Health insurance, can you afford it or will it break you?

[EmptyNest]

On the other hand if you don’t have a private health insurance you may wait for an appointment quite long. E.g. I have to wait for a MRT scan for 3 to 6 weeks. If you have a private insurance you can get an appointment much faster.

I know people who have had to wait weeks to see a doctor who are on private health insurance here.
Riki.

Yes that is true especially if you need to see a specialist...most can't get you in for months! Even my primary care provider may not be able to see me for a few days unless I really push and then they can usually squeeze me in.

 

[JBloggs]

No matter what, it is STILL THE BEST IN THE WORLD!
No welfare healthcare for me, thank you.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

 

[user 26]

i have not had health insurance for 20+ years.

 

[Samster]

As swirt mentioned, insurance under a group program gives some protection from cancellation due to a variety of reasons. I don't know of any bed and breakfast organization that has developed such a group program (maybe some states have that I'm unaware of) but we get ours through NASE (National Association of Self-Employed). It's still expensive - we were just hit with a 25% increase in our premium - and we have a huge deductible of $5000, but our monthly premium is under $500. Depending on your age, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons(?)) has group policies available and you can join at age 55. I am not eligible but my DH is - we found those plans to be somewhat more expensive.
There are millions of Americans currently without health insurance coverage - not because they choose to be, but because the premiums are more than their annual incomes, or they have been denied coverage or dropped from coverage due to a health condition. People die here in the U.S. waiting for their insurance companies to approve treatments or because they have been denied coverage for treatment. Those are unfortunate facts, and reasons why it is important, especially as a small business owner, to look at your insurance situation in its entirety before going ahead with or without coverage..

I pay the premiums for our healthy, non-smoking 26 year old son with a $1500 deductible and it's an 80/20 plan...$167/month. It would have been raised to $225/month. He upped the deductible to $2K to keep the monthly premium about the same. His insurance is through a large health care provider and is individual coverage vs a group or company. Every year I look at the options available through my husband's job to determine the best bang for his buck as employers shift more of the premium cost to the employee. He is at retirement age (but still working) and I'm a good 10 years behind. I'm watching everything closely.
I used to work for several large health care plans...there are flaws on all sides of this issue. I personally would never be without health insurance as a single major health crisis could wipe everything out. Also, a diagnosis of cancer is not a death sentence for everyone.

 

[Samster]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

The key is not to have a break in coverage. It helps to protect you so that you can get other insurance. That's why COBRA exists.

 

[Samster]

We have a small business - group health insurance plan. It costs each of us about $400 a month. I would consider it adequate. It is not great. I fight with the insurance company on a regular basis.
Here is a good example. They had been refusing a certain claim because they didn't have my date of birth correct. I fought with them for over 2 years and sent them certified copies of my birth certificate to prove the correct date.
Now they are refusing the claim because the date of service is outside of the 'accepted time frame' .

.

Every health plan has an appeals process. Ask for the one for the company that insures you. What you're talking about is an administrative snafu and should be easy to resolve. If I can help you, email me off the forum. I used to do this for a living.

 

[The Farmers Daughter]

We have a small business - group health insurance plan. It costs each of us about $400 a month. I would consider it adequate. It is not great. I fight with the insurance company on a regular basis.
Here is a good example. They had been refusing a certain claim because they didn't have my date of birth correct. I fought with them for over 2 years and sent them certified copies of my birth certificate to prove the correct date.
Now they are refusing the claim because the date of service is outside of the 'accepted time frame' .

.

Every health plan has an appeals process. Ask for the one for the company that insures you. What you're talking about is an administrative snafu and should be easy to resolve. If I can help you, email me off the forum. I used to do this for a living.
.

Every health plan has an appeals process. Ask for the one for the company that insures you. What you're talking about is an administrative snafu and should be easy to resolve. If I can help you, email me off the forum. I used to do this for a living.

Thanks Sammy. I did get it resolved. It was just such a stupid and annoying process.

 

[Samster]

We have a small business - group health insurance plan. It costs each of us about $400 a month. I would consider it adequate. It is not great. I fight with the insurance company on a regular basis.
Here is a good example. They had been refusing a certain claim because they didn't have my date of birth correct. I fought with them for over 2 years and sent them certified copies of my birth certificate to prove the correct date.
Now they are refusing the claim because the date of service is outside of the 'accepted time frame' .

.

Every health plan has an appeals process. Ask for the one for the company that insures you. What you're talking about is an administrative snafu and should be easy to resolve. If I can help you, email me off the forum. I used to do this for a living.
.

Every health plan has an appeals process. Ask for the one for the company that insures you. What you're talking about is an administrative snafu and should be easy to resolve. If I can help you, email me off the forum. I used to do this for a living.

Thanks Sammy. I did get it resolved. It was just such a stupid and annoying process.
.

I hear you....I used to work for some of those companies! The biggest problem that I saw was that many of the people providing customer service or working on referrals/authorizations to specialists are not medical personnel. Egads! We nurses really had our work cut out for us!

 

[egoodell]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki

 

[Breakfast Diva]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki

I went with Genworth. Pros and cons for most of the companies out there. I would suggest finding an insurance agent who represents several of the top companies and he/she will run comparables for you. I just called my regular insurance agent who gave me a referral to an agent who specializes in long term care insurance.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki

I went with Genworth. Pros and cons for most of the companies out there. I would suggest finding an insurance agent who represents several of the top companies and he/she will run comparables for you. I just called my regular insurance agent who gave me a referral to an agent who specializes in long term care insurance.

 

[gillumhouse]

From what I understand, it is preferable to obtain your healthcare under the umbrella of a large group. This way, as mentioned before, they are less likely to try and drop you if you become ill. They will fight to drop Mr. and Mrs. Smith rather than an association.
Don't bother to try and find out if there is a B&B Association. That's been tried before and the group is not big enough to impress the big insurance companies.
I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
I am guesing even though we are in good health, with a large deductable my husband and I will be paying $1000 per month for health insurance once I leave work at UVA. I'm stuck here right now just for this indefinately.
Riki.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates
.

I am also going to look into home care insurance. ONce my DH and I get old, with no kids to count on, we want insurance to keep us at home or somehwere decent rather than rotting in some disgusting place like where my grandfather ended up.
Riki

It's called Longterm Care Insurance. I just started a policy this year and I can't tell you how much comfort it gives me! The premium is reasonable and I know I'll never have to be in one of those horrible places. Be sure you start one before you hit 60 to get reasonable rates

Do you mind letting me know with which company you are covered?
RIki
.

And find out if they can write a policy, and that kind of policy, in your State. Each State has its own insurance rules.

 

[JeannineIrish]

SeeBen21, as of now, in the USA, people have control of both their healthcare (treatment - as in what doctor they want, what hospital, what treatment and if any) and health insurance - as in how much they are willing to pay and if they are willing to pay for it. Hospitals write off uncollectible bills every day - which is why many hospitals have closed, too many wanting FREE heathcare.
DH is now on Medicare (over 65) but I still pay almost $175 per month for his supplemental insurance and another almost $200 per month for his prescriptions. He plans to live forever. In the past, whenever he had a medical disaster (and he has had many), the problem was taken care of and whatever was not covered by insurance I got bills for. And I paid them.
I do not have insurance because I choose to not have it. For me it would be a waste of money. No what ifs, please. IF I get cancer I die. IF I break something, the hospital will set it and I will get a bill which I will pay - in payments. I am only hoping that I get to die with all my remaining marbles intact. Alzheimers is worse than death. I have no fear of losing my possessions to pay medical costs. I worked to pay my own way. No one owes me anything. If I cannot pay, I do not play.
I am going to die, the question is when and from what. It will not matter to me as I will be dead regardless.
In the USA currently, if your doctor says you need an MRT, you get it and it will not take 3 to 6 weeks either. Last time DH was in the hospital, the doctor came in on Sunday and said I am ordering a CAT scan. OK, we figured it being the weekend he would get it on Monday. Wrong! They took him down for the scan that day, on Sunday..

In the USA currently, if your doctor says you need an MRT, you get it and it will not take 3 to 6 weeks either.
Count yourself lucky if this is the case in your area.
This is the way it was many years ago here. No longer the case in this area. I have "good" insurance. My primary care physician said I needed a CT scan. My insurance said no, it is not warranted we won't pay. Big ticket items have to be pre-authorised by insurance or you pay up front.
My Mother recently had to wait several weeks for an MRI and then another 4 days for a meeting with the doctor to "read" her the results. Now she is waiting 6 more weeks to meet with a neurologisit for the same issue. She has been in pain for nearly 5 months now. Again she has what is considered "good" insurance.
.

wow that shocks me. I was at the specialist last THursday, scheduled my MRI for today and I am back for them to read it tomorrow.
.

wow that shocks me. I was at the specialist last THursday, scheduled my MRI for today and I am back for them to read it tomorrow.

I think it depends what part of the country you live. Not all areas of the country have good medical care no matter what insurance you have. I have heard some horror stories from people who live in Florida but it seems that is where everyone wants to retire to.

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

As swirt mentioned, insurance under a group program gives some protection from cancellation due to a variety of reasons. I don't know of any bed and breakfast organization that has developed such a group program (maybe some states have that I'm unaware of) but we get ours through NASE (National Association of Self-Employed). It's still expensive - we were just hit with a 25% increase in our premium - and we have a huge deductible of $5000, but our monthly premium is under $500. Depending on your age, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons(?)) has group policies available and you can join at age 55. I am not eligible but my DH is - we found those plans to be somewhat more expensive.
There are millions of Americans currently without health insurance coverage - not because they choose to be, but because the premiums are more than their annual incomes, or they have been denied coverage or dropped from coverage due to a health condition. People die here in the U.S. waiting for their insurance companies to approve treatments or because they have been denied coverage for treatment. Those are unfortunate facts, and reasons why it is important, especially as a small business owner, to look at your insurance situation in its entirety before going ahead with or without coverage..

I pay the premiums for our healthy, non-smoking 26 year old son with a $1500 deductible and it's an 80/20 plan...$167/month. It would have been raised to $225/month. He upped the deductible to $2K to keep the monthly premium about the same. His insurance is through a large health care provider and is individual coverage vs a group or company. Every year I look at the options available through my husband's job to determine the best bang for his buck as employers shift more of the premium cost to the employee. He is at retirement age (but still working) and I'm a good 10 years behind. I'm watching everything closely.
I used to work for several large health care plans...there are flaws on all sides of this issue. I personally would never be without health insurance as a single major health crisis could wipe everything out. Also, a diagnosis of cancer is not a death sentence for everyone.
.

I personally would never be without health insurance as a single major health crisis could wipe everything out. Also, a diagnosis of cancer is not a death sentence for everyone.

As the 75% of the several million Americans who will file bankruptcy this year because of medical bills can attest to.
A cancer diagnosis may not be a death sentence for everyone, but for most even with insurance they can count on a painful ordeal at every turn and either extraordinarily higher premiums or denials of coverage for the rest of their lives under the current system.

 

[gillumhouse]

As swirt mentioned, insurance under a group program gives some protection from cancellation due to a variety of reasons. I don't know of any bed and breakfast organization that has developed such a group program (maybe some states have that I'm unaware of) but we get ours through NASE (National Association of Self-Employed). It's still expensive - we were just hit with a 25% increase in our premium - and we have a huge deductible of $5000, but our monthly premium is under $500. Depending on your age, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons(?)) has group policies available and you can join at age 55. I am not eligible but my DH is - we found those plans to be somewhat more expensive.
There are millions of Americans currently without health insurance coverage - not because they choose to be, but because the premiums are more than their annual incomes, or they have been denied coverage or dropped from coverage due to a health condition. People die here in the U.S. waiting for their insurance companies to approve treatments or because they have been denied coverage for treatment. Those are unfortunate facts, and reasons why it is important, especially as a small business owner, to look at your insurance situation in its entirety before going ahead with or without coverage..

I pay the premiums for our healthy, non-smoking 26 year old son with a $1500 deductible and it's an 80/20 plan...$167/month. It would have been raised to $225/month. He upped the deductible to $2K to keep the monthly premium about the same. His insurance is through a large health care provider and is individual coverage vs a group or company. Every year I look at the options available through my husband's job to determine the best bang for his buck as employers shift more of the premium cost to the employee. He is at retirement age (but still working) and I'm a good 10 years behind. I'm watching everything closely.
I used to work for several large health care plans...there are flaws on all sides of this issue. I personally would never be without health insurance as a single major health crisis could wipe everything out. Also, a diagnosis of cancer is not a death sentence for everyone.
.

Also, a diagnosis of cancer is not a death sentence for everyone.
Goodness no, I know many cancer survivors. What I meant was that I would not do treatment. It would be my way to beat the Big A.

 

[sharpe]

Last Christmas, I flew to Canada from England for three weeks.
On the flight home, I started coughing. Two days later, I was in intensive care and the docs told my husband that I had a 50 50 chance. My vital organs had shut down and I had blood clots on my lungs.
I AM NEVER SICK! I don't get colds or flu. I am very very healthy. I had contracted a virus infection that was asymptomatic. It ran down my immune system without making me ill. I then picked up a bacterial infection that raged through my lungs like a wildfire. I was three weeks in intensive care hooked up to some very expensive equipment. I was in an induced coma for two weeks. After leaving intensive care, I was in hospital for another week and I have quarterly lung examinations. I'm fine. Totally recovered. The bill? £0.00 $0.00 dollars. Thank goodness for British Health Care. My hospital stay was fabulous. (except for the food) I had my own nurse 24/7! I can't praise the health care system here highly enough. I'm used to public health care growing up in Canada but my sisters were worried because they had heard that health care in Britain isn't as good. It was exceptional. They couldn't have cared for me any better. We don't pay for it monthly. It comes out of our taxes. We pay 20% of our income.

 

[Samster]

Last Christmas, I flew to Canada from England for three weeks.
On the flight home, I started coughing. Two days later, I was in intensive care and the docs told my husband that I had a 50 50 chance. My vital organs had shut down and I had blood clots on my lungs.
I AM NEVER SICK! I don't get colds or flu. I am very very healthy. I had contracted a virus infection that was asymptomatic. It ran down my immune system without making me ill. I then picked up a bacterial infection that raged through my lungs like a wildfire. I was three weeks in intensive care hooked up to some very expensive equipment. I was in an induced coma for two weeks. After leaving intensive care, I was in hospital for another week and I have quarterly lung examinations. I'm fine. Totally recovered. The bill? £0.00 $0.00 dollars. Thank goodness for British Health Care. My hospital stay was fabulous. (except for the food) I had my own nurse 24/7! I can't praise the health care system here highly enough. I'm used to public health care growing up in Canada but my sisters were worried because they had heard that health care in Britain isn't as good. It was exceptional. They couldn't have cared for me any better. We don't pay for it monthly. It comes out of our taxes. We pay 20% of our income..

"We pay 20% of our income."
I bet a lot of folks here in the States thought it was totally FREE. That is good to know. That could amount to quite a bit for some folks. Is it a sliding scale or is it 20% for everyone?

 

[sharpe]

Last Christmas, I flew to Canada from England for three weeks.
On the flight home, I started coughing. Two days later, I was in intensive care and the docs told my husband that I had a 50 50 chance. My vital organs had shut down and I had blood clots on my lungs.
I AM NEVER SICK! I don't get colds or flu. I am very very healthy. I had contracted a virus infection that was asymptomatic. It ran down my immune system without making me ill. I then picked up a bacterial infection that raged through my lungs like a wildfire. I was three weeks in intensive care hooked up to some very expensive equipment. I was in an induced coma for two weeks. After leaving intensive care, I was in hospital for another week and I have quarterly lung examinations. I'm fine. Totally recovered. The bill? £0.00 $0.00 dollars. Thank goodness for British Health Care. My hospital stay was fabulous. (except for the food) I had my own nurse 24/7! I can't praise the health care system here highly enough. I'm used to public health care growing up in Canada but my sisters were worried because they had heard that health care in Britain isn't as good. It was exceptional. They couldn't have cared for me any better. We don't pay for it monthly. It comes out of our taxes. We pay 20% of our income..

"We pay 20% of our income."
I bet a lot of folks here in the States thought it was totally FREE. That is good to know. That could amount to quite a bit for some folks. Is it a sliding scale or is it 20% for everyone?
.

That's what we pay for income tax. Our health care comes out of our income tax. If you make more, you pay more up to 50% if you're Paul McCartney. Imagine a world where when you get ill, you just have to worry about getting better. It's easy if you try.

 

[Samster]

Last Christmas, I flew to Canada from England for three weeks.
On the flight home, I started coughing. Two days later, I was in intensive care and the docs told my husband that I had a 50 50 chance. My vital organs had shut down and I had blood clots on my lungs.
I AM NEVER SICK! I don't get colds or flu. I am very very healthy. I had contracted a virus infection that was asymptomatic. It ran down my immune system without making me ill. I then picked up a bacterial infection that raged through my lungs like a wildfire. I was three weeks in intensive care hooked up to some very expensive equipment. I was in an induced coma for two weeks. After leaving intensive care, I was in hospital for another week and I have quarterly lung examinations. I'm fine. Totally recovered. The bill? £0.00 $0.00 dollars. Thank goodness for British Health Care. My hospital stay was fabulous. (except for the food) I had my own nurse 24/7! I can't praise the health care system here highly enough. I'm used to public health care growing up in Canada but my sisters were worried because they had heard that health care in Britain isn't as good. It was exceptional. They couldn't have cared for me any better. We don't pay for it monthly. It comes out of our taxes. We pay 20% of our income..

"We pay 20% of our income."
I bet a lot of folks here in the States thought it was totally FREE. That is good to know. That could amount to quite a bit for some folks. Is it a sliding scale or is it 20% for everyone?
.

That's what we pay for income tax. Our health care comes out of our income tax. If you make more, you pay more up to 50% if you're Paul McCartney. Imagine a world where when you get ill, you just have to worry about getting better. It's easy if you try.
.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh....thanks for clearing that up. Here, health care premiums are in addition to Federal and State income taxes. Employers share the cost with their employees. Of course, if you're self-employed you can foot the whole bill and there are most health care plans are not 100% coverage. You have to read your certificate of coverage carefully.
Yes, Imagine.... I think that was John Lennon, right?