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Half the time I don’t even understand why I pay for insurance. It doesn’t seem to cover anything.
Even when it’s supposed to work, there’s always something. Surprise surprise that one doctor was out of network! Should’ve noticed while you were unconscious.
the proper response to that is a lawsuit. what, you don't have half a million dollars on hand to pay lawyers?
Been on high deductible for 9 years moved to a medium level traditional plan. I feel like I'm spending the same amount of money just less bills to deal with. Only time I can see it being cheaper is if you have something chronic.
I’m not convinced that HD health plans did much more than reduce premiums on paper. It didn’t really address any of the problems with the system.
You can call more people insured I guess.
They didn't. All they really did was disallow carriers to either drop or deny you for preexisting conditions (which they just charge you up the ass for to make it back), and fine people for not paying for private insurance, all while being able to claim they did something. It's a fucking joke.
They really only seem worth it when paired with an HSA. I have really expensive coverage now, because: kids. If I instead had my company’s high deductible plan plus funded an HSA to cover the deductible, both my premiums and coverage would be about the same. However for years when I didn’t use the entire HSA, it rolls over for the future. If you can afford this combination and not always sick, you have good coverage and premiums going down over time. With kids, there’s always something, so not worth it for me
Yeah, I'm on a HDP + HSA as well and it works for us at the moment. No plans to have kids and don't get sick often. If and when the chronic issues start manifesting, then maybe we will consider a traditional plan. Still shocking to see those bills though.
Well no shit. Have you seen these insurance policies?
It's like this: anybody who thinks they like their insurance policy isn't using it.
Edit: ITT: people describing the problem as if it's not the problem.
There are good plans out there, but most companies won't offer them, and they're expensive. I pay $1k a month for my SO to be on mine, but the $250 deductible and $1500 OOP max is pretty nice.
That's not a good deal. A good deal would be you pay for insurance and have no deductible or fees to worry about. Insurance is insanely expensive and it just acts like a horrible discount program once you finally need it. It's a scam
Unfortunately in our current system, that is a good deal and platinum level insurance. Even working for a hospital that's the best you tend to get.
Yes, we need single payer, though.
Lowering the bar doesn't make it a good deal. It's just better than garbage.
I pay copays. I've never paid coinsurance or really know what my deductible is. I think I have one? Not actually sure. I don't recall what adding a spouse is, but it's insanely lower than your 1k. I think a full family plan is less than 400/mo. Might be more now.
I get 10k infusions every two months for $15.
Or they just have a really expensive policy.
My brother had hundred of thousands in medical debt before he finally passed. He had insurance. He was a teacher.
How did he end up with so much medical debt?
insurance doesn't cover everything, and the things they do not cover always just happen to be the most critical things necessary for treatment. it's a scam.
Exactly. And it's always been a scam. I only have health insurance because my employer forces it on me as a work benefit. I'd much rather just be paid more. It's not like the insurance will save me from debt when push comes to shove.
I thought it was illegal to not have health insurance
What? No. Absolutely no-one is going to jail for not having health insurance. I think you're thinking of the tax penalty for not having it.
So, is it illegal to not have health insurance since there is no longer a fine? On a federal level, having health insurance is no longer a legal requirement. However, a handful of states in the U.S. require citizens to obtain coverage or pay a tax penalty.
https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/resources/affordable-care-act/considered-illegal-health-insurance
I'm pretty sure that penalty has been removed now too.
Yeah, years ago.
Medical bills that insurance didn’t cover. Him and his wife didn’t share specifics with me, but my understanding is that he blew through the insurance maximums yearly for years. Leukemia is a bitch.
That sounds awful. I was at the Mayo Clinic recently and talked to a woman who was in remission from stage 4 appendix cancer. I can't even imagine what that sort of rare cancer would have cost.
Isn’t the appendix removable?
I would think so, but after her husband started talking about "woke ideology," I decided not to ask any questions. I am guessing she wouldn't have been at Mayo if it were that simple.
...stage 4.
Right. I keep forgetting that stage isn't necessarily progression of a specific organ.
Between the ways deductibles and out of pocket maximums actually work, that's probably just a few years of fighting cancer on a Bronze or Silver ACA plan.
This country just wants to bleed us dry and then let us die because we're no longer economically viable.
Hell, I've heard from friends that MedicAid (Medicare?) is a debt, and that old people who die while being cared for by it can have their houses taken as collateral after they die. Leave it to your kids? Nope, go fuck yourself if you didn't plan overly complicated ownership schemes at least five years before they kick the bucket or need to be in a home.
Source: me, with cancer. Fuck this shithole society.
I remember years ago, my parents had to do some sort of trickery with my grandparents transferring their house over so they could get medicare to pay for a nursing home.
medicaid is just poor people care. medicare is specifically for old people
also fuck cancer and good luck
“Underpaid? - Medicaid
Got gray hair? - Medicare”
Im at over $10k and don’t even have cancer.
"even though most are insured" Of course they have debt - insurance is a scam, it's not a solution to a problem, it's a problem you accept to act as a middleman between you and other possibly bigger problems enabled by the incredibly shitty culture we've created which is not worth continuing.
And the prices of american health care are a direct response to that scam, by the way. as far as they're concerned every bill is directed at the insurance industry and is aimed at recouping lost costs due to the bullshit insurance companies pull.
Just because it's always been this way doesn't mean it's not incredibly, incredibly dumb.
Hey, that's me and I'm not even a cancer patient!
And yes, I do have "good" insurance.
It was easy to spot they were insured if it was “only” $5k.
Americans ☕
Wanna know something? I'm Canadian with universal healthcare and I also have medical debt!
They've cut so many essentials out of healthcare here that we now pay out of pocket for injury rehab, foot issues, and hearing loss, etc.
This is how they do it. Cut essential services, then point at the socialized system and say how bad it is.
They're doing the same to public education in America. Their end goal is to push people into private, read mostly religious, education. Evangelical Christians have had a hold on the GOP since Reagan.
If the FDA, FTC, USDA, EPA, Depts of Transportation, and CDC wanted to guarantee and check their work, we'd have universal healthcare. And in fact I think that's exactly the legal argument for why the government should be FORCED to provide us healthcare - how else would we be able to catch (and class action sue for) large community-wide health hazards such as:
-asbestos in baby powder
-lead and heavy metals in vitamins and supplements
-consistency of dosing in medications
-Deaths from auto accidents when we should be having trains
-Deaths from contaminated eggs, meat, milk from bird flu or other pathogens
-Products that are blatant lies/false
-Companies leaking chemicals into water supplies
-Lead in water supply
-Heavy metals in water supply& in crops, from exhaust from cars and bits of tires
-imminent looming climate change
Gee, I wonder why corporations are scared of us getting healthcare?