On being self insured: My health insurance does nothing to insure my health.

[mike_c]

34. why do people tolerate this?

Medicare costs about $140 per month and covers most of our health care costs. We do get supplemental coverage through my pension for the gaps in current Medicare, but it is free to us. Since starting Medicare at 65 we have never paid more than a very few dollars out of pocket, occasionally being billed like $15 or $20, only a handful of times. My partner spent two months in the hospital a couple years ago and then had home nursing care for most of a year. She's since had several surgeries and sees several doctor-ologists regularly. None of that has ever cost us anything. Not one dime. The only thing that has cost us real money has been dental care, because all dental insurance apparently sucks, making supplemental dental crappy for everyone. Adding dental to Medicare would straighten that out quickly, IMO.

We can do this for Medicare recipients. We could extend the same coverage to every American and improve life for all of us. Why do people tolerate the status quo? When I was working we had platinum health insurance through my (good union) job. We could provide equivalent health care for all Americans for a fraction of the cost many pay now for substandard coverage. When will people begin demanding it?