At 10:52 AM -0700 10/31/97, Fisher Mark wrote:
You can improve the situation by purchasing high deductible policies. It is astonishing how quickly the rates fall when you are willing to pay the first few thousand yourself.
This is almost a necessity nowadays, as many employers don't start your health coverage until you have been employed for 6 months. A high deductible makes self-insurance (at least for engineers) affordable when in-between corporate health insurance policies.
(Personal caveat: I haven't visited a doctor for any reason since 1970, and that was for a required college physical. Oh, and a 10-minute "physical" in the late 70s for a life insurance policy, which I later let lapse. Saying this probably means I'll be hospitalized in the next few months.) I had an engineer working for me who cheerfully used the company medical plan for all it was worth. If his kid had a cold, off to the doctor. If his wife felt feverish, off to the doctor. If he had an upset stomache after lunch (understandable considering the state of company food and burrito-vending machines in 1980), off to the doctor. He may have paid $5 per visit. Of course, he took off a lot of time to make these various treks to have his kids, himself, and his wife "treated" (given aspirin, told to drink plenty of fluids, whatever). A nice racket for the hospitals. If something is made free, people tend to use more of it. This is the health care crisis in America, and a slightly different one in Canada. Details vary, but the problems have the same root cause: distortions in markets. --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."