One of my goals is to eventually be able to purchase a house. Many of my nursing colleagues are purchasing homes that are worth $450,000, $500,000 or even more. Sadly, my budget is about half of that or even less, which means the houses I have to choose from are not appealing. Most of them are small, old, or both.
I am just curious how other nurses manage to purchase decent houses? I've been looking through my income, and I just can't find a way to make it possible to incorporate such a house into my budget. I am salary, so there are no opportunities for overtime.
What are other nurses' experience with buying houses? How did you make it work? Did it require switching jobs? Inquiring minds want to know!
He probably cannot under Obama care because he is still considered a dependent and UCF does not have student policies. I doubt the Zion health sharing policy will be sufficient for the school of nursing if he get accepted (many colleges require students to have health insurance). If that becomes an issue I will purchase him an additional Obama care Bronze or Silver policy. The Zion health sharing at least gives us something if we break a leg or need an appendix out.
I worked with a traveler that was using a Christian health share for insurance. Problem is they don't always pay out in the end. Then you have the option of negotiating with the hospital to pay it off or filing bankruptcy. He also took his kid to Mexico for dental work. I quit my job at the end of the year and started early retirement. Cobra was $600 a month with $3,000 deductible and affordable care would have been same monthly plus double deductible, but subsidies cut it down to $150 a month premium. Gambled on the cheaper insurance, but really is catastrophe insurance, HMO, no out of network coverage. Was able to Cobra dental which the discount is more important than the yearly coverage. I have money in HSA, HRA, Roth, 403b plus a pension; and I'm using the Roth to keep my yearly income low enough to get subsidies on the health ins exchange. I wish they would expand medicare to 55, even if I paid more in premiums between the various supplements it would be comprehensive health care and I could choose my own Dr and hospital. Regardless I will find a way to make this work. I was working at a job that I felt was killing me from the stress etc just for health insurance. I don't regret quitting, but I should have done it sooner though!
My poor choices are not an indictment over the healthcare system.
Yes they are. When your children are suffering because of fear of a bill then there is something very, very wrong.
Your choices should not affect your or your children's healthcare.
1 hour ago, brandy1017 said:
I was working at a job that I felt was killing me from the stress etc just for health insurance.
This is something that no European has said ever.
I don't want to speak for macawake but I am sure they agree with me that to European eyes the American system is appalling, abhorrent and downright disgusting. You have the best healthcare available in the world but the access to it is just (searches thesaurus for word bad enough) repellent.
My biggest worry is that the present government in UK seems determined to destroy the NHS and bring in an American system.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
2 hours ago, GrumpyRN said:
I don't want to speak for macawake but I am sure they agree with me that to European eyes the American system is appalling, abhorrent and downright disgusting. You have the best healthcare available in the world but the access to it is just (searches thesaurus for word bad enough) repellent.
My biggest worry is that the present government in UK seems determined to destroy the NHS and bring in an American system.
Most Americans agree with you as well. Of the ones who don't, the majority don't agree simply because they don't understand that there is a different, better way. It's just how it is here, how it's always been, it's been indoctrinated. I mean, look at Myoglobin's statement about his poor financial decisions being the reason why he/his family is in that situation. That's indoctrination right there. I think most Americans don't realize that the rest of the world looks upon our healthcare system as something so incredibly foreign, so incredibly backwards, and so...awful.
Yes they are. When your children are suffering because of fear of a bill then there is something very, very wrong.
Your choices should not affect your or your children's healthcare.
This is something that no European has said ever.
I don't want to speak for macawake but I am sure they agree with me that to European eyes the American system is appalling, abhorrent and downright disgusting. You have the best healthcare available in the world but the access to it is just (searches thesaurus for word bad enough) repellent.
My biggest worry is that the present government in UK seems determined to destroy the NHS and bring in an American system.
My entire family has both Danish and British passports and National Insurance numbers primarily for health care. Everyone spent time in both countries for some education and we worked. In the UK we have to pay a small fee to access the NHS which in my opinion has the equivalent level of care, (without the bells and whistles,) if not better than America's, except for trauma like gunshot wounds etc., only because we have much more of it.
And yes Boris has to go! My parents still consume British political news and keep us all abreast of the goings on. They hate Jacob Rees Morg by the way.
Yes they are. When your children are suffering because of fear of a bill then there is something very, very wrong.
Your choices should not affect your or your children's healthcare.
This is something that no European has said ever.
I don't want to speak for macawake but I am sure they agree with me that to European eyes the American system is appalling, abhorrent and downright disgusting. You have the best healthcare available in the world but the access to it is just (searches thesaurus for word bad enough) repellent.
My biggest worry is that the present government in UK seems determined to destroy the NHS and bring in an American system.
There are positives and negatives. For example I primarily take insurance (including Medicare) but not Medicaid (the company I work with does not allow me to take Medicaid as everyone in the group would have to do so). However, if someone has to pay out of pocket I never refer to collections, and will take as little as $10.00 per month. If someone cannot even afford that I sometimes book appointments on my days off and see for free (obviously this is the exception). Also the hospital corp that I used to work for has hospitals in the UK (HCA) I think they only take private insurance so I am genuinely curious how that works. Do some people also have private insurance that goes above and beyond the NHS system?
Also the hospital corp that I used to work for has hospitals in the UK (HCA) I think they only take private insurance so I am genuinely curious how that works. Do some people also have private insurance that goes above and beyond the NHS system?
Simple answer is yes, some people have private insurance. However this does not mean they don't pay into the NHS.
Every person working in the UK pays National Insurance (a percentage of your wage/salary) with your employer paying a contribution as well. We also pay Tax. Deductions in total are about 1 third of your salary. For that I have my own family doctor, access to hospital and ambulances etc with no cost to me at time of use. I can get everything I need from the NHS.
There is a private health service that runs alongside the NHS which people can either pay into or can get through some employers.
What tends to happen is that the NHS is great for life threatening stuff but not so good at the life enhancing stuff - long waiting times not poor work.
So if you have a minor problem that the NHS will fix but may take a year to get done you can go private if you want. You will see a doctor or surgeon (may be an NHS medic splitting their time between NHS and private) who will arrange for what needs to be done. This can either be done at a private hospital (all big cities have them) or with an arrangement with the local NHS hospital (rarer and not liked by NHS staff).
As an example, I have private dental care which I pay for monthly (I have good dental health so not expensive) but I required a biopsy to exclude an oral cancer. I could get one done on the NHS in about 3 months but decided to pay for it to be done privately because it was quicker. As is usual with these things about 2 days after I got my private biopsy I received a call from the local NHS dental service to come in for a biopsy. Ah well it got done and nothing found.
To give you an idea how it all works I have had some time unemployed and received unemployment benefit, I received statutory sick pay when I was ill and I will receive an old age pension when I reach that age. Plus of course no medical bills. All paid for by the National Insurance I have paid since I left school at age 15.
So to answer your question you can quite happily get everything you need through the NHS but if there is going to be delay and you have paid or you can afford it you can go private. What I would say is that private is not always better but it is faster.
Sorry, long answer but I tried to give you as much detail as necessary.
There are positives and negatives. For example I primarily take insurance (including Medicare) but not Medicaid (the company I work with does not allow me to take Medicaid as everyone in the group would have to do so). However, if someone has to pay out of pocket I never refer to collections, and will take as little as $10.00 per month. If someone cannot even afford that I sometimes book appointments on my days off and see for free (obviously this is the exception). Also the hospital corp that I used to work for has hospitals in the UK (HCA) I think they only take private insurance so I am genuinely curious how that works. Do some people also have private insurance that goes above and beyond the NHS system?
Now you are getting it. They use something called BUPA which my entire family incl my grandparents are enrolled in. My father's company pays for it. So if we are visiting which is at least twice a year for most of us, we use our National Insurance number for the NHS but actually use BUPA to bypass any wait times if it's something serious.
So you see as GrumpyRN told you. Everyone pools their money like any insurance company and everyone has access to health care. Using BUPA allows you access to quicker and better health care. It's essentially private insurance on top of the state insurance which is the NHS.
All paid for by the National Insurance I have paid since I left school at age 15.
In the US we pay for Social Security as a somewhat pension plan program but the government does say this is not your only funding in old age. I was surprised when I applied for SS that despite my earnings through high school and college were taxed for social security, the money I paid to SS did not meet the threshold for counting as a SS year. This really did leave me with a sour taste in my mouth. I was working for school /living expenses and while I worked to succeed and ultimately make more money in my life that would be taxed for SS. $ earned from my years 16 - 22 wouldn't help me in my old age.
I don't want to speak for macawake but I am sure they agree with me that to European eyes the American system is appalling, abhorrent and downright disgusting. You have the best healthcare available in the world but the access to it is just (searches thesaurus for word bad enough) repellent.
You can speak for me on this subject ? We are in complete agreement.
The United States is one of the richest countries on earth and as you pointed out has excellent healthcare, but can’t be bothered to supply it equitably to its citizens.
I absolutely understand why the top 1% (well, at least the ones who are indifferent to the suffering of others), find the current setup quite appealing. What’s harder to understand is how so many citizens who are in much lower income strata have been convinced to consistently vote against their own best interest.
Every time I have a conversation with an American who is not among the ultra rich and ask them why they think their system is so much better for them and ask them to answer what it is they think is so bad about universal healthcare, I never get a comprehensive or clear reply.
I get the feeling that many of them don’t really know why they dislike universal healthcare, just that they do. In my opinion they’ve had their opinion shaped by a very deliberate disinformation campaign.
Follow the ?
Londonflo, it's probably just as well that Social Security doesn't count those first few years that you worked. You wouldn't want those early years - with their low totals - to count in calculating your benefits. According to The Motley Fool: (see below)
How Many Years Must You Work to Collect Social Security Benefits? | The Motley Fool
"Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your lifetime earnings. That formula counts your 35 highest-paid years of wages when determining what monthly payout you're entitled to. For each year within that top 35 that you don't have an income on file, you'll have a $0 factored into your benefits calculation. This means if you only work 10 years and accrue just enough credits to be entitled to benefits, but then have 25 years of $0s going into your personal benefits formula, you won't end up with a very large payout (though thankfully, there's a minimum benefit you'll be entitled to)."
To say nothing of how the USA is superceded my multiple countries on the Happiness Index. We are not a happy people by any measurement. IMHO, M represents the kind of person who doesn't care for other people, and I'm not making a moral judgment here. I think it's a personality type that some are just born to. They just need more isolation and equate that with "freedom". But I prefer happiness as a measurement of a society's worthiness. I prefer to be free of mass murders, politicians who preach hatred, suppression of the middle class as a tax policy , etc. but no other country wants me:)
I actually almost included a link to the Happiness Index in my reply to Myoglobin but decided not to. I didn’t because I felt that it might be perceived as ”rubbing it in” considering all the other links I’d included that weren’t favorable for the U.S. But you’re right, it is relevant when comparing the U.S. to other high income countries.
The happiness of people living in a society is a good variable to judge it by.
I was hoping to get Myoglobin to reflect a bit since I understood his post as him believing that the U.S. is superior to European countries and it was obvious that there are a lot of things he doesn’t really understand about Europe.
He seemed to think that we drive ”tiny” cars because we can’t afford bigger cars. He also seemed to think that made us less safe/more vulnerable to traffic injuries/deaths. First of all he doesn’t appear to realize that ”gas guzzlers” are frowned upon for environmental reasons in many European countries. I also linked the statistics that show that driving a car is much more dangerous in the U.S. than in the majority of European countries. I hoped to make him think a minute or two about why we have so many fewer homicides despite not being able to buy an AR15. I’m not sure I accomplished much though.
You can speak for me on this subject ? We are in complete agreement.
The United States is one of the richest countries on earth and as you pointed out has excellent healthcare, but can’t be bothered to supply it equitably to its citizens.
I absolutely understand why the top 1% (well, at least the ones who are indifferent to the suffering of others), find the current setup quite appealing. What’s harder to understand is how so many citizens who are in much lower income strata have been convinced to consistently vote against their own best interest.
* It's due to ignorance and limited education. Example Myoglobin. He has visited Europe and his interests were Walmart, buffets etc. At least he went.
You will not believe how many Americans haven't been to Washington DC or New York city but have certainly been to Disneyland or Six Flags. You won't believe how many haven't even got a passport or couldn't tell you the capital of Canada or Mexico.
The country is inundated with information about McDonald's and mattress shops etc. You can't even get any international news on television and the people simply don't care despite probably having the largest foreign policy budget in the world.
1 hour ago, macawake said:
Every time I have a conversation with an American who is not among the ultra rich and ask them why they think their system is so much better for them and ask them to answer what it is they think is so bad about universal healthcare, I never get a comprehensive or clear reply.
* They have been programmed to believe everything in America is the best. Brain washed and since their ideas of travel for the few who do, are a two weeks vacation in Europe spending two days in each city... They actually think that they know Europe!
You will not believe how many nurses or other professionals actually are in their current jobs ONLY for health insurance!
1 hour ago, macawake said:
I get the feeling that many of them don’t really know why they dislike universal healthcare, just that they do. In my opinion they’ve had their opinion shaped by a very deliberate disinformation campaign.
Follow the ?
America is about $$$$. Only the wealthy get respected. It doesn't matter if you are a drug dealer or a sewage garbage collector. I have actually met a few famous rappers, athletes, Rockstars and pop stars through my father's business. They are corporations themselves with various businesses. Some were nice but the majority were thick as planks. Of course they were brilliant at their professions. The point is that you would not believe how many of the firm's lawyers even after finding out their interlectual limits, were still crazy about their celebrity.
All that money and it only represented purchasing power to them. The Drs in the hospitals I've worked, the lawyers, all highly educated brilliant people, BUT ONLY in their specific areas! Very little all round intelligence. Their goals are almost always acquisition of money. We isolate ourselves into different communities here and have patronizing respect for OTHERS!
We have a political party that thinks women should not be trusted to take care of the thier own bodies and the stupid women go along with it. They are told to stay in the kitchen and have babies. This same party, almost all old white idiotic white men view every other race, non Christian people as 2nd class and do everything to keep them down and you will not believe how many of those people embrace their subjugation!
brandy1017, ASN, RN
2,910 Posts
I worked with a traveler that was using a Christian health share for insurance. Problem is they don't always pay out in the end. Then you have the option of negotiating with the hospital to pay it off or filing bankruptcy. He also took his kid to Mexico for dental work. I quit my job at the end of the year and started early retirement. Cobra was $600 a month with $3,000 deductible and affordable care would have been same monthly plus double deductible, but subsidies cut it down to $150 a month premium. Gambled on the cheaper insurance, but really is catastrophe insurance, HMO, no out of network coverage. Was able to Cobra dental which the discount is more important than the yearly coverage. I have money in HSA, HRA, Roth, 403b plus a pension; and I'm using the Roth to keep my yearly income low enough to get subsidies on the health ins exchange. I wish they would expand medicare to 55, even if I paid more in premiums between the various supplements it would be comprehensive health care and I could choose my own Dr and hospital. Regardless I will find a way to make this work. I was working at a job that I felt was killing me from the stress etc just for health insurance. I don't regret quitting, but I should have done it sooner though!