The Future of US Healthcare

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I've been adjusting my diet over the past few weeks in an attempt to eat less meat. It's difficult in America, though--especially when everything I've ever been taught about cooking (both by my family and in restaurants) screams that meat must be present in every single meal.

As a result of financial troubles, though, I've switched to a low-meat diet... and not only do I not miss the meat, but I feel loads better on top of that. Eating mostly vegetables, fruits, good grains with a little cheese and egg and the occasional meat dish, my digestive system has (mostly) stopped trying to murder me from the inside out.

I've still got a long way to go, though... I need to drink more water (unfortunately, the tap around here tastes like sucking on a chunk of copper) and I need to get more exercise (this will be addressed soon) and I need to kill my soda addiction (ugh, this isn't going to be easy). I'm not in nearly as good shape as I was when I was a teen, and I still have excessive bloating and gas throughout the month... not just the time it normally shows up, either.

I'm not overweight and I know that as I get older my metabolism is going to slow, so I have to get out of this "raised in the South" mentality of eating everything with loads of meat, animal fat and butter. I've been doing a lot of Asian cooking recently and it's considerably healthier with more vegetables, lighter oils (peanut, soybean, sesame) and far, far less meat.

Excellent, good for you! It is very difficult to make those changes in part because of what has been the standard for so long. We're used to meat-heavy dishes and dishes that are loaded with salt. Vegetables are a flavor and texture adjustment and they can be harder to season. Fruits tend to be expensive and have seasonal pricing, requiring that people be flexible and potentially choose their foods based on pricing and less about what they're actively demanding at that moment. Like vegetables, because many people aren't used to eating fruits heavily there can be an adjustment issue there, too.

Regarding water intake, my wife recently came across an article indicating that the current guidelines are causing many people to take in excess amounts of water. The current guidelines state that you should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, but there was something about how that didn't account for the water that take in through our food. Accounting for that, the article claimed that people only really need to drink two glasses of water per day. If you have a diet high in fruits then you may need less, if you're exercising or have a physically demanding job then you may need more. Two glasses seems a lot more manageable than eight, though. Not that over-doing it is harmful - you'll just urinate it out, and if you have to choose between taking in too much or too little, it's generally better to take in too much.

I commend you on making the effort and successfully taking on a healthier lifestyle, even though our society is structured such that it's a bit more difficult of a path to take. You'll serve as a source of inspiration to others for sure, so keep it up!

[synaesthetic]

It was a pragmatic choice to be sure; cheap meat is horrible and good meat is expensive, so I gave up cheap meat often to get quality meat as a special treat. It's worked out so far! I get to have a nice steak every few months and maybe a burger every so often, while I feel better and my intestines stop trying to knit an organ-sweater out of themselves.

The health benefits will be apparent as my system gets accustomed to the new diet. I'm already starting to feel better, though.

My biggest problem right now is trying to figure out how to add bulk to meals. Pure starch like white rice is not good for you and high-protein grains like quinoa are very, very expensive... brown rice has become de rigueur for my household, but it's still not ideal...

Also trying to stop with the soda. It's full of high fructose corn syrup, and I need to quit drinking it, but I'm so hooked on it. I'm going to try and start replacing it with iced tea (unsweetened) and see if that doesn't help me draw down from a case every three days to something more reasonable.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

My biggest problem right now is trying to figure out how to add bulk to meals.

*Waves the POTATO banner

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

My biggest problem right now is trying to figure out how to add bulk to meals. Pure starch like white rice is not good for you and high-protein grains like quinoa are very, very expensive... brown rice has become de rigueur for my household, but it's still not ideal...

This one is tough - I just figure the pain of white rice into my daily carbs and cut back everywhere else. We also mix brown and white as a compromise (soak the brown rice much longer or they'll be crunchy). We get quinoa from Costco but so far, only one use of it appeals. My wife thinks it tastes like bubbly pop-rocks or unsalty fish roe (those little orange sprinkles on sushi).

Also trying to stop with the soda. It's full of high fructose corn syrup, and I need to quit drinking it, but I'm so hooked on it. I'm going to try and start replacing it with iced tea (unsweetened) and see if that doesn't help me draw down from a case every three days to something more reasonable.

I was told I was type 2 diabetic a few years ago and that's all it took. I went from a liter+ a day to zero. I do have a "mexican coke" (real cane sugar) a few times a year.
I jumped over to coffee, iced tea, and barley tea. If the coffee needs help I use bits of 'truvia/stevia/whatevervia'. Went to a 150gm carb/day diet, started exercising more ... all my blood numbers say I'm normal now (non-diabetic).

However, I have to be careful because years of crystalline corrosion on my capillaries did do a lot of damage that may take years to fix (if at all).

[Solace]

liter+ a day

Wow. I drink maybe a can a day, sometimes less, but it's really hard to cut back on corn syrup. Even stuff you'd never think it was in, it's there. But you'll have to pry my red meat from my cold dead hands! Love the stuff, as long as it's not swimming in grease. But yeah, meat and potatoes ftw.

Coffee's a great sub for soda, if you can stand it without overloading it with sugar and/or cream.

[synaesthetic]

I haven't given up red meat! I just traded lots of mediocre-quality meat for really good quality meat every once in a while. Instead of getting cheap cuts from the Asian grocer, now I pick up a Niman Ranch ribeye every month or two as a special treat.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

*Waves the POTATO banner

Potato doesn't exactly last long in the stomach you know.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I went from a liter+ a day to zero.

Yeah, I went from 2 liters a day to zero as well. Luckily I didn't hit diabetes levels, but my Uncle did so it was a wake up call. When I got my wisdom teeth taken out (all 4 at once), it seemed like a great time to go cold turkey since it'd be a pain (literally) to drink it while I was healing anyway. Now I only drink one can a day during busy season (about a 3 month range) and none the rest of the year.

[Mr. DJ]

Trying to isolate soda drinking to one day a week, which is usually my cheat day, Friday. I check the juices I buy to see if they have HFC or not.

[synaesthetic]

I made iced tea--unsweetened black British tea, steeped at 210 degrees F for five minutes--not bitter.

Not missing the soda at all. I'll probably cut out HFCS-containing sodas and have a cane sugar soda every now and again (mmm, Mexican Coke!).

[AmeNoJaku]

Sorry (to the humorless forum-admin and his pals) for the half-joke/opinion, but wouldn't limiting health-care to the wealthy, take care of over-population, depletion of natural resources, social revolts, and stabilize the economic indices that conservatives and ex-commie converted to anarcho-capitalists allied with them... wish

[darkchibi07]

It's should be alright to bump this now that the Affordable Care Act is now in effect, right?

My dad is pretty much miffed at this because of these things:

- he has to pay around $700 for premiums (I believe the subsidiaries are in effect as well) compared to just around $100
- the insurance includes stuff he doesn't need like Child Care
- because of the law, he feels some businesses are taking advantages of the law by not hiring full-time employees so they don't have to pay for their health insurance and thus only hire part-timers and contractors and have them deal with buying their own insurance
- and then there's some kooky stuff like he thinks this law is a Ponzi scheme and this law was created because of Obama's Socialists beliefs

So are these justified or are there something missing he overlooked?

[GDB]

It's no more of a ponzi scheme than any other insurance plan ever was. That's literally what insurance companies have always done, pool the money/interest of the money of their customers to pay the doctors and such. It's the reason they're able to function.

Banks do the same thing.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by darkchibi07

It's should be alright to bump this now that the Affordable Care Act is now in effect, right?

My dad is pretty much miffed at this because of these things:

- he has to pay around $700 for premiums (I believe the subsidiaries are in effect as well) compared to just around $100
- the insurance includes stuff he doesn't need like Child Care
- because of the law, he feels some businesses are taking advantages of the law by not hiring full-time employees so they don't have to pay for their health insurance and thus only hire part-timers and contractors and have them deal with buying their own insurance
- and then there's some kooky stuff like he thinks this law is a Ponzi scheme and this law was created because of Obama's Socialists beliefs

So are these justified or are there something missing he overlooked?

Remind him that if they don't spend 80% of his payment on his health, they have to refund any of the 80% left over. So if it is true he is paying for what he doesn't need, he would get the cash back soon enough.

And if businesses want to be jerks and refuse to have full time employees, it is the fault of the businesses. Much like how McDonalds employ children for their cheap salaries.

[willx]

I feel like people need to have a good understanding of how insurance, statistics and actuarial tables work vis-a-vis the actual and potential costs of accidents and maladies.

As someone from "Socialist Canada" the idea of universal healthcare runs through my veins.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Solace

But you'll have to pry my red meat from my cold dead hands!

Mhhh, did does remind me of one late chapter in the Ranma 1/2 manga where Shampoo gives the panda some tranquilizer in the meat buns, he then shows a signboard saying more or less "It is poisoned!" but you can clearly see he has his mouth stuffed with them and no intention whatsoever of pucking

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by willx

I feel like people need to have a good understanding of how insurance, statistics and actuarial tables work vis-a-vis the actual and potential costs of accidents and maladies.

As someone from "Socialist Canada" the idea of universal healthcare runs through my veins.

You're unfortunately going to have to fix the US K-12 system which dumbs down every year so that enough students get 'gold stars' to graduate.

Some days with the ACA, I feel like I'm trying to have a debate with people who claim "X+3Y=12" makes no sense because letters don't add. They didn't come with even the basic equipment, just soundbites they've heard.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

You're unfortunately going to have to fix the US K-12 system which dumbs down every year so that enough students get 'gold stars' to graduate.

Some days with the ACA, I feel like I'm trying to have a debate with people who claim "X+3Y=12" makes no sense because letters don't add. They didn't come with even the basic equipment, just soundbites they've heard.

Considering how fantastically complex the US politics and government aid system has become, I wouldn't be surprised if I actually coughed out those soundbites participating in your American discussions.

[Netto Azure]

The lack of support for universality in coverage for welfare programs in the US creates quite an inefficient patch work of Local - State - and Federal Programs.

The worst of which is the so called patchwork of a "Healthcare" system around here.

Originally Posted by darkchibi07

It's should be alright to bump this now that the Affordable Care Act is now in effect, right?

My dad is pretty much miffed at this because of these things:

- he has to pay around $700 for premiums (I believe the subsidiaries are in effect as well) compared to just around $100

Most of the coverage is standardized now at least. And it does depend whether he gets it through his employer or not. If he bought insurance through the previous individual market, he probably would have been underinsured as it does not cover most of the cost and at the same time saddles him with a huge deductible subject to lifetime caps in coverage. As for the cost, there's a scaled subsidy with various tiers of coverage. If premiums cost the full price of $750 (Which is quite high since in Cali full premiums in the exchange range around $500) then I'd presume that he's making more than $75,000 a year?

- the insurance includes stuff he doesn't need like Child Care

Did he check if it does? Wasn't the insurance gender specific?

- because of the law, he feels some businesses are taking advantages of the law by not hiring full-time employees so they don't have to pay for their health insurance and thus only hire part-timers and contractors and have them deal with buying their own insurance

It's the employers fault then that we, as tax payers, are subsidizing much of the working poor for their low wages and high profits through support programs.

- and then there's some kooky stuff like he thinks this law is a Ponzi scheme and this law was created because of Obama's Socialists beliefs

So are these justified or are there something missing he overlooked?

As was mentioned before, that's how insurance works. You try to pool the risks of everyone in order to have the capacity to negotiate rates for those who can't afford to pay "full price" if it even exists in the US.

Anyways, I really should just wait until the whole thing is implemented next January before posting in these threads. Heh

[darkchibi07]

I'd say there's one thing that is unanimous: that website needs to be fixed now!

Hmm, I wonder what happens to the people who's unemployed, uninsured, and still living at his or her parents' house.