You have to realize that your exact thought goes through my mind, not on a daily basis, but on an almost hourly basis. Today, driving along the country roads, on the way back from the club, I found myself, again, thinking long and hard about trading any seat in any jet, for the pure enjoyment of playing ball and driving my Porsche. It's a tough decision, as I'm sure you can understand, but I truly love flying, and therein lies the problem. So I'll continue to take a "wait and see" attitude, about a number of things: the Age 60 thing; the direction and makeup of the pilot group; as well as other things; with the last one being my ability to re-pass the series of tests the FAA has demanded of me, in order to get my Class I or II physical back. So for now I'll just continue to enjoy being home on a daily basis, and following along on this bulletin board. By the way, I believe that so far, with some bills still outstanding, the total for my operation and hospital stay has topped 200K, with the surgeons' bill alone being $87,000.

JJ, just out of curiousity, how much out of pocket with our allegedly "sub-standard" health care benefits, if you're willing to share the info?

[Thirdly, I have flown the electric (F-16) jet a number of times, but decided to stick with a jet that could actually do damage to the enemy, instead of a jet that just looks cool, but can't find it's butt with both hands. :) ]

Know why they can't put an A-10 base near a swamp? The frogs keep trying to mate with them!
As long as you have air superiority, the A-10 does a fine job. Without it, well who wants to try to bug out at 330kts?

First I need to tell you that my wife takes care of all the bills, and to add insult to injury, United Health Care made a mistake in their billing and explanations of what they paid. Having said that, it turns out that the surgeons bill was just about $10,000, and the hospital bill (from July 29 through Aug 7th) came to just above $85,000. With all other bills submitted for payment, the total came to, not the $200+K that I first posted, but a much more reasonable figure of roughly $114,000, and change.

Now for your answer. First of all, we have the FedEx basic health plan which uses United Health Care as their service provider, and all of the doctors and the hospital were "In Network." This means that if the hospital (for example) submits their bill for say $85K, UHC will then pay them a "reasonable and customary" fee. In this case, they paid the hospital roughly $32,000, and that closes out that portion of the bill.

As for out of pocket, we have a maximum of $3,000 per year, that we would have had to pay, except that we've already spent some out of pocket monies for doctors/meds/etc, during the first 7 months of the year, so we would have only been responsible for the difference between the $3,000 and what we had already spent in out of pocket monies. However, because of my military retirement, we have Tri-care, which is the military equivalent of UHC. Tri-care, being a our secondary insurer, Tri-care picks up the vast majority of our out of pocket. So to make a long story a little shorter, my wife tells me that the total we have had to pay for these $114,000 of services was a whopping $17. That's Seventeen Dollars. Total! If we only had the FedEx basic plan, and this event happened on January 1st, then we would have been responsible for the full $3,000. Hope that answers your question. By the way, I've been with 2 other airlines, and had a full career in data processing at a major life insurance company, and I don't feel that our health insurance is sub-standard by any means. But that's just my opinion. Perhaps for minor issues, like doctor's visits and medications, etc, it could be better, but for BIG dollar issues, life threatening issues, it seems fine to me. Insurance is not really meant for day to day expenses, but to save you from going bankrupt when something major comes along. Again just my opinion.

Like lawyers, we A-10 pilots have heard them all. As an example, do you know why the A-10 has a rounds counter in the cockpit? To count the incoming rounds.:D No Mach meter, just a calendar. Etc, etc.

By the way, bugging out at 330 knots and 30 feet AGL is a very valid method of departing a hot zone. And, If I wanted air superiority, I'd ask for some F-15's, not F-16's. But I'd never ask for the F-15's from Okinawa.:D:D

Actually, I think are health care benefits are pretty good, based on my two previous airline jobs. I was just referencing (obviously not too clearly) another thread where it has been stated that our benefits, including health care, if not actually sucking the big one, were definitely sub-standard.

BTW - While I wouldn't have wanted to go to war in central Europe in one, or any other plane for that matter, flying the Hog looks like a lot of fun.

I knew that's where that question was aimed. Our insurance is actually pretty good, and along with all the other benefits we've negotiated, makes this an enviable place to work. Sure there are lots of problems, but overall, we're doing good (no word police action, please.)

The A-10 was fun to fly. With its gun, if you could see the target, you could usually kill it from right there. Virtually no bullet drop over 6 to 8,000 feet, unlike those fast movers with their pea shooters, who have to get within 2000 feet to hit anything. Plus A-10 pilots never went home alone.:D

ScumSucker,

First of all, your last post was correct on only one issue. I do have a small penis, but it's mine and my wife loves it.

For someone with a PHD in psychology, you certainly know how to steer the conversation with endearing remarks, before you offer up your final observation. Hopefully you were never a police negotiator, one of the guys who tries to talk "jumpers" down from roofs, or tries to stop people from killing themselves in other ways, because I'd suspect that you'd have stunk in that job.

As for all your other statements, I can only say, find someone whose flown with me, (while I was in ANY seat) and ask them if they think I display the attributes that you "observe." I suspect you'll not find even one person who feels the same as you do.

And as for your "good advise", feel free to take it and shove it where the sun don't shine. If I want advice, I'll ask guys who have my best interests at heart, not some jerk, who thinks that I'm a cancer because I'm living within the rules of the company at which I work.

Classic quote. Right up there with, "Grow a brain, Morans."

[ unlike those fast movers with their pea shooters, who have to get within 2000 feet to hit anything.[/quote]

JJ, gee I don't know, I always thought that the B-61 was the best anti-armor weapon. Nothing like a 600kt, 2000C headwind to slow down the T-72s. You'd ask for F-15s instead of F-16s, from a Hog guy, I'm hurt. I guess there's solice in the knowlege that nobody cares what you'd ask for because you don't get a vote and if you needed it, I'm guessing you wouldn't care who it was as long as they got the bad guys off your a$$.