The dichotomy of man is personified in a most dramatic way by Tiger Woods. His recent public commentary was very contrived and wooden. While he is no doubt the world's greatest golfer, he has been kept cloistered by his handlers for good reason; public speaking is not his strong point, neither is publicly reading from written notes on a page. It lacked genuineness. It lacked remorse. It lacked sincerity.
At one point he expressed concern at whether people would ever "believe in me again", as if he is divine or magic or something. What the hell is that about? One massive ego for starters. Yes, he did admit that he felt "entitled" to philander at will. But the proof of his reform from his "addiction" is in the pudding. How he acts from here on out is where it is at. From now on is where the rubber hits the road.
He brought up his religion of Buddhism and how he had failed at living up to the ideals of that. I certainly think that Brit Hume was right about him coming to the cross and giving Christianity a try and asking his wife and children for their forgiveness. This fool does not understand that he is broken. He will never find "Nirvana" unless he discovers the cross first.
Buddhism teaches that all suffering is caused by craving (covetousness). If that were true, then Job would never have suffered the loss of his children, fortune, health, or the lousy counsel of his friends. But Jobs story was not about suffering; it was about integrity of character, which he had in spades. Perhaps Tiger should study that book and then John.
But the real story here is not so much about Tiger, nor his reprehensible behavior; it should be about the media and his handlers that looked the other way for years as this was happening. How not even one of so many people could not confront him before it all blew up on him is astounding to me.
Perhaps Tiger shouldn't be so worried about being perfect. Accepting brokenness is what truly liberates us not finding some magic path to enlightenment. I feel sorry for him, but unless he comes to the cross he will always wrestle with his own brokenness. He will be cursed with supplanting one aberrant behavior for another.
This is not rock bottom for him yet. He will fall further, unless he comes to the cross with sincerity and no written statements.
People never "believed in him" to start with. When people saw him golf they said "God has gifted this man indeed"; they believed in God and His ability.
Will Tiger return to prominence in the world of golf? Surely he will one day golf again, but no amount of zen can make up for the moral lapse. In a christian nation like ours he will be forgiven by fans but how far and how fast he returns will be up to him. I posit that the fastest course would be to convert to Christianity and repent.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Macroeconomics, Growth and Prosperity in a Free Society
I was recently discussing the economy with a friend and something that he said got me to thinking. He said that as far as giving to Haiti, that our government should just fire up the printing presses and print a lot of money and give it to Haiti. He suggested that they also do that for shovel ready jobs (primarily road construction and repair) and put people back to work. Now one could argue that this would help usher in inflation, and in a sense that would be quite correct, but it got me to thinking.
Hypothetically speaking, if I created a new country today, how would I go about issuing currency and distributing it throughout the economy? How would I get it into the hands of the people? How much would the total economy be worth?
Well, at one point in our history, the United States of America faced this very same dilemma, So how did our country become the most wealthy nation on earth? Because the founders who fought for freedom took huge risks. They bet the farm so to speak. They pledged their fortunes to finance the revolution. Some of them lost everything, many lost their lives. There is one man who borrowed $2 Million dollars from the French and pledged his personal property as collateral. He was unable to repay it and not only did he lose his property to France, but he was also thrown into prison where he subsequently died as a pauper. He funded the fight for freedom and in the process gave up his own.
Of course great rewards can only come from taking great risks. But there has to be a balancing point somewhere. Macroeconomics is the study of the the economy as a whole whereas microeconomics is the study of a more narrow focus like the pricing points of a particular company. Our country's treasury began issuing currency that was backed by gold. A modest growth was expected and occurred, albeit cyclically. That is that the growth was not constant, it raced ahead for a while and then it went through a contraction. This is the normal cycle for economies, expansions followed by contractions. Growth is naturally regulated by contractions. The very idea of sustainable growth, which means indefinite growth is not realistic. There is only so many workers, only so many consumers and that only supports a reasonable and realistic rate of growth that is as cyclical as birth rates will support.
But how did our economy grow to such an astronomical size int the first place? At the end of each growth cycle, during a contraction, we financed renewed growth with debt. This has continually pushed up the net worth of our entire economy. Advances in technology have also fueled growth. Innovation is an economic growth engine, and only in a free society could an economy grow as ours has. What other country has contributed to the world as we have? A partial listing of contributions to global society is; AC power generation on distribution, Interchangeable parts and mass production, aviation, super computers, personal computers, radio and wireless, radar et al.
So when Obama states that we should eradicate the cycles of growth followed by contraction, he shows two things. The first is that he just does not understand the natural order of economies. The second is that he believes that sustained growth can be achieved by suppressing the naturally occurring highs and lows. The problems with this view is that it stifles creativity, retards innovation, which in turn minimizes both risk and reward.
There will always be winners and losers. To attempt to manipulate the markets to create only winners is folly. There can not be winners if there are no losers! if it were so then there would only be gliders, people just getting by the skin of their teeth, not reaping any rewards for risks taken.
If the treasury's printing presses run all day and all night, and they (central banks) do not destroy older currency at a raster rate than they are creating money, then that can result in inflation if confidence is lost in our ability to start the next cycle of economic growth. it (inflation) has very little to do with the currency itself (it has not been backed by gold for several decades now), it has more to do with the attitude of the people regarding hope for their future. That hope is not found in any book, or politicians platform, or party's agenda; it is found in the hearts and minds of the hard working men and women that drive our economy forward with risk taking, innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that only a free people can foster.
So let the printing presses rattle and hum, pump the economy with fresh new money, but stop trying to regulate the hell out of the economy. Deregulation is crucial to the recovery that we now need. No new government agencies are needed to oversee and regulate and consume an ever larger percentage of our GDP to regulate growth. Get big government out of the way, so we can all have the opportunity to prosper.
Hypothetically speaking, if I created a new country today, how would I go about issuing currency and distributing it throughout the economy? How would I get it into the hands of the people? How much would the total economy be worth?
Well, at one point in our history, the United States of America faced this very same dilemma, So how did our country become the most wealthy nation on earth? Because the founders who fought for freedom took huge risks. They bet the farm so to speak. They pledged their fortunes to finance the revolution. Some of them lost everything, many lost their lives. There is one man who borrowed $2 Million dollars from the French and pledged his personal property as collateral. He was unable to repay it and not only did he lose his property to France, but he was also thrown into prison where he subsequently died as a pauper. He funded the fight for freedom and in the process gave up his own.
Of course great rewards can only come from taking great risks. But there has to be a balancing point somewhere. Macroeconomics is the study of the the economy as a whole whereas microeconomics is the study of a more narrow focus like the pricing points of a particular company. Our country's treasury began issuing currency that was backed by gold. A modest growth was expected and occurred, albeit cyclically. That is that the growth was not constant, it raced ahead for a while and then it went through a contraction. This is the normal cycle for economies, expansions followed by contractions. Growth is naturally regulated by contractions. The very idea of sustainable growth, which means indefinite growth is not realistic. There is only so many workers, only so many consumers and that only supports a reasonable and realistic rate of growth that is as cyclical as birth rates will support.
But how did our economy grow to such an astronomical size int the first place? At the end of each growth cycle, during a contraction, we financed renewed growth with debt. This has continually pushed up the net worth of our entire economy. Advances in technology have also fueled growth. Innovation is an economic growth engine, and only in a free society could an economy grow as ours has. What other country has contributed to the world as we have? A partial listing of contributions to global society is; AC power generation on distribution, Interchangeable parts and mass production, aviation, super computers, personal computers, radio and wireless, radar et al.
So when Obama states that we should eradicate the cycles of growth followed by contraction, he shows two things. The first is that he just does not understand the natural order of economies. The second is that he believes that sustained growth can be achieved by suppressing the naturally occurring highs and lows. The problems with this view is that it stifles creativity, retards innovation, which in turn minimizes both risk and reward.
There will always be winners and losers. To attempt to manipulate the markets to create only winners is folly. There can not be winners if there are no losers! if it were so then there would only be gliders, people just getting by the skin of their teeth, not reaping any rewards for risks taken.
If the treasury's printing presses run all day and all night, and they (central banks) do not destroy older currency at a raster rate than they are creating money, then that can result in inflation if confidence is lost in our ability to start the next cycle of economic growth. it (inflation) has very little to do with the currency itself (it has not been backed by gold for several decades now), it has more to do with the attitude of the people regarding hope for their future. That hope is not found in any book, or politicians platform, or party's agenda; it is found in the hearts and minds of the hard working men and women that drive our economy forward with risk taking, innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that only a free people can foster.
So let the printing presses rattle and hum, pump the economy with fresh new money, but stop trying to regulate the hell out of the economy. Deregulation is crucial to the recovery that we now need. No new government agencies are needed to oversee and regulate and consume an ever larger percentage of our GDP to regulate growth. Get big government out of the way, so we can all have the opportunity to prosper.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Real Scoop on Obama.
Some are now speculating that Obama is changing his tune because he now understands what the public expects from him. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is starting to talk like a conservative at times, but he is not changing. It is a head fake, a rope-a-dope, if you will. He is a rigid ideologue. He is merely adopting the lingo of his nemesis; conservatism. That way, perhaps he can blend in and engineer a Trojan horse for his radical agenda. That is his new tactic you see. He has realized that bludgeoning the public over the head with it is not going to be tolerated. The people are much more spirited than he estimated. They will not willingly subjugate themselves to his omnipotence, so he must resort to trickery!
As far as his business acumen goes, well there isn't any. He is absolutely clueless. He thinks that businesses borrow to meet payroll. He does not understand the two fundamentals of business; the business cycle and the business environment.
He thinks that businesses hire in order to grow. That is backwards, businesses grow first, then they hire. I am astounded at the number of small business owners who are not aware of how to actively shorten the business cycle as far as receivables go. I was listening to talk radio and owners were calling in giving opinions on Obama's understanding of business with regards to his comments on borrowing to expand payrolls.
You can give your customers incentives to pay early by giving them a discount, like shipping terms of 10% Net 30. If you still have a large percentage of outstanding receivables that are aging past 30 days, there are other options. You can sell your receivables to a factoring company for 98% to 95% of their face value. You get to remove the outstanding receivables from your books, and improve your cash flow immediately. The factoring companies typically charge between 2 and 5 percent of the face value of your outstanding receivables for the service. You avoid the use of banks altogether and shorten your collection cycle and associated costs for outstanding receivables. You also reduce the likelihood of having bad debts on your books by using a factoring company. High volume, low margin companies like common carriers, or other shipping companies often utilize factoring company services, but any type of company can use them. No business wants to carry bad debts on its books. Factoring is a simple way to avoid that.
Businesses only borrow to grow when they can not issue debt of their own with bonds. The growth that is funded with debt is for capital investments, like real estate or equipment. Larger businesses sometimes do this type of debt financing to diversify into other areas not related to their core business for the purposes of revenue generation. Small businesses generally do not do this type of investing in areas outside of their core business for expansion of revenues.
The reason that the banks are not lending to small businesses is that small businesses are not seeking loans for expansion! They are hunkering down, conserving their cash and other capital until the business environment is more stable. The instability that exists now is precisely because of all of Obama's wild policy gyrations. Cap and Trade, Health Care, Slush fund Stimulus, Pay Czars, Soak the rich smack talk, the whole class warfare thing. Obama is like a bull in a china shop when it comes to the economy. Is it any wonder why businesses are taking a wait and see attitude towards growth, expansion, and hiring?
And then he has to have a jobs summit because he does not understand that he is the one who is keeping unemployment so damned high with his war on prosperity. He is really transparent after all. You do not have to be a genius to see that this guy is in way over his head. He is clueless. And that is what makes his presidency especially dangerous. We must not fail to make sure that he is a one term wonder. The Tea-Party people know this. That is what unites them!
As far as his business acumen goes, well there isn't any. He is absolutely clueless. He thinks that businesses borrow to meet payroll. He does not understand the two fundamentals of business; the business cycle and the business environment.
He thinks that businesses hire in order to grow. That is backwards, businesses grow first, then they hire. I am astounded at the number of small business owners who are not aware of how to actively shorten the business cycle as far as receivables go. I was listening to talk radio and owners were calling in giving opinions on Obama's understanding of business with regards to his comments on borrowing to expand payrolls.
You can give your customers incentives to pay early by giving them a discount, like shipping terms of 10% Net 30. If you still have a large percentage of outstanding receivables that are aging past 30 days, there are other options. You can sell your receivables to a factoring company for 98% to 95% of their face value. You get to remove the outstanding receivables from your books, and improve your cash flow immediately. The factoring companies typically charge between 2 and 5 percent of the face value of your outstanding receivables for the service. You avoid the use of banks altogether and shorten your collection cycle and associated costs for outstanding receivables. You also reduce the likelihood of having bad debts on your books by using a factoring company. High volume, low margin companies like common carriers, or other shipping companies often utilize factoring company services, but any type of company can use them. No business wants to carry bad debts on its books. Factoring is a simple way to avoid that.
Businesses only borrow to grow when they can not issue debt of their own with bonds. The growth that is funded with debt is for capital investments, like real estate or equipment. Larger businesses sometimes do this type of debt financing to diversify into other areas not related to their core business for the purposes of revenue generation. Small businesses generally do not do this type of investing in areas outside of their core business for expansion of revenues.
The reason that the banks are not lending to small businesses is that small businesses are not seeking loans for expansion! They are hunkering down, conserving their cash and other capital until the business environment is more stable. The instability that exists now is precisely because of all of Obama's wild policy gyrations. Cap and Trade, Health Care, Slush fund Stimulus, Pay Czars, Soak the rich smack talk, the whole class warfare thing. Obama is like a bull in a china shop when it comes to the economy. Is it any wonder why businesses are taking a wait and see attitude towards growth, expansion, and hiring?
And then he has to have a jobs summit because he does not understand that he is the one who is keeping unemployment so damned high with his war on prosperity. He is really transparent after all. You do not have to be a genius to see that this guy is in way over his head. He is clueless. And that is what makes his presidency especially dangerous. We must not fail to make sure that he is a one term wonder. The Tea-Party people know this. That is what unites them!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Personal Responsibility In Health Care and Conservatism
Appearances can certainly be deceiving, as the saying goes. I have been accused of being able bodied, as if that were a crime. But seriously, I have a handicap placard for use in vehicles, and both of my cars and my wife's car have a red handicapped sticker in the upper left corner of the license plate. Granted, I do not use a walking aid, and one of my vehicles is a panel van with ladders on a rack on top of it. But on more than one occasion I have been derided by of all people, the elderly! One lady sneered at me as I was coming back to my car, "you certainly look handicapped". I asked her if she would like to see the scar from my defibrillator? She just got into her car continuing to jeer at me.
I do get about rather well because I responded well to the regimen of medications that I take. However, without those medications, I would be in a world of hurt. Without those medications I could not walk more than 75 feet without having to take a 5-minute break to catch my breath.
I have severe dilated cardiomyopathy. That means that I have an enlarged heart that is severely weakened. My heart has been damaged. Perhaps it was genetic, as my grandfather also had this condition. It could have also been years of hard living in my youth that contributed to this condition; I make no claim on sainthood. But regardless of the reason for the condition of my heart, the fact remains that I am handicapped.
This condition of my heart was found out as a result of going through another health crisis back in January of 2004. I had what is called ARDS, which stands for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. ARDS is respiratory failure that is often accompanied by other complications like congestive heart failure or sepsis, or multi-organ system failure. I had it all in spades. I had double pneumonia and I very nearly died because of it. I spent 42 days in the hospital from January 21, through March 2. I spent 15 of those days on advanced life support in the respiratory ICU. The reason that I had gotten so ill in the first place was that at some point in my past I had contracted HIV. This lengthy hospital stay was when I first found out that I had been carrying around this deadly virus for possibly the past decade.
It was a harrowing experience, a very narrow escape. Not only was I bedridden, but I was paralyzed as well. I was totally reliant upon others for everything. They fed me, washed me, changed my bed sheets, medicated me and helped plan for my rehabilitation. I went through intensive physical therapy to regain my strength and the full use of my limbs. It was an arduous task fraught with tears and doubts. I also received extensive speech therapy that was designed as much to assess my capabilities as well as to regain them. During my time on life support, my brain had swelled dangerously and they were not sure if it had been irreparably damaged or not. It was exhausting work, but well worth it. By the time that I checked out of the hospital, I was able to walk with a walker for about 100 feet before requiring an extended break.
I had received a crash course in medicine and the health care system. I was attended by several teams of doctors and nurses of various specialties. I learned about endocrinology, cardiology, virology, gastronomy, immunology and infectious diseases, and internal medicine.
To this day, after leaving the hospital, I continue to see the infectious disease doctors on a regular basis. I did not start HAART therapy, until a few weeks after going home. HAART stands for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy. Retroviruses are different from viruses in that viruses normally contain DNA that allows them to reproduce its RNA by taking over a host cell's resources, whereas a retrovirus contains only RNA and enzymes that it uses to insert it's RNA into the DNA of a host cell which then becomes a virus factory. The host cell becomes totally responsible for replication of the virus.
The infectious disease doctors along with the Visiting Nurses Association of Michigan provided me with information about all the available medications for combating HIV. the VNA also provided case management for me. But the decision as to what particular medications to use was ultimately left up to me. I researched possible side effects, efficacy and ease of compliance. I had to pick three medications for my HAART therapy. The doctors told me which classes of drugs that would work best for my specific HIV genotype but the specific drugs to use was my choice.
It has been six years since then and I continue to do well. But after what I went through then, I can not possibly support what Obama's administration is proposing to do to our health care system. I have too much at stake. I have too much to lose if I can no longer access all the teams of my doctors, or no longer have access to all of my medications. I have been through step therapy with medications already, and the regimen that I am on works well for me. It is not time to reinvent the wheel here. I have one cardiologist who takes care of my implanted defibrillator/pacemaker and another one for my heart itself. I have a primary doctor who specializes in internal medicine. I have a wonderful dentist. I have a great podiatrist. I also have a great ophthalmologist. I even have a wonderful otolaryngologist. I have a fantastic dermatologist.
I have established relationships with all of these doctors. They all accept my insurance. They all know my medical history, and me! Now is not the time to have some bureaucrat insist that I start the process of assembling my medical team all over again. Or that government officials insert themselves into my business at all. I know best what works well for me!
Good health care begins and ends with the patient. If you aren't ill, you don't need a doctor. And when you are ill, you must actively participate in your own recovery. You can't show up at a doctor's office and expect them to just wave a magic wand and make you all better by prescribing a medicine for you. Personal responsibility is a huge factor in getting well again. Personal responsibility is also a huge factor in maintaining your good health.
William Beaumont hospital in Royal Oak Michigan is a very large hospital system. There are three hospitals in it and the Royal Oak campus is the largest and the original one. They are one of the top 10 hospitals in the country for number of beds, admissions, and for positive outcomes. I could not have been in a better place or in more capable doctors' hands while there. They certainly did all that they could do for me but even they would tell you that it was nothing short of a miracle that I am still here today. But as with most large corporations, they tend to move slowly from an administrative point. Beaumont is no exception to that rule. They did not get around to billing my insurance until six months after my discharge. That was unfortunate indeed because the over the road trucking company that I was working for at the time was self insured and had switched administrators for the plans that they offered right in the middle of my stay! I checked into the hospital on January 21, and on February 1 we had a new plan administrator. Now my COBRA payments were all up to date, but because my company chose only a 90 day run out on the previous plan provider, when the bills finally came to the new provider their records showed that I did not have coverage for those last 10 days of January when in fact I did. So it took several phone calls and one 80 page fax of denied EOB's (Explanation of Benefits) and hospital bills to my former employer's human resources department to get it paid.
Because the hospital had begun billing me for the unpaid balance, I was amazed to see just how much my stay had cost. The total bill was $742,636.59! Over 54 thousand dollars of that was for medications alone! Now I did have an obligation to pay my co-pays, and my out of pocket maximum. Thankfully, it only came to a few thousand dollars. My wife and I immediately organized a debt management plan through our credit union and we were able to pare it down in short order.
I pay my part. I pay my co-pays. I pay my premiums. I shopped for low cost generic medications. I get most of my prescriptions from Walmart. I take responsibility for my own health care. I will not foist this responsibility upon others. As far as the poor or indigent goes, there are free clinics and charities that willingly take up the cause of those who fall through the cracks. Our current system works well. I know this from experience. That is why when I say that this administration's efforts to take over health care in our country has nothing to do with health care but instead has everything to do with power and control over you, I am indeed speaking from experience! This is not some slogan or bumper sticker or talking points that I am parroting. I speak from experience!
I know what works best for me. When this hospitalization happened, I had lost my job, was on COBRA and disability for 18 months before I could return to work. My wife and I were deep in debt, had all of our stuff in storage and were living in a room at my grandmother's house. Now we own our own home, I am back working my day job, and running my business, and advocating for responsible solutions to the minor problems that our health care system does have. Believe me when I say that Obamacare or Pelosicare is not one of them!
I do get about rather well because I responded well to the regimen of medications that I take. However, without those medications, I would be in a world of hurt. Without those medications I could not walk more than 75 feet without having to take a 5-minute break to catch my breath.
I have severe dilated cardiomyopathy. That means that I have an enlarged heart that is severely weakened. My heart has been damaged. Perhaps it was genetic, as my grandfather also had this condition. It could have also been years of hard living in my youth that contributed to this condition; I make no claim on sainthood. But regardless of the reason for the condition of my heart, the fact remains that I am handicapped.
This condition of my heart was found out as a result of going through another health crisis back in January of 2004. I had what is called ARDS, which stands for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. ARDS is respiratory failure that is often accompanied by other complications like congestive heart failure or sepsis, or multi-organ system failure. I had it all in spades. I had double pneumonia and I very nearly died because of it. I spent 42 days in the hospital from January 21, through March 2. I spent 15 of those days on advanced life support in the respiratory ICU. The reason that I had gotten so ill in the first place was that at some point in my past I had contracted HIV. This lengthy hospital stay was when I first found out that I had been carrying around this deadly virus for possibly the past decade.
It was a harrowing experience, a very narrow escape. Not only was I bedridden, but I was paralyzed as well. I was totally reliant upon others for everything. They fed me, washed me, changed my bed sheets, medicated me and helped plan for my rehabilitation. I went through intensive physical therapy to regain my strength and the full use of my limbs. It was an arduous task fraught with tears and doubts. I also received extensive speech therapy that was designed as much to assess my capabilities as well as to regain them. During my time on life support, my brain had swelled dangerously and they were not sure if it had been irreparably damaged or not. It was exhausting work, but well worth it. By the time that I checked out of the hospital, I was able to walk with a walker for about 100 feet before requiring an extended break.
I had received a crash course in medicine and the health care system. I was attended by several teams of doctors and nurses of various specialties. I learned about endocrinology, cardiology, virology, gastronomy, immunology and infectious diseases, and internal medicine.
To this day, after leaving the hospital, I continue to see the infectious disease doctors on a regular basis. I did not start HAART therapy, until a few weeks after going home. HAART stands for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy. Retroviruses are different from viruses in that viruses normally contain DNA that allows them to reproduce its RNA by taking over a host cell's resources, whereas a retrovirus contains only RNA and enzymes that it uses to insert it's RNA into the DNA of a host cell which then becomes a virus factory. The host cell becomes totally responsible for replication of the virus.
The infectious disease doctors along with the Visiting Nurses Association of Michigan provided me with information about all the available medications for combating HIV. the VNA also provided case management for me. But the decision as to what particular medications to use was ultimately left up to me. I researched possible side effects, efficacy and ease of compliance. I had to pick three medications for my HAART therapy. The doctors told me which classes of drugs that would work best for my specific HIV genotype but the specific drugs to use was my choice.
It has been six years since then and I continue to do well. But after what I went through then, I can not possibly support what Obama's administration is proposing to do to our health care system. I have too much at stake. I have too much to lose if I can no longer access all the teams of my doctors, or no longer have access to all of my medications. I have been through step therapy with medications already, and the regimen that I am on works well for me. It is not time to reinvent the wheel here. I have one cardiologist who takes care of my implanted defibrillator/pacemaker and another one for my heart itself. I have a primary doctor who specializes in internal medicine. I have a wonderful dentist. I have a great podiatrist. I also have a great ophthalmologist. I even have a wonderful otolaryngologist. I have a fantastic dermatologist.
I have established relationships with all of these doctors. They all accept my insurance. They all know my medical history, and me! Now is not the time to have some bureaucrat insist that I start the process of assembling my medical team all over again. Or that government officials insert themselves into my business at all. I know best what works well for me!
Good health care begins and ends with the patient. If you aren't ill, you don't need a doctor. And when you are ill, you must actively participate in your own recovery. You can't show up at a doctor's office and expect them to just wave a magic wand and make you all better by prescribing a medicine for you. Personal responsibility is a huge factor in getting well again. Personal responsibility is also a huge factor in maintaining your good health.
William Beaumont hospital in Royal Oak Michigan is a very large hospital system. There are three hospitals in it and the Royal Oak campus is the largest and the original one. They are one of the top 10 hospitals in the country for number of beds, admissions, and for positive outcomes. I could not have been in a better place or in more capable doctors' hands while there. They certainly did all that they could do for me but even they would tell you that it was nothing short of a miracle that I am still here today. But as with most large corporations, they tend to move slowly from an administrative point. Beaumont is no exception to that rule. They did not get around to billing my insurance until six months after my discharge. That was unfortunate indeed because the over the road trucking company that I was working for at the time was self insured and had switched administrators for the plans that they offered right in the middle of my stay! I checked into the hospital on January 21, and on February 1 we had a new plan administrator. Now my COBRA payments were all up to date, but because my company chose only a 90 day run out on the previous plan provider, when the bills finally came to the new provider their records showed that I did not have coverage for those last 10 days of January when in fact I did. So it took several phone calls and one 80 page fax of denied EOB's (Explanation of Benefits) and hospital bills to my former employer's human resources department to get it paid.
Because the hospital had begun billing me for the unpaid balance, I was amazed to see just how much my stay had cost. The total bill was $742,636.59! Over 54 thousand dollars of that was for medications alone! Now I did have an obligation to pay my co-pays, and my out of pocket maximum. Thankfully, it only came to a few thousand dollars. My wife and I immediately organized a debt management plan through our credit union and we were able to pare it down in short order.
I pay my part. I pay my co-pays. I pay my premiums. I shopped for low cost generic medications. I get most of my prescriptions from Walmart. I take responsibility for my own health care. I will not foist this responsibility upon others. As far as the poor or indigent goes, there are free clinics and charities that willingly take up the cause of those who fall through the cracks. Our current system works well. I know this from experience. That is why when I say that this administration's efforts to take over health care in our country has nothing to do with health care but instead has everything to do with power and control over you, I am indeed speaking from experience! This is not some slogan or bumper sticker or talking points that I am parroting. I speak from experience!
I know what works best for me. When this hospitalization happened, I had lost my job, was on COBRA and disability for 18 months before I could return to work. My wife and I were deep in debt, had all of our stuff in storage and were living in a room at my grandmother's house. Now we own our own home, I am back working my day job, and running my business, and advocating for responsible solutions to the minor problems that our health care system does have. Believe me when I say that Obamacare or Pelosicare is not one of them!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
