how is the health and dental benefits

Discussion in 'Swift' started by usncva62, Sep 24, 2016.

  1. WitchyWomen

    WitchyWomen Medium Load Member

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    What I don't get is why Vets can't get on the same health plans that all Federal employees and reitrees use. Easy access to almost any doctor, low monthly payments, we are the largest bargining group for insurance in the US. Why wait at the VA when you can just make an appointment with anyone?

    I also think you could offer a similar plan to any US citizen in the hopes of making a second national bargining group for better costs and services like the fed program,.

    The ACA isn't perfect and drug companies and Doctors price gouge Americans in ways they don't in other countries. But ACA is a godsend to a few of my family members with lifelong medical conditions that with cost caps, and prexisitng codition protocols of the past would leave them bankrupt through no fault of their own.
     
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  3. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    My Vet just picked up flu shots for free, they had to authorize via the VA electronically using her ID and information to approve a private provider of a medical procedure. No problems we both came out of there with the shots done. It would be weeks before the VA provided any and my doctor also. So that's that.

    She can go anywhere she wants for fast service of anything. But she always go to the VA and I will tell you why. Fighting cancer led us across the sky bridge to UAMS from the VA years ago. Several appointments there led to a billing of almost a thousand dollars due and payble by spouse and me. Referred the bill to the VA, it bounced back and forth a year.

    It turned out the Little Rock VA only had about 7 female vets fighting some form of cancer and no staffing present, so they referred to the UAMS staff with the skills to fight associated complications. In those days there is NO ACA NO mandate for anyone going to private doctor, private hospital etc as a Vet to refer that expense to Uncle Sam. That changed with recent laws passed to get Uncle Sam to pay the private care for Vets.

    We never did go back to the UAMS. It's a very nice facility, but way, way and way too expensive. They are after all a Trauma Center first before anything and a teaching University second.

    The amount of expense the VA incurred fighting the cancer a decade ago added up to approximately over one million us dollars. If it should return or strike me... no thanks Im not running up a million in charges in hope for a few more years. Hospice would be cheaper. Radiation for her alone was approximately 35,000 dollars with burn care from it ran up to 4500.00 privately billed and sent to the VA which covered it.
     
  4. Friday

    Friday Road Train Member

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    I'm so confused about these replies. I think no one noticed that this is under the swift forum and they're just talking about health insurance in general.

    I'd bet that OP was asking about insurance at swift, but I might be wrong.
     
  5. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    No confusion. Swift or any company offers insurance.

    KTC once provided BCBS insurance premuim to me for the time I was there and it was useful when I got hurt a time or two, but not enough to lose time. When I left there, a bill was waiting in my mailbox as a farewell gift, it was from BCBS of PA for 750 dollars due for the insurance for three months each instance if I chose to continue it under Cobra. Remember this was about early to mid 90's
     
  6. Scooter Jones

    Scooter Jones Road Train Member

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    Any self employed folks out here receive your new projected health insurance premium quote for 2017 yet?

    Well, I did...

    My wife & I are on Providence Health Choice 1000 Gold Plan. Purchased the plan through healthcare.gov. The plan after subsidy (via Obamacare) cost us $476 a month in 2016.

    The new plan quote (after potential subsidy) for a similar plan in 2017 is $1,358 a month!!!.

    That's right folks, that's a 300% increase in one freaking year.

    In addition, the out-of-pocket annual maximums increased by 72%.

    I'll save my political rant against the powers that be. I'll just get flagged anyways here. However, it sure seems to me that what they set out to do via the "Affordable Care Act" (Obamacare) is right on target.

    What did they set out to do, you ask? Bankrupt most health care providers and force the electorate into a single payer system,which is coming.
     
  7. UsualSuspect

    UsualSuspect Road Train Member

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    Yo Mama's
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    I have a few thousand shares in health care insurers and have received dividends, and had one split. The insurers are still making money, hospitals are, and are the drug companies. The issue is actually there are few insurers left due to the mergers and acquisitions in the 1990 - 2007 period. The top 3 insurers in the US insure 87% of the population that has insurance.
     
  8. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    You can save a lot of money by not getting insurance... and simply not getting sick enough to need a doctor.
     
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  9. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

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    White County, Arkansas
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    Obamacare requires insurance. It's mandatory now. 650 fines against you first year failure to comply becomes upwards of around 2400 in fines against you and your FAMILY for failing to comply.

    Most policies have a deductable of around 6500 to 10,000 dollars cold billing WHICH you MUST pay in any benefit year BEFORE they cover anything. If you are going to need a hospital put your foot on the floor so you need a helicopter and proper trauma, that way anything over 100K your first week's billing will begin to be paid.

    The idea of staying young and healthy eroded into my late 30's It took approx 20,000 dollars into my early 40's plus a surgery or two to begin to repair and maintain the body that was destroyed by trucking in many ways.
     
  10. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    I'm nearly 61 and the only reason I go to a doctor is to get blood pressure medicine.
    No physicals (except for the required DOT), no preventive garbage... nothing.

    That is not saying that I haven't had a few surgeries in my lifetime. A couple for misaligned knees and a couple for hernia's. Special cases.
    But in general I simply do not go to doctors for much of anything. A cold or flu my body can fight off, and that is all that I get - maybe once every 3 years.

    I think if everyone else did as I do the cost of health care would be a fraction of what it is.
    But it seems most everyone goes to a doctor at the first sign of any illness whether they really need to or not. That paranoid attitude simply feeds the insurance system to ever raise the cost on a nearly daily basis.
     
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