Health Care Costs Money, So Buy It! (Dr. Rush Limbaugh Slams "The Give It To Me" Mentality Alert)

Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | 08/23/06 | Rush Limbaugh

[HHFi]

I assume it was a more extensive glaucoma test than the air-puff or the torsion bar thing they often do routinely at the optometrist's office?

It was a very complicated, two-hour test at a glaucoma specialist clinic, designed to tell if some anomaly in one eye is a natural condition or early glaucoma that could possibly be prevented. But of course, after two hours and nearly $500, they still couldn't tell. More tests!!

[reefdiver]

If the Good old USA can for no reason known to me Give Mega millions to Egypt-gt nothing-oh why even continue with the give aways. We are getting nothing in return. I think the country owe's it to at a minimum free health for vet's for life

[MarkL]

Re: Expensive health insurance I know exactly what you mean... Rush was saying "do without..." Well, when I was self insured, I originally was able to purchase my own for less than $200 a month. But when the cost of insurance goes up by huge amounts, even if you don't use the insurance during the course of the year, it really starts to put a crimp in your finances. The first 2 years I had my insurance, it went up by over 20% a year. Then I was diagnosed with a chronic disease (Crohns Disease). It went up by 35% each of the following two years years. Then I needed emergency back surgury. The following year, it went up by 45%, to nearly 725 a month. At that point, I bumped the deductable to $5000 (the limit) which knocked it back down to $475. The following year, even with the maximum deductible, I was looking at nearly 700 a month.

I think that even Rush might think, "ya know, that's a lot of money for insurance." Thankfully, I was able to find a job that did offer health insurance, and I'm back to paying less than $200 a month. But for a while there, it was a bit sticky... I was getting close to having to make a choice between making my mortgage payment (which was only $540 a month) or having health insurance. I was afraid that I'd have to sell my house, and get a small apartment so that I'd be able to continue to have health insurance, payed for with the money from my home sale - Oh, and my car? At the time, it was an 8 year old Toyota Corolla. And my TV? I had bought it when I bought my house, 13 years before... Not exactly the sort of spend-thrift that Rush was talking about today.

Mark

[raybbr]

Go to http://bluecrossblueshield.com and select Illinois.

Geez. Where I work single guys are paying about $70 week.

[Nachum]

Medishare is not health insurance. It is one of a number of "Medical Sharing" plans. When you are admitted to a hospital under such a plan, you are considered as if you have no insurance.

There are good and bad parts to medical sharing plans and may well be an alternative for some who cannot qualify for an individual plans and do not fall into a low income bracket to qualify for a state sponsored Medicaid program such as "Medi-cal" or "Healthy Families" (children only program) in California. They are not, however, an association sponsored health "insurance" program which is regulated my the insurance commission of any state.

[MarkL]

Same as if your transmission goes out on your car. It could cost you thousands. Never heard of saving up?

You expect WHO to pay?

If I have insurance, I expect the insurance company to pay what they agreed to pay.

When I needed my emergency back surgery, I had nearly $14,000 in liquid savings. That wouldn't have even come close to covering the first day.

And there's a bit of a difference between your transmission going out, and having a serious medical emergency. If your transmission goes out, you've got options. For instance, you can bum a ride, or rent a car. If the transmission is going to be too expensive to fix right away, you can always buy an old beater for a few hundred dollars.

If you have a medical emergency, and say you can't move your legs, well there simply aren't too many options for you. Have you seen the cost of neurosurgeons lately?

Mark

[Jim Noble]

If you have a medical emergency, and say you can't move your legs, well there simply aren't too many options for you. Have you seen the cost of neurosurgeons lately?

What do you think neurosurgeons should cost?

How do you think they should be paid?

[raybbr]

Of course, for my family here in CT the premium is $800/month. We don't pay that but it's about half.

[WVNan]

Thank you for recalling those two Christian plans. I was trying to remember the names of them. They are good plans for young families.

I have a friend who is one of those caught in the middle. Not enough income to afford insurance, and too much income to get Medicaid. They just go to a family doctor who understands their situation, and charges them less. If they need meds, he gives them samples or writes up generic brands. When they have to go to the hospital, they negotiate with the hospital for less and pay it off monthly. A catastropic illness or accident would put them in debt for life, but the hospital has to accept what they can pay, as long as they pay something every month.

[raybbr]

Not exactly the sort of spend-thrift that Rush was talking about today.

Rush thinks everyone is a spendthrift except him as he flies out on a private jet to go golfing for the weekend.

[Hildy]

I'm more than happy to pay that $5000 deductible. When you add up all the extra money you pay for full health coverage... you actually save money if you don't have anything really bad happen to you. I like it so much better than spending $500 a month.

[WVNan]

Yes, it is a wonderful place. Danny Thomas left a wonderful legacy there. They do put the parents up. They have houses set aside for them. It is a worthy place to support and that is where my charity dollars go, of course. My son died there and they were absolutely wonderful to me. His doctor corresponded with us for years afterward. He was a nice Jewish boy. We sort of adopted him.

[WVNan]

By all means, I think our vets should get the free health care. They earned it the hard way.

[NorthWoody]

Exactly.

I like Rush, but I can only take him in small doses for the reasons you metioned.

I listen to a lot of talk radio and have for about ten years now. I started listening on AM1500KSTP in St Paul, which has a pretty good lineup of local personalities. Then, I forget why, but they lost Rush's show. He moved to a new FM talk station, KTLK. They advertise themselves as catering to "affluent" talk radio fans. They actually use the word "affluent" when airing the text of their mission statement. (I'm not affluent, I don't want to be affluent, and even if I were affluent, I would resent being labeled as such.)

I decided to subscribe to XM satellite radio and see what they offered. There is a large variety of conservative talk radio available (no Rush though, and some others like Michael Savage are not there either) but the vast majority of hosts have the same problem as Rush.

They try to come off as regular guys and gals and then in the next breath they talk about the last time they had dinner with Senator So-and-So, or how they sat next to Mr Fortune500-CEO and his family yesterday in church, or how they're jetting off overseas for the third time this year.

Aren't there any middle class people hosting radio shows? I want to hear from a true peer once in a while. Even the hosts on AM1500 were always dropping names, saying how they know this billionaire, or how that big-money CEO is married to their half-sister. Then they go on to list the problems with their large home and pool on Lake Minnetonka (a high demographic area west of the Twin Cities.)

I'm not a class warfare/envy type of guy, and I love these conservative radio hosts most of the time because our politics are very compatible. It's just that sometimes it comes across glaringly how different their lifestyles really are from mine and those of all of the people that I care about and associate with.

[ErnBatavia]

It's my understanding that hospitals and labs do the "double billing" thing - bill at retail, and then rebill at the reduced insurer's rate - for tax purposes.

If you're truly a physician, you should consult somebody in this regard....our personal internist, surprisingly, waits for the insurance company's "adjustment", and then sends us only one bill.

[Chickensoup]

They are not, however, an association sponsored health "insurance" program which is regulated my the insurance commission of any state.

Medishare has a catastrophic policy attached to each plan.

[Atlas Sneezed]

So pay the bill yourself (if you spent your dough on things other than insurance) or pay it now, and borrow to pay it off over the time that the medical treatment made you able to work.

You still want ME to pay?

[Sun]

I agree with Rush that the government should not pay, but Rush doesn't even seem to want employers to include it.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Aren't there any middle class people hosting radio shows?

---

If they are talented, they don't stay middle class long. If you want local mouth-breathers who have no talent or future, then there are plenty in the middle class.

Enjoy.

(Why would you not want what you produce to be so valued by others that it makes you affluent?)

[Disambiguator]

I agree with Rush on this one. The caller was an idiot (well, maybe just uninformed) if he thinks that getting "free" healthcare will solve any problems at all.

It's called stepping over dollars to pick up pennies; it will cost far more (in dollars and otherwise) to have "free" healthcare than to just pay for it directly.