# I am Pitting the stupid question: Do you want to cancel Medicare? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 28, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079 "2009-08-28T20:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/161 "2009-08-30T14:42:15Z")
Anyone know how much health insurance costs at 65? 80? 90? Is it even possible to purchase it? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/162 "2009-08-30T14:59:10Z")
If the health insurance industry could survive and make a modest profit if they abandoned the cruel policies for which they are rightfully criticized, why didn’t they? If the answer is “greed”, as I suspect that it is, then what do we owe them, what respect to they deserve? And if they can’t be profitable and humane at the same time, then what good are they? If it simply isn’t possible, doesn’t that make the case for a public option all the more compelling? If they could have, but didn’t, fuck them. If they couldn’t have even had they wanted to, then shouldn’t we lift this dreadful moral burden from their shoulders? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/163 "2009-08-30T15:40:47Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > If the health insurance industry could survive and make a modest profit if they abandoned the cruel policies for which they are rightfully criticized, why didn’t they? If the answer is “greed”, as I suspect that it is, then what do we owe them, what respect to they deserve? It is not what they deserve, but what they can take. They will continue to take so long as we are unwilling to push back. This is when the tyranny of the majority is entirely justified. They have more dollars; we have more votes. We need to throw off this liberal guilt the right likes to impose on us, and force our adversaries to bend to our will. Have we learned nothing from eight years of Cheney and Bush? They are not going to willingly surrender. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/164 "2009-08-30T15:43:16Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > No kidding? Do you mind my asking how the bill got so high? I’ve heard of complicated pregancies and deliveries before, but yikes! I just fee scheduled a bill for an ER visit and subsequent two week hospital stay that ran $560,000, give or take. No procedures involved more complicated than drawing blood. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/165 "2009-08-30T15:44:58Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > You are just lucky that Finn can’t make his counting to 11 test stick, Gonz… Maybe, maybe not… I would not rule out Gonz having some sort of mutation like eight thumbs on each hand. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/166 "2009-08-30T17:01:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I just fee scheduled a bill for an ER visit and subsequent two week hospital stay that ran $560,000, give or take. > > No procedures involved more complicated than drawing blood. I work in healthcare (IT), but I’m not that close to the billing side. My wife is a doctor, but mostly does office procedures that aren’t that expensive. I knew hospital stays got real expensive real fast, but that’s even more than I thought. Good god. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/167 "2009-08-30T17:14:53Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > No kidding? Do you mind my asking how the bill got so high? I’ve heard of complicated pregancies and deliveries before, but yikes! I was admittted at 18 weeks and delivered at 23. Viability is considered to be 24 weeks gestation. The baby stay in the NICU for 4 months with the usual multiple preemie problems. He’s 11! Here is a family dealing with 6 preemies (Well, 3. Three died already): [http://www.stanseljourney.com/](http://www.stanseljourney.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/168 "2009-08-30T17:19:07Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I was admittted at 18 weeks and delivered at 23. Viability is considered to be 24 weeks gestation. The baby stay in the NICU for 4 months with the usual multiple preemie problems. He’s 11! Wow. I’m glad you and your son pulled through! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/169 "2009-08-30T17:29:12Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I work in healthcare (IT), but I’m not that close to the billing side. My wife is a doctor, but mostly does office procedures that aren’t that expensive. I knew hospital stays got real expensive real fast, but that’s even more than I thought. Good god. That’s not really representative of hospital visits- most people don’t stay in hospital for two weeks, apart from anything else, and he was kept under observation for a while because he was pretending to be paralyzed\* from the waist down. The best part is he’s all but totally insolvent- he’s a day laborer and he’s $70,000 behind on child support payments- so he won’t be paying for any of it. \*No, I’m not kidding- he’s done this a dozen times before but usually pretends he’s had a heart attack- this time he faked a work-related injury and is pretending to have lost function and feeling in his legs. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/170 "2009-08-30T17:53:37Z")
Dear readers, I live in Zambia and have recently inherited little over 75 million ngwee. Not sure how much that is in your currency but it is a lot. Unfortunately the socialist bastards that run my nation do not allow me to transfer my fortune out of country – but I have come up with a cunning plan so we can all benefit. With it, I can guarantee returns on your investment of at least 68%. Better yet your money will be perfectly safe as you already know I am a ngweebillionaire and I _personally_ will return your funds in said currency _with a 27% interest_ should they not perform as promised within a year’s time. For further details on this unique opportunity, please send a token cheque in a show of good faith for US $1,000.00 to: \*\*Seynomore Bwanga-Tanga 6969 Obote Avenue, Kitwe, Zambia\*\* Limited time offer. Act now! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/171 "2009-08-30T17:57:40Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > Dear readers, > > I live in Zambia and have recently inherited little over 75 million ngwee. Not sure how much that is in your currency but it is a lot. Unfortunately the socialist bastards that run my nation do not allow me to transfer my fortune out of country – but I have come up with a cunning plan so we can all benefit. > > With it, I can guarantee returns on your investment of at least 68%. Better yet your money will be perfectly safe as you already know I am a ngweebillionaire and I _personally_ will return your funds in said currency _with a 27% interest_ should they not perform as promised within a year’s time. > > For further details on this unique opportunity, please send a token cheque in a show of good faith for US $1,000.00 to: > > \*\*Seynomore Bwanga-Tanga > > 6969 Obote Avenue, Kitwe, Zambia\*\* > > Limited time offer. Act now! Where should I email my Social Security number and bank account info? ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/172 "2009-08-30T18:06:13Z")
There’s no use replying to freedumb’s brain excretions, he seems to have flown the coop. As an aside, when my sister had her kid it cost $20. She had really good insurance at her job then, though. For some reason, the first OB visit she had to pay for ($20 deductible) but everything else was covered. Don’t know what would have happened if there were any late-term complications. Not trying to show off, just droppin’ some facts. Imagine an insurance plan that wasn’t out for a profit, then it might have been $18 total. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/173 "2009-08-30T18:26:09Z")
[**Japanese election upends long-ruling party**](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090830/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_politics) > [@](#): > > \*\*TOKYO – Japan’s opposition swept to a historic victory in elections Sunday, crushing the ruling conservative party that has run the country for most of the postwar era and assuming the daunting task of pulling the economy out of its worst slump since World War II. > > \ > > Fed up with the LDP, voters turned overwhelmingly to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which ran a populist-leaning platform with plans for cash handouts to families with children and expanding the social safety net. > > “This is a victory for the people,” said Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democrats and almost certainly Japan’s next prime minister. “We want to build a new government that hears the voices of the nation.”\*\* Oh noes! Damn Socialists taking over The World® ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/174 "2009-08-30T18:42:27Z")
> [@freedumb2003](#): > > I give to charities such as Midnight Mission and CCF Glad to hear that you give to the CCF, whose manifesto concludes: “No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning.” ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/175 "2009-08-30T18:43:22Z")
Nah, they just migrated from the [EU](http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=economist+european+parliament+socialists&btnG=Google+Search&fp=8a71b2a78aefb31b) to Japan. Interesting ploy, you might even call it…inscrutable. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/176 "2009-08-30T18:46:11Z")
Who the hell links to a Google search? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/177 "2009-08-30T18:50:01Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Glad to hear that you give to the CCF, whose manifesto concludes: “No CCF Government will rest content until it has eradicated capitalism and put into operation the full programme of socialized planning.” That depends on which CCF he was talking about. > **[CCF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCF)** > > CCF can refer to: > [@](#): > > CCF can refer to: > > ``` > * 100 cubic feet, an American standard measurement of water volume, more often written "Ccf" > * Cambodian Children's Fund, charity organisation > * Canadian Car and Foundry, a Canadian manufacturer of rail cars and buses > * Carcassonne Salvaza Airport's IATA airport code > * Cartoon Cartoon Fridays > * Caribbean Crane Flies, a web site about craneflies (Diptera: Insecta) in Caribbean area. > * Center for Consumer Freedom, a food industry advocacy group > * Charlie and the Chocolate Factory > * Christ's Commission Fellowship, an organization of churches in the Philippines > * Christian Children's Fund, charity organization > * Cleveland Clinic Foundation, a health care provider > * Collateralized commodities futures > * Combined Cadet Force, youth organisation in the United Kingdom > * Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-communist advocacy group > * Conservative Collegiate Forum, the United Kingdom Conservative party's student organisation from 1986 to 1998 > * Common cause failure, a failure of multiple electronic or computer-based systems because of one specific event or reason. > * Common contractual fund, an Irish collective investment scheme > * Common Communication Format, a standard for the exchange of bibliographic data > * Communist Chinese Forces, Korean War term > * Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, historic Canadian political party > * Congestive cardiac failure > * Conservative Christian Fellowship, an organisation allied with the British Conservative Party > * Crédit Commercial de France, a defunct French bank now part of HSBC > * Customer Care Framework, a Microsoft product > * Cyprus Cycling Federation > * Canned Cat Food > * Charging Collector Function it is a network element in IMS collecting accounting information from CDRs. > * Credit Card Fraud > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/178 "2009-08-30T18:54:44Z")
Presumably he was talking about the ChildFund International, formerly Christian Children’s Fund- which, amusingly, got flak from a Christian “watchdog” group for calling itself Christian even though it wasn’t, and then got even more flak from Christian groups for dropping the ‘Christian’ from its name four years later. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/179 "2009-08-30T19:16:09Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > That depends on which CCF he was talking about. > [CCF - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCF) I’d like to imagine he donates to Cartoon Cartoon Fridays. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079/180 "2009-08-30T19:36:46Z")
There’s a canned cat food District 9 joke hiding somewhere in here too… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-pitting-the-stupid-question-do-you-want-to-cancel-medicare/508079.md?page=10)