OT - United Healthcare Dropping Doctors

LSAT wrote:

RogerSC wrote:I have a medicare supplement plan (medigap) through UHC/AARP, and am not seeing these changes. Just thought I'd mention it in case an alternative would help. You still have a couple of days to switch your medicare insurance provider, maybe something to look into.

I also have the AARP plan...The main change I noticed this year is that they are now considered an HMO and you can only use the physicians in their plan.(In Network). In previous years you could use out-of-network physicians with a larger co-pay...now they will not pay anything to an out-of-network physician. (Coverage varies by state).

LSAT, I think you are confusing the AARP Medicare Advantage plan with the AARP Medicare Supplement plan (medigap). Medigap policies are designed by the US Government - any health insurance company that qualifies can sell a Medigap policy but they can't deviate from the government's policy terms. They can't change a Medigap policy into an HMO. AARP/UnitedHealth admits this and brags about it as a feature on their own website:

AARP® Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans
Insured by UnitedHealthcare® Insurance Company*

Why get a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan?
Choice of 
providers
You can go to any provider throughout the United States that accepts Medicare patients, so you won't have to worry about getting care while you travel in the U.S. or having to switch doctors.
Guaranteed Renewable
Your insurance provider can't cancel your coverage or increase your premium based on your health or the number of claims you file.
Rates are subject to change. Any rate change will apply to all members of the same class insured under your plan who reside in your state/area.

aarpmedicareplans.com/health-plans/medicare-supplement-plans

Regards, Nate

Janknitz wrote:AARP was one of the primary lobby groups responsible for the mess that was the original Medicare Part D coverage with the doughnut hole. I REFUSE to join AARP or support them, despite proudly wearing my bleeding heart liberal democrat badge!

That is one of the complaints I had against AARP although I understand the leadership that was responsible for that situation is long gone. But there were some other issues too in which I was bothered by their actions. Unfortunately, I can't remember what they were which sounds strange, I know.

Out of curiosity, I searched on Democratic Underground just to see what people had said about them. The pro/con comments seemed greatly mixed.

49er

The AMAC plan for Social Security can be found here. It would, among other changes, gradually increase the normal retirement age to 69 for those not already retired. It would also restrict cost of living increases to a narrow band. For example, for high earners, COLA would always be at least 1 percent but never more than 2 percent. It really isn't a cost of living adjustment if it isn't somehow based on changes in the cost of living. Inflation would be a problem. I especially object to the new normal retirement age. It's okay for people like me with easy sit-down jobs and reasonably good health, and I hope I work until I'm 69, but many people work with their backs and their hands.

What interested me, though, is the comment section. Liberals like me don't like it, of course, but it gets savaged by conservatives as well, many of whom consider even the AMAC modifications to be socialistic and redistributionist. That makes me wonder if AMAC has much of a future. It looks like even much of its target audience hates its principal idea.

NateS wrote: LSAT, I think you are confusing the AARP Medicare Advantage plan with the AARP Medicare Supplement plan (medigap).

No...he isn't.
AARP does also offer a Medicare Advantage Plan through UHC that is a HMO plan. I know because I have one that is a zero monthly premium plan.

AARP actually offers both...the traditional Medigap policy and the plan that I have which is an HMO and I knew it going in but it isn't a problem because the in network hospital and physcians would be who I would want to go to anyway. That zero monthly premium works well for my needs...basically healthy and rarely would even meet my Part B deductible.

I can't get a traditional Medigap plan since I am not yet 65...even if I could afford it which I can't.
Last time I checked the only Medigap plan offered to pre 65 year olds was well over $200 a month and that didn't even cover the Part D RX coverage which would be another $80 or so a month. I can't afford that.
My most expensive year with a Medicare advantage plan where my out of pocket costs added up was when I broke my wrist and had to have surgery....a little over $700 total for the year. I can pay that much easier than I can pay $3000 year just so I don't have to pay out of pocket with what Medicare doesn't cover.

Medicare Advantage plans aren't all crap plans...for some of us who are willing to assume some of the risk ourselves (and can't get anything else anyway) they work well. The trick is to know what you are getting going in and what you "might" have to pay...vs what you "know" you have to pay with a traditional Medigap plan.

PST wrote:The AMAC plan for Social Security can be found here. It would, among other changes, gradually increase the normal retirement age to 69 for those not already retired.

Normal retirement age is already increasing, although I don't think it can go up to age 69 under the current rules.

My normal retirement age was not 65, but 66.

Of course, one can always opt for starting Social Security benefits early.

But, you must be the full retirement age (applicable to you) if you want draw the max.

And, if you wait until age 70, you can draw even more.

A few months ago I spoke to someone who was just waiting to be 65 so he could draw his full Social Security benefits. He was shocked when I told him full retirement age for him was NOT 65. Turns out his full retirement age was 66 & fraction I can't recall. So, he now has to wait at least another year & a half.

StuUnderPressure wrote:

PST wrote:The AMAC plan for Social Security can be found here. It would, among other changes, gradually increase the normal retirement age to 69 for those not already retired.

Normal retirement age is already increasing, although I don't think it can go up to age 69 under the current rules.

My normal retirement age was not 65, but 66.

Of course, one can always opt for starting Social Security benefits early.

Yes, currently the normal retirement age is moving to 67. AMAC keeps it moving to 69. The early retirement age is now 62. The AMAC plan moves it gradually to 65, so the old normal would become the new early.

Pugsy wrote:

NateS wrote: LSAT, I think you are confusing the AARP Medicare Advantage plan with the AARP Medicare Supplement plan (medigap).

No...he isn't.
AARP does also offer a Medicare Advantage Plan through UHC that is a HMO plan. I know because I have one that is a zero monthly premium plan.

AARP actually offers both...the traditional Medigap policy and the plan that I have which is an HMO …

I acknowledged that they offer both "the AARP Medicare Advantage plan" AND "the AARP Medicare Supplement plan (medigap)" - that's what I think he is confusing.

AARP offers lots of plans through UHC to people of various ages, but you can't qualify for the one called "Medicare Advantage" unless you qualify for Medicare; and you can only qualify for Medicare either by reason of age or disability. If you have a Medicare Advantage policy and you are not yet 65, then you must have qualified by reason of disability.

While every Medicare Advantage Plan can be an HMO or a PPO, not every HMO or PPO is a Medicare Advantage Plan.

AARP Medicare Plans from UnitedHealthcare


*************************
Medicare Advantage

To be eligible for Medicare Advantage plans, people ages 65 and older or with qualifying disabilities must:

Have both Medicare Part A and Part B.
Continue to pay the Medicare Part B premium if not otherwise paid for under Medicaid or by another third party.
Reside in the service area of the plan.
Not have end-stage renal disease (ESRD). (Exceptions apply.)

https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/medic ... icare.html

See also:

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES
What is a Medicare Advantage Plan?

A Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) is a way to get your
Medicare benefits. Unlike “Original Medicare,” in which the government pays for
Medicare benefits when you receive them, Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes
called “Part C” or “MA Plans,” are offered by private companies approved by
Medicare, and Medicare pays these companies to cover your Medicare benefits.
If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, the plan will provide all of your Medicare
Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage.
This is different than a Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) policy
(discussed below), which just pays for costs that Medicare does not cover. In all
types of Medicare Advantage Plans, you are always covered for emergency and
urgent care.
Medicare Advantage Plans must cover all of the services that Original Medicare
covers except hospice care. Original Medicare covers hospice care even if you’re in
a Medicare Advantage Plan. Make sure you understand how a plan works before
you join.
Other important information about Medicare Advantage Plans:
Eligibility
—You must have Medicare Part A and Part B and live in the plan’s
service area to be eligible.

http://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11474.pdf

Respectfully, Nate

NateS wrote:If you have a Medicare Advantage policy and you are not yet 65, then you must have qualified by reason of disability.

Well, duh...I thought I made that fact rather plain...guess I didn't.
No need to educate me on the process...been there first hand. Not sure what your point to all the reference material was.
Hope you don't think I needed to read it which makes me feel like you are talking down to me and everyone knows I don't take that very well.
Also not sure why you can't seem to understand that not everyone can get or even wants a "real" medigap plan.
Some of us are actually intelligent enough to understand the pros and cons and are quite satisfied getting something that I guess you consider inferior for some reason other.

My 81 year old mother also opts for a Medicare Advantage plan...she also understands the pros and cons.
Even with a lengthy hospital stay a couple of years ago she paid less out of pocket than her monthly premiums would have been with a MediGap plan.
Wasn't a lot less...but less.
Last year nothing of great excitement happened and she saved a truck load of money and so far this year..same thing.

Well said Pugsy.
I too am smart enough to do the math and choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. The zero monthly premium and zero copy for most services satisfies my needs. And before Medicare I was self insured for 40 years, and although I paid out more than $40,000 in medical expenses in those 40 years, I only recall 2 years where I might have exceeded my deductible. Therefore I saved at least 38 years worth of premiums, tens of thousands of dollars over and above my total medical bills.

Math and research are wonderful things.

Pugsy wrote:

NateS wrote:If you have a Medicare Advantage policy and you are not yet 65, then you must have qualified by reason of disability.

Well, duh...I thought I made that fact rather plain...guess I didn't.

I'm sorry - I must have missed where you said that.

Pugsy wrote:No need to educate me on the process...been there first hand. Not sure what your point to all the reference material was.
Hope you don't think I needed to read it which makes me feel like you are talking down to me and everyone knows I don't take that very well.

I apologize - it was not my intention to talk down to you or to anyone else, and frankly you are the last person I would want to annoy or offend on cpaptalk, as you have done so much for me personally and for so many others here.

My impression was that we were all addressing the subject of the thread which was defined by the original poster:

JDS74 wrote:UnitedHealthcare, a significant Medicare Advantage insurance provider, is notifying doctors and their insured patients that many of them will be dropped from coverage.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories ... ctors.aspx…

That's the subject I thought we were all addressing. As for references, while they were not necessarily meant to be addressed to you in particular, I am not the only poster who feels an obligation, where referring to laws and insurance regulations, to back them up with citations. I feel it would be presumptuous of me to do less. It is a matter of habit and training.

Pugsy wrote:Also not sure why you can't seem to understand that not everyone can get or even wants a "real" medigap plan.
Some of us are actually intelligent enough to understand the pros and cons and are quite satisfied getting something that I guess you consider inferior for some reason other.

Well, I certainly don't question your intelligence Pugsy or anyone else's for that matter. I don't think choosing one or the other plan is a mark of intelligence or lack thereof. I do think that when Medicare Advantage is sold, especially to senior citizens, that insufficient emphasis is laid on the fact that just because the doctor(s) you have gone to for most of your adult life is/are on the proposed plan in the year you join, that you will not have to change doctors next year or the year thereafter. To me, this is a form of bait-and-switch, which has been going on for years, and of which I know of many, many personal experiences. I understand or assume that because of your years of training and experience in the medical professions, that that might not be a big deal to you. And maybe there are others here who will still be happy with their Medicare Advantage Plan even after their lifelong doctor(s) are no longer on their plan. But it is very traumatic to many persons, particularly those of advanced years. And that's what I understood this thread to be about.

And changing doctors also sometimes means changing hospitals, because not every doctor in a community necessarily goes to every hospital in the community, and this can also be very, very traumatic to the elderly. As you know, not every hospital in a community has the same standard of care or the same rating by national organizations and often with good reason.

Over the years, I have worked within the insurance industry and I have also worked from without, dealing with the insurance industry and seeing how so many people's lives and fortunes get ground up in the process, and I have also seen what they have done to honest, hard-working members of the medical professions by their practices. I am speaking from the heart.

In past years, I attended many of the group meetings of seniors just approaching age 65, sponsored by various health insurance companies, and which are run like pep rallys, and when the BIG question invariably comes up "Is my doctor on the plan?" a big clinching sigh of relief goes up when one of the presenters points to the plan page and says "Yes, look your lifelong doctor is on the plan!" Not once have I ever heard the presenter qualify that by adding something like: "But he/she might no longer be on our plan next year or the year after that!"

I am also acutely aware of cases where Medicare Advantage has flatly turned down approval for a life-saving procedure, calling it "experimental" whereas the same procedure had been routinely approved by regular Medicare.

There is are reasons why, as PST said:

PST wrote:In this connection, it is useful to note that the Yale Medical Group still takes ordinary Medicare. It is just being dropped by this Medicare Advantage plan.….

Again, I apologize to you Pugsy if I have offended you in any way.

Respectfully, Nate

bwexler wrote:I too am smart enough to do the math and choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. The zero monthly premium and zero copy for most services satisfies my needs. And before Medicare I was self insured for 40 years, and although I paid out more than $40,000 in medical expenses in those 40 years, I only recall 2 years where I might have exceeded my deductible. Therefore I saved at least 38 years worth of premiums, tens of thousands of dollars over and above my total medical bills.

Math and research are wonderful things.

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck. Be judicious in how much credit you ascribe to different factors.

Keep in mind that the very foundation of insurance is the money that non-claimants pay in to support those who have claims. That's why the mandatory requirement is part of ACA. I haven't researched it, but Nate probably can tell us, but I would guess that the ratio of non-claimants to claimants has to be at least 10 to 1, if not even 100 to 1, for an insurance fund to stay solvent.

idamtnboy wrote:

bwexler wrote:I too am smart enough to do the math and choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. The zero monthly premium and zero copy for most services satisfies my needs. And before Medicare I was self insured for 40 years, and although I paid out more than $40,000 in medical expenses in those 40 years, I only recall 2 years where I might have exceeded my deductible. Therefore I saved at least 38 years worth of premiums, tens of thousands of dollars over and above my total medical bills.

Math and research are wonderful things.

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck. Be judicious in how much credit you ascribe to different factors.

And, in how much credit you give yourself. Luck of the draw and you were indeed very lucky.

As for your MAP, I sincerely hope it comes through for you when you need it. If your health continues as it apparently has been, you'll probably be fine. With a serious problem or complication, I'm not so sure. Unfortunately, I'm treated differently since I left my MAP and enrolled in Medicare with a supplement. It's deplorable but true! Maybe that differs from state to state, but I doubt it.

idamtnboy wrote:

bwexler wrote:I too am smart enough to do the math and choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. The zero monthly premium and zero copy for most services satisfies my needs. And before Medicare I was self insured for 40 years, and although I paid out more than $40,000 in medical expenses in those 40 years, I only recall 2 years where I might have exceeded my deductible. Therefore I saved at least 38 years worth of premiums, tens of thousands of dollars over and above my total medical bills.

Math and research are wonderful things.

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck. Be judicious in how much credit you ascribe to different factors.

Keep in mind that the very foundation of insurance is the money that non-claimants pay in to support those who have claims. That's why the mandatory requirement is part of ACA. I haven't researched it, but Nate probably can tell us, but I would guess that the ratio of non-claimants to claimants has to be at least 10 to 1, if not even 100 to 1, for an insurance fund to stay solvent.

So your saying, the government is going to take the (fines or penalties) from the non-compliant people that refuse to buy insurance, and hand that money over to the insurance companies, so that they can fund the people that signed up and have claims? After-all, if the people would have signed up for insurance, the money would be going to the insurance companies! Right? Ha! When He*l freezes over!

I simply can't understand how in this world our country even came into existence without mandated health insurance, let alone survived for over 200 years! Or, how a business was built without the government there to build it for them! I guess the generations before us was just lucky! I just can't believe previous generations survived without the government there to hold their hands throughout their whole lives! It must have been absolutely barbaric to think they lived through all of those years without Social Security, food-stamps, free government housing and all the other social programs! Imagine someone today having to survive without cable tv and internet, or Lord forbid... their cellphone!

I was raised to believe that we lived in a country where we had freedom and a right to choose (good or bad), as long as we were willing to be held accountable for our own actions and/or decisions! I'm total dismayed that my parents and teachers lied to me at such a young age! Maybe I can have my 87 year old father charged with child abuse and sue all my past teachers for negligence! After I get all of that settled, then, I can do something like not show up for work, get fired, and kick back and suck down about 2 years worth of unemployment. Once that runs out, just have some Doctor sign a bunch of papers saying that I'm disabled from all the weight I gained from setting on my a*s for two years. Then retire on disability, while working on the side for cash under the table! Isn't that how the system seems to work now days?

While we're at it, maybe King Obama can pull out his "MIGHTY" pen, and set forth new laws in his kingdom. That any doctor that refuses to accept Medicare or Medicaid be imprisoned immediately, and all medical certifications destroyed! Any insurance company that refuses to pay out to any doctor or hospital in the Obama States of America shall have their business and insurance license revoked. And, any investor or board member in that company shall be stricken from this country and sent to an island inhabited only by cannibals!

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck.

It's called Risk/Reward! Some people have the stomach to take a chance, some don't. The ones that don't will always be the followers! How do you think a business ever gets started? Because, someone had a dream or idea and was willing to risk their money, time and effort, or offer other people the opportunity to invest in their dream or idea! (like your retirement plan, stocks, mutual funds are all invested in businesses) If no one was willing to take a chance/gamble that their idea will make them money, there would be no businesses today! Business owners, farmers, investors and bankers take that risk everyday! If bankers didn't take a risk on loaning people money, you would have to pay cash upfront for your cars and house! This is what makes up the backbone of the Capitalist system that you people seem to "despise" so much, except when it benefits you!

You can't live your life thinking there is always going to be a safety net there to catch you! You guys and gals that depend on the government to fix everything, would never have survived if you had lived back in the time the Pilgrims came over to this land! They were willing to take a chance, knowing there was no guarantees they would ever see this land. No government to protect them from all harm, in fact trying to escape government! No guarantee of enough food or water! No house waiting on them when they arrived here. They would have to deal with the elements, including death and sickness with no drugs or doctors or hospitals! So grow a little back bone. The "only" guarantees that anyone has while on this earth, is that some day they are going to die!

woodworkerjunkie wrote:So your saying, the government is going to take the (fines or penalties) from the non-compliant people that refuse to buy insurance, and hand that money over to the insurance companies, so that they can fund the people that signed up and have claims? After-all, if the people would have signed up for insurance, the money would be going to the insurance companies! Right? Ha! When He*l freezes over!

I simply can't understand how in this world our country even came into existence without mandated health insurance, let alone survived for over 200 years! Or, how a business was built without the government there to build it for them! I guess the generations before us was just lucky! I just can't believe previous generations survived without the government there to hold their hands throughout their whole lives! It must have been absolutely barbaric to think they lived through all of those years without Social Security, food-stamps, free government housing and all the other social programs! Imagine someone today having to survive without cable tv and internet, or Lord forbid... their cellphone!

I was raised to believe that we lived in a country where we had freedom and a right to choose (good or bad), as long as we were willing to be held accountable for our own actions and/or decisions! I'm total dismayed that my parents and teachers lied to me at such a young age! Maybe I can have my 87 year old father charged with child abuse and sue all my past teachers for negligence! After I get all of that settled, then, I can do something like not show up for work, get fired, and kick back and suck down about 2 years worth of unemployment. Once that runs out, just have some Doctor sign a bunch of papers saying that I'm disabled from all the weight I gained from setting on my a*s for two years. Then retire on disability, while working on the side for cash under the table! Isn't that how the system seems to work now days?

While we're at it, maybe King Obama can pull out his "MIGHTY" pen, and set forth new laws in his kingdom. That any doctor that refuses to accept Medicare or Medicaid be imprisoned immediately, and all medical certifications destroyed! Any insurance company that refuses to pay out to any doctor or hospital in the Obama States of America shall have their business and insurance license revoked. And, any investor or board member in that company shall be stricken from this country and sent to an island inhabited only by cannibals!

It's called Risk/Reward! Some people have the stomach to take a chance, some don't. The ones that don't will always be the followers! How do you think a business ever gets started? Because, someone had a dream or idea and was willing to risk their money, time and effort, or offer other people the opportunity to invest in their dream or idea! (like your retirement plan, stocks, mutual funds are all invested in businesses) If no one was willing to take a chance/gamble that their idea will make them money, there would be no businesses today! Business owners, farmers, investors and bankers take that risk everyday! If bankers didn't take a risk on loaning people money, you would have to pay cash upfront for your cars and house! This is what makes up the backbone of the Capitalist system that you people seem to "despise" so much, except when it benefits you!

You can't live your life thinking there is always going to be a safety net there to catch you! You guys and gals that depend on the government to fix everything, would never have survived if you had lived back in the time the Pilgrims came over to this land! They were willing to take a chance, knowing there was no guarantees they would ever see this land. No government to protect them from all harm, in fact trying to escape government! No guarantee of enough food or water! No house waiting on them when they arrived here. They would have to deal with the elements, including death and sickness with no drugs or doctors or hospitals! So grow a little back bone. The "only" guarantees that anyone has while on this earth, is that some day they are going to die!

Absolutely amazing! I hope you know what you are trying to say.

wwj,

As one who knows people on disability, I can assure you it was due for legitimate reasons and they are not earning money under the table. One person is in a wheelchair as an FYI.

I don't understand why you feel the need to demonize people who are less fortunate than you. I guess I should ask you this question - If you think being on disability is so wonderful, why don't you offer to trade places with someone for a day so you can experience the joys that you think it offers?

By the way, if you are concerned about the increasing numbers of people on disability, please check this link out about Medicaid Fraud and the excessive drugging of kids in Foster homes on psych meds. If you recall, Diane Sawyer did a report on this a few years ago.

Sadly, the attempt to sue was squashed.

http://www.madinamerica.com/2013/12/psy ... ng-vassel/

In Robert Whitaker's book on Anatomy of an Epidemic, he figured out that since the explosion of the growth of psych meds, that 250 kids are added to the disability rolls each day. For adults, it is about 1850 per day. Obviously causation doesn't equal correlation but if this is established with further studies, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to understand why since long term effects of psych meds are quite disabling, particularly if people are on a powerful cocktail.

By the way, you keep talking about how wonderful things were 250 years ago. I think women and African Americans might have a different perspective since women had zero rights and African Americans were mostly slaves.

By the way, I am not making this point to infer that you have those views but to simply add an alternative point of view.

That is about all I have the energy to respond to. I am sure many on this board are saying thank god.

49er

woodworkerjunkie wrote:

idamtnboy wrote:

bwexler wrote:I too am smart enough to do the math and choose a Medicare Advantage Plan. The zero monthly premium and zero copy for most services satisfies my needs. And before Medicare I was self insured for 40 years, and although I paid out more than $40,000 in medical expenses in those 40 years, I only recall 2 years where I might have exceeded my deductible. Therefore I saved at least 38 years worth of premiums, tens of thousands of dollars over and above my total medical bills.

Math and research are wonderful things.

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck. Be judicious in how much credit you ascribe to different factors.

Keep in mind that the very foundation of insurance is the money that non-claimants pay in to support those who have claims. That's why the mandatory requirement is part of ACA. I haven't researched it, but Nate probably can tell us, but I would guess that the ratio of non-claimants to claimants has to be at least 10 to 1, if not even 100 to 1, for an insurance fund to stay solvent.

So your saying, the government is going to take the (fines or penalties) from the non-compliant people that refuse to buy insurance, and hand that money over to the insurance companies, so that they can fund the people that signed up and have claims? After-all, if the people would have signed up for insurance, the money would be going to the insurance companies! Right? Ha! When He*l freezes over!

I simply can't understand how in this world our country even came into existence without mandated health insurance, let alone survived for over 200 years! Or, how a business was built without the government there to build it for them! I guess the generations before us was just lucky! I just can't believe previous generations survived without the government there to hold their hands throughout their whole lives! It must have been absolutely barbaric to think they lived through all of those years without Social Security, food-stamps, free government housing and all the other social programs! Imagine someone today having to survive without cable tv and internet, or Lord forbid... their cellphone!

I was raised to believe that we lived in a country where we had freedom and a right to choose (good or bad), as long as we were willing to be held accountable for our own actions and/or decisions! I'm total dismayed that my parents and teachers lied to me at such a young age! Maybe I can have my 87 year old father charged with child abuse and sue all my past teachers for negligence! After I get all of that settled, then, I can do something like not show up for work, get fired, and kick back and suck down about 2 years worth of unemployment. Once that runs out, just have some Doctor sign a bunch of papers saying that I'm disabled from all the weight I gained from setting on my a*s for two years. Then retire on disability, while working on the side for cash under the table! Isn't that how the system seems to work now days?

While we're at it, maybe King Obama can pull out his "MIGHTY" pen, and set forth new laws in his kingdom. That any doctor that refuses to accept Medicare or Medicaid be imprisoned immediately, and all medical certifications destroyed! Any insurance company that refuses to pay out to any doctor or hospital in the Obama States of America shall have their business and insurance license revoked. And, any investor or board member in that company shall be stricken from this country and sent to an island inhabited only by cannibals!

So are good fortune and good luck. Instead of being tens of thousands of dollars ahead you could easily have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt if you or a family member had had an accident with long lasting complications, or if something like cancer would have struck.

It's called Risk/Reward! Some people have the stomach to take a chance, some don't. The ones that don't will always be the followers! How do you think a business ever gets started? Because, someone had a dream or idea and was willing to risk their money, time and effort, or offer other people the opportunity to invest in their dream or idea! (like your retirement plan, stocks, mutual funds are all invested in businesses) If no one was willing to take a chance/gamble that their idea will make them money, there would be no businesses today! Business owners, farmers, investors and bankers take that risk everyday! If bankers didn't take a risk on loaning people money, you would have to pay cash upfront for your cars and house! This is what makes up the backbone of the Capitalist system that you people seem to "despise" so much, except when it benefits you!

You can't live your life thinking there is always going to be a safety net there to catch you! You guys and gals that depend on the government to fix everything, would never have survived if you had lived back in the time the Pilgrims came over to this land! They were willing to take a chance, knowing there was no guarantees they would ever see this land. No government to protect them from all harm, in fact trying to escape government! No guarantee of enough food or water! No house waiting on them when they arrived here. They would have to deal with the elements, including death and sickness with no drugs or doctors or hospitals! So grow a little back bone. The "only" guarantees that anyone has while on this earth, is that some day they are going to die!