[TriLUG] OT: PT One tech issue from tonight's debate

[Steve Litt]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:55:24 -0400, Chris Merrill said:
> On 10/19/2012 5:25 PM, Steve Litt wrote:
> >> Those 48.6 million live in a country that will still give them good
> >> health care, even if that have no insurance and no money. 
> > 
> > Yeah, after they've divested themselves of their house, their kids'
> > college funds, their retirements, to pay for a couple weeks in the
> > hospital.
> 
> Ok, I know I said I'd bow out, but this needs to be addressed, for
> the benefit of those who may not be aware:
> 
> 401Ks (up to $1m), 529s (college funds), and a portion of home equity
> can't be touched by bankruptcy. So the facilities ARE there to
> protect yourself. If people choose not to take advantage of those
> mechanisms...well...I don't know what to tell them besides "DUH!"
> 
> disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and I did not sleep in a
> Holiday Inn last night, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
> Consult a professional financial advisor!  Or at least read a few
> books on the subject.

OK, you're right, I stipulate to the preceding info about 401K (and IRAs
to a lesser extent), 529s, and partial sheltering of a house's equity.

So, with most of your other liquid assets gone and no cash cushion, one
more illness and your kids will have the biggest 529 in the homeless
shelter.

Oh yeah, and the 2005 bankruptcy reform makes it much more difficult
to "clean slate" for people above certain salaries, so you might owe
the hospital anyway.

People exiled from the healthcare system (many due to preexisting
conditions) pay up to ten times the negotiated price insurance
companies pay for the same service. Any middle class person leaving a
hospital with a $500K debt is in big trouble, regardless of which funds
can be sheltered.

This is not *my* definition of "good healthcare."


SteveT