One Gold story of our messed up Insurance system

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I don't think Obama care will fix this but

Remember the colonoscopy I had back in July. We had it pre-certed Insurance was going to pay 100% as a wellness benefit

Well they did not. They applied deductible and 80/20 The insurance company was supposed to refile and fix it

Two months later I find out the doctor coded it as a treatment because he dug what he thought might be a polyp out although it turned out to be a piece of skin.

So they are saying that changed it from a wellness screening to a procedure while i was knocked out cold

and i owe the doctor 700, the hospital 400 and the anesthesiologist 350

My wife is shaking her head in amazement at the American Healthcare system

[mota bhai 2,675]

The only way Obamacare will sort of address this, to my understanding, is by the cap on out of pocket expenses if you bought your policy from the Marketplace.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

The only way Obamacare will sort of address this, to my understanding, is by the cap on out of pocket expenses if you bought your policy from the Marketplace.

Regular policies do this now

No way i am giving that doc 700 bucks because he decides to code it as a procedure instead of a screening because he dug a piece of skin out of my butt

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

My wife is shaking her head in amazement at the American Healthcare system

Best in the world as I keep hearing out of some corners. No other healthcare system will get you from $0.00 out of pocket to $1,450.00 while you're knocked out.

Ain't America great?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

The system here makes no sense to me.

I got health insurance through my husband's work until I started working and then I came off his and got onto my own employer provided insurance.

Before I did that, I had some procedures done (lots of ultrasounds, etc) that were covered by my husband's insurance.

This was almost a year ago. Now they're trying to tell me that I had some pre-existing condition and I'm being charged for all of that #######. Even though I've sent proof that I was covered by my husband's insurance at the time.

It's almost a grand they're trying to charge us.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Best in the world as I keep hearing out of some corners. No other healthcare system will get you from $0.00 out of pocket to $1,450.00 while you're knocked out.

Ain't America great?

I think our quality of care is very good.

I think our insurance and billing system is jacked up

My wife went in for a procedure.it took the insurance company a year to pay after mountains of correspondence between the doctor, hospital and BCBS.

Seems the insurance company thinks she should have gone home after having her belly opened up under General Anesthesia and having her insides tweaked for a 3 hour surgery.The doc said they were insane and filed a compliant with the state board.

Not to mention you go in and you get bills from 5 different places

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I think our quality of care is very good.

I think our insurance and billing system is jacked up

My wife went in for a procedure.it took the insurance company a year to pay after mountains of correspondence between the doctor, hospital and BCBS.

Seems the insurance company thinks she should have gone home after having her belly opened up under General Anesthesia and having her insides tweaked for a 3 hour surgery.The doc said they were insane and filed a compliant with the state board.

Not to mention you go in and you get bills from 5 different places

The healthcare system is comprised of all these things. Care delivery may be great but all the hassle that comes with it is just ridiculous. And care delivery is not all it could be either - all this useless ####### that they do, all these tests that nobody needs. And don't even get me started on paperwork at the doctor's office. How backwards. I remember in Germany you have an insurance card. You they take that to the receptionist/admin assistant (there's one for several doctors not the other way around as would be the case here), the computer reads it and that's the end of your paperwork. Which is to say that there simply isn't any paperwork when you go to a doctor. Only paper the patient would see at the doctor's office would be the magazines in the waiting room.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

The healthcare system is comprised of all these things. Care delivery may be great but all the hassle that comes with it is just ridiculous. And care delivery is not all it could be either - all this useless ####### that they do, all these tests that nobody needs. And don't even get me started on paperwork at the doctor's office. How backwards. I remember in Germany you have an insurance card. You they take that to the receptionist/admin assistant (there's one for several doctors not the other way around as would be the case here), the computer reads it and that's the end of your paperwork. Which is to say that there simply isn't any paperwork when you go to a doctor. Only paper the patient would see at the doctor's office would be the magazines in the waiting room.

Don't totally disagree

My dad was an ol' country doc.

They provided health care in his office and little else

[Protocol417 161]

I'm not sure I would agree that our quality of care is very good.

Every time I've been to a doctor here, they've barely stuck around long enough to give me the time of day. They've been very uninterested in hearing any background information to the point of missing, tossing aside, or flat-out dismissing important diagnostic information. I've had doctors tell me my throat was "fine" when it was red and had been swollen for over a month, tell my parents (when I was 15) that I was making up my symptoms (even though I was rolling in pain and throwing up whenever I ate anything)... I won't really go too much into the worst... it involved having to take a stool sample myself with things I had at home because the doctor refused to give me a kit (to his credit, though, when I brought the sample to the 2nd doctor, he was very apologetic and actually sort of horrified over how I was treated).

By contrast, when I was in the UK, my doctor was firm but listened and asked very thorough questions. She even went so far as to stop me when I was rushing through (being used to American docs) and asked me to go back over the past couple of years and tell me anything I thought might be relevant to my complaint. She spent a lot of time with me (for a doctors visit) to make sure I was okay and understood my prescription and what to do when I got back home.

[mota bhai 2,675]

It's all about which country you compare to. American care is good compared to the third world and eastern europe/russia. It is not good compared to Western Europe.

For anyone who wants to know why anyone would compare the US to the third world, I suggest a road trip across this great land and remember to get off the beaten path as much as you can. This country is third world in many parts.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This country is third world in many parts.

That's sadly true.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

I'm not sure I would agree that our quality of care is very good.

Every time I've been to a doctor here, they've barely stuck around long enough to give me the time of day. They've been very uninterested in hearing any background information to the point of missing, tossing aside, or flat-out dismissing important diagnostic information. I've had doctors tell me my throat was "fine" when it was red and had been swollen for over a month, tell my parents (when I was 15) that I was making up my symptoms (even though I was rolling in pain and throwing up whenever I ate anything)... I won't really go too much into the worst... it involved having to take a stool sample myself with things I had at home because the doctor refused to give me a kit (to his credit, though, when I brought the sample to the 2nd doctor, he was very apologetic and actually sort of horrified over how I was treated).

By contrast, when I was in the UK, my doctor was firm but listened and asked very thorough questions. She even went so far as to stop me when I was rushing through (being used to American docs) and asked me to go back over the past couple of years and tell me anything I thought might be relevant to my complaint. She spent a lot of time with me (for a doctors visit) to make sure I was okay and understood my prescription and what to do when I got back home.

Aye, makes me laugh hearing Americans here saying they've have the best healthcare system in the world. It's a ****ing joke, adverts everywhere, insurance companies screwing you over, inefficiency in how the money is taken and put into the system. Those Americans who say they think they've got the best healthcare system in the world are the ones who never been outside their own country, who have never experienced a different system or those who are upper middle class and rich. The majority of the US public don't have a spare 10 grand sticking out of their back pocket do they?

In my experience thus far the primary care is worse than I experienced in the UK. But hey USA is number one.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Aye, makes me laugh hearing Americans here saying they've have the best healthcare system in the world. It's a ****ing joke, adverts everywhere, insurance companies screwing you over, inefficiency in how the money is taken and put into the system. Those Americans who say they think they've got the best healthcare system in the world are the ones who never been outside their own country, who have never experienced a different system or those who are upper middle class and rich. The majority of the US public don't have a spare 10 grand sticking out of their back pocket do they?

In my experience thus far the primary care is worse than I experienced in the UK. But hey USA is number one.

We are number one. In preventable deaths.

[RGinWA 816]

I received a $4000 bill for my sons 6 stitches in emergency. I paid the $50 deductible, gave them my insurance card. Great service. We were in and out in 45 minutes.

They refused to pay because I didn't fill out the "injury report". He had fell at school and split the bridge of his nose. That's the report basically.

Finally after many calls I got them to pay 90% of it.

My issue is $4000 for 6 stitches? Really?

Only in America.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

I received a $4000 bill for my sons 6 stitches in emergency. I paid the $50 deductible, gave them my insurance card. Great service. We were in and out in 45 minutes.

They refused to pay because I didn't fill out the "injury report". He had fell at school and split the bridge of his nose. That's the report basically.

Finally after many calls I got them to pay 90% of it.

My issue is $4000 for 6 stitches? Really?

Only in America.

Tell me about it, my daughter got a cut when she fell, sods law unfortunately wasn't in our favor and cut was so bad she had to go to ER that night. Luckily the cut only needed butterfly stitches with glue but it still didn't stop my insurance company billing me $150 copay which I paid and $1500 for a 5 min procedure. They refused to pay the $1500 because she wasn't valid on the insurance for the date specified on the policy, when she was....been arguing over it for the past 6 months in the end I just gave up and told them to go and **** themselves.

The whole health care system is so inflated in terms of cost, its ridiculous, the system panders to the well off, i.e the rich and upper middle class, the other 90% of the population are at mercy to the whole system. In recent health care debate I was hoping the politicians in Washington would see sense and go single payer and all we've ended up with is a diluted version which still caters to the insurance companies. Obamacare isn't ideal but it is a step in the right direction, a direction which I hope one day will see the USA join the rest of the developed countries in a universal health care system.

As Mr Churchill once said "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." Come on America drag yourselves into 21st Century.