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rsmith6621

(6,942 posts)
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 05:47 PM Apr 2013

So the Nurse at The Coffee Shop....


...said to an employee the hospital she works at passed an E-memo waring employees that they will no longer be getting their healthcare at no charge stating Jan 1 2014. She said she will now have to pay about $100 a month for her and her family of 3.

She was complaining that she felt it unfair that she was now going to have to start paying for those who wont work or wont pay.

So I addressed her grievance with in a short fashion.... I said currently when someone comes in to the hospital emergency room and then declares they are insolvent let say because of a job loss who pays the bill then?

She said it is written off as a loss, I said how can a hospital write these off as losses without going out of business,by overcharging for current services and hospital medication right? She said likely. I said then how much do you think think these write offs add to the cost of procedures and ultimately health insurance cost?.... Her reply was I DONT KNOW.

I encouraged her to do some research to see how much she would have to pay if the hospital did as many employers do and split the premium cost with the employee and the fact she has been getting it for free could simply be revoked because of other cost like to pay the executive staff.


She said she just thinks it is unfair that she has to pay something just to level the field. I said do your research and you will see you are likely already paying to level the field and getting less for it. And reminded he that Bush handed PHARM companys many billions a year so Grandma could get her meds at a price closer to the real cost they are and I said you are paying for that everyday you work in income taxes...

I closed by saying your employer is likely trying to impose a political point of view on you and they hope you don't notice.

Also... She kept calling healthcare a PRIVILEGE..I said healthcare shouldn't be a privilege or a benefit...it should be a RIGHT
24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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So the Nurse at The Coffee Shop.... (Original Post) rsmith6621 Apr 2013 OP
Wow, I didn't think those plans still existed Warpy Apr 2013 #1
$100 a month is a bargain. geckosfeet Apr 2013 #2
Not to her. It's a $1200 loss of income per year to her...who can afford that? CTyankee Apr 2013 #3
I have paid $3600 a year on less rsmith6621 Apr 2013 #4
I'm sure you would, but I can understand her sudden shock. CTyankee Apr 2013 #10
The RN nurses here make 50-70k a year madville Apr 2013 #6
Chump change compared to what many other people pay Kelvin Mace Apr 2013 #7
I am paying $105 a month for Medicare from my Social Security. RebelOne Apr 2013 #15
and my supplemental with AARP is over $200 per month. That's a helluva lot more than CTyankee Apr 2013 #16
I paid $45 out of my check at my last job before retirement and my Cleita Apr 2013 #21
You committed the ultimate crime in our society: Brigid Apr 2013 #23
Yes. But still - $100 a month for her and 3 dependents. geckosfeet Apr 2013 #24
What is she complaining about? Kelvin Mace Apr 2013 #5
This nurse said health care is a PRIVILEGE ??? BlueJazz Apr 2013 #8
pretty empathetic ain't she? rurallib Apr 2013 #20
I gotta say . . . Brigid Apr 2013 #9
I have run into a few. Fortunately, most of them have not drunk the Cleita Apr 2013 #12
I'm a nurse tavalon Apr 2013 #22
So it's okay if she and her family get free health care but not okay if someone Cleita Apr 2013 #11
And that isn't even counting the drug benefit, is it? CTyankee Apr 2013 #17
No drug benefit is another $30. n/t Cleita Apr 2013 #18
She is not paying for those who 'won't work or won't pay' Cal Carpenter Apr 2013 #13
You should have told her to take a trip down to her hospital's billing office. GoCubsGo Apr 2013 #14
Yeah, those people should just go get a job. Never mind the crutches. n/t Cleita Apr 2013 #19

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
1. Wow, I didn't think those plans still existed
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 05:51 PM
Apr 2013

My last hospital was a non profit that made enough profit to buy out a for profit insurance plan. Then the employees were signed up for this plan.

Local corporations managed fully paid plans for their employees. A family plan at the hospital was at least $100 out of every paycheck every two weeks and that was 6 years ago.

That poor, put upon nurse didn't know how lucky she was that the bite was so shallow.

madville

(7,397 posts)
6. The RN nurses here make 50-70k a year
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:02 PM
Apr 2013

1200 a year isn't that bad a deal since they make so much annually.

 

Kelvin Mace

(17,469 posts)
7. Chump change compared to what many other people pay
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:03 PM
Apr 2013

She doesn't know how good she has it. She is paying 1/15 my monthly premium.

RebelOne

(30,947 posts)
15. I am paying $105 a month for Medicare from my Social Security.
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:53 PM
Apr 2013

Who on Social Security can afford that?

CTyankee

(63,771 posts)
16. and my supplemental with AARP is over $200 per month. That's a helluva lot more than
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 07:05 PM
Apr 2013

I used to pay when I made more money working.

Cleita

(75,480 posts)
21. I paid $45 out of my check at my last job before retirement and my
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 07:28 PM
Apr 2013

employer matched another $45. It was an HMO but it paid for everything. The big problem was getting an appointment and sometimes you waited for months to see a doctor. It wasn't any better than what the RW pundits were trying to sell about National Health Care in other countries. They talked about the horrors of long waits to see a doctor or get an operation. I spoke up once at a political meeting that what I had wasn't any better and it was privately run and not government.

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
23. You committed the ultimate crime in our society:
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 08:41 PM
Apr 2013

You got old. I am well.on the way to committing the same crime.

geckosfeet

(9,644 posts)
24. Yes. But still - $100 a month for her and 3 dependents.
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 10:21 PM
Apr 2013

It would be great to have national health care where our taxes paid for coverage for all. But given where we are, most employers provide health care. And most require some employee contribution.

I pay $100 a month for my plan through my employer and it's just me.

 

Kelvin Mace

(17,469 posts)
5. What is she complaining about?
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:01 PM
Apr 2013

$100 a month?

My wife and I pay $1500 a month!!

I can make the argument that my premiums are that high because freeloaders like her are paying a fraction of their fair share.

rurallib

(62,346 posts)
20. pretty empathetic ain't she?
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 07:27 PM
Apr 2013

how'd she ever choose nursing.

I said something to a doctor once about universal health care and got a 10 minute sermon.
that was the last time I ever went there. The doc was in the business for the wrong reason IMHO

tavalon

(27,985 posts)
22. I'm a nurse
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 08:22 PM
Apr 2013

Nurses come in all political persuasions with just as many different points of view as the average American. Other than our specific skill set, we are neither smarter nor stupider than the average American. I hear this crap all the time. And they are used to me explaining why the healthcare system is broken and how I think it needs to be fixed.

Cleita

(75,480 posts)
11. So it's okay if she and her family get free health care but not okay if someone
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:35 PM
Apr 2013

else who needs it gets it? Actually, $100 a month is a bargain. I have to pay $300 a month for health care and I have Medicare besides.

Cal Carpenter

(4,959 posts)
13. She is not paying for those who 'won't work or won't pay'
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:43 PM
Apr 2013

She is paying in order to keep the INSURANCE COMPANIES in obscene profits.

If we took them out of the equation, along with various other layers of middlemen, corporate fraud, and financial bullshit, our costs per capita would go down substantially. We could all have real, accessible health care at lower costs for EVERYONE regardless of where they work, or if they work...

Poor people are NOT her problem. Obscene profits in basic, vital human services is the problem.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
14. You should have told her to take a trip down to her hospital's billing office.
Sun Apr 7, 2013, 06:49 PM
Apr 2013

There, she would find that she is ALREADY paying for those who can't/won't pay. Does this dimwit actually think that hospitals write off the costs of indigent care out of the goodness of their hearts? Nope. They roll it those costs into everyone else's bills, which, in turn, drives up the cost of health care, and eventually her health insurance.

I'll bet this woman calls herself a "Christian", and is the sort that thinks that labeling poor people as "lazy" absolves them from having to actually follow Jesus' teachings.

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