[CHATSDALE]

incurance companies have to
1. pay overhead ie office space, workers, executives
2.advertisements
3 investigators to root out fraud
4.make a profit for those stockholders who are depending on income
for a return on their investments because they can't live on S/S

i don't know if the government can do a better job at this than the private sector or not, you may not have golden parachutes for tptb but you will have people entrenched in jobs that are difficult to get them out after a certain length of time
va people is they can make it one year it is next to impossible to get them out of a job be they office workers, nurses, doctors
if we have national health care it will be along the lines of the va hospitals, state run hospitals, city charity wards etc
you have to be approved for certain surgeries if THEY decide that it is not necessary or elective
and do you know where the money for everybody to be covered??
lower wages for health care workers, MUCH HIGHER TAXES for everyone not those whom the government decides are rich enough anyway
it will cost more for care that may be substandard
there will be fewer students going into nursing/medical because there will be no incentives

[jeolsz]

Originally Posted by Baptized_By_Fire

This appears to be more of an issue with the son's company's parameters for coverage than the insurance company's, sad to say.
Truck drivers, by the nature of their jobs are sedentary, and often do not have the benefit of eating healthy home-cooked meals, nor do they have the time to exercise. I have a job educating a large company's employees in improving their health when they have some of the more costly conditions, and the truck drivers I cover are on the road for days at a time, with little rest, little time for breaks, and the trucks they drive are not equipped with fridges/microwaves, etc. One would assume that if the company wants to help maintain the health of its truck-driving workforce, it would work out a better deal for covering this high-risk group.

Give me a break.. more excuses!.. I work full time as a nurse,( I work for an insurance Company at a computer all day) part time as a realtor... have 5 kids 2 dogs, 2 cats and a large house to take care of.. yet I make the time to exersize at least once a day, eat healthy( fruits, vegetables and lean meats).. I am not overweight.. In fact none of my kids all either.. they have all followed my example and we all run in 5 k's together.. I used to smoke, eat junk and never exersized, but I was able to change and so can this 23 year old man. It is everyone's personal responsiblility to practice healthy habits.. he can choose a salad instead of a greasy burger and I'm sure he can find 30 min 5x week to take a brisk walk.. after all I'm sure he is entitled to break!

[Baptized_By_Fire]

Originally Posted by jeolsz

Give me a break.. more excuses!.. I work full time as a nurse,( I work for an insurance Company at a computer all day) part time as a realtor... have 5 kids 2 dogs, 2 cats and a large house to take care of.. yet I make the time to exersize at least once a day, eat healthy( fruits, vegetables and lean meats).. I am not overweight.. In fact none of my kids all either.. they have all followed my example and we all run in 5 k's together.. I used to smoke, eat junk and never exersized, but I was able to change and so can this 23 year old man. It is everyone's personal responsiblility to practice healthy habits.. he can choose a salad instead of a greasy burger and I'm sure he can find 30 min 5x week to take a brisk walk.. after all I'm sure he is entitled to break!

Good for you, and no need for the dramatics. I'm guessing none of you drive a truck, either.

There are no excuses here, but everything is not as cut&dry simple as you seem to think. Where are they supposed to get salads from- the salad bar at the truck stop? Brisk walks on the side of the highway are probably more unsafe than being overweight. When are they supposed to go to the gym? Most of them work at least 50 hours a week. It's well known in managed care that driving a truck is one of the unhealthiest jobs out there as far as chronic disease goes.

[MoonRising]

Thank you Baptized by Fire for you comments. It is true that being a Truck Driver lends itself to an unhealthy lifestyle. It is difficult to compare someone who has a job in an office/hospital and has a set work schedule to someone who lives and works in a big rig. After your workday is done you get to go home. Truck drivers maybe in the middle of nowhere. Has anyone even been to a truck stop? Not a lot of choices for eating healthy.

[jeolsz]

Originally Posted by Baptized_By_Fire

Good for you, and no need for the dramatics. I'm guessing none of you drive a truck, either.

There are no excuses here, but everything is not as cut&dry simple as you seem to think. Where are they supposed to get salads from- the salad bar at the truck stop? Brisk walks on the side of the highway are probably more unsafe than being overweight. When are they supposed to go to the gym? Most of them work at least 50 hours a week. It's well known in managed care that driving a truck is one of the unhealthiest jobs out there as far as chronic disease goes.

So I guess we'll give all truck drivers out there a pass.. And yes life is as simple as that.. We all have choices.. I do not believe there are victims.. only victims of poor choices.. Your logic suggest all truck drivers should be overweight since their job dictates poor life style choices.. I don't think that's the case..

I read alot of medical charts for a living.. most illnesses and disease come from poor lifestyle choices. Insurance is about risk .. so their choice on whether to insure high risk or not is about business.. If privite insurance companies ignored this and insured everyone, they would probably be out of business..

I think we all think insurance companies should be more compassionate, but we all forget insurance is business... not personal. The problem of insurance for this individual would be easily solved with weight loss .. why is this so awful to consider?

[jeolsz]

Originally Posted by MoonRising

Thank you Baptized by Fire for you comments. It is true that being a Truck Driver lends itself to an unhealthy lifestyle. It is difficult to compare someone who has a job in an office/hospital and has a set work schedule to someone who lives and works in a big rig. After your workday is done you get to go home. Truck drivers maybe in the middle of nowhere. Has anyone even been to a truck stop? Not a lot of choices for eating healthy.

I find it hard to believe there are no vegetables or fruit at a truck stop! Come on we all have issues in our lives that make it hard to be healthy.. Life tends to swallow us up at times.. it's up to us to stop and think about changing how we live and taking care of ourselves.. and as nurses we should be setting the example and not making excuses for our patients!

[mcubed45]

Originally Posted by Baptized_By_Fire

Good for you, and no need for the dramatics. I'm guessing none of you drive a truck, either.

There are no excuses here, but everything is not as cut&dry simple as you seem to think. Where are they supposed to get salads from- the salad bar at the truck stop? Brisk walks on the side of the highway are probably more unsafe than being overweight. When are they supposed to go to the gym? Most of them work at least 50 hours a week. It's well known in managed care that driving a truck is one of the unhealthiest jobs out there as far as chronic disease goes.

i've never been a truck driver so i'll be first admit i DO NOT know what it's like. that said, in life you ALWAYS have a choice. it may be true that their line of work makes it difficult to live a healthy lifestyle, but that doesn't make it impossible. it's all about choices. even continuing to work a job which is as taxing on ones as health as you claim is a CHOICE.

this isn't aimed at truck driver's specifically, but people in general. people like to simplify bad decisions by claiming they don't have a choice. taking the job is a choice. eating unhealthy is a choice. remaining with an employer that does not offer adequate coverage is a choice. change is hard. when you make a change, there's a chance you could improve things but there's also a chance you may end up worse off.. however, as long as you CHOOSE to accept the status quo, it's pretty much guaranteed nothing will change.

it's a little silly to claim that people who CHOOSE to take a job (which encourages an unhealthy lifestyle) should be a given a break when it comes to insurance policy standards.

[nursestimpy]

it is sad in this nation that so many are denied healthcare. we spend millions of dollars each day for a war but dont take care of these soldiers or their families healthcare needs. it is our RIGHT to have access to healthcare at all times under all circumstances!
what can we do?
take a look at http://www.pnhp.org/
it is time that all americans recieve the healthcare we deserve.
get involved! get your friends involved!
pass this on to everyone you know!

[Baptized_By_Fire]

Originally Posted by mcubed45

it's a little silly to claim that people who CHOOSE to take a job (which encourages an unhealthy lifestyle) should be a given a break when it comes to insurance policy standards.

No one has said they should 'get a break.' My point is that they should be eligible for health insurance. How are they going to improve their health if they can't go to the doctor, can't get the medicines they need, and don't have the access to the health promotion education that they need by doctors and nurses? Just telling them to eat better and exercise doesn't always cut it. They need intensive support. That is what I do for a living. My patients are able to get this educational support as part of their benefits package, and they get some very good incentives for participating. And it doesn't cost the company any more money to do this- in fact, it saved them $1.76 for every dollar they spent on health care last year, because it was shown that it helped to improve empoyees' health overall.

There are options that work. Cutting off insurance benefits does nothing to improve the health of their workers. It also lacks initiative and creativity. Most companies are gearing more toward health promotion with incentives for their employees with better outcomes, anyway.

[MoonRising]

Being the wife of a Truck Driver this issue is very close to home. I was under the impression that providing access to preventative care was a way to reduce the cost of health insurance. Taking care of a problem when its small is the difference between a $200 procedure, that may be easily paid and one that costs thousands of dollars that may not be paid at all. I thought that because people were using the ER as their primary treatment center was part of the reason for increased insurance premiums and high wait times. This would be avoided if those people had regular health insurance.

Since I have actually gone truck driving with my husband I can say that of the truck stops Ive gone to none contain gyms or workout rooms and I have never seen a truck driver jog around the stop or his truck either, being that they are not always the safest places and showers must be paid for. Plus keep in mind they don't always get the luxary of sleeping at a truck stop. Many times you have to sleep on the side of a road or freeway which have no amenities (ie: bathrooms)

Yes, they choose this job but you should have a little compassion and think about their sacrafice the next time you eat that healthy salad, watch tv, or use toilette paper.