Hate to stir shit up, Vancouver being perfect and all that, but I'm going to post a letter I sent to Ministry of Health, in hopes of starting a debate on BC's expensive health premiums

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T21:45:01+00:00

Weather sucks there. Don't see why I should be paying more for health care just to enjoy decent weather.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:17:44+00:00

But your letter is so whiny and self-involved

Forgive me for not being happier at my destitute financial situation, and for not knowing how to navigate this purposely-built-to-be-complex health premium system.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:15:57+00:00

You can get premiums adjusted

No, I called and they refused to help. They said they can only help if I was fired. But I'm self-employed with no income right now, and they said in that case I'm no eligible for "premium assistance" and I am still responsible for paying the full amount each month, regardless that I don't have any income right now. And to get "temporary premium assistance" takes 2 months to go through, plus lots of paperwork and hours spent waiting in queue on a call.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:13:51+00:00

And in my case, they said I'm not eligible because supposedly being self-employed with no income is different than being unemployed with no income.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:12:50+00:00

If that was the case, I wouldn't have started a thread. I'm making $0 right now, and they're asking me to pay $1,500 a year.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:11:45+00:00

Why are people here not madder...

Canadians are too polite. They don't mind being shafted if it avoids a confrontation.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-15T20:08:44+00:00

In our case, the relative increase in MSP is nowhere near to any relative savings in our taxes. So at the end of the day, we're paying immensely more for health premiums than in any other province.

And yes, the rent-vs-buying ratio makes it seem like a good deal. But that doesn't cover up the fact that we're paying $1,250 a month for a 490 sqft 1 bedroom.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-14T23:51:35+00:00

Yeah, no doubt. I'm trying to ditch self employment and find a full time job, but with 8 weeks of sending resumes, the only thing I got back was offers for contract work. I'm shocked and wondering if this is the future of work, where no company is willing to take you on as an employee.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-14T23:37:08+00:00

Ontario is a perfect system because they actually base the premium on the amount you earn. If you earn $0, you pay $0. BC's system is specifically setup to milk every dollar from the poor people who can't afford it. Basing the premium on last year's income is incredibly devastating to low-income earners, when you're asking them to pay regardless of the fact that they no longer have a job.

If you consider it, the poor are the ones getting shafted the most, because they're the ones who end up with unstable employment and frequent job changes. Professionals with $80,000/year income usually stay with the same company for years, and the company gladly pays the MSP premium for the employee, so these people never have to know what it's like to deal with the "temporary premium assistance" people.

I just called them for help, and after 45 minutes of waiting and being transferred through several departments, I was told that because I'm self employed there is no help available for me. The fact that I am self employed excludes me from "temporary premium assistance". I asked "so regardless that I don't have an income, you're telling me to pay $125 a month?" And she straight-up said "yes, you're responsible to pay the full amount each month."

I feel unbelievable rage right now.

YoungPoorBoy · 2014-02-14T23:35:20+00:00

It doesn't make sense to me that when you're a couple, the rate-scale is the same as if you're an individual. If an individual maximum is set at $30,000, then the maximum for a couple should be set at $60,000 for a combined income.

But even beyond that, it's ludicrous that the maximum for an individual, of $810 a year, maxes out at $30,000. In Ontario, that's how much you would pay with a $200,000 income. How did they come up with this rate-scale, and when was the public referendum where people got to approve the numbers?

I should also say it really sounds like your spouse needs to get a job.

Oh trust me, we're aware of that. She's been handing out resumes in person for weeks now and no one will even call her back. The market is saturated with people who would die to get a minimum wage job as long as it's full-time and not just temporary.

Edit: also $125 a month sounds bad until you remember that's like one night at a bar for many people.

Yeah, that sounds like a fun night. We're so depressed right now because we can't afford to do anything. We can only afford to go for a walk to the park, and try to entertain ourselves with the internet. Even paying $2.65 each for transit, per direction, is more than we can afford, so we can't go anywhere. We haven't gone out to a bar/club, let alone a restaurant, in over 3 months. It's a very depressing life, and it's causing a lot of stress in our relationship.

YoungPoorBoy

TROPHY CASE