Health Insurance for RPT's?

[Avery]

SO true. From someone in Houston!

Avery

At 12:12 PM 4/13/2006, you wrote:
>And don't forget to add that health care IS free, as well as a whole 
>host of other services; all you have to do to qualify is cross our 
>"border" illegally!
>
>Terry Peterson
>
>
>
>----Original Message Follows----
>From: "Dean May" <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
>Reply-To: deanmay at pianorebuilders.com, Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
>To: "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
>Subject: RE: Health Insurance for RPT's?
>Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:04:52 -0400
>
>If you want to talk about health insurance, fine. I've done it before
>myself. But if you advocate a political solution you are talking politics
>and religion.
>
>What is being advocated basically is that there is a whole group of people
>that are stuck when it comes to health care unless the state god intervenes
>and saves them. So we should all contact our senators immediately to resolve
>the problem.
>
>Such is the nature of our state worshipping society today. Every societal
>problem can only be solved by yet another piece of legislation. Legislative
>bodies churn out new code by the tens of thousands of pounds of paper every
>year attempting to fix problems. In the end it usually only makes the
>problems worse.
>
>Health care is no exception. The reason health care is so expensive today is
>people won't take personal responsibility for their own health care. As a
>result they look to the government to protect them. Every industry the
>government regulates becomes more expensive to the consumer. And health care
>is one of the most heavily regulated.
>
>And every service the government makes "free" to qualified people becomes
>even more expensive to those who don't qualify. Plus the only way the
>government can make it free is by stealing bread out of the mouths of my
>children. And if you are advocating more government involvement and
>regulation you essentially are advocating more stealing of bread from my
>children. I take that personal.
>
>So drink your sodas, eat that sugar, consume factory raised hormone laden
>meat products, treat yourself to bottom feeding sea foods, oh and write to
>your senators and demand health care legislation that will make sure you
>live to a ripe old age at no expense to you.
>
>Now are we going to talk politics and religion or get back to pianos?
>
>
>
>Dean
>Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
>PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
>Terre Haute IN  47802
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Mark Schecter [mailto:schecter at pacbell.net]
>Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 11:31 PM
>To: deanmay at pianorebuilders.com; Pianotech List
>Subject: Re: Health Insurance for RPT's?
>
>
>
>Dean May wrote:
> > This is a very political topic, not piano related.
>
>Hi, Dean.
>
>Well, you may have already deleted this, but I hope you'll go just a few
>paragraphs with me. Please understand that, in what I say below, I mean
>no offense to you or anyone, no matter what their beliefs or positions.
>I just beg your indulgence in a topic that has a lot of meaning for me,
>and I suspect, for quite a few other piano technicians as well.
>
>As _piano_technicians_, we are, for the most part, self-employed. Some
>of us have the good fortune to either be employed by a school or shop,
>or to ride on our spouse's coattails into their employer's health
>insurer. Many of us, for various reasons, can't do either of those
>things. Some of us have only two possibilities for health coverage:
>self-paid, or no coverage at all. I think (!) you'll agree that no
>coverage is the least desirable choice.
>
>For those of us who have to pay for our own health coverage, the size of
>the hit can be anywhere from mildly painful to extremely difficult,
>depending on several factors that are largely out of our control. I
>would be surprised if there are not piano technicians who have left the
>field, simply because the only way they could acquire health coverage
>was to go get a job somewhere in an unrelated field. Maybe this is not
>piano-technical, but it sure is piano-technician-al.
>
>Today, Massachusetts passed a law providing health coverage to most of
>the people in that state who are currently uninsured. I think that's a
>good thing, but only time will tell how it all works out.
>
>California is currently debating a bill that would allow groups, such as
>PTG, to band together to purchase health insurance at reduced group
>rates, just as a business can do for its employees.
>
>I think being able to purchase reasonably priced health coverage through
>the Guild is a very desirable benefit to offer members. I think it would
>encourage people to join the Guild, and would be utilized by many
>members, present and future. Would you not agree?
>
>But, the Guild can't offer group rates on health insurance because state
>laws, which are heavily influenced by for-profit HMOs, won't permit it.
>This needs to change, for the good of the people, even if that means
>money out of the pockets of the HMOs. OK, yes, it's political, but we
>are not just technicians, we are humans who need health care, and we are
>business people who have enough on our plates with our craft and our
>clienteles, not to also burden our families/ourselves with onerous
>insurance payments or unlimited risk.
>
>So I hope you have the good fortune to have the coverage you need. For
>those of us not that fortunate, this is really important. There is a
>window of opportunity right now to change things for the better, and I
>think it's a perfect use of this list to inform readers that things are
>happening which need their input. If it doesn't apply to you, it might
>apply to your friend. And, you can always just hit delete.
>
>If this is too off-topic for this list, I expect you and/or others
>and/or the moderator will so inform me. Thank you for allowing this much.
>
>-Mark Schecter
>Oakland, CA