.) Despite this, my six-month premium has increased $400 in less than two years. Why? To cover rising administrative expenses and medical costs.
Is there a better way to do this? If there is I do not know what it is.
Apparently, 56 percent of Americans want the debate about heath-care and the Affordable Care Act to stop; they want their representatives to move on and solve other problems. However, I doubt that will happen. We will need to endure the back and forth until the ACA is eviscerated or it works and talk of repealing it becomes political suicide. However, perhaps it is best that the debate continues — as long as it is civil, objective, and productive (which will not happen).
I do not know what more I can add to the discussion, especially since it is two years old. However, I will say that the focus has only been on care and how best to administer and pay for it — not on health. Everyone has been talking about how to take care of people, not about our national lifestyle, how it affects our health, and why we need care. As we (hopefully) move forward with the health-care debate, I think the focus needs to be shifted to health, the root of our national care conundrum. Will it happen? Only if we make it.
