Hello, Jeff.

Saturday July 03 2010 at 07:55, you wrote to me:

 JS> they have done their Christian duty in the eyes of God. Not! Such
 JS> people place commercialism before their God-mandated Christian
 JS> compassion.

Absolutely; it's all about the bottom line, Christian or not.

 JS> When you say you spend about $300 for six bottles of test strips, I

Oh, I don't spend anything.  They are provided to me free of charge.  My
diabetic supplies, such as my meter, strips, syringes, lancets and alcohol
pads, are free to me without co-pay.  I do pay for my regular doctor's
visits, my "specialist" visits, my ER visits and my medication,
so it's not completely free.

But even the co-pays aren't enough; the VA takes my tax return every year
to pay for all of the costs, so even though I'm supposed to have
"free" health care, it just ain't so.

 JS> Insurance companies are all scams as far as I am concerned. I have
 JS> looked into this issue before, and it is a known fact that like any
 JS> other worldly business, insurance companies are in business to make
 JS> money. It's all about juggling ratios and percentages. I have read
 JS> that some insurance companies have an unstated practice/policy of
 JS> accepting new clients who are in good health, and who they feel will
 JS> rarely get sick. After all, it is from healthy people that insurance
 JS> companies make the most money.

I used to work for an independant insurance agent who once told me that
next to the Mafia, insurance was the biggest racket in the US.  He should
know, he was pulling a full million a year in profits off of his business
every year.  He was a legit businessman but it's the big bucks in insurance
that kept him in the business for so long.

 JS> On the other hand, I have read of insurance companies which deny
 JS> policies to people who have a long history of health-related issues.
 JS> That is undoubtedly why they are so strict when it comes to diabetics.
 JS> Such a long-term illness is a money loser for insurance companies.
 JS> But, regardless of the scam that's involved, my daughter does save
 JS> money through her current policy with her employer.

Right now, I am fighting the VA because they said I lied about my 2008
income verification.  The VA is in the process of pulling any little dirty
trick they can to get rid as many veterans out of the system so they can
save money. They've done this for years, but it's particularly rampant here
in the Southeast because of the high rate of diabetes.  I'm doing better
with my personal health, but I have been told to go ahead and let my
account be audited because I've been in the system for so long and am in
rather fragile health that I shouldn't be kicked out of the system.

This is what happens when you go serve your country and your country
decides to screw you instead.

Anyhow, we're quickly getting off-topic for this echo, so we should
probably move this conversation to netmail. :)

Later,
Sean

//sean{at}nsbbs.info | http://nsbbs.info | ICQ: 19965647

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