Craftygal died Wednesday night....but...

[PatrickforB]

56. I'm sorry. I have employer-provided Kaiser insurance and it is crummy, rationed and has

financially crippling copays.

My 'maximum out of pocket copay' for EACH of us - my wife and I - is $4,000. So if I have to go to hospital too, the copay is eight large. $8,000.

So, as a non-employee member of Kaiser, I can tell you that I pay out the nose. Because on top of that $4K co-pay, I pay $400 per month in PREMIUMS also, and my employer matches that, but used to pay a greater percentage. But they have to pass more and more and more of the cost of healthcare onto the people using it.

Remember - if we want to look at where the government should step in, it is anywhere the profit motive (I know Kaiser is 'non-profit' but they are sure into cost savings and maximizing retained earnings) is in DIRECT conflict with the interests of the people being served, then the government should step in.

I would love having a Canadian style healthcare system, and certainly Medicare for all Americans is do-able. Yes, we'd have to get the rich to pay more, and those poor corporations would have to pony up more than the 6.8% of total government tax revenue they pay in now. But if I didn't have to pay giant premiums and take out effing HEALTH CARE LOANS to help fund my financially crippling copays, you know how much less stress I'd have?

Lots. That's how much.