Paying the Bill

Posted on 16/09/2024 by Grumpa Joe

One thing that comes from living in a socialist country is a different attitude about paying for things. If all your needs are satisfied by Uncle, then why settle for anything? All things must come free. I live with Lovely, who spent most of her life in a socialist country. She escaped to go to America for a better life. She has a better life now, and she enjoys it as long as she is healthy. She has reached the age of fourscore when the body shows signs of wear and tear. A visit to the doctor is acceptable unless it comes with a bill for payment of the services. Her attitude is one of live a healthy life and you won’t need a doctor. Because of her background she is into organically grown foods, clean, pure water, and no pills.

Recently, she was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration. All she wanted was a new pair of glasses to read again. Instead, her foreign (any of the four languages she learned in her childhood) language-speaking doctor told her to see a specialist. English is not one of them. She doesn’t think in English, she thinks in any of the languages she knows. I’ve witnessed her speaking to three different people all speaking a different language and she not only understood all of them but could respond to them in thier own tongue simultaneously, but english is not included.

She went to this new doctor, who can not speak her language, but there happens to be a nurse at the practice that does, that makes her happy. At the same time COVID hit the world. Our Governor spread the word that Illinois Medicaid would accept undocumented people without question to get healthcare. She applied and was accepted. For the past two years she has received treatments for her eyes without any mention of money. She was happy. I was wondering when the ceiling would fall on our heads. It happened this spring when the state voided all Medicaid to people who were covered under the COVID policy. She had to reapply. She did, and this time she was denied and put into a special class called redetermination and the state would pay for all expenses she incurred over $590/month. She was not happy anymore. I bit the bullet and applied for Obama Care. Thankfully they accepted us into the private insurance marketplace which they wouldn’t do three years ago. The premiums are over $700/month and the co-pay limit is $9000/yr. They have been paying for about half of her eye treatments which are about $5000 each time, and she averages two treatments per month. She is not a happy camper anymore. Welcome to America Lovely!

At this time, I’m worried about the nest egg being ravaged, and with inflation running rampant, it feels like someone pulled an oversized plug out of the retirement fund. What I don’t understand is whether socialist healthcare provides state-of-the-art drugs such as the one they now use for wet macular degeneration or whether they send you home and tell you to drink chamomile tea.

It doesn’t matter what socialist medicine does or doesn’t do because Lovely will never return to her roots. She loves it here; it’s just not the part about paying the bill for healthcare.

Filed under: Aging, Biography, health care | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Where Do I Start?

Posted on 15/11/2021 by Grumpa Joe

This post may sound a little confusing but I will try my best to make it understandable. Currently, I am in the process of dealing with healthcare in the United States. The issue is not with myself, because I have Medicare and a supplement which covers my costs. I don’t even think about it. That is probably the crux of the problem. We in the good old USA don’t think about the cost of health care often because we are covered by medical insurance either by our employer, ourselves, or by Uncle. The issue I am becoming familiar with are the people who don’t have any insurance coverage at all. They could be middle class Americans who lost their coverage because of the wonderful gift from Obama known as Obama Care, and can no longer afford to pay for the so called “free” Obama Care. Others who are in the country under unusual circumstances, and are undocumented cannot get private health care, Medicare, nor Obama Care. They are the cash paying victims of our society.

Today, I made an appointment for a simple blood test with a blood lab that is national. The doctor directed me to get a test to rule out a vitamin deficiency. At first he told me to get it done in his medical group lab, but rescinded when I told him I wanted to pay cash and keep this off my insurance. “If you do it in our lab it will cost you $161.00,” he said. “You can find it for much less at a private lab.” I took his advice.

After a few times on the internet I finally found a website for a blood test lab and the key to unlock their tests other than COVID. The primary emphasis of their site directed people to go for COVID testing. I learned that they would give me the test I wanted for $48. That is because I compared them to a competitor who was offering the same vitamin test for $54. I registered for an appointment.

At the lab this afternoon, I was asked if I had an order from the doctor. “No,” I said, but you can call him and he will give you one. They called and I was rolling up my sleeve when I finally asked what the charge was going to be. “It’ll be $100.”

“Wait a minute, the website gave me a price of $48.” The technician read the dumb look on my face and said, “Thats the price you get when you register, and pay for the test online.”

“I did register for the test online.”

“Did you pay online?”

“No.”

“That’s why, without a doctor’s order it is different.”

“You mean that if I go home and register for the test online, and pay for it I won’t need a doctor’s order, and I get it for $48?

“Yes.”

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

I was back at the computer logging into the lab website when my wife asked me what I was doing. I explained the whole thing to her but she didn’t understand any of it. “In my country all of the tests are free, but I know a place that will do it cheaper, I had the test done a few years ago.” She gave me the number, I called and made an appointment for the test for $45, and didn’t need a doctor’s order.

I have finally reached the point I was going to make when I opened this post. One trouble with our country is the high cost of health care. It is easy to tell why it is so high. My doctor has a staff to support, and he belongs to a big doctor group that owns many hospitals, clinics, and offices. All of them cost money to support. The private clinic is much the same, but on a smaller scale, and finally the independent lab that runs on a shoestring is the lowest cost of all. That isn’t apparent when they deal mainly with people who use their insurance and don’t care what the heck a test costs. It’s my guess that the little guy makes more profit than the huge hospital group because his overhead is so low.

I’m trying to decide who is the blame for this high cost, the government for supporting it with Obama Care or capitalism for juicing the profit from the insurance companies, or the insurance companies for juicing the people and their doctors.

So why is this a problem? With so many people out of work because of COVID I see many instances where people who lost their employer healthcare now wind up paying out of pocket costs that are unsustainable. It won’t be long before Uncle is preaching universal health care for all like he did when Obama was president.

Filed under: Biography, Conservative, family, health care | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Christmas In April?

Posted on 29/04/2021 by Grumpa Joe

Joe Biden throwing money at the world

Well, I watched it last night, and I have to give Biden an “A” on his delivery. He lasted the entire time with just a few hints of a stutter. His delivery seemed sincere, and I liked some of the new things he is promoting. What I didn’t like was his border control. I also don’t like the cost of the package, because it will most likely be paid for by me. I just sent Uncle money to even out my tax bill. At the same time I am seeking health insurance for my new spouse who is undocumented, and needs health insurance. I applied thru the latest version of Obama Care and was stymied by the program. It seems that theology-on goes into a loop asking for a password. Once I gave it a password, it returned to the same opening page which wanted my user name, and you guessed it a new password. Once I entered a new password, it looped again. After three times, I called the happy number on my digital phone only to get a voice that’s totally unintelligible. I shut my cell off and used a land line. It worked. The problem is that the guy who spoke to me could not resolve my problem. I finally went to a an insurance agency referred by a friend of a friend and spoke to an agent. Thank God, this person was in business and could answer my questions. Had she worked for Uncle like the last guy I spoke to I’d be babbling like an idiot.

Insurance is available, but I still lack knowledge of the cost. The agent told me that my meager retirement allotment puts me just above the line to get the insurance for zero.

How in the world will the Federal government be able to provide all these new programs when they are still struggling to implement ObamaCare after twelve years and are still hung up on getting through the portal. That program, as I recall, cost us several billion dollars to implement. Multiply all the new goodies Uncle Joe promised us by the billions spent on O-Care and then add twelve years to that and we will have a living nightmare on our hands.

I heard all the wonderful challenges Joe gave the Congress to get it done, but I agreed with his jibes to get them off their asses and to make things happen. He kept telling us “we can do this,” but will we, or better yet should we?

What I wanted him to tell us is that he is cancelling all the bureau’s and starting the government from scratch. All monies will be returned to those from whom it is being stolen, and we will let the economy straighten things out in the free market way.

So there you have it, the dreams of two Joe’s. Both of us are giving the store away, one by enlarging the bureaus and the other by eliminating them.

Which dream would you support?

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She Weeps for Many Reasons

Posted on 28/06/2012 by Grumpa Joe

She weeps for many reasons, but today marks a special event. The Supreme Court upheld Obama care as Constitutional because Congress has the right to impose a tax. The Supreme Court made the decision that Obama was not capable of making.

President Obama knew right from the start that the health care bill would never pass if he sold it as a tax. Especially after his campaign promise to not tax the middle class. Therefore, he and his cronies invented the ambiguous language which failed to define which it was (He speaks with a forked tongue). The Court saw through the subterfuge and decided for him. Now he has to live with the task of convincing the country that the single largest tax assault the US has ever seen is a good thing. This is another tax to pile onto the backs of the working class to make them tax-slaves to those who feed off of big government.

Lady Liberty cries because of the loss of Liberty we face with this regime. Justice Antonin Scalia gave us a Constitutional lesson regarding our loss of liberty and what we have to do if we don’t like the law. If we don’t like losing liberty, or this law, we should vote for new leadership, or in other words, throw the bums out. Let us show him that we are quick to learn and send the Constitution-Side-Stepper-in-Chief along with his head bobbing Senate packing

On the immigration issue, I  believe we should erect a Statue of Liberty along with a copy of Ellis Island at every legitimate entry point into the USA.  Perhaps the same symbol of liberty that greeted our immigrant parents will help solidify why a person wants to leave his home country to live in America.

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The Biggest Lie Ever Told

Posted on 16/02/2011 by Grumpa Joe
Remember when POTUS told us he was going to go over the budget and trim it with a scalpel line by line? When does that start? I want to watch. It’ll be funnier than a Carol Burnett and Tim Conway skit.
The current deficit, budget, and debt will require nuclear bombs to dent. Who the hell does this guy think we are?  He believes we are the enemy  and we must be punished for crimes against humanity. By blowing traditional Democrat smoke  out of his anal opening he thinks we will buy the story. Some people do. They are the ones who worship the ground that Obama walks on. They are his choir. Those of us who have to work for a living can see through the smelly brown smoke to understand that the President of the United States of America is committing treason by willfully destroying our economy, and our world status with his scalpel. The scalpel is a machete when it comes to cutting those things that make America exceptional. He is transforming America into a fourth world nation. What is scarier than his transformation is the choir that buys it.
Let us all pray to reverse the transformation.
Here is what should be done:
  1. The entire Federal Government with all departments must be shut down and defunded. That cuts the budget to zero. Then the argument begins as to which crucial services must be funded at a minimal level. Each Federal Department must be made to justify its existence with verifiable facts. For instance, the Department of Agriculture must justify why it has to grant subsidies. The Department of Education must justify why it shouldn’t be dispersed to the states. The Department of Immigration must justify why it needs money to continue its disregard for following immigration laws. The Department of Defense must justify why they need to be in existence. I’d be willing to bet that none of these departments will come up with a simple reason for their justification other than they are following the mandates of a law passed by the Congress.
  2. Congress should make it their goal to review the performance of the laws they pass to determine their efficacy. If a law is costing money with no return on the investment, it should be repealed.
  3. Government workers (that includes The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches) must follow the same healthcare and retirement policies as the private sector. i.e. they get Obamacare and Social Security and pay for the privilege. None of this nonsense that their employer gives them a Cadillac plan. If they want a Cadillac plan let them buy it on the open market and then pay the Obamacare tax on it.
  4. Unions for Government workers are gone. People believe they need unions when the company management takes advantage of them. It is their way to speak out against the Fat Cats to get their fair share. We all know that the Government management will never take advantage of their workers. They would never push them to work more than is required, so why complain? Why do they need to bargain for more than a fair share.
  5. Congress must take responsibility for their actions. If they are afraid the liability is too high, let them buy mal-practice insurance to protect themselves from future failures of their laws. This is what doctors and nurses do.
  6. Put a cap on how much new spending can be done in a given legislative year. If a single law, like Obamacare for instance, puts a strain on the system, that is it until such a time as the country can afford another law. If it takes ten years to make the quota of a single expensive law, then so be it.

Think about what you would do if you lost your job and had to cut back to live within your means. Would you continue to spend? Where would you get the money? Who would lend it to you?  You would be forced to start with a clean slate. Why is it we allow our government to whom we pay taxes continue to be irresponsible with our money?

Try this folks, hold your breath for as long as it takes the President to use his scalpel to cut some serious money from his budget.

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