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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (18075)	2/27/1999 12:54:00 AM
From: Gauguin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

>>>>This isn't a wealthy bunch, and you can only expect people to give so much.<<<< Agreed; and understood. I guess I (we) would like to see some sort of pooled "catastrophic insurance." I don't know "how far it should go," and if it "would be taken advantage of," and how it should be determined to "begin". But I do believe it's actuarially affordable, and beneficial to the culture of the country. We (spouse and I) don't think any family and wife should be getting booted out of their house or food or transportation or education or life when this is happening. I speak from experience; although I may not know what I am talking about. Help at these times is more valuable than any other. It's a crisis of love, and affection, and worth. It can leave anyone involved with a feeling that life is not valued. Or understood. Or just pure crap. So there-in, this provision is an investment in the valuation of life. Sanctity. Just plain worth. My cancer treatment and the effects were not extraordinarily expensive, or disruptive to the macro economy ~ altho they weren't cheap and we paid for it all. It was "a value" for the services, and they were neither "exotic" nor overpriced. We were critical and skeptical and inspective because we were paying (HMO Oregon behaves similarly); but I was truly humbled by what we got for 40-50 grand. These guys were hot, paying attention, and worth every dime, except one for that one guy, and all he got was four hundred dollars. But the "help", the time off work, the rides, the allowance to be sick, was the most valuable part. There weren't any "benefits" coming, but the fact that I could pay for it (over 8 years?), and that MJ had "sick days" accumulated, and that parents and friends cooked and drove at times she couldn't get off and I couldn't manage, added up to feeling my life was valuable. If I had been dying coming out the other end, it would have ruined us (her, of course) financially. At 37. I don't know what it would have done mentally. We're not talking about "endowment;" just the immediate expenses. It's not "covered." But it could be. That is when I began to ask about the frequency and cost of these events. For a family, these same basic (imho) "necessities" would not be available, without the reserve of a catastrophic fund. Having looked at top-end/average medical tech, and relative wealth, from the inside, I think we can afford it. It can even benefit us in better tech, systems, amortization and procedures. ~ Dr Yadda PS: Insurance is socialized medicine. Correctly managed, it's correctly managed. Medical catastrophy is a specific science; and as I have been led to believe by the Drs who have treated and coddled and tolerated and invoiced me ~ less expensive than imagined. We've been similarly impressed with our HMO in cost control and quality of provision and service. I hate opening my goddam mouth, but I do it anyway. Crap.