Critical Mass - Care and Feeding For Once Attained

Top 762. Jan 17, 2005 4:52 PM

» mitelo - Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by allancoleman:

Allen,

What do you do about health insurance? I am 56 and my wife is 55 so M-"Care" is a ways off.

I have decided to retire from practicing medicine in the next 12 months and this is one of the issues that has me not quitting yesterday.

Thanks!

-- posted by mitelo

Top 763. Jan 17, 2005 5:37 PM

» allancoleman - Re: Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by mitelo:

hello mitelo ,

i'm very fortunite that i have retiree medical health care coverage offered by my company from which i retired . it also includes dental for my wife and i both .

although i had critical mass long before i retired five years ago , i wanted to work long enough to qualify for retiree medical coverage at age 55 with my company . i retired six weeks after that date / age . that was the only thing holding me back .

after having been on my company subsidized health care for five years now , i would have to say that it is my best benefit . apparently my company retiree health care will also be partly paid for even after i qualify for medicare / medigap at age 65 .

suggest you check with AARP for your medical health care questions . if i were on the ' open market ' for health care , i'd start there . most of their programs are with UnitedHealth Care . i had them for years and liked them . i just recently switched to Aetna for 2005 because they were the only health plan provider that offered a ' high deductable ' plan through my company's choices for 2005 . right now , for my company , our post - 65 medicare / medigap medical plan provider will be UnitedHealth Care again .

good luck . being a practicing doctor , you realize how critical health care coverage is . for myself being blessed with good genes , i just focus on my health now that i have critical mass and try to stay away from doctors , drugs , and hospitals . find it much more healthful to walk 6 to 8 miles a day , surf a couple of hours every day in hawaii , and hike for miles all day in alaska . never use the elevator , always take stairs ( and i live on the fifth floor of both my condos here in alaska & hawaii ) . always park at the outer edges of a shopping parking lot and walk across the tarmac .

-- posted by allancoleman

http://www.sickoflawsuits.org/content/ta...

Top 764. Jan 17, 2005 5:58 PM

» mitelo - Re: Re: Re: DFA?

In response to Re: Re: DFA? posted by allancoleman:

Thanks for the advice, Allen.

We just got back from Arizona. I would like to get a job as a golf ranger there that at least pays enough for health premiums. I would practice part time there, but the malpractice insurance tail would be a minimum $50,000 if I did not practice full time over five years in Arizona. Who can predict that far at this age and in this environment? The malpractice game has gotten too spooky for me. Doctors, nurses, and hospitals are even sometimes getting hit with civil suits claiming financial damages because of patient abuse when a decubitus ulcer (bed sore) occurs.

I could be the first golf ranger with board certification in four specialties. smile

Thanks again.

(I do forty flights ever other day.)
--------------------------------------------

For anyone interested in the current legal climate and wanting to consider taking some action:

-- posted by mitelo

Top 765. Jan 17, 2005 6:15 PM

» allancoleman - Re: DFA?

In response to Re: Re: Re: DFA? posted by mitelo:

wow mitelo , you've got me beat on the stairs / flights for sure . one of the retired guys i surf with in hawaii works part time at a golf course as a " marshall " and rides around in a golf course all day and keeps people moving around the course . and , of course , plays golf for free . aside from the money , he may get some health care coverage out of it too . ? ? .

and you're right about malpractice insurance . kinda of gets in the way of the hypocratic oath doesn't it . ? ?

-- posted by allancoleman

Top 766. Jan 17, 2005 6:24 PM

» mitelo - Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by allancoleman:

Allen,

I am 30 years out from my last day in Med. school.
There were 5 years of residency. I have added three specialties through the years. I worked most nights, weekends, and holidays for most of those years. I have now discovered the art of vacation, and I choose to look toward the more positive things in life and not ruminate over what has changed that I can't counter.

I look forward to the day when all my wife has to tell me is, "Remember the sun screen."

-- posted by mitelo

Top 767. Jan 17, 2005 6:59 PM

» allancoleman - Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by mitelo:

had a very good friend who was a practicing general family doctor . probably delivered over a thousand babies over his career . was paid a few times in sheep skins ( uncured ) and old guns . one of his promises to himself after getting out of medical school was , " no more tests " . i used to help him pull porcupine quills from dogs' mouth's when people would bring them to him because there was no vet in town . i am a dog lover and usually have a way with a dog that was in pain and wanting to bite everybody .

my wife uses sun screen often in hawaii . i only use it sparingly but was just checked by a dermatologist so feel pretty good about my tan . several of the people i surf with in hawaii have had some pretty big / bad cancers taken out of their skin because of their long term exposure to the sun . it's only a few months thing a year with me because of my years in alaska .

-- posted by allancoleman

Top 768. Jan 17, 2005 7:53 PM

» mitelo - Re: Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by allancoleman:

I thought you even needed sunscreen at midnite in Alaska.

-- posted by mitelo

Top 769. Jan 17, 2005 8:29 PM

» allancoleman - Re: DFA?

In response to Re: Re: DFA? posted by mitelo:

in fairbanks in the " land of the midnite sun " where i first started living in alaska , they start baseball games at midnite in the summer and finish the game hours later without the aid of lights . few people turn on their vehicle headlites durning that time . about the only time people use vehicle headlites is for gravel roads in dusty conditions in the summer . and most evenings are full of the noise of " do it yourself " home builders hammering almost all evening after coming home from work .

most people in alaska cover up pretty good because it's cool even in the summer . our day time high temperatures only last a few hours around midday and mornings and evenings are usually cold . most people up here have what's called " cowboy tans " which is your face , neck , hands & forearms . no one much takes shirts off up here even in the summer . cold wind coming off a glacier is like standing in front of a open freezer door in a grocery store to pick out frozen ice cream .

-- posted by allancoleman

Top 770. Jan 17, 2005 10:38 PM

» eccm - Re: Re: DFA?

In response to Re: DFA? posted by allancoleman:

AH yes I remember those days as well. I went through Fairbanks on my way out at Clear (about what? A two hour drive?) where I lived for awhile back in the '80s

-- posted by eccm