[TheForge] Health Insurance

Fri Dec 21 09:32:01 2001

The thing that amazes me is that Real Estate agents get 8%, talent agents
get 8-15% why should lawyers get up to 40%?

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 2:08 AM
Subject: [TheForge] Health Insurance

> In a message dated 12/20/2001 8:13:01 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> [email protected] writes:
>
> << 1/3rd to 1/2 of all medical charges go right to the Malpractice
Insurance
> premiums.  If you want to complain about US healthcare, the suit-happy
civil
> system should be your first target. >>
>
> I think Roy is exactly right on this issue and it is probably the biggest
> single contributor to the high cost of our individual insurance. Here in
> southeastern Pennsylvania it has reached some crisis proportions.
> Pennsylvania does not recognize any cap on medical claim settlements.
> Consequently, our local doctors now pay about $100,000 a year in
malpractice
> insurance. Largely because so many trivial injuries result in such high (a
> million or more) settlements. Many look at it as a chance to win the
lottery.
> I certainly dont begrudge the ligitimate claims. I'm sure there are many
that
> are. But I cant help but believing it is largely the attorneys who are
both
> fostering and profiting from this process.
>
> Many of our local doctors are now being forced out of business or out of
> state. It is happening to one good friend who is also a good blacksmith
and
> an accomplished knifemaker. Some are paying 50% of their gross for the
> malpractice insurance which they MUST have.  By the end of the year some
of
> these guys arent even making as much as a BLACKSMITH! Many doctor
> reimbursements are fixed by medicare, etc., and they cannot be reimbursed
for
> the outlandish insurance costs. Our local hospital may lose four or more
of
> its best surgeons because their insurance expires at the end of the year
and
> no company wants to underwrite them in Pennsylvania...no matter how much
they
> pay.
>
> Since so many of us self-employed are impacted by these situations it
> certainly behoves us to be aware and to contribute, as best we can, to any
> soutions...whatever they might be. Most certainly this is an important
> theForge discussion that may benefit us all.
>
> I wonder if it would be possible to buy much lower cost medical coverage
that
> contained a "I will not sue" clause of some kind?
>
>
> Don Plummer
> Plummer Design Works
> Phoenixville, PA
> www.plummerdesignworks.com
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