On 9/1/2017 8:14 PM, jbeattie wrote:

You have a Medicare Advantage plan which, by the way, is much like the insurance scheme for everyone in Germany and (sort of) Japan. The bulk of premium is paid by the government with a "spread" paid by the policy holder. The typical Advantage plan in Oregon has better benefits than most employer-provided group plans. It also sweeps in Coverage D and provides a good pharmacy benefit.

But its socialized insurance. The employed and self-employed (me) are paying the lion's share of your "premium."

See http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/brief...ow-it-financed

The way Medicare Advantage works is that CMS pays a capitated fee to the HMO/PPO based on a "benchmark" for your county, and your HMO/PPO charges you the spread to cover the cost of estimated plan benefits (so called "bid"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Advantage The benchmark number varies, but yours is probably in the $800-900 range -- meaning your "true" premium is subsidized to the tune of $800-900 per month. That's socialized insurance. YOU ARE A COMMUNIST, COMRADE!

Time to turn in your teabag. Why should I pay for YOUR insurance? I'm going to quit paying my self-employment tax so I don't have to pay for YOUR insurance!

Some people can't seem to grasp the fundamental idea of insurance.
Everyone accepts a small penalty (the premiums they pay) in order to
prevent having to endure a large penalty - i.e. catastrophic personal
expenses, in this case, medical expenses.

The insurance company is betting you're going to remain pretty healthy.
You're betting you're going to get terribly sick. You bet against the
insurance company, and you hope the insurance company wins.

People like Tom who don't like the system have an alternative: Just
don't buy any insurance. If necessary, move to some country with nothing
like Medicare. Just pile up your own money in savings, and bet on your
own health. Bet that you'll never need a $100,000 medical treatment to
save your life.

I'm sure it can work, because the insurance companies have bet on your
health, and they've been winning big! They've collected enough money to
build really impressive skyscrapers for their headquarters.

And hey, for most of my life I never bought comprehensive insurance even
on brand new cars. I won that bet, too!

--
- Frank Krygowski