And Obama Care...

The only real winners under Obamacare are the insurance companies! The losers are the younger people who are being forced to subsidize the cost of insurance for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.

No, the real losers are those of us in the VI who are self-employed, pay taxes, and are subsidizing everyone - yet still can't buy individual insurance to save our lives (literally).

Yep. This is in large part why I had to leave STX. No competent medical care, no money to pay for competent medical care, no insurance for the self-employed unless you can find an international policy that will let you join and, once I found a salaried job, my a**hole employer refused to offer group insurance because "it was too expensive". (Of course, he found a way to cover his wife -- the office manager -- and himself and his secretary, but none of the other staff.)

And the major reason we are still not living on STX full time.

Your boss, by the way, needed to cover all employees or none. Wonder how he got away with that. I know of one company on STX that got dropped because they were picking and choosing who would be covered.

As for the other comment about the losers being the young people who have to subsidize costs for the old: insurance is a risk pool and younger people are far less risky to insure. But the young are paying far less than the old for their coverage, and can even get a special cheaper policy that only covers catastrophic expenses. Given that I've been subsidizing the uninsured young that ended up sick and couldn't pay their huge bills for decades now, I'd say that's a fair trade off.

Also, young folks are more likely to have serious accidents.

The only real winners under Obamacare are the insurance companies! The losers are the younger people who are being forced to subsidize the cost of insurance for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.

No, the real losers are those of us in the VI who are self-employed, pay taxes, and are subsidizing everyone - yet still can't buy individual insurance to save our lives (literally).

Yep. This is in large part why I had to leave STX. No competent medical care, no money to pay for competent medical care, no insurance for the self-employed unless you can find an international policy that will let you join and, once I found a salaried job, my a**hole employer refused to offer group insurance because "it was too expensive". (Of course, he found a way to cover his wife -- the office manager -- and himself and his secretary, but none of the other staff.)

And the major reason we are still not living on STX full time.

Your boss, by the way, needed to cover all employees or none. Wonder how he got away with that. I know of one company on STX that got dropped because they were picking and choosing who would be covered.

As for the other comment about the losers being the young people who have to subsidize costs for the old: insurance is a risk pool and younger people are far less risky to insure. But the young are paying far less than the old for their coverage, and can even get a special cheaper policy that only covers catastrophic expenses. Given that I've been subsidizing the uninsured young that ended up sick and couldn't pay their huge bills for decades now, I'd say that's a fair trade off.

A company can choose to insure just a certain group of people, like executives. It would depend on how the secretary was list if this was ok or not. It is not fair, but done quite a bit.

I could have chosen a plan with a higher deductible and co-pays, but the deductibles were so high, I would actually end up paying MORE in the long run. At the moment we still have employer provided insurance and I am very thankful for that blessing. There is no question that our health care system needs to be overhauled. Just look at the cost of medication. Even with insurance most prescriptions are $20-$75. Meds, that in other countries, for the same medication, cost pennies on the dollar.

I could have chosen a plan with a higher deductible and co-pays, but the deductibles were so high, I would actually end up paying MORE in the long run. At the moment we still have employer provided insurance and I am very thankful for that blessing. There is no question that our health care system needs to be overhauled. Just look at the cost of medication. Even with insurance most prescriptions are $20-$75. Meds, that in other countries, for the same medication, cost pennies on the dollar.

In many countries the cost of medications are tied to the cost of manufacturing. In the US this is not the case. We get to pay for the R&D costs for the world. In many cases drugs will cost three times as much for the exact same medication. And who gets to pay for orphan drugs, those drugs which treat illnesses that are so uncommon that sales of the drug will not support developing the cure? Our insurance companies! Because they are expected to pay for everything no matter what it costs.

Malpractice lawsuits are the other big expense for medical care in the US. That's why medical tourism is so popular. You can go to Thailand or India and have procedures done relatively inexpensively, but try to sue the doctor for a problem and you are out of luck.

I don't understand why an employer should be expected to pay for anyone's health insurance. An employer is trying to make a profit. He would probably opt for the most cost effective insurance that he could find, not necessarily the best. YOU care about your health, YOU are the best person to pick your insurance provider and your needs.

Obamacare is a gift to the insurance companies. They are the ones who will make out like bandits. The states also jump in to get their share.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/05/25/how-state-governments-raise-costs-and-rip-hundreds-of-billions-off-the-federal-government-using-health-insurance-premium-taxes/

If you really think that health care is a right (even though it is not mentioned in the constitution or bill of rights) then why not provide it to everyone just like public schools? Have public hospitals and clinics who take everyone. No charge. Why feed it through the insurance companies so that they can take a profit.

Obamacare has nothing to do with the options for health insurance in the USVI. The problem existed long before Obamacare. Talk to the Lt Governor about why the major insurance companies from the states are excluded from offering insurance here. Why is auto insurance here twice the price as in the states. Insurance companies here are forced to jump through hoops not required in the states. It is all about protectionism. The VI government protects the employees of the VI government, the single largest voting block in the territory.

Requiring a company to post a huge bond here and have staff here for the right to offer insurance to a very small population limits the companies that are willing to provide insurance here and therefore limits our options. The problem could easily be solved by the Lt Governor and the Senate.

i am still waiting for agentgarbo to say why they think its racist

Obamacare has nothing to do with the options for health insurance in the USVI. The problem existed long before Obamacare. Talk to the Lt Governor about why the major insurance companies from the states are excluded from offering insurance here. Why is auto insurance here twice the price as in the states. Insurance companies here are forced to jump through hoops not required in the states. It is all about protectionism. The VI government protects the employees of the VI government, the single largest voting block in the territory..

The ... uh ... litigiousness of the local population might have something to do with this as well.

Signed,
a 10-year VI attorney

Many island residents get around the problem by not bothering to buy car insurance anymore.

"Requiring a company to post a huge bond here and have staff here for the right to offer insurance to a very small population limits the companies that are willing to provide insurance here and therefore limits our options. The problem could easily be solved by the Lt Governor and the Senate."

So true.

Many island residents get around the problem by not bothering to buy car insurance anymore.

But God forbid you're pulled over for the simplest reason and don't have proof of insurance. Between the towing fees to get your vehicle back home and the hefty fine for driving an uninsured vehicle you're better off getting the basic insurance ... !

But God forbid you're pulled over for the simplest reason and don't have proof of insurance. Between the towing fees to get your vehicle back home and the hefty fine for driving an uninsured vehicle you're better off getting the basic insurance ... !

Not always. My friend was hit by a guy who was good buddies with the cop that showed up. Not only was he not given the ticket but they let him drive off in his expired registration uninsured vehicle.

Anyone with a computer and printer can make a proof of insurance paper.

But God forbid you're pulled over for the simplest reason and don't have proof of insurance. Between the towing fees to get your vehicle back home and the hefty fine for driving an uninsured vehicle you're better off getting the basic insurance ... !

Not always. My friend was hit by a guy who was good buddies with the cop that showed up. Not only was he not given the ticket but they let him drive off in his expired registration uninsured vehicle.

Sorry, but if your friend had followed up this would have been taken care of. Save the catcalls, folks - been there done that but when all some people do is shake their heads and don't follow up because, "that's the way it is and nothing will be done" then they've really nothing to complain about.

Sorry, but if your friend had followed up this would have been taken care of. Save the catcalls, folks - been there done that but when all some people do is shake their heads and don't follow up because, "that's the way it is and nothing will be done" then they've really nothing to complain about.

Incorrect. My friend followed up - all the way to the top. The cop that responded to the accident denied it ever happened and there was never a police report filed.

Sorry, but if your friend had followed up this would have been taken care of. Save the catcalls, folks - been there done that but when all some people do is shake their heads and don't follow up because, "that's the way it is and nothing will be done" then they've really nothing to complain about.

Incorrect. My friend followed up - all the way to the top. The cop that responded to the accident denied it ever happened and there was never a police report filed.

good thing most of us carry high def video cameras in our pockets 24/7 now... this shouldn't happen anymore, I'd have video of the whole thing.

You got that right! I'm looking into getting video cam that suctions to your windshield and records in a loop. A friend has one and it is great.

I have this car camera. It works great.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/F900LHD-1080P-2-5-Car-DVR-recorder-Full-HD-G-Sensor-H264-Vehicle-camcorder-F900-/181236049230?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a3282a54e

You got that right! I'm looking into getting video cam that suctions to your windshield and records in a loop. A friend has one and it is great.

I highly suggest getting a GOPRO Hero 3
http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero3-black-edition

you can use it up to 197 feet under water... it's a GREAT camera with a ton of uses.

Love to but I don't have that kind of expendable cash right now. Rotor's is more my price range!

You know, I started this to show that in the VI we were not going to get affordable health care, although many people thought that was what was around the corner.

You know, I started this to show that in the VI we were not going to get affordable health care, although many people thought that was what was around the corner.

when "affordable" health care drags down the entire society, how "affordable" is it?

even if obamacare passed.. it would not be affordable, sustainable nor even desirable; now, if our treasury was doing it's job and issuing currency like the Federal reserve (a private organization BTW) and the interest profit was going to this cause, I'd be all for it, but as it is we are being financially raped and this additional "poke" is not only un-needed, but may well be the "feather that breaks the camels back"....

Well, "affordable health care" has little to do with health care anyway...

You know, I started this to show that in the VI we were not going to get affordable health care, although many people thought that was what was around the corner.

when "affordable" health care drags down the entire society, how "affordable" is it?

even if obamacare passed...

Uh, the Affordable Health Care Act DID pass.

You know, I started this to show that in the VI we were not going to get affordable health care, although many people thought that was what was around the corner.

when "affordable" health care drags down the entire society, how "affordable" is it?

even if obamacare passed...

Uh, the Affordable Health Care Act DID pass.

So did the Budget Control Act of 2011. So sequestration and shutting down parts of the government is ok too.