Job Based Health Insurance Vanishing in AZ, US
Headline from the Tucson Citizen http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/local/011606a1_healthcare
It seems that the number of people getting their insurance from an employer is dipping below 50%. From what I understand, this is an all-time low, although there is some deviation statistically based on employment rates and the strength of the economy.
I know in my own situation, my employer has selected to go through Cigna, a company I personally feel to be one of the worst in coverage, to the exclusion of all others. Once upon a time there were several options, now we are down to one. This "sob story" is nothing compared to what others who are not insured are having to go through.
I have pointed out before that I am no ultra bleeding heart liberal, yet I seem to be running contrary to the commonly held belief that one becomes more conservative as they grow older. Now don't get me wrong, I still hold very strong to limited government in concept (while I hold a government position, in a sense) yet I am very afraid that this situation is getting out of control. Health care costs are skyrocketing, while the individual's ability to pay seems to be decreasing.
Years ago I would have been so opposed to the notion of government mandated health care that I would have turned blue in the face arguing it, now I truly just don't know. I am not sure if the government could run a peep show booth successfully, much less a health care system. I would like to believe that the system can be fixed, I am just in the unenviable position of not knowing how to fix it. (Something I would have never owned up to in my younger daze, ahem days.)
I am pretty sure that if healthcare became government run, the wait for services would be close to unbearable, but then again, in Los Angeles County right now, the wait for emergency services (if you are not actively hemhorraging from an orifice) is over 24 hours in an emergency room. Much of this is due to the demand placed on the system by those who are in the country to do migrant type labor (businesses save a buck and pass the *savings* down to you, as you have to pay for the higher medical costs) as well as those Americans who are unfortunate enough to find themselves lacking health care coverage. I have been there, with raging bronchitis and no insurance. (I did pay the hospital bill by the way, so don't blame me for your higher premium!)
Lots of talk, yet no real solutions. But I don't know how much longer the system can go on the way it is currently going. Just what exactly led to the cost of healthcare surpassing the customer's ability to pay? Insurance? Research?
Headline from the Tucson Citizen http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/local/011606a1_healthcare
It seems that the number of people getting their insurance from an employer is dipping below 50%. From what I understand, this is an all-time low, although there is some deviation statistically based on employment rates and the strength of the economy.
I know in my own situation, my employer has selected to go through Cigna, a company I personally feel to be one of the worst in coverage, to the exclusion of all others. Once upon a time there were several options, now we are down to one. This "sob story" is nothing compared to what others who are not insured are having to go through.
I have pointed out before that I am no ultra bleeding heart liberal, yet I seem to be running contrary to the commonly held belief that one becomes more conservative as they grow older. Now don't get me wrong, I still hold very strong to limited government in concept (while I hold a government position, in a sense) yet I am very afraid that this situation is getting out of control. Health care costs are skyrocketing, while the individual's ability to pay seems to be decreasing.
Years ago I would have been so opposed to the notion of government mandated health care that I would have turned blue in the face arguing it, now I truly just don't know. I am not sure if the government could run a peep show booth successfully, much less a health care system. I would like to believe that the system can be fixed, I am just in the unenviable position of not knowing how to fix it. (Something I would have never owned up to in my younger daze, ahem days.)
I am pretty sure that if healthcare became government run, the wait for services would be close to unbearable, but then again, in Los Angeles County right now, the wait for emergency services (if you are not actively hemhorraging from an orifice) is over 24 hours in an emergency room. Much of this is due to the demand placed on the system by those who are in the country to do migrant type labor (businesses save a buck and pass the *savings* down to you, as you have to pay for the higher medical costs) as well as those Americans who are unfortunate enough to find themselves lacking health care coverage. I have been there, with raging bronchitis and no insurance. (I did pay the hospital bill by the way, so don't blame me for your higher premium!)
Lots of talk, yet no real solutions. But I don't know how much longer the system can go on the way it is currently going. Just what exactly led to the cost of healthcare surpassing the customer's ability to pay? Insurance? Research?
posted by Archeron at 7:02 PM
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