Too good to be true?!

[Kimmy]

Would you be willing to pay 1.45% of your salary for all these benefits instead of the current Obama Care?


=====


New Zealand

~ Vignesh Chandrasekaran, I live in NZ

In New Zealand, any accident related injuries are covered by the government (the department is called ACC). We pay a small levy for this (1.45%).

Accidents could range anything from 'someone punching in your face' to serious road accidents. The interesting fact is that it is a no-fault scheme. Even if you are at fault, you will still be covered by this. This is my first hand experience with ACC.

• 4 years ago, I had a nasty fracture in my ankle. I was hospitalised for 15 days, and had 2 surgeries. This was free of charge. Follow up surgeries were free too.
• When I was discharged home, I was assigned with a care taker - who came to my apartment once everyday for an hour or two. She would help me take a shower, clean my apartment, help me with my food, shopping, etc. This was free of charge.
• I was provided with free equipment like crutches, shower stool, leg rest, etc. I also got equipment to assist me at work. An occupational therapist was sent to my work to talk to my manager and assist me in getting back to normalcy at work.
• Since I had my cast on for a while, I got free taxis to get to work and back home for about 5 months.
• I also had a heavily subsidised physiotherapy for a long time.
• And for the days I was off work (which was a lot), ACC paid 80% of my salary and my employer paid the rest.

I found that ACC also covers the tourists visiting NZ. How great is that?! So if you're scared of bungy jumping when you visit NZ, don't worry. We've got you covered

[Woods Devil]

Before Obama I had a great company paid medical and life insurance plan with short term disability coverage. My employer kept me around even though i couldn't climb and hang pipe any more because I knew a lot about the fire sprinkler business and had good relationships with a lot of people in companies we did business with.

After Obama took office investment in new construction dried up as those with funds to invest were afraid to spend until the economy recovered. Kind of a vicious cycle, next thing I know my company is only doing warranty work on already completed contracts and people are being laid off.

[Talon]

Almost every other industrialized country on the planet has single payer "socialized" healthcare. Obamacare was sold as that in the beginning, but they pulled a bait and switch and turned it into simply another crony capitalist, soak the middle class program.

So while the private sector wealthy have always had good care, and the subsidized classes both rich, middle and poor (that I've gone over ad nauseam) have always had great health plans, the productive middle, that sector of folks that actually turn the wrenches and make the whole thing run have always gotten hosed and it appears will continue to get hosed when it comes to healthcare.

[Night]

I had great insurance 100 percent paid by my employer. $25 co pay only, emergency room covered 100 percent. Ten bucks for any prescription.

Obamacare quadrupled rates so now my company pays more for the shttiest cheapest coverage and I have to pay for everything until I've racked up $2,500 in out of pocket. In my view, I don't have medical coverage, only catastrophic insurance

[Steve28]

Would you be willing to pay 1.45% of your salary for all these benefits instead of the current Obama Care?


=====


New Zealand

~ Vignesh Chandrasekaran, I live in NZ

In New Zealand, any accident related injuries are covered by the government (the department is called ACC). We pay a small levy for this (1.45%).

Accidents could range anything from 'someone punching in your face' to serious road accidents. The interesting fact is that it is a no-fault scheme. Even if you are at fault, you will still be covered by this. This is my first hand experience with ACC.

• 4 years ago, I had a nasty fracture in my ankle. I was hospitalised for 15 days, and had 2 surgeries. This was free of charge. Follow up surgeries were free too.
• When I was discharged home, I was assigned with a care taker - who came to my apartment once everyday for an hour or two. She would help me take a shower, clean my apartment, help me with my food, shopping, etc. This was free of charge.
• I was provided with free equipment like crutches, shower stool, leg rest, etc. I also got equipment to assist me at work. An occupational therapist was sent to my work to talk to my manager and assist me in getting back to normalcy at work.
• Since I had my cast on for a while, I got free taxis to get to work and back home for about 5 months.
• I also had a heavily subsidised physiotherapy for a long time.
• And for the days I was off work (which was a lot), ACC paid 80% of my salary and my employer paid the rest.

I found that ACC also covers the tourists visiting NZ. How great is that?! So if you're scared of bungy jumping when you visit NZ, don't worry. We've got you covered

Absolutely!

[Absolutely!]

Would you be willing to pay 1.45% of your salary for all these benefits instead of the current Obama Care?


=====


New Zealand

~ Vignesh Chandrasekaran, I live in NZ

In New Zealand, any accident related injuries are covered by the government (the department is called ACC). We pay a small levy for this (1.45%).

Accidents could range anything from 'someone punching in your face' to serious road accidents. The interesting fact is that it is a no-fault scheme. Even if you are at fault, you will still be covered by this. This is my first hand experience with ACC.

• 4 years ago, I had a nasty fracture in my ankle. I was hospitalised for 15 days, and had 2 surgeries. This was free of charge. Follow up surgeries were free too.
• When I was discharged home, I was assigned with a care taker - who came to my apartment once everyday for an hour or two. She would help me take a shower, clean my apartment, help me with my food, shopping, etc. This was free of charge.
• I was provided with free equipment like crutches, shower stool, leg rest, etc. I also got equipment to assist me at work. An occupational therapist was sent to my work to talk to my manager and assist me in getting back to normalcy at work.
• Since I had my cast on for a while, I got free taxis to get to work and back home for about 5 months.
• I also had a heavily subsidised physiotherapy for a long time.
• And for the days I was off work (which was a lot), ACC paid 80% of my salary and my employer paid the rest.

I found that ACC also covers the tourists visiting NZ. How great is that?! So if you're scared of bungy jumping when you visit NZ, don't worry. We've got you covered

Hi there,

I'm pretty sure there are some facts wrong:

1. employers don't have to top up the ACC. They generally don't;

2. It's 1.39% this year. So basically, to protect in a no-fault way against accident and injury (and if you break your back you're on 80% of your last pay packet for life) if you earn $50,000 a year, you'll pay $695 a year ACC premium out of a total income tax of $8703. This payment will cover yourself and any non-earners in your care. Well - you don't have to earn to receive it so everyone gets it. But you don't have to pay for insurance for anyone in your family.

3. ACC only covers accidents and injury. It does not cover illnesses even including ebola, or getting parkinsons or aids. You have to perform an action that causes pain or injury. eg falling over and breaking your hip. slow degenerative hip disease is not covered, although you get free medical care from the general medical system. ACC means quicker service, and more money. It's like a giant accident insurance scheme that is well run and costs you $700 a year for you and all of your dependants.

I've banged on about the outrageous costs you pay for your health care in the US for a long time. Because you have insurance companies cornering the market, they will pay whatever to suppliers of medical product. They don't care. They pass the cost on. So you've got nobody in your entire system giving a shit how much anything costs except the end users, who have no voice and think it's normal. There's money leaking out of your medical system everywhere.

There's a beautiful story I tell from the 1980's where a guy broke out of Mt Eden prison, fell off the wall and broke his arm I think. He claimed ACC and he got it. When we say 'no fault' we seriously mean 'no fault.'

[Woods Devil]

I've banged on about the outrageous costs you pay for your health care in the US for a long time. Because you have insurance companies cornering the market, they will pay whatever to suppliers of medical product. They don't care. They pass the cost on. So you've got nobody in your entire system giving a shit how much anything costs except the end users, who have no voice and think it's normal. There's money leaking out of your medical system everywhere.

Hello Abs, I wanted to point out your common misconception regarding our system. I don't know much about Obamacare as I qualified to go on medicare immediately when I received my disability judgement. In our private insurance sector cost was a big factor and our private insurance companies would negotiate group rates in order to keep costs down and our premiums relatively low. The thing that wrecked our system is those who wouldn't get coverage and would just use the emergency rooms when they got the sniffles. Of course the emergency room is the most expensive place on earth but can't refuse to provide certain services if they receive federal funds. Once they were diagnosed with an illness they expected to be able to get coverage for free with no exclusions for those preexisting condition.

The Vice President of our company was a former insurance agent and knew the system well so she took good care of us in that regard. I've had coverage since the 1960s without a break and my premiums were almost always paid by my employer as part of my benefits. When I was laid off my employer paid for my benefits for nine months as he still hoped to bring me back when the economy turned around but when it was clear that wasn't happening and the company was going out of business I was put on permanent lay off and received the same discount rate for the next nine months that all of our workers are entitled to when they are laid off.

[Woods Devil]

There's a beautiful story I tell from the 1980's where a guy broke out of Mt Eden prison, fell off the wall and broke his arm I think. He claimed ACC and he got it. When we say 'no fault' we seriously mean 'no fault.'

What's so beautiful about that? They should have dug a hole and pushed him in.



Our system wasn't really that bad for those who worked for a living except that we had to pay extra to cover the cost of those who didn't pull their own weight. I'm not talking about those with legitimate reasons for not working but about those who spend their lives trying to scam the system. If someone want to be a hippie bum all their lives I have no problem with that but when they are sure that they are dyeing they should do the decent thing. They should crawl out to the woods to the hole they and their fellows are using as a latrine at the moment if they aren't to damned lazy to dig one and they should crawl right in pulling the dirt in around and on top of themselves.

I was diagnosed with a hereditary medical condition as a teen after three months in the hospital and could have made excuses all my life but I preferred to get off my butt and pull my own weight. I probably sound like a hard ass at times but it is because I have worked much harder than most of these young sissies ever will and yet they gripe non stop about everything and expect a subsidy to pay for that their Obamacare at my expense.

[Absolutely!]

Hello Abs, I wanted to point out your common misconception regarding our system. I don't know much about Obamacare as I qualified to go on medicare immediately when I received my disability judgement. In our private insurance sector cost was a big factor and our private insurance companies would negotiate group rates in order to keep costs down and our premiums relatively low. The thing that wrecked our system is those who wouldn't get coverage and would just use the emergency rooms when they got the sniffles. Of course the emergency room is the most expensive place on earth but can't refuse to provide certain services if they receive federal funds. Once they were diagnosed with an illness they expected to be able to get coverage for free with no exclusions for those preexisting condition.

The Vice President of our company was a former insurance agent and knew the system well so she took good care of us in that regard. I've had coverage since the 1960s without a break and my premiums were almost always paid by my employer as part of my benefits. When I was laid off my employer paid for my benefits for nine months as he still hoped to bring me back when the economy turned around but when it was clear that wasn't happening and the company was going out of business I was put on permanent lay off and received the same discount rate for the next nine months that all of our workers are entitled to when they are laid off.

So how much were your insurance premiums?

[Absolutely!]

What's so beautiful about that? They should have dug a hole and pushed him in.



Our system wasn't really that bad for those who worked for a living except that we had to pay extra to cover the cost of those who didn't pull their own weight. I'm not talking about those with legitimate reasons for not working but about those who spend their lives trying to scam the system. If someone want to be a hippie bum all their lives I have no problem with that but when they are sure that they are dyeing they should do the decent thing. They should crawl out to the woods to the hole they and their fellows are using as a latrine at the moment if they aren't to damned lazy to dig one and they should crawl right in pulling the dirt in around and on top of themselves.

I was diagnosed with a hereditary medical condition as a teen after three months in the hospital and could have made excuses all my life but I preferred to get off my butt and pull my own weight. I probably sound like a hard ass at times but it is because I have worked much harder than most of these young sissies ever will and yet they gripe non stop about everything and expect a subsidy to pay for that their Obamacare at my expense.

See when rat 1 talks about not subsidising rat 2 I always get shivers. Take it all back to primeval times living in groups of maybe 20 family members, in a cave, wearing the skins &c. primitive man.

did anyone go hungry? did Ug sit there, eating while Yok starved to death? Or did they all share meat from the kill?

How are humans actually supposed to do, is it were? With hate and selfishness? What does it mean to be a human?

Your giant fat cats are so thoroughly subsidised it's mindblowing, and the tiny starving rats are fighting for crusts out of each other's paws.

[Woods Devil]

So how much were your insurance premiums?

I paid $2.22 per week at my last job for extra life insurance. My health insurance was company paid.

[Woods Devil]

See when rat 1 talks about not subsidising rat 2 I always get shivers. Take it all back to primeval times living in groups of maybe 20 family members, in a cave, wearing the skins &c. primitive man.

did anyone go hungry? did Ug sit there, eating while Yok starved to death? Or did they all share meat from the kill?

How are humans actually supposed to do, is it were? With hate and selfishness? What does it mean to be a human?

Your giant fat cats are so thoroughly subsidised it's mindblowing, and the tiny starving rats are fighting for crusts out of each other's paws.

Ug never gave me any meat.

[Absolutely!]

I paid $2.22 per week at my last job for extra life insurance. My health insurance was company paid.

Right, but what was your company paying?

Your company didn't just give the money to them for love. They took it out of your wages. They factored that cost into the total cost of hiring you. So how much was it?

[Absolutely!]

$16,000 a year for an average family. That's in line with my girlfriend telling me she doesn't have health insurance for herself or her daughter, because premiums are $1,000 a month (she's self employed). I thought she was exaggerating.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-insurance-now-costs-16-000-average-family-6C10960584

[Absolutely!]

" The average family’s health insurance now costs about $16,000, and workers pay more than a quarter of that, according to a new survey.
But health insurance premiums for job-based family coverage rose a relatively modest 4 percent, reflecting slowed health spending, according to a survey of about 2,000 employers released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
Nonetheless, workers are likely to feel an increased pinch from health care costs: More than a third have annual deductibles of at least $1,000 this year before their insurance kicks in, while wages continue to grow far more slowly than health insurance costs.
Premiums for the average family plan topped $16,000 for the first time, with workers paying on average $4,565 toward that cost, not counting copays and deductibles, the survey found.
The average cost of a single employee’s insurance premiums rose 5 percent, to $5,884, with workers paying an average of $999, the survey found. Workers’ wages increased 1.8 percent on average, while general inflation rose 1.1 percent. The survey was done between January and May of this year.
“The premium increase this year is very moderate, but the pain factor for health insurance cost has not disappeared,” said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the foundation. “Over time, what people pay for health care has dramatically eclipsed both their wages and inflation.”"

from the page quoted above.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health...ily-6C10960584

The thing is: you think you're 'only' (lol only) paying $4,000 a year - but your boss, he's coughing up the other $12,000. And because he's paying that out, he's not giving it to you. He thinks to himself 'a worker costs me $50,000'. he doesn't ever see what you get, payroll does that. He just knows what you cost.

PS what is a copay? What is a deductible? Please tell me you don't pay EVEN MORE on top of that insane amount?