That doesn't solve the problem. More than half of bankruptcies caused by medical expenses in the US are people who have medical insurance.
Further, medical insurance makes it impossible to live cheaply in the US. I make do with very few possessions, humble housing, and little spending. Health insurance accounts for about half my expenses, more than the next three largest expenses (rent, food, car insurance) combined. I'm probably going to move into a van at some point in the next year, at which point health insurance will be around 2/3 of my expenses.
If health insurance is 2/3 of your expenses, that means that you can be retired for 1/3 as long. And that's health insurance if I never get sick--healthcare costs a lot more if you do get sick. Granted, I would eventually qualify for medicare at which point that expense would come down.
Health insurance subsidies kick in at when insurance costs over 9.5% of income, unless you make over ~$50k/year. I'm not entirely sure how insurance could be 1/2 to 2/3 of your expenses, unless you are saving 90% of your income.
I'm really not sure where you're getting your math. I think you're conflating net (post-tax) income with gross (pre-tax) income, but the numbers you're saying don't add up even with that assumption, so I'm really not sure what mistake you've made or how to correct it.
My monthly breakdown is (VERY) roughly: 45% taxes, 15% health insurance, 10% rent, 5% other required stuff (food/utilities/other insurances). The remaining 25% mostly goes to savings/retirement, but sometimes not, depending on variances in expenses and if I decide to buy some big ticket item. When I do spend money it's usually on experiences (trips/concerts mostly) rather than buying things.
I make more than $50K/year. If you make enough money to pay the full cost of health insurance, and you live frugally on your other expenses, it would be quite easy for health insurance to be half your expenses.
You can get screwed even with insurance. I had a bike accident in 2006, breaking both of my arms required me to get a bi lateral radial head replacement. It turned out the hospital to which I was sent was out of my insurance network, and I ended up getting an out of network bill for $50,000 USD.
My wife had a bad climbing accident in Glencoe a few years back and was rescued by the local mountain rescue team working in conjunction with an RAF helicopter and taken to Fort William hospital.
The only thing we were left with was the suggestion from the (awesome) nurse to "Come back to Fort William, but don't come back here!"...
Man that sucks. The whole 'out of network' thing sounds like a perfect excuse. As though patients have a whole lot of control over which parties the insurance companies sign up with.
And you can't avoid it really. I asked the hospital if they took my insurance as I was being rolled into the ER. They said yes. That means that they are happy to bill the insurance, not that that are in the insurance network.
For contrast: I also had a biking accident, broke my right leg in six places, pretty complex breaks too. Seven hours of operations and a lot of effort to get back to normal which more or less worked. Total cost: $500 or so in deductibles, not a cent more. I still have half an Ikea in my right leg on account of this little trip for my health, still debating whether to have it removed or not, which will be free because it is related to the original accident.
That story is disgusting, what I find really shocking is that apparently if you get the media interested suddenly your bill evaporates.
>Whatever happens to you, professionals will take of you and you won't have to worry whether your family will go bankrupt because you stumbled as a kid or not. Because the society as a whole has build a net that will catch you when things like this happen.
In case of Germany those laws are in effect since 1884, not sure what your favorite translator might make out of [0], but it's been established for a long time and therefore a well respected and valued achievement of the earlier times.
So, obviously since 1884 the society has build this net with their monthly dues. Currently it's around 15% of your loan.
>A century after Germany's monarchy was abolished, some of its blue-blooded descendants are riding back into battle to reclaim what they see as their royal birthright.
How come everybody want to keep it like the kaiser?
(sorry)
What’s missing here and other land claims around the world is that the Kaiser didn’t sue anyone or plead in international court for the right to have those properties.
The monarchs kept those lands through the strength of their armies, and I don’t think that world of might can just transition over to the new world of law
> The monarchs kept those lands through the strength of their armies
Not really. The lands in question were granted to them after abdication, when they had very little might anymore. So the question of transition to new world of law was pretty much already resolved in 1925
If you go the conventional route and only take loans. Community college + working through that means you can get potentially better college options when you transfer AND you can save significantly for those first years of your undergrad.
By the time I transferred I had saved enough to cover the full tuition + living costs for my last two years of college, coming out debt-free.
The big acknowledgment I'll make is that rent where I'm from was really cheap and I'm generally on the frugal side, so I was able to save up most of my income those first few years of college. I recognize not everyone is in that kind of position, but if people are they really should take advantage of this system if they really want to go to college.
This is how Warsaw, capital of Poland, EU member works. Recycling bins are mandatory per EU policy, garbage trucks load all three bins into the same bed and dump it into the same landfill, city pays EU fine. Everyone is happy because
- people get to pretend they care
- collecting is cheaper than using 3x the number of vehicles
- its cheaper than actually doing something sensible with segregated garbage.
Some homeless need homes, others need medical care, drug rehab, jobs or education
Some just need a second chance and a hand to be able to climb out of the hole they’re in
Others won’t be able to ever help themselves
Saying they “need homes” because they’re “home less” sounds so naive
Edit:
Everyone needs shelter and I hope a comprehensive solution could be implemented where anyone in need could find the type of shelter that is most helpful
>The only people who could conceivably benefit from immigrant labor would be industries with huge huge numbers of minimum or close to minimum-wage employees- Home Depot, Chipotle, Subway etc. I guess Amazon.
It’s the farms
Just look at the latest big raid: chicken farms
In California César Chavez was against illegal immigration because the farms would use immigrants to break the unions
Don’t know exactly what Soros and the Kochs do, I’m guessing they don’t exactly employ people but own companies that sell things to people
Surprise medical bills can hit anyone regardless of their financial situation