Health Care, No Insurance
December 7, 2018 at 4:56 p.m.
By -
I read this article on health insurance and have often wondered how we got from no insurance as a kid and young adult, married, to the entitlement mentality of today. Our firstborn was born a little premature the day after moving into our still current home. Fifty-six years later, a bit of trivia: We bought our home from Fred and Flo Olds, the painter, when they moved to Wynnewood, Okla. A very interesting and likeable fellow.
Anyway, back to the subject. Our doctor’s bill for all the prenatal care and delivery was $75 for a “normal” vaginal birth but came breach and had three doctors there to witness this unusual birth. Our second son born two years later was $125 – no insurance. I think our daughter, born in ’66, was about $275, and our youngest son, born in 1969, was about $350 – and still no insurance. Took us months to pay his bill off – they accepted payments back then! The hospital bills were comparable in cost.
In 1996 my youngest son had a baby boy born premature. That total bill came to over $100,000, paid by the best health insurance available – at taxpayers’ expense as he was a state employee.
I remember reading Lee Iacocca’s book on how Chrysler’s venture into health insurance for all their employees helped lead them into near bankruptcy and required a bailout – which they paid back. So here we are. A serious national problem that had implications on this last midterm election. How do you put the rabbit back in the hat?
Social Security is another dilemma that has become a monster rolling down the hill like a snowball and nobody in Congress wants to touch. I paid into Social Security for 45 years, starting in 1956. I drew out all the money I had paid in in less than three years – a pretty good return since I’ve been receiving Social Security for about 17 years. I can’t count all the times I’ve heard, “I’ve paid in for years and I’m entitled to it.” I’m flooded with letters soliciting contributions to help them get all the “additional” I’m entitled to.
I’ve looked forward to reading the Times-Union as a teenager on the farm – when we got it through the mail a day late since it was cheaper – to today. I still look forward to it and enjoy reading the conservative view on politics and local news.
Ervin Bolt
Warsaw
I read this article on health insurance and have often wondered how we got from no insurance as a kid and young adult, married, to the entitlement mentality of today. Our firstborn was born a little premature the day after moving into our still current home. Fifty-six years later, a bit of trivia: We bought our home from Fred and Flo Olds, the painter, when they moved to Wynnewood, Okla. A very interesting and likeable fellow.
Anyway, back to the subject. Our doctor’s bill for all the prenatal care and delivery was $75 for a “normal” vaginal birth but came breach and had three doctors there to witness this unusual birth. Our second son born two years later was $125 – no insurance. I think our daughter, born in ’66, was about $275, and our youngest son, born in 1969, was about $350 – and still no insurance. Took us months to pay his bill off – they accepted payments back then! The hospital bills were comparable in cost.
In 1996 my youngest son had a baby boy born premature. That total bill came to over $100,000, paid by the best health insurance available – at taxpayers’ expense as he was a state employee.
I remember reading Lee Iacocca’s book on how Chrysler’s venture into health insurance for all their employees helped lead them into near bankruptcy and required a bailout – which they paid back. So here we are. A serious national problem that had implications on this last midterm election. How do you put the rabbit back in the hat?
Social Security is another dilemma that has become a monster rolling down the hill like a snowball and nobody in Congress wants to touch. I paid into Social Security for 45 years, starting in 1956. I drew out all the money I had paid in in less than three years – a pretty good return since I’ve been receiving Social Security for about 17 years. I can’t count all the times I’ve heard, “I’ve paid in for years and I’m entitled to it.” I’m flooded with letters soliciting contributions to help them get all the “additional” I’m entitled to.
I’ve looked forward to reading the Times-Union as a teenager on the farm – when we got it through the mail a day late since it was cheaper – to today. I still look forward to it and enjoy reading the conservative view on politics and local news.
Ervin Bolt
Warsaw
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