2 hours in the emergency room cost me......

[hentob]

THe bottom line is people are really harsh and judgmental....they don't want people to having anything nice...or to look forward to...

Not true. I just don't want to pay for it

 

[SereneOne]

But you see, here-in lies my frustration: What option do people suggest that will keep hard-working, but otherwise uninsured persons, from suffering? Isn't losing their home because for whatever reason they couldn't get insurance and were unlucky enough to develop an illness that might cost $180,000 or more a year to manage, suffering? Many, many people without insurance are hard-working, well-meaning people, not necessarily people who are lazy or improperly prioritizing their finances.

In this country, it seems criminal to allow one family to lose their home while another family, with the same medical problems, gets to keep their home because they are lucky enough to work for an employer who provides good insurance. It also seems selfish when I hear people say, "don't touch my insurance to fix the problem...what I might get in return could be worse." What do you all suggest we do instead?

Amen! Our family has insurance thankfully, but it cost over three hundred a month and then another hundred for dental and another 25 a month for vision...then copays and it goes on and on....

 

[C.Ann]

Sweeping generalizations.. Just because one person can get health insurance for $100 a month in one state does not mean that another person can in a different state.. If that were truly the case, I would have found it a long time ago.. I pay considerably more than that - high deductibles - high co-pays - and the insurance is pretty bad.. Very, very limited on who you can see, what hospital you can go to, where your testings have to be done, and they don't cover anything at all in terms of physical therapy, mental health care, oxygen, etc..

Of course "bad" insurance is better than no insurance, but don't assume because it can be had in your state for $100 it can be had in any state for $100..

 

[golfgal]

I'm really curious where some of the people on this thread live, that insurance is $100 a month. I live in upstate NY, and the lowest we could get for our company was over $400 for n individual and almost $800 for a family every month. This is with a small group plan. If someone were to get the same insurance as an individual, not through a company, it would be more. It will be going up again this year.
.

Not necessarily, usually the premiums for individual plans get lumped together so there is more to spread around, more money in the fund to cover costs. Also, single people don't generally use their insurance as much as families with kids so that boosts the funds keeping premiums lower. Often these are high deductible health plans but when you figure the tax breaks you get with these plans they work out to be fairly reasonable, just over a year vs monthly.

Each province in Canada has their own Health Insurance program. We pay a health insurance premium each month it is not paid through our taxes. In Alberta where we live we pay 88.00 a month for insurance for our family of five. My dh's employer pays that as a company perk. As of January 1, 09 our health care premiums will be zero as the provincial surplus will now cover everyone's premium so it will be free.

But then the rest of your coverage costs are paid through OTHER taxes you pay. Your premium might be $88 but how much of your taxes are going toward suplimenting the health insurance?

I know how you feel. Been there, done that.

Actually, still there.




Some people still can't afford any kind of insurance. I can't.



Some people don't have an extra $100 per month. I sure don't. I also don't qualify for free programs and still can't afford the "cheap" programs.

Many of these programs don't take into account certain extra expenses some people may have.



Oh yeah. Easy as that. Make the employer get a health plan. Sorry, just doesn't work that way.
I'm not offered insurance at work because I'm contracted in. Under the contract, I get nothing extra. Period. No insurance of any kind, no paid holidays, no paid vacation, no paid medical leave, etc. If I'm not working, I don't get paid.

And there are a lot more people in my position than you think.

I can't even afford to pay on the medical bills I have from 7 years ago. Not even payments. Everyone seems to think it's so easy. Just make payments, they always say. I don't have the money to make payments, let alone pay off those bills.



This is the argument that people have. Sorry. There's has been nothing concrete said in how much taxes would increase due to universal healthcare.

Why is it that the general populations of many of these countries with univeral healthcare have better overall health and can actually live better with more free time and have more and live happier than we can here in the US?


Although, I do believe that they OP should pay her med bills and have insurance before taking a trip to WDW.

Ok, but if you weren't making payments on old medical bills that money could go toward health insurance. Also, you choose to be a contract employee, no company gives benefits to contract employees. Because of your choices you don't have health insurance, that is a BIG difference from not being able to get insurance or being able to afford insurance. I am not saying that it is easy to get employers to offer better plans but that would be a solution to the problem.

I wasn't referring to the OP--just what I hear 'in general'. I have a friend that lives in Minneapolis..his Dr 'suspects' he has an ulcer. He is trying him on different meds because my friend cannot afford the tests to know conclusively that indeed-he does. He has some coverage through his Employer (Getronics-Target) but obviously it is insufficient to fully cover the required scans. That astounds me.

Are you talking about Target Corporation? Like, the big bullseye company? I know for a FACT they have very good insurance. I know many people working for that company that have top notch insurance. If it is some other company what type of plan do they offer? I find it hard to believe that his insurance is so poor that he can't get a couple tests to find out if he has an ulcer. It is also possible that your friend had several plans to choose from and elected a low premium/low coverage plan. THere is a lot more to this then your explanation.

MANY do not choose not to pay for insurance...many jobs pay so low one can not afford the insurance or it is insurance not worth the money...you are making generalizations and blaming the victims. The most uninsured segment is children. We should at least have state/federal insurance that covers children until they are 18. Many years ago we where poor and luckily we lived in FL where they had state insurance based on income. My DH worked two jobs and one did not offer insurance and the other offered insurance that was substandard and too expensive. I knew of many in the same boat as us, but then we lived in a poor neighborhood then. It is ridiculous that in a country as rich as ours, we do not take better care of our citizens. We have a high mortality rate for babies and that is just insane.

Our state DOES have health insurance available to all children under 18. I also think that too many people don't investigate their job choices and look for the $$$ signs with the pay and not the benefits. If you get a job that pays $20/hour with insurance and other benefits vs taking a job for $25/hour with no benefits you are actually making LESS money but people don't sit down and figure that out.

Where did the 8% taxes for heathcare come from in Canada? i've never heard that figure. I can't IMAGINE paying 8% of my income in healthcare tax. That figure would be staggering to me. I think the Ontario premium is $200.00 and it's not like we pay cash for it, it's a addition on the income tax form.

I pay income taxes of about 26%. (Base rate is 17%...increases with income) I pay 1% of my income for Employment insurance (I lose my job or have a baby, I still have some income coming in).

We pay in Ontario a 8% Provincial sales tax. (PST)
We pay in Canada a 5% Good and Services tax.

Unlike many US states, we don't pay taxes on most groceries. We don't pay PST on children's clothing, shoes under $30.00, bicycles, helmets, car seats etc.

I pay property taxes.

American's pay taxes on those things as well.

I pay nothing for drugs through our employers (a virtual requirement in Canada...to provide drug/dental coverage for employees). Since my dh is diabetic and has heart problems, his medications cost us almost $800.00/month. We pay nothing. I never have to worry about an employer not giving one of us a job due to diabetes or heart problems. They are not allowed to ask.

Sorry but I'll take my system, with all it's warts anyday of the week.

Ok, we pay LESS in income taxes, NO tax on any clothing or shoes for anyone, food, medications, with a 6.5% sales tax, pay zero for our medications with our plan. Our health insurance premiums are less then 2% of our income (actually only about .5% of our total income but the 2% is on DH's income and his company offers the health plan). Given this you pay a LOT more for what you have then we do.

Well--this topic comes and goes around here alllll the time.

We have it--for the most part--it works excellently! I cannot imagine not having it..

You don't have it and for whatever your reasons, don't desire it!

So carry on ! But I do find it interesting that this keeps rearing it's head when sooo many don't want our system!!

For many of us it would cost more and we would receive inferior coverage to what we already have. Why would we want that?

Yeah. Our culture is about pissing on all the little people. Except when it comes to people of other countries. We give so much to them yet can't take care of our own.




I would agree to a very modest amount per visit. Unfortunately, so many people in the US just don't give a crap about the health of their fellow Americans.

I really need to have a general checkup, to see a heart specialist, to see my OB/GYN and figure out several problems I'm having. Unfortunately, I can't do that and can only wait until it's a life or death situation to go to the emergency room. Then I have to pretty much stiff the hospital, which I hate doing, because I can't even afford a payment plan.

So what have you done about your situation? Have you looked for a job with better benefits, have you discussed this with your employer, have you looked for an individual plan that would give you coverage? You can complain all you want but your choices put you where you are at too.

I'm not offended, just glad to be in Canada! I agree with the earlier poster, that it is often frustrating to hear misinformation being given out about the Canadian system. I sometimes listen to American talk radio shows and it drives me crazy to hear the inaccurate information people are given.

Teresa

It goes both ways--there is a lot of misinformation about US plans that goes around as well.

 

[golfgal]

I am one of those people that do NOT think our taxes are exorbinant!
I went to 3 Specialist's last week and see another this Wed. Cost to me NOTHING. The thought of persuing medical issues does not cross my mind and I think it shouldn't!

We have been looking at Properties in Florida--homes less than half the value of mine have double the property taxes?? I fail to see where things are that much cheaper State-side!

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxrates-e.html

Florida has no income tax. You are also looking at an expensive part of the country for property tax. Not all states are like that. I would pay double or more in property tax in Florida too.

I know as a state our overall tax burden for the state on average in MN is about 10.7% of your income--averaged over everyone in the state. We pay a LOT less in taxes then everything added up on those charts. Just your federal rate is double what we paid in federal taxes. Our state sales tax is 6.5%,

 

[minnie56]

Are you talking about Target Corporation? Like, the big bullseye company? I know for a FACT they have very good insurance. I know many people working for that company that have top notch insurance. If it is some other company what type of plan do they offer? I find it hard to believe that his insurance is so poor that he can't get a couple tests to find out if he has an ulcer. It is also possible that your friend had several plans to choose from and elected a low premium/low coverage plan. THere is a lot more to this then your explanation.


He worked for Target for MANY years...now as best I understand--he works for Getronics..which is 'somehow' connected to Target. If there's more details IT IS NOT I that needs to be explaining! I am merely relaying his comments! How about not shooting the messenger! His words were that the "Dr wished to do further testing, it would cost too much, so he was hoping that the meds would continue to help and additional testing not be necessary"!


For many of us it would cost more and we would receive inferior coverage to what we already have. Why would we want that?


For MANY of you it would be SUPERIOR coverage and a lifeline I am sure!
Lets 'agree to disagree' on that one!

 

[minnie56]

Florida has no income tax. You are also looking at an expensive part of the country for property tax. Not all states are like that. I would pay double or more in property tax in Florida too.

I know as a state our overall tax burden for the state on average in MN is about 10.7% of your income--averaged over everyone in the state. We pay a LOT less in taxes then everything added up on those charts. Just your federal rate is double what we paid in federal taxes. Our state sales tax is 6.5%,

My daughter worked for Disney?
Why was she taxed on her menial income?

 

[golfgal]

My daughter worked for Disney?
Why was she taxed on her menial income?

No idea--what kind of tax??? There is federal tax everywhere but there is no STATE income tax in FL--so basically no provincial income tax in Canadian terms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax



I am not trying to argue with you just point out that you aren't getting the whole story and there is something missing in HIS explanation. It could be something as simple as he Dr just won't do the tests because the DR thinks they are too expensive so he won't order them. Maybe your friend could try another Dr?? I don't know.

From what I have heard about the Canadian system it isn't good--but then I have no experience with the system just like what you are hearing about the US system isn't good yet you have no experience with the system. There is just a lot of misunderstanding about both systems.

 

[minnie56]

No idea--what kind of tax??? There is federal tax everywhere but there is no STATE income tax in FL--so basically no provincial income tax in Canadian terms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax



I am not trying to argue with you just point out that you aren't getting the whole story and there is something missing in HIS explanation. It could be something as simple as he Dr just won't do the tests because the DR thinks they are too expensive so he won't order them. Maybe your friend could try another Dr?? I don't know.

From what I have heard about the Canadian system it isn't good--but then I have no experience with the system just like what you are hearing about the US system isn't good yet you have no experience with the system. There is just a lot of misunderstanding about both systems.

Well not quite.
I lived in Florida so I do have experience with the US system--at least in Fla. We paid $250 per month (10 yrs ago) for a very mediocre plan and I begrudged every penny! It is part of the reason we came back here.

You are hearing bad things about our system...well..none here to report!

 

[minnie56]

I went back through emails --this is what my friend sent me

I'm doing very good today no pain a dull feeling I guess you'd call it I've been taking the ulcer pills and every day got better so I'm thinking it was that. They have a cat scan scheduled for tomorrow to check my colon but here's my dilema I have a 1200 dollar deductable so I would owe that no matter what if I wake up tomorrow and still feel good or better I want to cancel the scan I really can't afford another bill right now. I'm going to call blue cross tomorrow and get the scoop on everything and then decide. I hate this kind of decision.

That was April 27...this past week he messaged that it has flared up again. Not sure why his deductable is so high--it's all foreign to me!

His Mother meanwhile battles Bone Cancer...and they are allowing her 'limited treatment' on a certain budget amount.

A dear friend that lives in Florida--has done something to her back early last week..she had to see her Primary Caregiver in order to be referred to a Specialist--whom she saw today and has no idea what's up?? She is trying to get into Physio...

Another friend in NYC has been through a terrible time with stomach issues. She went for tests...paid a hefty chuck of change and they lost her results---she has a new Dr and says she is 'suing' for emotional distress.

I could go on, but my point is there are problems in any system. But trying to figure out what I can afford to have done and what I cannot isn't ever one of them! That matters to me and mine.

 

[HelenePA]

his deductable might be high because of the plan he choose.. we can choose from 3 plans at dh's work.. one a $500 per year family deductable.. one 1000$ another 2000$ the higher your deductable the less you pay out of your pocket for the insurance.. Open enrollment is usually once a year, you can change your plan then but other wise your stuck with what you picked. Yes you might save a few bucks by choosing the higher deductable plan but in the long run it might kick you in the ***.

 

[honeymom]

My husband was once charged $36 for a bandaid in an er and that was many, many years ago. I called them and told them that I thought that was ridiculous. The billing person agreed and removed the charge altogther (I would have paid a buck or two for a Bandaid

I would call, see if you can negotiate anything and set up a payment plan.

 

[Piecey]

You have no health insurance but have a Disney fund?

My husband and I have no insurance yet we have a vacation fund (a.k.a. a "hey what if something happens before we graduate college and we need it just in case" fund-- but the general thought is for a trip to Europe when we graduate)

There is no way we can afford insurance on top of books, tuition, utilities, gas, 1 car payment, car insurance (we actually are buying him braces b/c if he doesn't get them he'll supposedly loose his front teeth in 3 years.. and we're sweating the additional $175/month)

We live rent-free in a home my family owns but wasn't using. If it weren't for that, he'd probably lose his front teeth.

But really, what are we supposed to do? He's finishing school ASAP before his GI bill runs out, but since he's not active we're not covered. We don't qualify for any federal help because of the value of the vehicle he purchased while in the Marine Corps... it puts our "asset" level too high, but we're not trading it for a less dependable vehicle or a payment 'just in case'

So given i have no idea what the case is for the OP, how are we supposed to afford health insurance when we're barely cutting it now?

 

[AmberDaClown]

Demand an itemized bill for services rendered. Check it for errors which are quite common.

We found DH was charged over $8K too much for his recent surgery. This was in March and it is still not settled.

 

[Free4Life11]

Here's what I don't understand. A lot of employers offer health insurance to their employees through a group plan. So why doesn't the government becomer the "employer" offering the "group" plan, and they use the bargaining power of 40 million customers or whatever and find an insurance company who is willing to give them the best deal. Then offer competetive premiums and allow any American to join in to the plan, and require all Americans to carry insurance, through their employer, government, or individually. If you don't carry insurance you pay a fine.

If you are unemployed or can't afford the government premiums due to low income, you can get super lower premiums only if you sign up for a welness program and verify that you are eating healthy, meet specific health goals, don't smoke or drink heavily, exercise, etc.

It probably wouldn't work but who knows. Why not just emulate what corporations do, but on a very large scale? I would like to think the government has the money to have a lot of bargaining power.

 

[leebee]

US health insurance is a quagmire. In my previous job (large employer, 1200+ employees), I paid $222 per paycheck (every other week) for HMO type health care for myself, DH, and DD age 14. Primary care physician, $20 copay at office, $50 copay at ER, $40 brand-name prescription copay, $20 generic copay, preapproval for specialists means no additional cost, hospital admission $50 copay for an entire stay. Pretty good plan, and we never worried about health insurance...until the research grant wasn't renewed and I lost my job with 2 weeks' notice. To COBRA this health care plan will cost me $888 every other week (or $23000 per year). Yup, my employer paid 75% of my health care cost. My DH is a 1/3 owner of a small company here. The state insurance plan for small companies is Dirigo. Dirigo would cost $1200 per month with a $3000 per person ($6000 per family) deductible. That works out to $20400 out of pocket per year before Dirigo would pay its PERCENTAGE of health costs. Let's see...unemployment is paying me $281 per week (or $14612 per year, if I should be unemployed that long...that's equivalent to a job paying $7.03 per hour). DH usually doesn't get paid as it's a small, start-up biotech company; priority salary is for the employees (both of them), not the owners...during the academic year he uses his PhD to teach at the local state University- brings home $820 per month (not now that it's summer, of course).

I get it... I understand how OP can have a vacation account but not be able to pay for health insurance. I can pay $25 or $50 a week into a vaca account, which would give me $1300-$2600 a year to take the 3 of us to WDW (easy-peesy to do it for that money!). It's coming up with the $222-$300 a month for a health insurance premium that has me stymied. It's NOT a question of priorities, it's a question of doing the math with the available dollars!!!

Did I mention that I have a master's degree, 20 yrs experience as a research scientist?

 

[buybuybest]

$3100 just for the emergency room, the doctors fees, cat scan and blood work fees are separate.

I had abdominal pain and I was thinking it could be appendix so we went to the emergency room at our local Tenet Hospital and i was taken in since not a lot of people, had a doctor come in check me and ordered an cat scan and did blood work and came out negative. He said I did have some gallstones but it was not on the side of where the pain was. So I asked him, well why the pain? and he mentioned maybe it could be associated with a herniated disc which may be giving pressure there and that go to my regular doctor and get a MRI to be sure.

So I was in an out within 2 hours cost $3100+physician fee+cat scan fee+blood work fee. Should come out to about $5000+

Oh and I have no insurance . I will have to probably charge after just having paid of my American Express.

Sad you would've paid less than that in insurance in a year. Which is why, even when I was a broke waitress I still had insurance. Now that I'm going back for my masters, I make sure I have insurance. I found that blue cross's tonic plan only costs me around one hundred dollars a month and it's worth every penny. My mom works for another insurance company and she was telling me about how high some bills are and then when she looks at the bottom there would be amount patient owed: $40 or some ridiculous amount and then they'd call to complain about that, when insurance paid like thousands of dollars. I'd rather be on the end of receiving a bill for $40 than $5000, and now states have programs for those that are un insured to get discounted rates if you're low on cash. You should look into that to make sure it doesn't happen again.

 

[buybuybest]

US health insurance is a quagmire. In my previous job (large employer, 1200+ employees), I paid $222 per paycheck (every other week) for HMO type health care for myself, DH, and DD age 14. Primary care physician, $20 copay at office, $50 copay at ER, $40 brand-name prescription copay, $20 generic copay, preapproval for specialists means no additional cost, hospital admission $50 copay for an entire stay. Pretty good plan, and we never worried about health insurance...until the research grant wasn't renewed and I lost my job with 2 weeks' notice. To COBRA this health care plan will cost me $888 every other week (or $23000 per year). Yup, my employer paid 75% of my health care cost. My DH is a 1/3 owner of a small company here. The state insurance plan for small companies is Dirigo. Dirigo would cost $1200 per month with a $3000 per person ($6000 per family) deductible. That works out to $20400 out of pocket per year before Dirigo would pay its PERCENTAGE of health costs. Let's see...unemployment is paying me $281 per week (or $14612 per year, if I should be unemployed that long...that's equivalent to a job paying $7.03 per hour). DH usually doesn't get paid as it's a small, start-up biotech company; priority salary is for the employees (both of them), not the owners...during the academic year he uses his PhD to teach at the local state University- brings home $820 per month (not now that it's summer, of course).

I get it... I understand how OP can have a vacation account but not be able to pay for health insurance. I can pay $25 or $50 a week into a vaca account, which would give me $1300-$2600 a year to take the 3 of us to WDW (easy-peesy to do it for that money!). It's coming up with the $222-$300 a month for a health insurance premium that has me stymied. It's NOT a question of priorities, it's a question of doing the math with the available dollars!!!

Did I mention that I have a master's degree, 20 yrs experience as a research scientist?

Not that anyone wants to, but I was watching Suze orman on Oprah and you could easily work at Starbucks part time. Not for the money! For the full coverage health insurance. You'd have to swallow your pride, but they offer it. There are other part time jobs where you could work as little as 10 hrs a week, and get their health insurance coverage. I'm a broke student and I make sure to have health insurance. Even when I drop under half time and it's not offered through the school, I have secondary health insurance because it's that important. There are programs through the state, you just have to research them, that would cut costs so that you aren't paying that high. The first page of this thread, the person who works at the hospital, lists all the types of insurance that the state offers for assistance. The price for those are next to nothing, and it just requires research. Calling offices, calling other offices, asking questions. It takes time and patience. But it can be done. And you paying $800 could be paying 200 through state. Even if you don't like their plan, it's better to have something than nothing.

 

[leebee]

Not that the issue is my unemployment, but no, I can't easily work at Starbucks, etc. I've applied for many retail-type positions and they take one look at my job experience and I'm not considered- they are sure i'll leave the minute a "real" job comes along. It's not worth it for them to spend the time training me. Also, many of the retail "health insurance plans" simply mean that the company offers insurance and the employee pays the full premium- the benefit is that there is a lower rate purchasing through a large employer than individually. Been there too...and the cost of participating in the plan could be more than a part-timer at minimum wage earns.

My point is that health insurance regulations and costs differ in each state. It's unfair to say "you should" or "you could" or criticize someone's priorities without knowing the issues behind the statement. Dirigo IS what the state of Maine offers for small business health plans, or residents who don't qualify for support and cannot afford a single policy. We don't qualify for the state low income programs as we have made more than the income brackets allow for the time ranges the programs work under. It is unacceptable that in a country with the wealth of the USA, with the amount of money that is put into health care, insurance, pharmaceutical companies, etc., so many people are un- or under-insured. I would gladly pay the kinds of taxes they do in the UK or Canada if it would mean getting the industry and profit-making OUT of the health care system and providing decent health care for all citizens,so people don't have to decide between health care or food or rent. It should be like it is with education- we live in a society that has determined it's beneficial to have an educated populace, so we all pay taxes to support the public education system, whether we have kids who are actually in school or not. I don't have a magical solution for how to do it, and don't think the medical business would allow it to happen in the USA anyhow, but it sure would be nice- in my opinion, of course.

 

[SereneOne]

Not that the issue is my unemployment, but no, I can't easily work at Starbucks, etc. I've applied for many retail-type positions and they take one look at my job experience and I'm not considered- they are sure i'll leave the minute a "real" job comes along. It's not worth it for them to spend the time training me. Also, many of the retail "health insurance plans" simply mean that the company offers insurance and the employee pays the full premium- the benefit is that there is a lower rate purchasing through a large employer than individually. Been there too...and the cost of participating in the plan could be more than a part-timer at minimum wage earns.

My point is that health insurance regulations and costs differ in each state. It's unfair to say "you should" or "you could" or criticize someone's priorities without knowing the issues behind the statement. Dirigo IS what the state of Maine offers for small business health plans, or residents who don't qualify for support and cannot afford a single policy. We don't qualify for the state low income programs as we have made more than the income brackets allow for the time ranges the programs work under. It is unacceptable that in a country with the wealth of the USA, with the amount of money that is put into health care, insurance, pharmaceutical companies, etc., so many people are un- or under-insured. I would gladly pay the kinds of taxes they do in the UK or Canada if it would mean getting the industry and profit-making OUT of the health care system and providing decent health care for all citizens,so people don't have to decide between health care or food or rent. It should be like it is with education- we live in a society that has determined it's beneficial to have an educated populace, so we all pay taxes to support the public education system, whether we have kids who are actually in school or not. I don't have a magical solution for how to do it, and don't think the medical business would allow it to happen in the USA anyhow, but it sure would be nice- in my opinion, of course.

and I am someone with GOOD medical insurance!