But Coach, you aren't retired with a fixed income of $1061 a month either.

nobody should retire if all they have to fall back on is Social Security. Their own fault.

Well if you're only drawing that much then you should have some sort of subsidy for prescriptions and, in certain cases, your part b premium subsidized as well.

I have an uncle who draws Low-income subsidy and all he pays are $2 for generics and $6 for name-brand drugs. Plus his part b premium is paid for and all hospital bills written off.

It's crazy.

It's my fault because I got sick and was forced into early retirement? Believe me, I'd work if I could. and since I'm only 64, I get no insurance, meds and dr visits come out of my pocket. I'm not complaining, got it better than lots of folks but fact is not everything in life goes as one expects!

being handicapped is different than choosing to retire. I'm all for supporting handicapped people who cant work.

But people who choose to retire with no money saved to plan for it, I dont have too much sympathy for.

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=U...urce=undefined

Hmmm. How much money did it take from Insurance lobbyists to buy the criminals (er politicos) that thought of this idea.

If you really want to be angry look at how the pharmaceutical companies made out on Dubya's MMA.

I f-ing hate United Health Care.

Hmm I wonder why their stock is so high? Maybe because they significantly raised all their deductables so they have to pay out much less money?

Dude I read this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Mach...1955058&sr=8-1

Any more angry and I will commit myself in fear of doing something that will embarass my family.

FTFY

Somer: you should look into SSDI! I did and am drawing enough to help out alot.......before that I was at the poverty level. I used Binder and Binder.

Timm, I looked pretty much at everything. If I get sick and the doctor puts me in the hospital (which happened dec 09), Medical Asst kicks in and pays most of the hospital bills, but otherwise, they say I make too much ($1061 a month is too much). I got IHEAP to help with heating bills and $16 a month in food stamps but otherwise nada. Like I said, I'm not complaining, other folks are far worse off, but I'm not driving around in a new caddy like some seem to think.

my head just exploded.

i feel the way you would if you found out my dad was a pastor and paid all my bills. and i let him. while maintaing my staunch non-theist beliefs.

Nobody can "break away from the healthcare system entirely", because wellness care and disease prevention are huge and important components which increase with age in the population.

That is, they are in other first-world countries where complete, real healthcare is affordable by the majority of the population. Not the US, of course, where we only put out healthcare fires, and rather inefficiently and expensively, for only some and not all.

Or, we could open up Medicare to everyone in the country. Let everyone buy in. The addition of 100 million healthy young people into the program would lower the costs for everyone, and increase the benefits.

if only...

Wow. Yes. Timmi, we never knew ya :eek:

And that this type of thing can occur in "the richest country in the world" is appalling.

I don't want "the government" to "pay for freeloaders". But there are indeed ways for we citizens as a country - for our goverment - to make sure everyone in the country can purchase good, complete healthcare and pay their own way.

The Republicans want to do the opposite.

that won't actually happen but maybe i'll get esophageal cancer. apparently it's the aids of atheists.

I'd like to see some statistics on that pipe dream. The way Medicare is now it will only increase the abuse and cost.