Amen to that. The sick and elderly have the hardest time of all, even though we worked all our lives and paid into Medicare funds. Those of us that have Medicare have a lot of expenses.
For those who are still working, now many companies are cutting back on their employees hours so they can avoid the insurance penalties that go along with Obamacare. I have friends that have had their hours cut back already.. Because of Obamacare the employers hire more employees and then cut everyone back to 32 hours or less so that they don't have to pay for medical coverage or pay a penalty. Now they can't make their mortgage payments.
I thought if you popped out a kid, so to speak, that only the baby was eligible for Medicaid, not the mother?? Is that right?
Ally
Ann A. said:
Nic961
You cannot get Medicare by popping out a kid. I think you intend to make a joke about popping out a kid to get Medicaid. In order to receive Medicare you must reach age 65, or have end stage renal disease, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, or have a permanent medical disability as determined by the social security administration.
Some of the Part A Medicare benefits that us old fogeys get is paid for by FICA into which we have made a contribution from every paycheck that we have earned since the law was passed in 1965. We must still pay a monthly premium for Part B. My monthly Medicare Part B Premium is $116. This national insurance plan into which I have paid out of every paycheck that I have earned since my high school graduation still does not cover 100% of the costs of my routine medical care. So I must maintain a separate supplemental health insurance. That insurance, which covers only me, now costs $271 per month. Nor is everything that I might need covered by my supplemental insurance. So, in addition to the to $387 per month that I pay for Medicare Part B and supplemental medicare insurance, I still have other out of pocket medical costs. The supplemental insurance that I have now is a plan that is available to people who worked for the state long enough to retire. I have some prescriptions for which it will pay nothing. I have other prescriptons with co-pays that are so high that I am highly motivated to live without them. Dental procedures are especially problematic and I am so glad that Walmart will sell a pair of eyeglasses for $89 because I have had three new prescriptions this year (Prednisone never stops giving).
No, you do not get Medicare by popping out a baby. You get Medicare by getting too old and/or too ill to work. You still have insurance premiums to pay and it still does not cover everything. That is why so many of the people in the US who are sick and elderly still end up on Medicaid in their last years. They run out of money paying for medical need
Just for the record, I have no interest in getting into a political discussion with anyone on lwl or even in my private life, for that matter. I never do. It's pointless as far as I'm concerned. God has His own plan. I had to state the reason that the reduction in hours was happening in places where it was NOT BEFORE O-care presented itself. I'm well aware that this was common practice all along.
My point was that employers than normally offered 40 hours a week currently are joining the rest of the employers who limit hours to avoid paying for medical insurance, and now with the penalties attached, has aggravated the situation and is affecting even more struggling families. No perfect solution in an imperfect world, I guess.
Ally
Ann A. said:
Ally,
I have no idea about how Medicaid works though learning more about the WIC program is on my agenda as a nutrition educator.
As for putting people on less than full time work to avoid paying benefits that has been going on for decades.
For more than 30 years I have watched up close and personal as young people have often been required to work two less than fulltime jobs in order to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table with neither job providing benefits. This occurred with the shift in the basis of the US economy as we moved into the post industrial information age. It is associated with .....
I will offer no comments on the controversial Affordable Care Act because it would take us into the type of political discussion that is explicitly not allowed on LWL.
Unfortunately, I can't explain, but I have had low vitamin D and B12 levels. I have read that both are indicative of autoimmune disorders and my rheumy suggested that the low B12 level could be somewhat responsible for my fatigue. Unfortunately, when I started taking a B12 supplement, it didn't seem to help with the fatigue. I also have type 1 diabetes, so it is difficult to distinguish which autoimmune disorder is causing my symptoms. Hope things get better for you!
I have all these problems and my oldest daughter does too, and she has lupus. I have a lot of nuro problems. I take vitamin d and b12 shots every two weeks and iron twice daily. Still having major problems so i go see nuro doc next month fun fun.
Yes, fun, fun. I am in the middle of neuro evaluation. Had MRI of cervical spine (no lesions, but spinal cord compression at C3-4, 4-5 and 6-7). Will have brain MRI on Saturday as they are wanting to rule out MS. I am also having lots of neuro issues. Tingling, tremors, muscle cramping, etc. They are still testing for B12 deficiency. I am very low normal for B12, at 333 but the new lower limit will likely be raised from 200 (way too low) to 550, in which case 333 is definitely low. In any case, I'm sorry you are going through this and especially with your daughter as well. Hang in there. Heymj
Rebecca Hilliard said:
I have all these problems and my oldest daughter does too, and she has lupus. I have a lot of nuro problems. I take vitamin d and b12 shots every two weeks and iron twice daily. Still having major problems so i go see nuro doc next month fun fun.