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If we’re going to be true to little5bee’s intent of this thread as she claims it’s been hijacked why not really analyze this alternative? From the sound of it, Medishare is good if you want to save money and are healthy, but if you’re sick it is pre…
The editor in me needs to point out that not only is laetrile dangerous (toxic) bullshit but also it is not a trademark of any sort.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/laetrile-pdq#section/all
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am…
"Yes, but codeine is not Laetrile."
What's the difference, and who determines that?
If you're the one who makes the determination, that's tantamount to the government being unable to bar any prescription. You could just say that the substance is…
Differences Between Universal Coverage and Single-Payer
https://www.verywellhealth.com/difference-between-universal-coverage-and-single-payer-system-1738546
Germany has universal coverage, but does not operate a single-payer system.
...
Japan has …
not his wording, but my takeaway is something like possibly sufficient but not necessary
see his last sentence, no?
and my own add would have to do w sellabilityThat's basically it.
Consider that "Medicare for All" is used as a rallying cry, …
Maybe Massachusetts is different, but MC Advantage, in my wife's and my experience, doesn't remotely feel like or resemble any employer policies we've ever had over 45 years. Maybe it's a question of smoothness and efficiency and lack of hassle / …
I do not accept the premise that for universal coverage to exist you must have single payer. I gave Switzerland as an existence proof that the former can exist without the latter.
If one wants to discredit it, one should go beyond simply saying…
That previous thread suggests the opposite:
TD Ameritrade Latest Brokerage Refusing To Lead In Cutting ETF Commissions
http://srt.morningstar.com/newsp/cmsAcontent.html?t=LMVTX&resourceId=570104&src=Morningstar&date=10-11-2012
"Marsico funds are not doing well since Tom Marsico left Janus."
That would be the entire lifetime of Marsico funds :-)
Actually they did do well for some time. After ten years (end of 2007), MGRIX had averaged 9.18% and MFOCX had averaged 9.64%…
if you try to point out the good in anything...like I did with Medi-share...,
moderator: please delete my account.I have significant issues with health care sharing ministries, something that I have stated explicitly. Nevertheless, they exist a…
From the start you're able to view all of the accounts owned by you individually or jointly with one login. With a little work that can be done online (something like giving viewing rights or limited POA power of attorney, I forget), you can view …
The fund's already gone through minor (no pun intended) tweaks. I believe it started out as Gold and Precious Metals. From its 1994 prospectus:
The Gold & Precious Metals Portfolio invests in the equity securities of
…
More than you ever wanted to know about the regulation of short term plans, transitional (grandmothered) plans, association plans (what you're calling insurance pools), and health sharing ministries. From the Commonwealth Fund, March 2018.
https…
rx are six months over lifetime, if I am reading this correctly:
https://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/what-is-medishare/how-medi-share-works/faqs/
Here's the full rule book in pdf and HTML formats:
https://mychristiancare.org/globalassets/media/m…
@msf Don't you think your hypothetical coin flip is a wee bit simplistic? I work out every day...you might be on the proverbial couch eating the proverbial bonbons; I am 62...you may be 22; I don't smoke...you may be a chimney, etc., etc... and …
One other thing...because Medishare is not considered insurance, I am no longer able to contribute to my HSA...bummer, but definitely not enough of an incentive to stay with Obamacare.Your "premiums" are also not considered medical expenses, so you…
A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. (You can raise that to $12B thanks to inflation).
https://yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3920-they-didnt-say-it-first
I've a proposition for you. You give me a dollar, and I'll give you two dollars back if you flip a coin and it comes up heads. No tricks here, an honest coin.
Before you toss the coin, have I subsidized you? Have you subsidized me? We've eac…
Everyone else left when Obamacare became law and we are at their mercy...and they know it! Don't know how long it will take to stabilize and have some competitors, but I plan on staying with Medishare for the foreseeable future...they even offer a…
Crazy how, depending on what state you live in, the HC experience can be so drastically different. Here in NY state I have a policy that costs me $384/month, $4500 out of pocket max, bronze, and that's with dental coverage. I didn't use the state ex…
I am very much not a fan of health sharing ministries. Disregarding their requirements regarding beliefs, religious practices, and morals, there's real financial risk.
(I write here about underestimating "insurer" risk just after having writte…
Of the more than 300 ETFs that TD offers commission-free, Mr. Hockey said, "five of those ETFs hold 20% of the assets."
"There does get to a point where it gets to be too much," he added.
This is nonsensical for so many reasons.
At best, it's an …
You're quoting from the same NY Times article as I did. Brilliant minds think alike :-)
Since you raised the issue of medical devices, I ignored the section on drugs. China doesn't export many drugs to the US. Right about now, it looks like …
@MikeM - the data you're seeing (and is acknowledged in the Slate column) is not a representation of effective (federal) income tax rates but rather: "includes federal, state, and local levies—including corporate, property, income, estate, sales, an…
Not to be too pedantic here, but isn't it a bit premature to say "That excise tax has been repealed"? I seem to recall a Rose Garden celebration when the ACA was similarly "repealed" by one house of Congress.
That's not to say that I don't expect…
Yuuup! The genius is going to add $12 billion to his already growing federal deficit to ease the pain caused by his self induced trade war. I thought you repuglicans support free trade and are strongly against deficits
Will this do? (IMHO it's a st…
I'd like to highlight a point Stan made, because it is so often missed. Indexed annuities are just CDs.
Well not exactly, but close enough. The point is that indexed annuities are fixed annuities - their interest rate may not be known in adv…
"Angie O’Leary is the head of wealth planning at RBC Wealth Management, U.S."
OMG.
O'Leary: "he rule uses a portfolio assumption of 60% stocks and 40% bonds."
Bengen (actual paper): "portfolios consisting of 50-percent intermediate-term Treasury …
Yup. As income (even non-taxable) goes up, more of SS becomes taxable; as it rises higher, IRMAA surcharges begin to kick in on Medicare Parts B and D. (Even if you're buying Medicare Advantage Part C instead of Part D drugs, you're still subject…
An add:
If one is able to generate "enough" income through all channels; being a possible company pension, traditional IRA's, 403B's, 457's, and SS, yet still has monies for an annuity; then a consideration of "tax efficient" investments may be in …
Inflation, the flip side of the "magic of compounding". I'm of two minds about this.
On the one hand, it's a real concern if you're looking decades out, so it's worth considering inflation adjusted annuities. On the other hand, they may not be …
Safety here, inflation in next post ...
I agree with davidrmoran that the risks are somewhat overstated. While I'm not fond of anecdotal information, let me offer you a little, not for odds but for a sense of the process when an insurer fails. …
Got to dash now, and I'm not sure what your concerns are, so I'll toss out a few factoids and we can pick this up later (note, I haven't checked on Vanguard's annuity recently):
- All annuities, including Vanguard's, are insurance contracts. Vang…
The following is going to sound negative, so please take it in the spirit it is offered - an attempt to explain why these posts (and what many tend to think) about annuities and insurance in general start from a perspective that misses the point.
…
I hope the following helps give a little intuitive understanding on the relative volatility of zeros:
If you buy a 1 year zero paying 2%, you'll pay about $98 for a bond returning $100 in a year.
Technically, it will cost $100/(1 + 2%) = $98.04…
Dude, I'm getting a Dell.
One really can't time BT purchases too well. Our eight year old desktop had been making noises for some time and recently failed to boot multiple times. A file system check found several bad blocks. It was about time …
So much depends on housing there. If you've owned your home for many years, you've got no mortgage and likely a tax bill of just a few $K/year courtesy of Prop 13, so you're likely well able to afford that $5 gallon of milk. (If you've got the $…
Seems pretty clear to me. This administration inherited laws from the Obama administration (never mind that according to the podcast, the tariff code being applied goes back to the 1960s).
Just as this administration inherited those little annoya…
Here's the US News link:
https://money.usnews.com/investing/bonds/articles/2018-07-16/how-to-invest-in-zero-coupon-bonds
As it points out, zeros include those issued by a government:
"Like all bonds, zeros are loans from the bond purchaser to the c…
If you have access to M* premium and look at the holding data (premium), you can see how the top 100 holdings did. (You'll have to do this within the next dozen hours give or take, before M* updates the daily changes for Friday).
If you export thi…