How do you all afford it?

[cindianna_jones]

Yeah! Move to GB or Canada!  I've been wondering about moving just for health care coverage. I don't need surgery, that is long behind me. But our insurance bill is killing us. I can't believe how much more we pay than others around us.

[tekla]

It's not the insurance companies.  They will write whatever policy you want and are willing to pay for.

[cindianna_jones]

It's not the insurance companies.  They will write whatever policy you want and are willing to pay for.

Not entirely true. I had a friend who could not get health insurance at any price. And she didn't have anything wrong with her. She had been prescribed heart medication by mistake 20 years ago. She finally did manage to get A policy, not one of her choosing, through this lottery we have in CA where the insurance companies have to provide insurance for a few "uninsurables" each year.

[tekla]

Most insurance was not invented for individuals, but rather as a way to pool risk among a large group.  The idea being that after you pay in your lifetime of payments, it will be enough to cover your last year (on actuarial tables - the 10 Commandments of Insurance Companies - over 90% of a person's lifetime medical expenses will occur in the last year of life).  Obviously, what many people here want is a payout, without the buy in, and I don't see that as a working business model.

[cindianna_jones]

Most insurance was not invented for individuals, but rather as a way to pool risk among a large group.  The idea being that after you pay in your lifetime of payments, it will be enough to cover your last year (on actuarial tables - the 10 Commandments of Insurance Companies - over 90% of a person's lifetime medical expenses will occur in the last year of life).  Obviously, what many people here want is a payout, without the buy in, and I don't see that as a working business model.

Yeah, that's how it goes.  That's the model we use.

[Dana_H]

How do I afford it all?  I don't.  I have pretty good insurance through my employer, but it specifically excludes SRS/GRS.  It doesn't even cover therapy under a GID/GD diagnosis. Aside from irregular visits to the therapist out-of-pocket and infrequent shopping trips to Kohl's or JCPenny, I am pretty much stuck financially.  I can't even go full-time non-op right now because portions of my workplace not under my employer's control are significantly trans-hostile.  I'm working to find a better job, but the market stinks so very bad around here right now. It really gets me down at times, but I just sock away what little money I can spare and tell myself it's gotta get better eventually.  At least I have a core group of friends who know the truth and accept me for who I am and a wonderful spouse who loves me even more now than before, if that's possible.

Oof, I just realized how late (er, early) it is.  Between being tired and having a high dysphoria night, I think it's time to go to bed and recharge for tomorrow. Nite all!

[Cindy Stephens]

Misc.
1.The Cigna policy we have at my office does not pay for SRS sevices.  They do cover my bloodwork and meds.  Some specific company requested policies through Cigna may cover SRS.  Probably only large Companies.

2. Most people in US are covered under Medicare in their last year of life.  Remember "death panels?"  They would have given short termers info on possibly going with hospice.  Far cheaper, fewer machines, less cutting, often kinder and certainly more dignified.  The "hospital/doctor money machine" gets cut out of the equation though.  Can't have that so lets call it a death panel and scare people.

3 some states have "guaranteed issue" health insurance.  Google it.  Insurance in those states is a little more expensive because of it.  ONE of the problems with heath care in US is that people get treated whether they can pay or not.  Statistics show that they don't get as good care as insureds do, but it is still very expensive.  Those costs are absorbed by the hospitals.  They don't actually pay their doctors less that week, they just add it to your bill through a process called "cost shifting"  It is estimated that about $1500.00 of your yearly family med.ins. bill is from those costs.  The new heath care bill makes most people have insurance so they pay for their own expenses. 

4. often, if you can get insurance in many states if you have your own company.  Sometimes it is possible to run your income through it as a vender rather than an employee.  Lots of technical rules.  If you are paying on your own, then you must itemize and can only deduct >7.5% of your income.  And then only to the extent that all deductions >standard deduction.  Business owners can deduct all of it without any of those restrictions.  That always seemed silly to me if we want people to have heath insurance.