Idiot Liberals at it AGAIN:Lawyer sues to block sale of Oreo cookies to kids in CA!!!

[TheKurp]

Originally posted by riggo-toni

By the way, Kurp, do you know if hydrolized (sp?) proteins are similarly deleterious to one's health? I avoid anything w/ hydrogenated oils, but I saw some food label that listed an ingredient as hydrolized corn protein or something, and wondered what the heck that meant.

Hydrolyzed proteins do not share any commonality with hydrogenated oils and does not have the same harmful effect; unless of course you have a sensitivity to MSG, which is a by-product of the hydrolysis of proteins. I'm always surprised when I see hydrolyzed proteins listed on a label. More often than not, it's simply listed as "natural flavors". It's mostly used as a flavor enhancer. Although sometimes, not often, it's used to increase the protein content of meat.

[Riggo-toni]

Thanks.

[The Sisko]

I paid nothing in health insurance 17 years ago. Despite working for the same company, today I pay $1500 a year in health insurance. Why? Because the majority of people aren't responsible enough to lead healthy lifestyles and keep medical costs in check.

As has been previously mentioned, a lot of the increase in healthcare costs have come about due to the insured. Many of you would be surprised at the amount of unnecessary end of life care that is given. Often times it is because of personal/religious issues that the family or the individual will not discontinue care when all hope is gone. Other times, it is due to negligence (and yes, I did mean to use just that word) on the part of the physician who does not fully explain the consequences of continuing care. More often than not, it's a combination of the two of those things.

However, I will point out something else that often gets lost in the shuffle in the debate about rising healthcare costs. That is, 17 years ago almost everything costed a lot less than it does now. Think about it. Would you want to work now for what you made 17 years ago ? I sure don't, but I don't have a choice. Mostly everybody I know in healthcare either works a boatload of overtime, works two jobs or does both to make ends meet. I've quite frankly had enough of the whole shooting match. That's why I'll be starting school in the fall to become one of "those folks in administration" that I'm usually whinning about for not giving us a raise in 3 or 4 years or because we don't have decent equipment to do our jobs with.

All I'm saying is, it seems to me that nobody complains about the cost of cars having gone from about (and I'm guessing here so cut me some slack) $10k-$12k to around $25-28k now, or the rise in cost of other items. However, when it comes to healtcare, everybody wants it to be free. Go figure.

Anyway, there's one more point that I'd like to make. Many of the folks who come in and can't pay their bills are not bums, transients and the like (though many of them are). I'd just like to ask you AirSarge and anybody else who cares to answer, could you afford whatever your insurance wouldn't pay if you were in the hospital with a serious illness for an extended period of time ? The policy provided by my employer tops out at around $150k. If I had to be hospitalized for an extended period, I'd be one of those "bums" pretty quickly. It's a d@mn scary thought.

[The Sisko]

Oh, and one more thing...don't stop me now, I'm on a roll Seriously, everybody who says that our parents did this and that and lived forever forgets two things. Our parents ate mostly non hydrogenated oils and in many cases worked at more labor intensive jobs so they worked off all those extra calories.

If you switch from margarine for example to butter instead, your food actually tastes BETTER not worse and it's actually better for you. Similarly, if manufacturers switch to something other than hydrogentated oils the food would taste better but would have a shorter shelf life. The downside is it would cost you more $$ to buy it.

[TheKurp]

The point being Yusuf06 is that people who are overweight require the services of the health care system more than people who maintain a healthy weight. A need that has to be met with more doctors, more nurses, more equipment, more medicines, and more facilities. All of this drives up the costs of providing health care.

In 17 years I've seen the doctor 3 times. Yet I've probably paid over $10,000 in health insurance in that time.

If someone proves to be a higher risk for getting into car accidents, guess what? They pay higher insurance premiums.

Why am I paying the same health insurance premiums as someone who's suffering from type II diabetes brought on by being overweight?

There's an inequity there that causes me heartburn, pun intended.