Hemorhaging Jobs

DILYSI Dave wrote:

ddavidv wrote: Veterinarians, unlike doctors, really have to keep their fees low to keep customers.

[Flounder Alert] And this is what healthcare for people could be like if we got the government and insurance companies out of it and people were actually compelled to shop on price. [/Flounder Alert]

I refuse to shop for health care based on price. I'm glad healthy people have that option.. but for us with chronic conditions such as asthma.. shopping on price would get me very sick..

Ignorant-I have asthma-and have paid out of pocket for many many years. Even the expensive inhalers are waaay cheaper than health insurance.

MrJoshua wrote: Ignorant-I have asthma-and have paid out of pocket for many many years. Even the expensive inhalers are waaay cheaper than health insurance.

I go to a holistic guy now who helped me through diet to control my asthma and allergies in a a very impressive way. He's not cheap, but I couldn't put a value on the freedom and health he has restored to my life. Been 8 Months since my last prednisone and I use my inhaler maybe 1 time a month.

That's pretty cool!

MrJoshua wrote: Ignorant-I have asthma-and have paid out of pocket for many many years. Even the expensive inhalers are waaay cheaper than health insurance.

You get out of it what you put into it....

Which is a horrible thing to say, but unfortunately, the health insurance companies really aren't to fault here. Yes.... for individual policies the rates are outrageous. But that's through aggressive negotiations with the Group insurance policies which are typically administrative services only, where most insurance companies make next to no money on.

Then you have the education for doctors costing more, more expensive equipment, and the blatant price gouging of over 90% of today's health care professionals, and there's your problem.

PM me what state you live in, and i'll send you a phone number to call for quotes.... the company i work for isn't HORRIBLY expensive, and you may be surprised the amount.

MrJoshua wrote: That's pretty cool!

thanks...

What I meant to say above was I won't shop for medical care SOLELY on price.

Since I cant help but stay off track.-You can't add a multi gazillion dollar a year industry on both the patient and doctor side of health care and claim it saves everyone money, BTW group rates are akin to group rape for the healthy person.

Woody wrote: EMT's get about $15 an hour around here with an ambulance company.

Eesh--I make that as a part-time bicycle mechanic. Granted, my hours have been cut (yay retail slump) but still--not much money for that much training (as an EMT, that is).

Hell, a lot of med-tech positions are hurting right now. Ditto for nursing.

My wife keeps telling me "you need to go back to school" but I'm like "well, if I spend another $25k on school and can't get a job when I come out, there's gonna be a revolution".

MrJoshua wrote: BTW group rates are akin to group rape for the healthy person.

I concur.

You might want to look at a HSA plan.. Where you pay a small fee to get access to the "discount" rates the insurance company and then contribute money to a "debit card account" where you can use it as you please. It also gives you a max out of pocket for major medical issues. Work started offering it a bit ago and it works wonders for healthy folks.

gamby wrote:

Woody wrote: EMT's get about $15 an hour around here with an ambulance company.

I wasn't saying that it was great, I was just telling him what they make. And EMT training is not a huge deal: $300 course fee, two nights a week for four months.