Health care In US not only expensive but can be brutal

[yuna628 9,712]

59 minutes ago, Boiler said:

It is inevitable that we all treat as the norm what we have, what we grew up with.

 

And I am fairly careful to show idiocies where I came from when the issue comes up here.

 

I am sure there are people who think that the current situation is OK, my impression is that fewer and fewer think so.

 

One obvious aspect to address is that seemingly many people do not realise what their Employer policy is costing them.

Well he knows what our policy is costing us, and sure it'd be great to have that chunk of change back into his checks every month, and then they send around snarky emails showing how much the employer pays out on their end. You feel thankful certainly, but think of how much both the employer and the employer could save if it were all not necessary.

 

I think most Americans feel the situation isn't sustainable, but have no idea how to fix it. And they are being told alternatives are scary as a way to keep the status quo going for as long as possible. But even for people like my parents on medicare + supplement, there's still the 'donut hole gap' period that they run into every year and drugs that aren't covered... and the possibility that medicare might not be sustainable for the long term either.

 

As Polska points out, $3k for a deductible isn't even considered that terrible... which is a sad thing in of itself. Think my old plan had a $9k one.

Edited April 28, 2019 by yuna628

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

2 hours ago, Georgia16 said:

They need to check with German rules because if they don’t live there it’s not sure they are still covered by medical there. At least that’s how it is in DK but don’t know about Germany just saying they can’t assume they can just get it paid for there when they don’t live there. 

both are german citizens  and yes m she could have done this

[NikLR 13,232]

8 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

both are german citizens  and yes m she could have done this

Generally speaking health care in countries with socialized health care, you need to be a RESIDENT of that country, not a citizen.  I cant use Canadian healthcare because Im not a resident and dont pay the taxes that go into that health care system. 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Well this a thread that could be useful to intending immigrants of any sort because most do not even consider the cost of medical/dental insurance. Even if they think "I pay this much a month" they don't realize thst insurance doesn't cover the entire cost.

[Georgia16 2,858]

19 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

both are german citizens  and yes m she could have done this

I’m a danish citizen but the day we moved we can’t get free medical anymore so that is not a guarantee. But if they are sure and checked it then they know what they can do next time I guess. 

11 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Generally speaking health care in countries with socialized health care, you need to be a RESIDENT of that country, not a citizen.  I cant use Canadian healthcare because Im not a resident and dont pay the taxes that go into that health care system. 

Exactly what I’m trying to say! 

[Boiler 46,060]

UK is dependent on residency not nationality.

[little immigrant 801]

38 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Generally speaking health care in countries with socialized health care, you need to be a RESIDENT of that country, not a citizen.  I cant use Canadian healthcare because Im not a resident and dont pay the taxes that go into that health care system. 

Good point. I was a German citizen and I went back to visit but I could have never gone to the doctor because the moment I moved to the States I quit my German health insurance and I stopped paying for it. 

 

If they are not paying for health insurance they are not covered. Simple as that. 

[SalishSea 18,126]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

I think you are the USC, being the UKC you would think differently.

 

The tax thingy is crude and I am not going to argue about that,

 

But most people outside the US would not have come across this or think this was logical o sensible, I worked in Insurance and have all the initials and I do not think it is logical or sensible. 

 

I do have an example , a neighbour had dental issues had blown through her limit last year so was waiting for this year to get treatment for the next batch, got an infection before Christmas as a result, ended up in Hospital for a couple of weeks, been back to hospital for another week, nearly died by the sound of it.

 

Probably a few thousand to sort out what she needed, a few hundred thousand for what happened.

 

Insurance for peripheral needs I can see, for core health makes no sense.

 

It is what it is and eventually will go bust.

 

 

 

I'm an oncology RN, and I see patients scheduling their surgeries and cancer treatments around their health insurance calendars/deductibles all the time.  

[geowrian 22,338]

On the plus side, they're all set on their family deductible for this year.

[Loren Y 2,756]

Ha ha ha, 6000.00, wish I only had to pay 6000.00. check out this bill that insurance isn't going to pay, they declined the whole thing. I'm out over 60,000.00. ask your friend if he wants to trade. I'll pay his 6k, he pays my 60k. Don't have to tell me how messed up insurance and medical is here in the US.

 

 

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

3 hours ago, PolskaKielbasia said:

The sad thing is  a $3k family deductible isn't even that terrible nowadays for a HDHP.

 

Our company's family deductible is $5k. A self-employed family friend has a $12k family deductible (for himself and his wife) and $1400/month in premiums.

 

The whole situation is insane. 

 

 

 

I know, right?  I've been looking into the healthcare plans for hospital employees at several area ones and the plans are absolutely abysmal in terms of deductibles. It is like the old-fashioned mining towns and paying back your earnings into the company store.

 

 

[R&OC 371]

4 hours ago, Georgia16 said:

They need to check with German rules because if they don’t live there it’s not sure they are still covered by medical there. At least that’s how it is in DK but don’t know about Germany just saying they can’t assume they can just get it paid for there when they don’t live there. 

Unless they still have residency in Germany and still pay into the insurance there (AOK etc), they would find themselves in a similar situation but less costly. I was privately insured in Germany and hence, paid the bills privately before handing the receipts over to my insurance and make a claim. My most stressful and difficult one with ten days hospital afterwards, and all sorts of complications cost me EUR 15k which, I believe, was a bargain in comparison to the US.  Having said that, the option is always to pay out of pocket.

[kris&me 572]

it is insane even for us USC

I added my husband to my plan  marking all the different types of insurance (dental,  health,  and eye)

our 1st dental appointment he needed root canal and cap  ($1500 lifetime benefits used in one appointment)

[yuna628 9,712]

1 hour ago, Loren Y said:

Ha ha ha, 6000.00, wish I only had to pay 6000.00. check out this bill that insurance isn't going to pay, they declined the whole thing. I'm out over 60,000.00. ask your friend if he wants to trade. I'll pay his 6k, he pays my 60k. Don't have to tell me how messed up insurance and medical is here in the US.

 

 

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. Why did they decline it? Did the hospital not submit the claims correctly?

4 minutes ago, kris&me said:

it is insane even for us USC

I added my husband to my plan  marking all the different types of insurance (dental,  health,  and eye)

our 1st dental appointment he needed root canal and cap  ($1500 lifetime benefits used in one appointment)

Unfortunate fact is dental insurance is pretty much some of the worst sort of insurance in terms of junk. It can help for routine care, and lower costs for fillings.. but big stuff will rarely make a dent. Same for vision, for our eye exam and glasses, it barely saved hubby $100 bucks. But there's a lot more I could complain about the nature of extremely scammy and near-monopoly vision insurances in cahoots with eyewear makers. https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-eyewear-vision-plans-20190319-story.html

[Helike 93]

3 hours ago, adil-rafa said:

both are german citizens  and yes m she could have done this

I am also a german citizen, but once I leave the country and dont have a residency and dont pay into health insurance, I wont get any help from them. It is not that easy as they think. She has to go back, register herself living somewhere, register herself as unemployed so the government will cover the health insurance, and knowing how they sometimes work in germany 3 months might be not enough...just saying...🤷🏻‍♀️