My university has done some really interesting things with health insurance. For starters, the Basic plan for single people is only $20 a month, AND they put $200 in a Health Care Reimbursement Account for you, so the first couple of office visits or prescriptions a year are reimbursed for free by the Uni. They have a really high percentage of staff who have coverage, as a result, and this is a stated goal of theirs.

I just switched to the Basic plan, and pay $115 a month for me and the two kids (down from $175 a month for a plan with no prescription deductibles and lower office visit co-pays.) It's going to save us a lot of money this year, since we are basically healthy and the money we save on the monthly payments will cover the increased copays, and we'll have good coverage for anything catastrophic. Also, hooray for no copays on well child visits.

On the other hand, their dental plan reads like it was written by crack-addled monkeys.

Well, if he is talking about a non-itemized deduction, it wouldn't really have that much effect on most people unless they have a really expensive health plan. But it probably won't raise a lot of money either and will just sound horrible in a political speech.

I think Bush and the neo-con philosophy is all about an ownership society. I think they'd like to dial things back to enfranchisement only going to landowners. If you don't own your own home and you're not a business person, then you're not much of an American.

24: megan and ita - me too! And did you like the hommage to Paul McCrane's two run-ins with falling helicoptors on er?

ION, The Daybreak site is up again and it looks like there will be three new episodes up next Monday.

I don't have that much taken out for insurance, a little under $15. But, my check is pretty small (what with the non-profitness and all). Taxes already take a pretty huge chunk (though I almost always get a pretty big refund.)

In short, I need free health care and more money.

On a scale of 1-10, how sad is this customized car? [link]

If 10 = awesome? I give it a 6. It loses points for not having actual wings.

I think Bush and the neo-con philosophy is all about an ownership society.

And a tax-and-spend society too, apparently. And not even in a bleeding-heart way! Taxing and spending in an idiotic-mushy theory of loving one's fellow man is one thing; taxing and spending in cynical and heartless ways is just kind of -- are you TRYING to get yourself diselected?

If you don't own your own home and you're not a business person, then you're not much of an American.

Spoken like somebody who does not live in any of the five most expensive housing markets.

So basically Bush took No Child Left Behind, saw how well that was working, and the Decider decided to fix the insurance problem just like he fixed our educational system.

Fantastic!

The customization, not too sad. Not happy, but not too sad. The joy over it, if meant with neither irony or sarcasm, extremely.

Noting only that health insurance is considered taxable income if you get coverage for your same-sex partner on your health insurance (assuming that you work for an employer that allows you to do so).