At some point when we received auto insurance quotes, we were told that our rates would be cheaper if we were using the vehicle regularly, rather than leaving it sitting in our neighborhood. I'm going to double check with my agent.
Good post! I do have one bone to pick with you, though... When you say "Eat meals together. Again, this is especially true for families," I assume you mean that this is especially true for couples with children, as you said in the previous step. The implication, then, is that married couples without children are NOT families. This is a common implication, but still erroneous and hurtful. I'd be appreciative if you'd change the wording to reflect this. Thanks.
I agree everybody should aim to be minimally self-sufficient for a variety of bad things that could happen (economic meltdown, energy collapse, job loss, natural disaster, asteroid hitting the Earth, etc.). If you treat minimal self-sufficiency like a 401(k) and take a few steps every month to build up your capability, it's a manageable task (OK ... maybe not for asteroid hitting the earth ... but if you're prepared for everything else perhaps you'll survive long enough to figure out a way to avoid extinction...)
I volunteer for my county disaster response team and people -should- be scared about how ill prepared and dependent we are upon other nations for things we need to survive. Walmart's "just in time" supply chain (and governments reliance on "privatization" for so many of these supplies) may be good for pinching pennies, but it is a disaster waiting to happen from an emergency preparedness standpoint.
H5N1 "bird flu" ... even if the CDC is able to come up with a vaccine, 100% of our rubber gloves, face masks, and syringes are made in China and Tamiflu is made in Europe. The Europeans have already said we're last in line to get their antiviral drugs and do you honestly think China is going to keep shipping syringes to vaccinate our people if millions of their own people are dying?
War ... sure we have nukes and "smart bombs," but nearly all of our weapons-grade plutonium comes from the former Soviet Union, most of our bullets (and nearly all of the materials to make new bullets) are made in other countries, and 100% of certain rare minerals we need to make those Smart Bombs are mined in China. We've burned through our reserves in Iraq and Afghanistan and are having trouble keeping up with new demand, much less build a stockpile. We can't go to war without permission from China because they've got our supply chain by the short hairs.
Look at what happened after hurricane Katrina? My daughter served her army AIT in Gulfport, Mississippi and she said they -still- haven't rebuilt much. Municipals buildings have been rebuilt, but there are few neighborhoods. Church groups invite soldiers off the base and feed them in the hopes they'll help because FEMA didn't. These people weren't asking for charity, just to pay a fair wage because the FEMA-certified private contractors ripped off their money and didn't do the work. Very few people know how to build a house these days. My daughter attended several church/soldier "house raisings" where the carpentry/masonry specialists acted as construction supervisors and taught parishioners what to do.
People should be especially terrified about what happens when we start running out of oil, which will be a lot sooner than most people think. The experts are warning we're way past peak oil and should plan for $9/gallon gasoline within the next decade. Although our population and energy usage have risen dramatically since the 1970's oil crisis, the strategic national oil reserves have not kept up. Peak oil collapse is going to make the 1970's look like a picnic.
There are -no- more caves filled with USDA grain, canned pork and cheese to tide over the American people if disaster strikes. And there is -no- more gold in Fort Knox to buy things from other countries if our currency collapses. Do people honestly think pro-big-agribusiness Congress is going to stop Monsanto's grain barges from shipping our food supply off to other countries for a hefty profit if Americans are starving?
I agree with the poster who says it doesn't make sense to plan to do everything from scratch, but it -DOES- make a lot of sense to at keep potential calamities in mind and make sure you have the capability, knowledge, social networking, food and supplies on hand for a broad variety of disasters (both natural and man-made). Mormons may seem a bit "different" to the rest of us, but I think they have the right idea when they urge parishioners to keep a one-year supply of all food and supplies they need on-hand (including money in the bank) and host free classes to teach critical life skills ranging from mending your clothing to gardening to minor home repair to maintaining your car.
I've put the Seymour book Philip recommended on the waitlist through interlibrary loan and am looking forward to reading it. I'm sure we've forgotten -something- on our at-least-know-how-its-done sensible self-reliance list.
@19thandfolsom: You raise a fabulous point about giving things away, and seeing the pleasure your friends and family get from things that are new to them and well-loved for you.
I have things that have been given to me in this manner, and every time I use them I think of those people.
And conversely, to know that some of your former belongings are being enjoyed by somebody you know and love is even better.
I have been a target of countrywide, inabilities and practices of bad business practices,
We had a 30 year note with Chase and never late,
Now with Countrywide and was promised a refinance on a 15 years note to 30 year note with there new Modification loan program this started in Feb 2009, and we call every month several time to ask about it and was told everything was Ok and will hear something shortly.
That was in March, Lisa James
We heard something alright on April15 a notice to Foreclosure, and need to come up with 2 months payment and the Mays payment also
We call several times and talked to 6 people with no help just Phone tags
So we when to the Locale office and the Person we first talked to (Jason Guinther) was there we told him the story and the he call countrywide, after talking to there office for 30mins, he said they were never going to notified us that we don’t qualify for the program or even why,
The inability for them to notified us doesn’t constitute an hardship for us,
I thing they encourages there people in this tactics,
Can anyone help us and advise a place to call anything
I have been a target of countrywide, inabilities and practices of bad business practices,
We had a 30 year note with Chase and never late,
Now with Countrywide and was promised a refinance on a 15 years note to 30 year note with there new Modification loan program this started in Feb 2009, and we call every month several time to ask about it and was told everything was Ok and will hear something shortly.
That was in March, Lisa James
We heard something alright on April15 a notice to Foreclosure, and need to come up with 2 months payment and the Mays payment also
We call several times and talked to 6 people with no help just Phone tags
So we when to the Locale office and the Person we first talked to (Jason Guinther) was there we told him the story and the he call countrywide, after talking to there office for 30mins, he said they were never going to notified us that we don’t qualify for the program or even why,
The inability for them to notified us doesn’t constitute an hardship for us,
I thing they encourages there people in this tactics,
Can anyone help us and advise a place to call anything
I would like to know with regard to how much a doctor can charge a patient for a missed appointment are there any guidelines?
I missed an appointment for a Dr. Jeffrey Graf some two years ago. First he had his office manager come up to me while on a visit to say that he would take $50 instead of $100 if I paid him $50 on the spot. The answer I gave was no -- Dr. Graf knows I just became unemployed I don't walk around with $50. Also, the amount which I was advised I owed on that day was $110 dollars ten dollars of which was a co-pay which I stated I had already paid. I paied that co-pay again, as well as the co-pay for that date. Following this I received a bill in the mail with a nasty note that I better pay $110 (ten dollars overhcarge since I had paid that same co-pay twice -- once prior and on the last visit when they asked me for the $110 (ten of which I paid for a second time). After that warning to pay the $110 I got a threatening note saying that it would be doubled. Then I started getting bills for $210 and then the $210 was placed on my credit report as an upaid medical bill. The funny thing is the receptionsit had admitted that we had "rescheduled" the so called no-show for another date but that she had forgetten to make that notataton. I was planning on paying the $100 but when I saw the bill for $110 again, and when the doctor's office started sending nasty and threatening notes I was so disgusted I just ignored them and decided to stop using that doctor.
My son was recently diagnose with Autism Spectrum Disorder (and I recently lost my job), and I am SO grateful to have discovered Dollar Tree. We decided to implement a home-based ABA program (very costly- anyone who has a child in a similar program can testify to that) at the recommendation of his neurologist. I use some of their classroom decors (posters) to hang around our house, bought a couple of different toys every week (he loses interest easily & they make great "reinforcers" for his program), plastic containers to store all his little toys (by category- the same containers cost $2-3 each at Target), and just little things here and there. They have great craft ideas and various different things that I can use to keep his interest every week (can you imagine how much that would have cost me elsewhere?!). I'm still hesistant to try any food items, but like all their other items that we've tried. So to some it all up, I heart the DollarTree!
For making those points. I agree that you have to know those numbers well. I made sure that I got a plan with no out-of-pocket after the deductible (the insurance paid 100% of everything after my deductible was met.) My maximum out -of-pocket was the same as my deductible (no more than $5,000 for my husband and I a year.) For us, it is still a really good deal, but not everyone will have this type of plan available to them.
you will not get NICK or TNT on an antenna. you will only get local station like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and maybe a couple more or else depending on how far you live from the TV towers. go to TVFOOL.com and type in your address to see what is broadcasting in your area.
I've been on unemployment for a few weeks here and there primarily in the summer time when teaching opportunities are slim.
You don't have to get depressed on unemployment. You could look at it as a mini NEA grant. Some of my best creative work was accomplished in these short periods. Did I look for work? Yes. But I wouldn't have taken anything that paid less than I was getting in unemployment and if you are creative odds are, you won't have time to sit in front of the boob tube if you've got projects that need attention.
And who knows? Perhaps you'll sell one of the projects you were working on.
that I received, I've since given myself to other grads. At the time, I didn't even realize how great these were.
1) Father gave me a solid piece of travel on luggage that I still use to this day. Now, I'm a fan of giving a decent piece of luggage.
2) Grandmother bought a new laundry basket and loaded it up with laundry detergent, dryer sheets, new set of sheets for the dorms, cleaning supplies, napkins, bottled water, first aid kit, etc. At the very bottom was an enevelope with $500 bucks too. Go grandma! She knew it would take me awhile to get to the bottom of the laundry basket of supplies and by the time I got to the end, I really needed the $500.
3) The godmothers bought me a blender and a cooler full of drink mixes and concentrated juice mixes along with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila.
4) An aunt gave me a 'gift certificate' for whatever would be my most expensive book come my first fall semester at college.
All of these were much appreciated and I've done my best to follow in their footsteps in doing the same for other graduates.
Great post. My brother has encouraged me to write about eating weeds, but he has all the knowledge--I'm just the victim. At his table, I've eaten Japanese Knotweed (it is a lot like rhubarb), dandelion greens (no thanks), and dandelion wine (thumbs up).
My small kitchen garden has been begging me for years to make peace with Purslane, but I didn't know it until I read your post. It's not hard to remove the stuff, but it keeps coming back. This year, maybe I'll gnaw on it a bit.
Not much use at this point for you, I suppose, but other people might see this and be helped. There's another number you need to pay close attention to, besides the deductible: The out-of-pocket maximum.
Because of exactly the problem that you refer to, a good insurance policy will set a maximum amount that policy holders can be out-of-pocket. When what you pay (deductible plus co-pays plus your 10% or 20% of the fee) adds up to that, the insurance starts covering 100% of the charge.
Really, for determining whether the policy is really insurance, the out-of-pocket maximum is the most important factor. If that number is something you can afford, then your insurance will do its job--keep serious medical problem from bankrupting you. If it isn't, then you don't really have insurance at all (you've got some sort of pre-paid medical plan).
Does anyone know if every insurance company has this option? Specifically Mercury, whom I use? As a telecommuter I reduced my yearly mileage to 6,000 (from 12,000 when I was commuting), and it reduced my rate by just $50 dollars per 6 months. And since it labeled me as a business (which is correct), my rates went up by about as much anyway.
They never offered me any telecommuter rates.
I drive my car so seldomly now, and it's kept in a garage, but it's still a new car (2 years old), so I'm compelled to keep comprehensive and collision. Would you do anything else in my situation to reduce my rates?
Like many other health plans, high-deductible plans are best if you don't actually need them. NEED them, and it's a different story.
I thought I was covered; I pay $300 a month for our family plan (my employer pays the other $200/month). I put an additional $280 a month into the account, which should be enough to cover the $3500 deductible. At first, when we had no need for health care, it seemed just wonderful.
However, we not only have to pay the first $3500, we have to pay 10% of everything over that. Which seems great if you're talking about a $70 doctor visit, but not so good when you're talking about a $66,000 emergency surgery and week-long hospitalization.
Fact is, it was the only first year we liked it. The second year I had a baby (negotiated rate: $10,000) near the beginning of the year, so $3500 + $750 = $4250 bill without the money in the account to cover it. Maybe I should have avoided that cost and just had my baby at home? I guess that's what the designers of the plan wanted, but I didn't really want to take that risk.
Then there's the first year of well baby visits, which with all the vaccinations can run $1000 in a single visit. By the time we paid off our medical debts, baby #2 put us back in it. And before we could get that paid off, my husband turned up with a life-threatening medical condition that people in their thirties are not supposed to get.
Thank God for payment plans, I guess. We've emptied our account, which I already put the maximum into, and still have a $5000 debt. Doesn't really seem worth the $300 a month I paid for the insurance.
Think twice; you never know when illness might strike. Don't buy a plan assuming you are going to be healthy, ESPECIALLY if you want to have a baby.
Yo Chingy Chang. You guys kill tigers and eat their dicks you even pay $10,000 just to eat a tiger cock. I don't think you have any liberty in talking about somthing like milk when the top 10 dirtiest cities are all Chinese cities.
MO
Please Join the anti China-Free Tibet and Taiwan Movement. Also Please Join the peaceful Falun Gong Movement.
Thank You for your time. And as the guy above said the first amendment protects my speech.
Yeah so I mean you really can't say all these comments because.....well you never visited a Horizon farm......Am i right? Personally I think Horizon milk tastes better than all other milk because it tastes like a milkshake. So to tell you the truth I really don't care what all your damn PETA/Greenpeace propaganda says cuz you guys are total nuts. I only care that the cows don't fart too much and contribute to all the CO2 emissions because I live on an expensive waterfront property and recently the water level has been noticeably rising a lot more than usual so its got me really pump up with the environmental movement so that I can save my house from going under water. This is a tribute to the best tasting milk on the planet. Go Horizon! You Rock!
My name is Rock Lee Taijutsu Master and I approve this message
PS dude from the way you write its almost as if you graduated from like a state university. You should have gone to a liberal Arts college like me. I went to Bowdoin and got a great liberal Arts education. Go Polar Bears!
And remember man I respect your comments so please respect mine. 1st amendment protects my freedom of speech. Thank you.
I thought of building my own machine—it's something I've talked of doing for a really long time. But I just didn't have the energy or patience for it, especially after I wasted so much time trying to fix my old laptop. It was a disaster.
At some point when we received auto insurance quotes, we were told that our rates would be cheaper if we were using the vehicle regularly, rather than leaving it sitting in our neighborhood. I'm going to double check with my agent.
Good post! I do have one bone to pick with you, though... When you say "Eat meals together. Again, this is especially true for families," I assume you mean that this is especially true for couples with children, as you said in the previous step. The implication, then, is that married couples without children are NOT families. This is a common implication, but still erroneous and hurtful. I'd be appreciative if you'd change the wording to reflect this. Thanks.
I agree everybody should aim to be minimally self-sufficient for a variety of bad things that could happen (economic meltdown, energy collapse, job loss, natural disaster, asteroid hitting the Earth, etc.). If you treat minimal self-sufficiency like a 401(k) and take a few steps every month to build up your capability, it's a manageable task (OK ... maybe not for asteroid hitting the earth ... but if you're prepared for everything else perhaps you'll survive long enough to figure out a way to avoid extinction...)
I volunteer for my county disaster response team and people -should- be scared about how ill prepared and dependent we are upon other nations for things we need to survive. Walmart's "just in time" supply chain (and governments reliance on "privatization" for so many of these supplies) may be good for pinching pennies, but it is a disaster waiting to happen from an emergency preparedness standpoint.
H5N1 "bird flu" ... even if the CDC is able to come up with a vaccine, 100% of our rubber gloves, face masks, and syringes are made in China and Tamiflu is made in Europe. The Europeans have already said we're last in line to get their antiviral drugs and do you honestly think China is going to keep shipping syringes to vaccinate our people if millions of their own people are dying?
War ... sure we have nukes and "smart bombs," but nearly all of our weapons-grade plutonium comes from the former Soviet Union, most of our bullets (and nearly all of the materials to make new bullets) are made in other countries, and 100% of certain rare minerals we need to make those Smart Bombs are mined in China. We've burned through our reserves in Iraq and Afghanistan and are having trouble keeping up with new demand, much less build a stockpile. We can't go to war without permission from China because they've got our supply chain by the short hairs.
Look at what happened after hurricane Katrina? My daughter served her army AIT in Gulfport, Mississippi and she said they -still- haven't rebuilt much. Municipals buildings have been rebuilt, but there are few neighborhoods. Church groups invite soldiers off the base and feed them in the hopes they'll help because FEMA didn't. These people weren't asking for charity, just to pay a fair wage because the FEMA-certified private contractors ripped off their money and didn't do the work. Very few people know how to build a house these days. My daughter attended several church/soldier "house raisings" where the carpentry/masonry specialists acted as construction supervisors and taught parishioners what to do.
People should be especially terrified about what happens when we start running out of oil, which will be a lot sooner than most people think. The experts are warning we're way past peak oil and should plan for $9/gallon gasoline within the next decade. Although our population and energy usage have risen dramatically since the 1970's oil crisis, the strategic national oil reserves have not kept up. Peak oil collapse is going to make the 1970's look like a picnic.
There are -no- more caves filled with USDA grain, canned pork and cheese to tide over the American people if disaster strikes. And there is -no- more gold in Fort Knox to buy things from other countries if our currency collapses. Do people honestly think pro-big-agribusiness Congress is going to stop Monsanto's grain barges from shipping our food supply off to other countries for a hefty profit if Americans are starving?
I agree with the poster who says it doesn't make sense to plan to do everything from scratch, but it -DOES- make a lot of sense to at keep potential calamities in mind and make sure you have the capability, knowledge, social networking, food and supplies on hand for a broad variety of disasters (both natural and man-made). Mormons may seem a bit "different" to the rest of us, but I think they have the right idea when they urge parishioners to keep a one-year supply of all food and supplies they need on-hand (including money in the bank) and host free classes to teach critical life skills ranging from mending your clothing to gardening to minor home repair to maintaining your car.
I've put the Seymour book Philip recommended on the waitlist through interlibrary loan and am looking forward to reading it. I'm sure we've forgotten -something- on our at-least-know-how-its-done sensible self-reliance list.
@19thandfolsom: You raise a fabulous point about giving things away, and seeing the pleasure your friends and family get from things that are new to them and well-loved for you.
I have things that have been given to me in this manner, and every time I use them I think of those people.
And conversely, to know that some of your former belongings are being enjoyed by somebody you know and love is even better.
Thanks for sharing!
Just to show that you can be successful doing anything, even though when they are simple common things that an average person can do!
To whom can help
I have been a target of countrywide, inabilities and practices of bad business practices,
We had a 30 year note with Chase and never late,
Now with Countrywide and was promised a refinance on a 15 years note to 30 year note with there new Modification loan program this started in Feb 2009, and we call every month several time to ask about it and was told everything was Ok and will hear something shortly.
That was in March, Lisa James
We heard something alright on April15 a notice to Foreclosure, and need to come up with 2 months payment and the Mays payment also
We call several times and talked to 6 people with no help just Phone tags
So we when to the Locale office and the Person we first talked to (Jason Guinther) was there we told him the story and the he call countrywide, after talking to there office for 30mins, he said they were never going to notified us that we don’t qualify for the program or even why,
The inability for them to notified us doesn’t constitute an hardship for us,
I thing they encourages there people in this tactics,
Can anyone help us and advise a place to call anything
Vwf4506@insightbb.com
I only have till May the 8 according to the letter
Thanks very much in this very important matter
To whom can help
I have been a target of countrywide, inabilities and practices of bad business practices,
We had a 30 year note with Chase and never late,
Now with Countrywide and was promised a refinance on a 15 years note to 30 year note with there new Modification loan program this started in Feb 2009, and we call every month several time to ask about it and was told everything was Ok and will hear something shortly.
That was in March, Lisa James
We heard something alright on April15 a notice to Foreclosure, and need to come up with 2 months payment and the Mays payment also
We call several times and talked to 6 people with no help just Phone tags
So we when to the Locale office and the Person we first talked to (Jason Guinther) was there we told him the story and the he call countrywide, after talking to there office for 30mins, he said they were never going to notified us that we don’t qualify for the program or even why,
The inability for them to notified us doesn’t constitute an hardship for us,
I thing they encourages there people in this tactics,
Can anyone help us and advise a place to call anything
Vwf4506@insightbb.com
I only have till May the 8 according to the letter
Thanks very much in this very important matter
That's great to know that such a program can be implemented affordably. I'm sure others will benefit from your advice.
What an amazing sounding job. What's the name of the company that hired you to do this?
Thanks,
James
I would like to know with regard to how much a doctor can charge a patient for a missed appointment are there any guidelines?
I missed an appointment for a Dr. Jeffrey Graf some two years ago. First he had his office manager come up to me while on a visit to say that he would take $50 instead of $100 if I paid him $50 on the spot. The answer I gave was no -- Dr. Graf knows I just became unemployed I don't walk around with $50. Also, the amount which I was advised I owed on that day was $110 dollars ten dollars of which was a co-pay which I stated I had already paid. I paied that co-pay again, as well as the co-pay for that date. Following this I received a bill in the mail with a nasty note that I better pay $110 (ten dollars overhcarge since I had paid that same co-pay twice -- once prior and on the last visit when they asked me for the $110 (ten of which I paid for a second time). After that warning to pay the $110 I got a threatening note saying that it would be doubled. Then I started getting bills for $210 and then the $210 was placed on my credit report as an upaid medical bill. The funny thing is the receptionsit had admitted that we had "rescheduled" the so called no-show for another date but that she had forgetten to make that notataton. I was planning on paying the $100 but when I saw the bill for $110 again, and when the doctor's office started sending nasty and threatening notes I was so disgusted I just ignored them and decided to stop using that doctor.
My son was recently diagnose with Autism Spectrum Disorder (and I recently lost my job), and I am SO grateful to have discovered Dollar Tree. We decided to implement a home-based ABA program (very costly- anyone who has a child in a similar program can testify to that) at the recommendation of his neurologist. I use some of their classroom decors (posters) to hang around our house, bought a couple of different toys every week (he loses interest easily & they make great "reinforcers" for his program), plastic containers to store all his little toys (by category- the same containers cost $2-3 each at Target), and just little things here and there. They have great craft ideas and various different things that I can use to keep his interest every week (can you imagine how much that would have cost me elsewhere?!). I'm still hesistant to try any food items, but like all their other items that we've tried. So to some it all up, I heart the DollarTree!
For making those points. I agree that you have to know those numbers well. I made sure that I got a plan with no out-of-pocket after the deductible (the insurance paid 100% of everything after my deductible was met.) My maximum out -of-pocket was the same as my deductible (no more than $5,000 for my husband and I a year.) For us, it is still a really good deal, but not everyone will have this type of plan available to them.
Linsey Knerl
you will not get NICK or TNT on an antenna. you will only get local station like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS and maybe a couple more or else depending on how far you live from the TV towers. go to TVFOOL.com and type in your address to see what is broadcasting in your area.
I like giving "oh the Places You will Go" by DR. Suess to graduates. I write something encouraging in the front as well.
It's a great story for starting a new phase!!
I've been on unemployment for a few weeks here and there primarily in the summer time when teaching opportunities are slim.
You don't have to get depressed on unemployment. You could look at it as a mini NEA grant. Some of my best creative work was accomplished in these short periods. Did I look for work? Yes. But I wouldn't have taken anything that paid less than I was getting in unemployment and if you are creative odds are, you won't have time to sit in front of the boob tube if you've got projects that need attention.
And who knows? Perhaps you'll sell one of the projects you were working on.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
that I received, I've since given myself to other grads. At the time, I didn't even realize how great these were.
1) Father gave me a solid piece of travel on luggage that I still use to this day. Now, I'm a fan of giving a decent piece of luggage.
2) Grandmother bought a new laundry basket and loaded it up with laundry detergent, dryer sheets, new set of sheets for the dorms, cleaning supplies, napkins, bottled water, first aid kit, etc. At the very bottom was an enevelope with $500 bucks too. Go grandma! She knew it would take me awhile to get to the bottom of the laundry basket of supplies and by the time I got to the end, I really needed the $500.
3) The godmothers bought me a blender and a cooler full of drink mixes and concentrated juice mixes along with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila.
4) An aunt gave me a 'gift certificate' for whatever would be my most expensive book come my first fall semester at college.
All of these were much appreciated and I've done my best to follow in their footsteps in doing the same for other graduates.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Great post. My brother has encouraged me to write about eating weeds, but he has all the knowledge--I'm just the victim. At his table, I've eaten Japanese Knotweed (it is a lot like rhubarb), dandelion greens (no thanks), and dandelion wine (thumbs up).
My small kitchen garden has been begging me for years to make peace with Purslane, but I didn't know it until I read your post. It's not hard to remove the stuff, but it keeps coming back. This year, maybe I'll gnaw on it a bit.
Thanks for the info!
@ Guest:
Not much use at this point for you, I suppose, but other people might see this and be helped. There's another number you need to pay close attention to, besides the deductible: The out-of-pocket maximum.
Because of exactly the problem that you refer to, a good insurance policy will set a maximum amount that policy holders can be out-of-pocket. When what you pay (deductible plus co-pays plus your 10% or 20% of the fee) adds up to that, the insurance starts covering 100% of the charge.
I wrote about this a while back in Health Insurance: Two other numbers to look at.
Really, for determining whether the policy is really insurance, the out-of-pocket maximum is the most important factor. If that number is something you can afford, then your insurance will do its job--keep serious medical problem from bankrupting you. If it isn't, then you don't really have insurance at all (you've got some sort of pre-paid medical plan).
Does anyone know if every insurance company has this option? Specifically Mercury, whom I use? As a telecommuter I reduced my yearly mileage to 6,000 (from 12,000 when I was commuting), and it reduced my rate by just $50 dollars per 6 months. And since it labeled me as a business (which is correct), my rates went up by about as much anyway.
They never offered me any telecommuter rates.
I drive my car so seldomly now, and it's kept in a garage, but it's still a new car (2 years old), so I'm compelled to keep comprehensive and collision. Would you do anything else in my situation to reduce my rates?
Like many other health plans, high-deductible plans are best if you don't actually need them. NEED them, and it's a different story.
I thought I was covered; I pay $300 a month for our family plan (my employer pays the other $200/month). I put an additional $280 a month into the account, which should be enough to cover the $3500 deductible. At first, when we had no need for health care, it seemed just wonderful.
However, we not only have to pay the first $3500, we have to pay 10% of everything over that. Which seems great if you're talking about a $70 doctor visit, but not so good when you're talking about a $66,000 emergency surgery and week-long hospitalization.
Fact is, it was the only first year we liked it. The second year I had a baby (negotiated rate: $10,000) near the beginning of the year, so $3500 + $750 = $4250 bill without the money in the account to cover it. Maybe I should have avoided that cost and just had my baby at home? I guess that's what the designers of the plan wanted, but I didn't really want to take that risk.
Then there's the first year of well baby visits, which with all the vaccinations can run $1000 in a single visit. By the time we paid off our medical debts, baby #2 put us back in it. And before we could get that paid off, my husband turned up with a life-threatening medical condition that people in their thirties are not supposed to get.
Thank God for payment plans, I guess. We've emptied our account, which I already put the maximum into, and still have a $5000 debt. Doesn't really seem worth the $300 a month I paid for the insurance.
Think twice; you never know when illness might strike. Don't buy a plan assuming you are going to be healthy, ESPECIALLY if you want to have a baby.
who in the heck would make these silly things.!!??!!??? they're NASTY, GROSS, UGLY, AND SHOULD DIE
Yo Chingy Chang. You guys kill tigers and eat their dicks you even pay $10,000 just to eat a tiger cock. I don't think you have any liberty in talking about somthing like milk when the top 10 dirtiest cities are all Chinese cities.
MO
Please Join the anti China-Free Tibet and Taiwan Movement. Also Please Join the peaceful Falun Gong Movement.
Thank You for your time. And as the guy above said the first amendment protects my speech.
Yeah so I mean you really can't say all these comments because.....well you never visited a Horizon farm......Am i right? Personally I think Horizon milk tastes better than all other milk because it tastes like a milkshake. So to tell you the truth I really don't care what all your damn PETA/Greenpeace propaganda says cuz you guys are total nuts. I only care that the cows don't fart too much and contribute to all the CO2 emissions because I live on an expensive waterfront property and recently the water level has been noticeably rising a lot more than usual so its got me really pump up with the environmental movement so that I can save my house from going under water. This is a tribute to the best tasting milk on the planet. Go Horizon! You Rock!
My name is Rock Lee Taijutsu Master and I approve this message
PS dude from the way you write its almost as if you graduated from like a state university. You should have gone to a liberal Arts college like me. I went to Bowdoin and got a great liberal Arts education. Go Polar Bears!
And remember man I respect your comments so please respect mine. 1st amendment protects my freedom of speech. Thank you.
Steve,
Good point about the difference between cash flow / balance sheet perspectives. I think I'll add a post to my blog about that.
- Andrew
I thought of building my own machine—it's something I've talked of doing for a really long time. But I just didn't have the energy or patience for it, especially after I wasted so much time trying to fix my old laptop. It was a disaster.
So I'm happy I just bought a finished system!
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