My new crap health insurance

[Arabella 4]

For those of you reading ------------

Coming to Your Job Soon!

I am also a teacher and our insurance is going to cost us more, they are getting rid of vision, doubling the co-pay at doctor's offices and for medicine.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Arabella

[SpiritAlight 1]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around people here have to pay to have a baby.

That just boggles me.

How much does it cost?

To the original poster:

would it be cost effective for you to stop the "insurance" and just put your money aside?

How much do people use hospitals?

I cannot remember the last time I went...maybe that's why I'm asking.

The only thing I had to do medically was get shot to come and live here.

I'm not sure I'm over that.

[Marilyn. 340]

I stayed for 2 to 3 days in a hospital and it cost me about 1000 dollars and that is with insurance covering 90 %

[Amby 490]

Spirit I think a normal delivery is like $5000-7000 as long as there isn't any complications

eta: just googled and the first thing I saw said $5000-10,000 for a normal vaginal delivery

Edited September 28, 2009 by Amby

[christeen 966]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around people here have to pay to have a baby.

That just boggles me.

How much does it cost?

To the original poster:

would it be cost effective for you to stop the "insurance" and just put your money aside?

How much do people use hospitals?

I cannot remember the last time I went...maybe that's why I'm asking.

The only thing I had to do medically was get shot to come and live here.

I'm not sure I'm over that.

Here is a bit of a personal story: I was 27 and had never been to the docotr or had many medical probelms... At 27 I started feeling "achy" for a bit and after 6 months I got such terrible joint inflammation that I could not walk.... I had not paid for coverage because I had "saved" my money and never thought that I would get sick. After $20,000 of tests and doctors, I was diagnosed with a very severe form of degenerative Rhumatoid Arthritis. I had to have a bi-lateral hip replacements and my hospital stay was $73,000. I had nothing and ended up losing my home to pay my medical bills... At this point I could not get medical insurance because I had a pre-existing condition so had to apply for disability so I can get medicare (after 2 years)....

The costs and our system is VERY shocking to many of our SO's who have never had to deal with the reality of non-socialized medicine....

But my advice To all, the medical system can offer the best of medical service BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE!!! I am not going to argure here the benefit of gov't plan, status quo etc... But PLEASE KEEP SOMETHING! Because not having anything can cost you EVERTHING!!!! It is crazy the cost each month, but CRAZY does not even begin to explain the costs should, god forbid, something happing without it. There is NO WAY to save enough to cover you should something severe happen. ONE day in the hospital is $2,000 WITHOUT any surgery or machines!!!!!

I am back on my feet now, but it was a costly learning experience that I emplore others not to encounter!!!!

[SpiritAlight 1]

I stayed for 2 to 3 days in a hospital and it cost me about 1000 dollars and that is with insurance covering 90 %

Holy..............

wow!

Spirit I think a normal delivery is like $5000-7000 as long as there isn't any complications

eta: just googled and the first thing I saw said $5000-10,000 for a normal vaginal delivery

I'm still in shock.

[SpiritAlight 1]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around people here have to pay to have a baby.

That just boggles me.

How much does it cost?

To the original poster:

would it be cost effective for you to stop the "insurance" and just put your money aside?

How much do people use hospitals?

I cannot remember the last time I went...maybe that's why I'm asking.

The only thing I had to do medically was get shot to come and live here.

I'm not sure I'm over that.

Here is a bit of a personal story: I was 27 and had never been to the docotr or had many medical probelms... At 27 I started feeling "achy" for a bit and after 6 months I got such terrible joint inflammation that I could not walk.... I had not paid for coverage because I had "saved" my money and never thought that I would get sick. After $20,000 of tests and doctors, I was diagnosed with a very severe form of degenerative Rhumatoid Arthritis. I had to have a bi-lateral hip replacements and my hospital stay was $73,000. I had nothing and ended up losing my home to pay my medical bills... At this point I could not get medical insurance because I had a pre-existing condition so had to apply for disability so I can get medicare (after 2 years)....

The costs and our system is VERY shocking to many of our SO's who have never had to deal with the reality of non-socialized medicine....

But my advice To all, the medical system can offer the best of medical service BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE!!! I am not going to argure here the benefit of gov't plan, status quo etc... But PLEASE KEEP SOMETHING! Because not having anything can cost you EVERTHING!!!! It is crazy the cost each month, but CRAZY does not even begin to explain the costs should, god forbid, something happing without it. There is NO WAY to save enough to cover you should something severe happen. ONE day in the hospital is $2,000 WITHOUT any surgery or machines!!!!!

I am back on my feet now, but it was a costly learning experience that I emplore others not to encounter!!!!

This is so sad.

I'm so sorry to read your experience.

It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that people lose their homes here to pay medical bills.

I mean why can one not declare bankruptcy before losing one's home.

How could one be sick and live on the street?

How could one live on the street period...forced to because of bills...bills to become healthy.

I am practically speechless now.

One more:

in Quebec, one cannot have the gas cut to one's home for lack of payment because of Winter.

That is but one example of how people are protected.

They are not allowed to be left to freeze to "death".

Edited September 28, 2009 by SpiritAlight

[Marilyn. 340]

when I went through my stuff a few years back we had a lot of hospital bills coming in and I tried to send them all something but I couldn't keep up and most went to collections.. of course now they are all paid off but they still left a mark on our credit ...

[SpiritAlight 1]

If the top 1% of this country who own 95% of the wealth paid some taxes, then the US could have free health care for one and all.

Oh, that and turn some of the global policing spending inwards.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Just some silly thoughts in my late night grogginess...

[christeen 966]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around people here have to pay to have a baby.

That just boggles me.

How much does it cost?

To the original poster:

would it be cost effective for you to stop the "insurance" and just put your money aside?

How much do people use hospitals?

I cannot remember the last time I went...maybe that's why I'm asking.

The only thing I had to do medically was get shot to come and live here.

I'm not sure I'm over that.

Here is a bit of a personal story: I was 27 and had never been to the docotr or had many medical probelms... At 27 I started feeling "achy" for a bit and after 6 months I got such terrible joint inflammation that I could not walk.... I had not paid for coverage because I had "saved" my money and never thought that I would get sick. After $20,000 of tests and doctors, I was diagnosed with a very severe form of degenerative Rhumatoid Arthritis. I had to have a bi-lateral hip replacements and my hospital stay was $73,000. I had nothing and ended up losing my home to pay my medical bills... At this point I could not get medical insurance because I had a pre-existing condition so had to apply for disability so I can get medicare (after 2 years)....

The costs and our system is VERY shocking to many of our SO's who have never had to deal with the reality of non-socialized medicine....

But my advice To all, the medical system can offer the best of medical service BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE!!! I am not going to argure here the benefit of gov't plan, status quo etc... But PLEASE KEEP SOMETHING! Because not having anything can cost you EVERTHING!!!! It is crazy the cost each month, but CRAZY does not even begin to explain the costs should, god forbid, something happing without it. There is NO WAY to save enough to cover you should something severe happen. ONE day in the hospital is $2,000 WITHOUT any surgery or machines!!!!!

I am back on my feet now, but it was a costly learning experience that I emplore others not to encounter!!!!

This is so sad.

I'm so sorry to read your experience.

It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that people lose their homes here to pay medical bills.

I mean why can one not declare bankruptcy before losing one's home.

How could one be sick and live on the street?

How could one live on the street period...forced to because of bills...bills to become healthy.

I am practically speechless now.

One more:

in Quebec, one cannot have the gas cut to one's home for lack of payment because of Winter.

That is but one example of how people are protected.

They are not allowed to be left to freeze to "death".

They did not TAKE my home... But I am an upstanding citizen and tried with everything I had to pay off my medical bills. The hip replacements and time off I had to leave my job... Leaving my job, of course I could no longer afford my home. I was a lucky one, I was able to sell my home but my credit was trashed in the process... That was almost 9 years ago, and I am happy to say I am currently working as a self employed professional photographer... However... I DO pay for private insurance (which costs me an arm and a leg because of my pre-existing conditions)... But it is absolutly incomprehensible the situation with the medical. And unfortunatly for the ones who DO have coverage they just dont understand what all the fuss is over the medical system???

However, I am also a resident in Italy and although I have coverage in their social system, the American medical system, IF you have insurance is really incredible... I cannot say enough about my quality of care, But only for the have's not for everybody!!!

[HYENA 4]

we have the aetna, small pay at visits have had no problems. I work for state so they cover my cost and percent to add ahmed so it works for us

the types of plans are quite different. I used to do case management and can attest to the fact BC BS screwes people denying care. Aetna is no different. See what your policy says about physical rehab (people our age after an accident will need acute rehab)...most throw you in a nursing home (really) under the guise of "subacute" which is a pretty word for nursing home rot where your therapy is counted watchign others receive it. They get away with this by having one physical therapist and 20 patients watching for 2 hours a day and count it as rehab. I've seen the outcome and it's criminal seeing a contracted 18 year old with a brain injury whose prognosis would have been far different had she not been tied up (physically, no joke) in a nursing home but received the care recommended. Healthcare business is evil. Very evil if you've seen the case management/denial of care part.

Edited September 28, 2009 by HYENA

[SpiritAlight 1]

Perhaps selling one's home to pay medical bills is just par for the course to have the privilege to be born and/or to live (documented) in this country.

Perhaps losing one's job because of illness or accident or other incapacitation has nothing to do with having basic human/worker's rights.

Perhaps having medical bills in the tens of thousands, and being cut off from insurance because of caps and any number of other reasons is just the way business is done.

....

Perhaps my head is so far up my, ahem, that i can no longer see the light of day.

Perhaps.

[Staashi 371]

The big question is how to administer quality care at an affordable price without bankrupting the private system or bankrupting the country with a public system.

Why is protecting a private industry that tries to gouge us at every turn such a priority?

Ever price COBRA continuation of coverage if you get unemployed? You can't do that for very long.

You're supposed to save your money while you work, homeboy. COBRA won't seem so expensive then

My COBRA was more than $850 for one person. I couldn't COBRA-out - it was too much money. I ended up getting catastrophic coverage for $50 a month. COBRA seems like a great idea until you realize how much it costs.

[Staashi 371]

Spirit I think a normal delivery is like $5000-7000 as long as there isn't any complications

eta: just googled and the first thing I saw said $5000-10,000 for a normal vaginal delivery

My total stay in the hospital for my son's delivery was $26,000 - for 7 days w/ a c-section (3+ days in Labor & Delivery, w/4 days following the emergency c-section). Because the cord was wrapped around Enzo's neck 3 times, he went into fetal distress. His stay in NICU was $14,000 for 5 days of care. My HMO covered all of it except a $250 deductible. But, we would have been screwed if we didn't have my insurance. If we had still had Aetna, I would have had to pay more than $5,000. Chew on that.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Staashi

[HYENA 4]

never pay out of pocket for medical care. ignore collections and let em take you to court. you can still buy a house...it never shows up (I did loans for 5 years). It's all a scam anyway.

our country is a mess and I don't know the answer; the lobbyists control the country so we're in the sh list and will never reap any rewards. Try to get the dems or repubs to tell you where in the hell the 5 billion went during the last stimulus package. None will tell.