$$$Health Care$$$

Well, here it is.  Open enrollment time for health insurance at my job.  Fortunately this year we didn't have to change insurance companies again due to premiums being raised so high.  However, they really seemed to be pushing the HSA (Heath Savings Account) plan this year.  Last year I had looked it over & went for the regular plan even though it cost more.  This year I decided to revisit it since they were pushing for the HSA so hard.  Wow!  What an eye opener.  I cannot believe how much my family's health insurance costs per year compared to what we get out of it.  No wonder these health insurance companies are making such profits.  I would have to say now that the only time in my life I've ever gotten my money's worth was the year I had the plumbing removed.  That year was a costly year for me medically, but the insurance picked up most of the cost.  Of course there were three of us in the office that year with similar surgeries so we had to change companies the next enrollment time because they were going to jack up our rates something like 60%.  I don't think I faired as well the year I had breast cancer.  We had higher out of pocket maximums and ended up paying quite a bit.  Thankfully, I had resources to borrow from to pay these bills, but I can see how one could easily go bankrupt.
Anyway, the HSA plan would save my employer some money, but it sure wouldn't help me any.  It's a great program for a single healthy person, or perhaps even a healthy family.  But for what the deductables are and how it covers prescriptions, it would cost me way too much in the long run.  Sure my employer is very generously putting over half the deductable into the HSA but only by splitting it up monthly over the year.  That doesn't help me pay for my high price prescription now.  I understand why they do it this way and I am in no way criticizing my employer.  My frustration lays with the fact that we have to go through this at all.
Why can't we have single payer universal heath insurance like the rest of the world?  Why do we have to bow down to these greedy insurance companies? 
It's already been proven that the reason it's cheaper to have work done in other countries is because the companies don't have the big health insurance costs.  It could still be administered by the health insurance companies, they just wouldn't be able to buy big yachts and private jets. 
The Republicans and Corporate interests say we don't need regulation...  Hmmm, let's compare heavily regulated China's mining accident to the mining accident we had here in West Virginia.  Which one had a better out come?  China!  That's not to say we have to go clear over to Communism, but something has got to be done about the way corporations are running this country. 
Too bad the non health care corporations don't realize how much they would save not having to pay for insurance.  Of course the bigger corporations probably don't pay as much as my employer per employee because they are part of a bigger pool.  Oh yeah, wasn't that what Obama was working toward?  A pool for smaller companies?  If these Tea Partiers would just listen to him instead of hating for the sake of hating, they just might agree too.
Why can't we all just get along???

The Mining Disaster

I was coming back from lunch today and I hear on the Ed Shultz Show on the radio that the CEO of Massey made $19.7 million in 2008.  I was so disgusted I had to wait about 30 min. before I could eat the sandwich I had just bought.  I have family in West Virginia.  I have family that have died from Black Lung.  The only reason I don't live in West Virginia is because my dad left there as a teen to get away from the coal mines.  I feel for these people as if they are all my family.  Of course, as a child of God, they are all my family.  It just makes me sick to hear the stories about all the safety violations and the greed this company has. 
And people would rather put their lives in the hands of the private sector instead of the government?  This is what happens when you let corporations do what they want. 
A friend said to me today that mining is a dangerous thing.  Well, yes it is.  My grandfather lost his sight in a mining accident.  It doesn't have to kill 25 people in one big explosion though.  I heard yesterday that 3 people a day die from black lung.  I saw a documentary where the miners don't wear the masks they are given.  I forget why, but I remember thinking it was a fixable problem. 
Sure it would be easy to say "Let's quit mining coal."  Of course we can't just quit, too much of our country is run by coal.  But, why can't we start finding other cleaner, safer forms of energy?  What happened to the good ol' American inovation?  All the progress and advances made in the early 20th century?  Why can't we do the same now?  Why do we have to keep things the same?  I'll tell you why.  It's because of greed.  All these people living high on the hog on the backs of the rest of us.  These CEO's and others high up in corporations making millions & millions of dollars at the expense of everyone else.  OK, don't get me wrong.  I'm all for going out for the almighty dollar and making a profit, but holy cow!  How many millions do you need?  At least Bill & Melinda Gates and some others are helping people with their millions.  How much of that is to save on paying taxes, I shudder to think.  And yes, I believe in tax deductions, but when I'm paying 25% and some of these rich people aren't paying anything...  that's just wrong.  We should all be paying our fair share.  The country wouldn't have such a deficit if everyone paid their taxes.  And if the government wouldn't be so wasteful with what they do have.
I have gone on quite a rampage here.  I am so fed up with greed & hypocracy and the stupid people that think this is all ok.  Selfish greedy hypocrites.  They all make me sick.

If only Rush Limbaugh would just go away...

Please Rush, just go home.  Now you have twisted the good news about jobs into Marxism??  Picking apart the words President Obama used?  What is with you people?  We are not even close to being a Socialist country!  Go look it up.  The bold face lies and propaganda the Right is putting out is getting more ridiiculous every day. 
First it's "Drill Baby Drill", then when Mr. Obama wants to approve some off shore drilling ( which I think sucks by the way) now Boehner says it's not enough.  We should ruin all our coastlines.
The economy starts to make a comeback but the GOP is still complaining about the job losses.  Never mind that the losses were miniscule compared to the losses under the previous administration.  Now we have job growth and it's Marxist?  WTF?
And now the "Family Values" party has been caught spending money at an adult sex club.  Finally, some of the "Christian" conservatives are backing away.  What about backing away when Sanford, Ensign, and the others were cheating on their wives?  Or maybe that's ok since they were doing it in a "church".  By that I mean the C Street House. 
I could just go on and on, but I won't.  What I will say is that some day people will wake up and think for them selves and do a little research and see what lies they have been fed.  And it will be all over for these lunatics.  I say, let's vote them all out & vote for more Alan Grayson's & Anthony Weiner's & Bernie Sanders.  Boy, if only we had a Congress full of people with that kind of character.  Now that would be a wonderful world.
I happened to catch the tail end of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the other night.  I really think that should be required watching right now in the schools and maybe have every station show it at least once a week.  Of course Fox wouldn't show it, it might give their viewers something to think about.  On the other hand a lot of their viewers would probably root for the sleazy guys.  I just hope we will be able to have a happy ending like they did.  I shudder to think what will happen if the bad guys win this one.