Insurance Policy?

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leafhazard

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Anyone think that poker players should get a health insurance policy? I mean if your doin it full time I would like to have some type of benefit plain no? traveling to all those tournaments can be dangerous, not to mention all the punching walls because of bad beats. Let me know what you guys think.
 
kaiWalk

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Is this a joke or are you really asking if it is beneficial to have health insurance?

If you had asked about life insurance, I could understand, due to the loss of earnings in the event of a tragedy.

If you had asked about prop bets on whether a hand will hold, (see Helmuth/Ivey in the '07 wsop $3,000 NLHE tourney) I could understand.

If you are really inquiring about the benefit of health insurance, then...

* Yes I believe everyone should have it
* No, I do not believe that poker players face an extraordinary risk
* No, I do not believe that our Founding Fathers intended the federal government provide this safety net (you didn't ask, but had to add it for my own edification)
 
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leafhazard

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You made some good points, it was half joke half real. It would be cool if you had insurance on an extremely big buy in.
 
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gns2003

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Working in the insurance field myself, I would not consider professional poker players as a group to be of higher risk in their health insurance needs. Players need to either purchase health insurance individually, or they would be able to bind together collectively to negotiate group insurance rates to save money. Alternatively they could (just as anyone can), self insure. I would recommend that if they wanted to do that, that they need to set aside several thousand dollars for the annual costs as well as for some level of occassional hits (such as the broken hand from wall-punching in your example). Even if you self insure you should buy a "catastrophe" policy which will take the risk of you getting really sick and needing more than say $5,000 or $10,000 of medical expenses in one year. Very few people can absorb the loss that occurs when you or a family member gets a cancer diagnosis and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment. Plus then you may experience a loss of income as well while you receive treatment.

Just my 2 cents.
 
RickH2005

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Insurance?

Black Jack provides that on certain hands you may purchase 'Insurance'---which is a total rip-off--don't do it --- Profesional Poker players can, if they wish, self-insure as was previosly mentioned--And there was no such thing as 'Health Insurance' when our 4 fathers founded this country! AND there ARE countrys who DO take care of their own. ie; Cananda--new zealand to name 2--niether of them communist countrys! It's called 'Socialised Medicine'---and their gov't programs blow the US health care system AWAY! Health insurance is so expensive in th US that for the people who really NEED health care, the lower working class NOT eligable for state programs ie: Medicaid OR Federal programs ie: Medicare, it is cost prohibitive! And being a cancer survivor, I know the devistating effect of being w/out health insurance! So, Poker Players who ARE pros--Get Insured! Like you I said 'Why?' Ans. Cancer is no respecter of professions------:stickyman
 
BelgoSuisse

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No, I do not believe that our Founding Fathers intended the federal government provide this safety net (you didn't ask, but had to add it for my own edification)

I love it when people refer to the 18th century to decide what is a just and efficient policy in the 21st.

The way USA's health care is organised makes it by far the most expensive per capita in the world. It is also very inefficient at protecting people's health compare to most industrialized countries if you take criteria like life expectancy, infant mortality rates, ...

It's great for people like me who work in the medical equipment business because we get so much money from you guys, but frankly, it's amazing to me to you put up with such a crappy system.
 
RickH2005

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More on ins.

What he said:dito: Thank You! Someone in the profession who understands the American health care plight!
 
kaiWalk

kaiWalk

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I love it when people refer to the 18th century to decide what is a just and efficient policy in the 21st.

I never said anything about "just or efficient" nor do I believe that just and efficient are sound bases for social policy making. I hold Personal Freedom in higher regard than efficiency or fairness. I believe America was founded as a meritocracy and should rise or fall as one. I believe people should be responsible for their own actions, or inaction, and not seek the forced redistribution of wealth from others to sustain them.

And there was no such thing as 'Health Insurance' when our 4 fathers founded this country!

There was no such thing as abortion either but that didn't stop the Supreme Court from reading the intent of the Framers into the document.
 
Debi

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The thread topic is health insurance for poker players. Which is a dumb topic but if you guys want to talk about it go ahead.

If you don't want to talk about it we can close it or delete it.
 
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leafhazard

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I have never met so many rude and inconsiderate people other then on cardschat, I am done with this garbage site, and everyone I talk to I will do my best to give it the name it deserves.
 
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