Medical Freedom

[misksh]

I have heard a lot of talk lately about the problems with our medical system and a few solutions. Most of the solutions will take years to implement. How about some practical solutions for the here and now? One of my ideas is to investigate and experiment with alternative medicine. Some of these alternatives I am testing include: oxygen therapy; ionic water; eating raw fruits and vegetables; daily exercise; violet ray machine; Juice Plus nutritional supplements. I look and feel very healthy for my age of 52, but my health care insurance is rising at about 20 percent annually. Soon, my health insurance will be totally unaffordable.

Does anyone have any ideas as how to obtain emergency medicine outside of the current health system?

Ken

[Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)]

That's not a solution, that's an alternative.

[LTKoblinsky]

Ummmm...most of that stuff is scamworthy, so whoever's selling it to you should be disconnected from. Now, emergency care? How serious are we talking? Pretty basic stuff can be taken care of by general practitioners or even the ER. Anything major (heartattack) is the reason for health insurance (or supposed to be).

[carolynjane4]

See if you can get a high-deductible "catastrophe"-type plan.  Like car insurance, the higher the deductible, the lower the premiums.  If you have a major emergency (like a heart attack), you would have to pay the deductible before the insurance pays anything, but after that, you would be covered.  You will also get your insurance company's negotiated rate with the provider.  (For example, if a regular doctor visit costs $200 to someone without insurance, but $100 is the negotiated rate with the insurance company, and a person with "normal" full-coverage insurance would pay a $20 copay and their insurance would pay $80, under a high deductible plan you would pay $100, which is still kind of a lot, but much less than $200.)  It was probably cheaper for me (due to age), but I had a plan in Florida when I was 25 that had maybe a $10k deductible, and cost $80/month.  It also covered an annual physical (at no cost to the patient).  When I moved back to Kentucky, the premiums went down to around $35/month.  (!!!)  I believe this was through Humana One (individual plan).  Might not be what you're looking for, but just an idea...