Uninsured?
 

Undated) -- According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, California has the fifth-highest percentage of people without health insurance. The Census Bureau says 18-point-five-percent of Californians are uninsured, compared to a national figure of just under 16-percent. In Texas, almost one-fourth the population does not have health coverage. Other states with higher percentages of uninsured than California are New Mexico, Florida and Arizona. California's estimated six-point-six-million people without insurance are the most of any state. That's also more than the entire population of 38 states.

Aren't these the states with the most illegals?

Does this guy have insurance?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1188417188.jpg

I think it's about 45 million Americans, not only Caulifoarnia. Not good.

Once read that 50% of drivers pulled over in the (outer?)mission district of San Francisco were uninsured/unregistered for their cars. Actually witnessed three hit and runs and was in a fourth.

Mule's post is idiotic.

Go do the research. The 45 million without health insurance is a large swath of lower-income American citizens. Try pricing an individual medical insurance policy, and then figure out how you could pay for it on $30K/yr income.

You can cut that 45 million down by the number of illegals and their kids in the US. Then I might start to care about the remainder. And there are plenty of Americans who can, but choose not to, buy health insurance. Take them out of the mix and I get a little more sympathetic. Oh, then we have the uninsured who live where there are free clinics and those who qualify for Medicaid. The actual number of those who are really screwed is a small fraction of 45 million.

In California you simply go to a hospital emergency room and grab a chair. It may be a long wait at times, but no one is denied medical attention. Insurance isn't an issue.

If you have a real job, not a cash job, making 30k a year, you have insurance.
Your company is paying for insurance.

Kathryn's 3+week stay in ICU was paid through BC/BS. The final bill total was in excess of $230,000. Without insurance, such an event would bankrupt the average law abiding hard working Joe Sixpack.

How come the medical and legal professions can carge for unsuccessful outcomes? Would you pay your mechanic if the engine was destroyed under his care?

Actually, if the expenses were the result of a Doctor's error, shouldn't the Doctor's insurance pay for the ensuing expenses rather than the subscribers to the medical insurance carrier?

Not correct.

Read.
http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml

1/3 of employers do not offer health insurance.
Small employers in particular often do not offer insurance.

????????????

OK, I am sure there are a lot of employers on here, how many of you pay your people 30k a year and don't offer any health insurance?

When I was 18 full time College student, working full time at the local Schwinn shop (started at MW, but didn't take long to move up with good work ethic) and they offered insurance, sure I had to pay out of my pay-check, which I did. Poeple choose to have big TVs & 24" wheels over health insurance. BTW, if you take the time to shop around, you can find good & affordable insurance for less than some spend on smokes each month.

My office policy as well, I have an employee who gets almost as much in health benefits as salary, medical and dental, on me.

$230K for 3 weeks in ICU is cheap. If doctors were not paid for unsuccessful outcomes, no one would take difficult cases. It is a business also. Things are bad enough with the tort abuses that take place in the medical malpractice arena, can you imagine how many more unecessary tests would be done if the doctor was on the hook for expenses if he missed anything.

Tobra: My comments are not directed toward those who tired to save her life AFTER the error made by the Doctor performing the colonoscopy. My question was why subscribers should pay for the costs that resulted from a medical error and whether the Doctor's insurance should have paid these prices. I fully understand that difficult cases can result in a negative outcome. The point is when a DOctor, through neglect or indifference, causes the initial event that leads to an expensive stay in hospital. This specific Doctor had his license revoked in California and has two censure letters from AZ; "Failure to perform an adequate examination and failure to diagnose colon cancer" and "Continuing to prescribe a prescription drug without monitoring the patient for potential side effects".

I do not ask questions re: a professional's competencew without a considerable amount of research.

Juan, I see you've changed the spelling :)

I think doctors or hospitals should cover the costs associated with their mistakes. But I wouldn't compare it to a mechanic messing up a job on a car. We are all guaranteed to die. Not all parts on cars are guaranteed to fail and no car is expected to run anything close to our avg. life expectancy.

I don't have health insurance. I'm in college but i started college late so because of both my age now and marital status i'm not covered under my dad's family plan. I could pay to be under the college's health insurance plan but then my financial aid would take a big hit leaving me with very little to survive on for 5 months at a time. I could get a job while being a full time engineering student, but then my grades will drop as well as increasing my stress levels which in turn bring back my anxiety issues. I could start taking prozac again to deal with the panic/anxiety from working and school but then i might deal with the consequences of long term side effects later in life. And so the cycle continues.........