Sicko

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  Comments


  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    I haven't seen the movie, but I know very well how insurance works.

    For the sake of contrast, I spend per month:

    Rent $800
    Health insurance $225
    Car insurance $115
    Cell phone $50
    House utils $125
    Groceries $200

    and the rest is spending cash.

    Can you really justify health insurance (which is shitty and minor coverage) as being the biggest expense in my budget next to rent?

    I am a young, healthy dude. I am a low risk. I see the doctor twice a year. Dude, I understand that health insurance is important. That is not the point. The point is that it is expensive. And you know where your money that you pay in premiums for your family of four goes to?

    It goes to one of the richest industries in the world, with millionaire executives and fifty thousand dollar office xmas parties.

    Think about it.

    I just checked my paystub.....I'm paying $906.00 a month for total health and dental

    That's $10,872 a year.....

    28 years = $304,416

    During that time my Insurance has paid for 4 surgeries......3 sets of braces....a months stay for an infant and the accompanying care in ICU.....probably 100 Dental visits....100 or more visits to our Family doctor.....and every prescription costs me $5.00.

    How much did I overpay??

  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    Like Moore's new diet, I am going to only post about music or basketball here starting now, til the end of July. That way this place can get back on track and not have to worry about me derailing anything.

    Enjoy.

    I knew it was too good to be true.

    And, 6 hours later:

    I won't post on the topic again until I see this persuasive movie....I'll try to see it in the upcoming week.


    Please note who posted above this ^^^

  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    "...but...but...how can I stop posting when everybody
    is paying so much attention to ME?! This thread is all
    about ME!!"

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    right on cue....you rock dude.

  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts

    Health insurance $225

    I'm paying $906.00 a month for total health and dental

    So for a family of four, you pay $900 for health AND dental.

    So two old folks (sorry!) and two younger kids get health and dental for less than I pay for JUST health (I don't have dental)?

    If those numbers are accurate, it's pretty easy to see how young, independently employed people are getting screwed - let alone the poor and unemployed.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts

    Health insurance $225

    I'm paying $906.00 a month for total health and dental

    So for a family of four, you pay $900 for health AND dental.

    So two old folks (sorry!) and two younger kids get health and dental for less than I pay for JUST health (I don't have dental)?

    If those numbers are accurate, it's pretty easy to see how young, independently employed people are getting screwed - let alone the poor and unemployed.
    Nah....don't get shook.....the single guys who work for me pay more than you....our plan is like $375 for the first person and $175 each after that.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
    Rock,

    The funny thing is. The movie isn't even about the almost 50 million americans that have zero coverage. It's about the millions that do and that get screwed over. The industry has it so that they make billions, by not paying out to the people that should be covered.


    I just don't understand tho. Rock, would it hurt you to no end, to pay say 10-15% more in taxes, if it meant that not only your whole family was covered, but every single american?

    This whole idea of making a profit off the sick & dying is sad.



    Plus, this shit makes me sick...

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/wireStory?id=2658954

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    Hook-Up....hopefully you won't, but if you get sick do you feel it's the Government's responsibility to take care of you?

    And since they will, would you expect your Health Care to be the same as those folks who have been paying for Health Insurance??

    Well, I do not feel like health care is a luxury...which it is now. If you dont think good health care and insuirance is a luxury, you are wrong. But even if I did have an insurance plan I could afford(like the one I had when I worked for the Fort Worth ISD) if I got sick or had to have a big surgery, thanks to the RIDICULOUS co-pays and deductables, a $50,000 bill would mean I would only have to pay, say, $20,000 out of my pocket. Wow, that insurance is a life saver. When you are an individual that can only save a few grand a year, there is NO difference in a $20,000 bill and a $50,000 bill. So, why should I save every dime I can and not do life enriching things like travel when my other choice to spend the money on is a shitbreath of a scam like "minimum" health insurance. Fuck that.

    I feel it is the governemnts responsibility to at least TRY and find a way for our tax dollars to help people.

    Funny you mentioned the property insurance, and should the governement pay for that. PLEASE find me a health insurance plan as comprehensive as my renter's insurance. I have $50,000 of coverage for less than $40.00 a month. FIND me a health policy with those numbers and I will pay it. Its a fucked up world when it is easier to replace material things than it is to see a Dr.

  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts

    Health insurance $225

    I'm paying $906.00 a month for total health and dental

    So for a family of four, you pay $900 for health AND dental.

    So two old folks (sorry!) and two younger kids get health and dental for less than I pay for JUST health (I don't have dental)?

    If those numbers are accurate, it's pretty easy to see how young, independently employed people are getting screwed - let alone the poor and unemployed.

    Nah....don't get shook.....the single guys who work for me pay more than you....our plan is like $375 for the first person and $175 each after that.
    When I was working for a big corporation, making 60k a year, my plans cost that... now, if I accurately reported my income, it would be close to it (~325), if I buy insurance as a corporation (Good Retail Ventures, Inc) for myself as an employee (Jonathan Sklute) it would cost about the same. 3-400. It's a travesty. You have to report your income as basically being on the poverty line (no more than 25k a year) in order to get a premium that's even remotely affordable. And people who actually make 25k a year cannot actually afford it.

  • keithvanhornkeithvanhorn 3,855 Posts
    people need to see this movie before commenting on it.

    btw, its strange to hear people supporting the current health care system. there are positive aspects of privatized health care, but when universal care is an option, this should be a no-brainer. i think moore's strongest point in the entire movie was when he pointed out the public services that are federally run, such as the fire department, the us mail, and the police. can you imagine the uproar if, when you called the fire department, their first response was "are you insured?"

    is it too much to ask that people have the right to see a doctor when they are sick?? i'm not poor and i have a decent health plan, but there are plenty of times when i've avoided going to the ER or most recently to get dental surgery because i wanted to avoid the copays ($100 for each ER visit, over 2 grand for gum surgery). i can only imagine what its like for a poor family without health insurance.

    it really doesnt matter how much better the gop promises to make privatized health care, because at the end of the day, insurance companies are in it to make money.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Dear Bassie,

    Do you have room for a family of three?



    FB

    Hah! Just seeing this now. Unfortunately, no. My parents, however, who are very nice people, have lots of space. My dad will have Young Fatback reading in three weeks.

    PS. My parents will also appreciate your superior BBQing skills.

  • kwalitykwality 620 Posts
    The biggest thing for me was when someone paid US 5 cents in Cuba for medication that cost her over $100 in the states... explain the logic in that.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    The biggest thing for me was when someone paid US 5 cents in Cuba for medication that cost her over $100 in the states... explain the logic in that.

    Cost of a photo of Castro for your wall - Free
    Cost of medication that costs $100 in U.S. - $0.05
    Cost of a gallon of milk - $5.00
    Average income in Cuba - $10.00 a month

    Cost of human & civil rights in Cuba - Priceless

  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    Fresh Air today talked to a professor from Univ. North Carolina about Sicko and whether it provided a realistic view or not. The guy said that while things were obviously left out, overall the movie did a good job portraying problems with the current health care system.

    You can hear the interview here using Real Audio

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11826524

    His main points were the following:

    1) Universal health care like Canada and France that Moore advocates isn't possible in the U.S. because of the companies that run the current system would loose too much money, and block it in Congress

    2) Germany and Australia's systems might be more realistic because they have a mixed system of private and government insurance, but everyone is covered in a highly regulated market

    3) The U.S. has very high costs compared to other countries. The U.S. spends around $2 trillion I think on health care and 30% of it goes to administrative costs. That's usually spent on checking whether people are healthy enough to join an insurance plan and fighting claims by people who are already signed up to not pay for their expenses. In Canada, they only spend around 17% on administration by comparison.

    4) Change in U.S. health care would be much more likely if reformers worked with business. Many businesses are cutting back on health care because of costs so there are possible allies there. Mentioned that Wal Mart and Safeway both announced that they are working towards national health care system and Safeway is owned by a conservative Republican.

  • kwalitykwality 620 Posts
    The biggest thing for me was when someone paid US 5 cents in Cuba for medication that cost her over $100 in the states... explain the logic in that.

    Cost of a photo of Castro for your wall - Free
    Cost of medication that costs $100 in U.S. - $0.05
    Cost of a gallon of milk - $5.00
    Average income in Cuba - $10.00 a month

    Cost of human & civil rights in Cuba - Priceless

    So is it a civil right to pay grossly inflated costs for necessary medicine? Doesn't it seem strange that a country with such problems (in your eyes) still manages to treat its sick, poor and aging better than your glorious nation?

  • good important film

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts
    I was going to start a new thread on this but I figured it would be better to ask here.

    Does Michael Moore address the need for education on nutrition in school? Surely if people knew more abut the chemicals they may be ingesting they would look at not eating them and therefore, in the end, have less chance of needing certain types of health care.

    I am not saying that this is a cure-all for US healthcare, but there ar plenty of obesity related ailments that send people to the doctor and I'd rather that money go to teaching little Johnny how to stay healthy than to taking care of Johnny's preventative health issues.

  • I don't dude... most kids already know that eating candy bars and mcdonalds isn't GOOD for you.

    What they ought to do for schools is get rid of the vending machines peddling that junk and revamp the hot lunches so that they are actually healthy.

    I mean, it wouldn't solve everything. there's always gonna be little dickhead kids like myself that snuck out of jr high to go to the am/pm and eat corn nuts and soda and shit.


    and the poster for that sicko movie disturbs me to no end. I mean, I got a colon check from the doctor once who had the HUGEST hands... big hairy beast. yikes. and then at the end he was like "Was that good for you too?" and I was just like 'grumble grumble fuck you assface grumble grumble'.

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    but there will always be evil pushers putting that candy on the youth.


  • marumaru 1,450 Posts

    Does Michael Moore address the need for education on nutrition in school? Surely if people knew more abut the chemicals they may be ingesting they would look at not eating them and therefore, in the end, have less chance of needing certain types of health care.

    no, but that wasn't really the point of the film, and if he had gone into something like that it would have seemed like a huge tangent. the movie was about how fucked up our health care system is, especially in comparison to many others. tackling why people are unhealthy is a whole documentary in itself, although Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me does tackle childhood obesity.

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts
    I don't dude... most kids already know that eating candy bars and mcdonalds isn't GOOD for you.
    I'm not so sure, my friends and I didn't know it wasn't good for us, sure we were told by people that it wasn't good, but we weren't told why. Besides, it was cheap, filling (kind of) and it's advertised as food (not junk). A class telling kids that Caramello's & a Dr. Pepper (my daily lunch from 9th grade 'til graduation) may lead to health issues that will cost us money down the road may be just what a person needs. At 15 did you really know what saturated fats were and what they did to your system?

    By the way I bought my caramello and DP off of the choir teacher Mr. Kinsler everyday, dude was 250+ always sitting and making money hand over fist for the choir and not once in those 4 years did this teacher get reprimanded for selling this kind of junk to the student body.

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts

    Does Michael Moore address the need for education on nutrition in school? Surely if people knew more abut the chemicals they may be ingesting they would look at not eating them and therefore, in the end, have less chance of needing certain types of health care.

    no, but that wasn't really the point of the film, and if he had gone into something like that it would have seemed like a huge tangent. the movie was about how fucked up our health care system is, especially in comparison to many others. tackling why people are unhealthy is a whole documentary in itself, although Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me does tackle childhood obesity.

    yeah while writing out my post I thought about supersize me, but to me the education on health relates to the need for people to have health care.

    I understand there are a ton of health issues that education will do nothing to change but for those that can be I think knowledge can save us money and, in a perfect word that money can be used towards a universal healthcare plan

  • Well if you ask me the most pressing need in this country right now is an anti-gravity device. Everything else can wait. I WANT MY FLYING CAR.

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts

    Does Michael Moore address the need for education on nutrition in school? Surely if people knew more abut the chemicals they may be ingesting they would look at not eating them and therefore, in the end, have less chance of needing certain types of health care.

    no, but that wasn't really the point of the film, and if he had gone into something like that it would have seemed like a huge tangent. the movie was about how fucked up our health care system is, especially in comparison to many others. tackling why people are unhealthy is a whole documentary in itself, although Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me does tackle childhood obesity.

    yeah while writing out my post I thought about supersize me, but to me the education on health relates to the need for people to have health care.

    I understand there are a ton of health issues that education will do nothing to change but for those that can be I think knowledge can save us money and, in a perfect word that money can be used towards a universal healthcare plan

    its expensive to eat healthy...go to the grocery store...find hout how much 1200 calories of fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh lean meat costs

    then compare that to how much 1200 calories from a fast food restaurant is...

    fast food is the same as predatory lending, it is a slap in the face of poor people...

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    its expensive to eat healthy...go to the grocery store...find hout how much 1200 calories of fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh lean meat costs

    then compare that to how much 1200 calories from a fast food restaurant is...

    fast food is the same as predatory lending, it is a slap in the face of poor people...

    The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the results of a study that found that just $.64 could buy the government-recommended daily three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables[/b]

  • mallardmallard 452 Posts
    The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the results of a study that found that just $.64 could buy the government-recommended daily three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables[/b]

    thanks for bolding the bullshit parts

  • keithvanhornkeithvanhorn 3,855 Posts
    its expensive to eat healthy...go to the grocery store...find hout how much 1200 calories of fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh lean meat costs

    then compare that to how much 1200 calories from a fast food restaurant is...

    fast food is the same as predatory lending, it is a slap in the face of poor people...

    The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the results of a study that found that just $.64 could buy the government-recommended daily three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables[/b]

    true, but only if you are buying from an illegal immigrant selling banged up fruits and veggies on the side of the expressway.

  • ariel_calmerariel_calmer 3,762 Posts

    Health insurance $225

    I'm paying $906.00 a month for total health and dental

    So for a family of four, you pay $900 for health AND dental.

    So two old folks (sorry!) and two younger kids get health and dental for less than I pay for JUST health (I don't have dental)?

    If those numbers are accurate, it's pretty easy to see how young, independently employed people are getting screwed - let alone the poor and unemployed.
    It's very difficult for young/single people to secure health insurance on their own. You can't gross say 35k in boston, LA, or NYC and have to shell out almost a grand a month for insurance. The main way I can afford to do contract work in LA is my wife gets medical & dental through her job (teaching at the university level). Hell my brother lives in SF and breaks it down how it's hard to live in the city and make much less than 100k per household.

  • chrischris 287 Posts
    i'm "self-employed" and have had health insurance through blue cross/blue shield of illinois for the last couple years.
    and even though i've never even visited a doctor through the plan, they've still raised my rates twice (once almost instantly on some bait-and-switch shit) but i still only pay about $135 a month or so.

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the results of a study that found that just $.64 could buy the government-recommended daily three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables[/b]

    thanks for bolding the bullshit parts

    There is nothing more amusing than someone who calls bullshit but doesn't offer the "truth"

    Educate yourself.....here's a start....even if they are off by 300% it's still cheaper to eat healthy than Fast Food....it's just not as easy/convenient....... it actually takes an effort.....which of course, is "unfair".

    http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/
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