12 hours ago
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Broken Health Care
We just finished filling out our tax forms. In so doing, we looked at all the money we spent on health care during the last year. For the vast majority of the year, we were completely uninsured. During the year, Ben had an ER visit, and I was pregnant. I payed something toward my total bill with every OB visit until I had applied for Medicaid. We originally hoped we could pay for the baby ourselves, but the ER visit, the new van, and the new roof really zapped our savings. Anyway, we were horrified and frustrated as we tallied up nearly $6,000 in medical bills! Even more amazing, though, was when we started discussing whether Ben and I should get insurance through his work this year. Last year the premiums for a couple were about $330. Hmmm, $330 times 12 months equals $3,960! That wouldn't include co-pays or other out-of-pocket expenses. For the whole family to be covered costs in the neighborhood of $600. That math comes to $7,200!!! So guess what? We actually SAVED money by not having health insurance.
I was actually quite grateful for this epiphany. I have felt bad and guilty about not having health insurance. It hasn't stopped me from getting my kids to the doctor for their well visits and shots, and we have all received the care we need. In fact, we have received substantial discounts because we have tried to pay up-front as much as possible. For my ultrasound, I was charged less than 50% what they would have charged insurance, and then they even gave me a partial refund after the fact.
Obamacare isn't the answer to this mess. There is a fantastic article I read a few months ago. I may have referenced it here, but if you haven't read it yet, you should: How American Health Care Killed My Father by David Goldhill.
There are several points of his that I want to bring up, however. One of the major problems that the author, David Goldhill, mentions is the "invisible" costs. Those who have insurance spend way more money on health care than those without. The difference is that it's not their money!
Also, Goldhill gives an example of the exorbitant costs that we actually pay through premiums and lost paycheck money due to the employer's share of the healthcare premiums.
Government funded healthcare isn't the answer, either. Other government-paid health care systems have grown at a similar rate to our own. Besides, who pays the government? US! It's still not free--the cost is just hidden from us.
As I re-read it, I find tons that I would love to quote. I can't quote it all, but I do have to share this one: "We all believe we need comprehensive health insurance because the cost of care—even routine care—appears too high to bear on our own. But the use of insurance to fund virtually all care is itself a major cause of health care’s high expense."
If you want to read his wonderful solution, jump to page 6.
I was actually quite grateful for this epiphany. I have felt bad and guilty about not having health insurance. It hasn't stopped me from getting my kids to the doctor for their well visits and shots, and we have all received the care we need. In fact, we have received substantial discounts because we have tried to pay up-front as much as possible. For my ultrasound, I was charged less than 50% what they would have charged insurance, and then they even gave me a partial refund after the fact.
Obamacare isn't the answer to this mess. There is a fantastic article I read a few months ago. I may have referenced it here, but if you haven't read it yet, you should: How American Health Care Killed My Father by David Goldhill.
There are several points of his that I want to bring up, however. One of the major problems that the author, David Goldhill, mentions is the "invisible" costs. Those who have insurance spend way more money on health care than those without. The difference is that it's not their money!
Also, Goldhill gives an example of the exorbitant costs that we actually pay through premiums and lost paycheck money due to the employer's share of the healthcare premiums.
Government funded healthcare isn't the answer, either. Other government-paid health care systems have grown at a similar rate to our own. Besides, who pays the government? US! It's still not free--the cost is just hidden from us.
As I re-read it, I find tons that I would love to quote. I can't quote it all, but I do have to share this one: "We all believe we need comprehensive health insurance because the cost of care—even routine care—appears too high to bear on our own. But the use of insurance to fund virtually all care is itself a major cause of health care’s high expense."
If you want to read his wonderful solution, jump to page 6.
So what did we do with Ben's enrollment at work? We signed the waiver and said we wouldn't pay insurance premiums. We just hope that nothing really major goes wrong before we can find room in our budget to pay for medical savings and a catastrophic plan.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Abel 2 months
Abel had his 2 month appointment on January 20th, but it has taken me a while to post it!Weight: 11 lbs, 12 oz.; 50th percentile
Height: 23 1/2 inches; 75th percentile
Head: 39 cm; 25th percentile
He is growing and developing so well! He loves to smile and coo. Now if I can just get him to sleep through the night.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Quotable Quotes XXVI
Buster just came and found me playing a computer game.
"Oh, man! Oh, jeez!" he said.
Is that what he hears? I guess he must. Funny the window on yourself you get when children mimic your behavior.
"Oh, man! Oh, jeez!" he said.
Is that what he hears? I guess he must. Funny the window on yourself you get when children mimic your behavior.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Picky Eating
In this house, there are several picky eaters. I don't understand the whole picky eating thing. Sure, as a kid, I didn't like oatmeal or onions and I preferred my spaghetti sauce on the side so it didn't chap my chin. Vegetables weren't my favorite, but they were non-negotiable. We got to take turns picking the vegetable of the day. My mom was a notorious picky eater herself, regaling us with stories of sitting in the dining room for hours in front of mushroom soup. She worked with us pretty well. Aside from my tastes above, I was generally not a picky eater. To this day, new food is an adventure to me. I'll try just about anything.
My friend says that at her house, they just don't allow picky eaters, and all her kids eat everything. So have I enabled pickiness by trying to be nice? I don't know. At any rate, I never, ever wanted to create a battleground in the dining room. Power struggles over food know no bounds. In high school, my best friend was incredibly skinny. I ate dinner at his house a lot, and his mother was always pestering him to eat more. I'm sure it was subconscious at that point, but he didn't eat much. If we went out, he would sometimes eat 3 hamburgers. His mother's way of expressing concern was actually counterproductive.
So here I am, mother of 4 table-food eating children. We have never asked that our kids eat all of something they don't like. Our rules have been that they need to try everything before they could have seconds of anything. If you don't like anything, you can always have a piece of bread. Kandy was the type of toddler to whom I could say: "If you eat 3 more peas, you can have..." It worked like a charm. Missy had to get a little older before that kind of bargaining worked. Sunny, on the other hand, is of the personality type that nothing she doesn't want to do is worth the reward, and anything she really wants to do is worth the punishment. You know the type, I'm sure. So telling her to eat one more pea before she can have more rice just doesn't work. She'll get down from the table. Even her incredible sweet tooth would rather forgo dessert than succumb to tasting a bite of chicken. Despite our relatively simple (and nutritionally lax) rules, dinner had become a battleground.
About a month ago, we decided that she really isn't eating enough. In concern for her caloric needs, we agreed that we would completely drop the rules with her for a while to see what would happen. We have still been serving a little bit of everything to Sunny and gently reminding her that it is there with no specific orders or requests to eat it. If she wants seconds on rice, noodles, or bread, she can have them. Dinner time has become less stressful for all of us. And guess what? Last night we had sweet and sour meatballs. I cut her meatball in little pieces, and she actually ate one bite without being asked!!! It is a tiny victory, but it is a start in the right direction. There is hope that maybe if we do completely remove the battle, she will start to try everything. And part of it is age. Kandy is far less picky at nearly-nine than she was as a preschooler. By removing the battle and drama, perhaps she will more quickly outgrow it.
My friend says that at her house, they just don't allow picky eaters, and all her kids eat everything. So have I enabled pickiness by trying to be nice? I don't know. At any rate, I never, ever wanted to create a battleground in the dining room. Power struggles over food know no bounds. In high school, my best friend was incredibly skinny. I ate dinner at his house a lot, and his mother was always pestering him to eat more. I'm sure it was subconscious at that point, but he didn't eat much. If we went out, he would sometimes eat 3 hamburgers. His mother's way of expressing concern was actually counterproductive.
So here I am, mother of 4 table-food eating children. We have never asked that our kids eat all of something they don't like. Our rules have been that they need to try everything before they could have seconds of anything. If you don't like anything, you can always have a piece of bread. Kandy was the type of toddler to whom I could say: "If you eat 3 more peas, you can have..." It worked like a charm. Missy had to get a little older before that kind of bargaining worked. Sunny, on the other hand, is of the personality type that nothing she doesn't want to do is worth the reward, and anything she really wants to do is worth the punishment. You know the type, I'm sure. So telling her to eat one more pea before she can have more rice just doesn't work. She'll get down from the table. Even her incredible sweet tooth would rather forgo dessert than succumb to tasting a bite of chicken. Despite our relatively simple (and nutritionally lax) rules, dinner had become a battleground.
About a month ago, we decided that she really isn't eating enough. In concern for her caloric needs, we agreed that we would completely drop the rules with her for a while to see what would happen. We have still been serving a little bit of everything to Sunny and gently reminding her that it is there with no specific orders or requests to eat it. If she wants seconds on rice, noodles, or bread, she can have them. Dinner time has become less stressful for all of us. And guess what? Last night we had sweet and sour meatballs. I cut her meatball in little pieces, and she actually ate one bite without being asked!!! It is a tiny victory, but it is a start in the right direction. There is hope that maybe if we do completely remove the battle, she will start to try everything. And part of it is age. Kandy is far less picky at nearly-nine than she was as a preschooler. By removing the battle and drama, perhaps she will more quickly outgrow it.
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