Health insurance

I have a great story of that... Several yrs ago in my early 20's I had kidney stones went to the ER not knowing the issue... Sat there for 7 hrs on a sunday morning with only 2 other patients the entire time, 3xrays and a couple vicodin out the door... Couple weeks later I get a bill for about 4g's... WTF I had no insurance, most of my paycheck was going to pay for my place.. Took a few phone calls to the billing agency and hospital,explained my situation and the seemingly long wait for no real reason. They told me oh no problem a lot of those are just duplicated costs, just write a letter explaining to what you told us over the phone, sign/dated and send it in when the new bill comes.. New bill was just over 1100.00

 

As i search for a new job health ins is a bit of a sticking pt.. I am a pretty healthy person(at least in terms of getting sick, not even the common cold in 2 yrs!) but hey anything is possible..
I look at health ins as a good way to gauge what type of character the company has. If they are willing to offer a decent policy(s) to chose from and accept 50% or better of the associated costs, then I feel they are a company worth inquiring about, as it shows a vested interested in their employees and wanting them happy and healthy given that it's likely to be where I spend a fair amount of my daily time at... I dont know, that's my 2 pennies..
This is based simply on a single, no dependent policy frame of mind... Family policies are another ball game...

 

I agree

 

Socialism idk. Sould b incorprated into our taxes for social needs like roads and infinstructure, education and social blight and even drug rehab. Actually drug rehab should b paid by the drug companies that r destroying our world.
These countries that we protect or who owe us money if pressured could fund our medical needs for many years.

 

If you are healthy the high deductible plans (HSA) are not a bad way to go. Our family deductible is 8k I believe. I don't really but the insurance for the minor doctor visits it is for the catastrophic things that would bankrupt a person. When my dad fought cancer a couple years ago his bills were hundreds of thousands of dollars. He had insurance and it paid.

Personally I would rather pay less per month for my insurance and have a high deductible and have the coverage there in case something major happens than pay a high premium each month and have basic stuff like doctor visits paid for.

 

It all depends on your state in florida some countries offer more options.an as a o/o pay yourself $43,000 or less you can find good single plans

 

Think of it as a group buy for health insurance.

I had a little problem with DVT (blood clots in my legs and lungs) last month. Family doc sent me to the hospital. Several techs and doctors got really serious after looking at the scans, and I got to spend three days in ICU. Cute nurses, too.

Got the bill last week. $153,000 and some change was the "list price". Insurance price was $70,000 and some change.

So, even though I have a high deductible, having insurance means that the cost of health care is about 40% of paying retail. I do like the 60% off part. Plus if the #### really hits the fan as it did with me last month, you don't lose the house.

 

Holy #### healthcare ain't cheap

 

It is reasonable though, when paying out of pocket. The health care folks are like car dealers, they will jack the price way up, knowing full well they won't get it, then bring it down to make it look good for insurance carriers, and still get more than what the actual cost is.

But cash is king. I also have a high deductible medical insurance tied to a health savings account. I got sick with a major case of flu a couple of years ago that landed me in the hospital because, while I could breath fine, I wasn't absorbing any oxygen. Put me on the ground I was so weak. Time at the ER (about 4 hrs), a battery of chest X-rays, blood tests run, put on oxygen and monitored in ER. Moved to a private inpatient room, got a major round of medication, respiratory therapy every 2 hours all night. 1 doctor in the ER, with another doctor while inpatient. released about 24 hrs after arrival. Now most would think that would be thousands of dollars, and it would be normally. Because I paid my tab right then out of my HSA, the total cost was $985, paid in full. Not what I would prefer to pay, but quite reasonable considering everything.

Another time, my hand and lower arm swelled up tremendously due to infection from a scratch. Looked like something out of a sci fi flick. Lot's of pain. Went to ER and they did their battery of testing, did an X-ray, determined cause, injected me with a heavy dose of antibiotics. About 2-3 hrs total in ER. Gave me a script and I went home. Total cost.. $185 paid in full.

Even though my premiums of the medical plan have gone up dramatically since Obummercare started screwing things up. Still more cost effective to use high deductible plan for the major stuff that is catastrophic, and pay cash for the littler stuff. And I get full deductablilty of all money out of pocket and premiums. None of that 7.5% of adjusted income nonsense before can deduct out of pocket like with typical 80/20 medical plans that most people are familiar with. All money that goes into the HSA is tax exempt.

 

Cash does talk. Our HSA doesn't offer any benefits for child birth. When we had our second son we negotiated a cash up front deal with the Doctor/hospital. It was surprisingly cheap I thought. All in was around $2500. I think if you just go and have them bill you it is over 10k.