In America...

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

If you had a heart attack and had emergency surgery, would you receive a bill afterwards?

 

[Moliphino]

Depends on how good your insurance is, but most likely yes.

 

[TippyThomas]

Hopefully my insurance would cover the majority but I'd more than likely have to pay some percentage of the total.

 

[BrianL]

Yes. Even with insurance there is a deductible and other fees that one is responsible for. There is usually an out-of-pocket maximum though, but it can still be a lot.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

If you had a heart attack and had emergency surgery, would you receive a bill afterwards?

I would not, as I'm on Medicaid. I've been on it since 2008, and have never received a bill for any medical or emergency service. I wish it could be universal so that everyone could have it.

 

[lynxstch]

My husband did, and insurance paid every cent of it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Charges yes, responsible as patient, no. Over the past 35 years, we've learned to play the HMO game. As long as you play it right, they pay 100% of nearly everything, including my two knee replacements (which totaled over $175,000).

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We had a high deductible plan, so it would depend on if we've already met the individual or family deductible, then would be a percentage of the total bill that we would owe. It would also depend on if the hospital was in-network or out of network (there is a much higher out of network deductible and coinsurance). From any ER/hospital stay, we have had bills from the hospital itself, physician group fees sometimes from multiple doctors (the doctors bill separate from the hospital charges depending on what you're seen for), lab fees (none of the in-hospital lab services seem to be in network - like we have a choice in an emergency where our blood test goes!), and ambulance fees (also not in network).

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Depends on how good your insurance is.

 

[persnickity]

Most likely, you'd receive several.

 

[scrapquitler]

If you had a heart attack and had emergency surgery, would you receive a bill afterwards?

Yes, even if you have an insurance that covers that 100% you get the bill so you can have it for your records.

 

[barkley]

could also depend on where the treatment was received-we have well respected local hospitals that have (imho) insanely generous financial assistance programs that can result in the patient's share of cost (at whatever rate their insurance company or medicare has already negotiated down through their contracts) being reduced another 60-100% (a family of 3 can have a gross of just shy of $100K and be eligible to the 60% reduction, drop their income down to $75K and the are eligible to 100%).

THAT SAID-that's for the hospital, allot of the cost like surgeons, anesthesiologists...are separate (though my state has made some in-roads on legislation protecting consumers on this).

 

[sam_gordon]

Charges yes, responsible as patient, no. Over the past 35 years, we've learned to play the HMO game. As long as you play it right, they pay 100% of nearly everything, including my two knee replacements (which totaled over $175,000).

Care to inform the rest of us how to "play the HMO game"? Unless you're referring to meeting the deductible early in the year and having high value procedures after that at no out of pocket cost (hard to plan a heart attack that way)?

 

[DLgal]

If I had one right now? I'd have a $0 out of pocket cost, as we have met our $1000 family catastrophic cap for the year already. If I have one in 2 months, after our insurance resets? Yup. A co pay. Probably not much though.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

If you had a heart attack and had emergency surgery, would you receive a bill afterwards?

Unless you are on medicaid or medical or you are already over your out of pocket limit on your insurance, yes, you will receiver a bill. If your relative is there, they'll probably get your insurance info and arrange payment while you are there.

 

[fla4fun]

I have a high deductible plan, with savings to cover the deductible if I have a medical emergency. Once the deductible is paid, my insurance covers 100%. My only worry is if I get sick near the end of a calendar year and have to pay the deductible in year one and again in year two. That would hurt.

 

[goofyernmost]

Don't forget that all those with insurance, unless it's company supplied with no weekly charge for the insurance you are paying that even if you aren't sick. Then you usually have a deductible and and a co-pay.

All this concern about not wanting a good for all system is just another example of how so many have been brainwash by big business to thinking it would be awful and us buying into it are just plain unable to count. Think about it! Right now if you get sick with anything from flue to cancer will have to pay whatever you are paying for the insurance, and your deductible and your copay by yourself. With the coverage for all the population of the country is paying for it or help you to pay for it.

Perhaps when you are working you don't like paying for all that stuff, but you know you have income. Think ahead to the day when it is very possible that you will have a whole different income in the form of Social Security only. Then the co-payments and deductibles are on a sliding scale based on income. I have that right now. Because I actually served in country in Vietnam and am a Veteran almost all my medical is taken care of by the V.A. Because my income is only SS the only thing I have for a co-pay is my meds and that is ridiculously low. I can't tell you how much of a wonderful thing that is when you get older and don't have any other income. So far I have had two kidney stone removals, both eyes were taken care of when I had Cataract Surgery, a pacemaker installed and just had a Cervical fusion of two vertebrae in my neck and I have yet to see a bill. And that is not to mention the amount of testing that I had leading up to the fusion at no charge to me. I don't even want to think about how much that all would have cost me. I know that all of my retirement savings would be gone. Heck, one of the tests I had was a Cardiac MRI which is quite complex. I saw what the Hospital billed the V.A. just for that was $10K. That was just about an hour long procedure. Here's the kicker because the VA can set the maximum they will pay regardless of what the are billed, they will probably pay only 10% of that number. As an individual you do not have that power. Everyone should be wanting the medical for all possibility. Sometimes we are our worst enemy and can't see the forest for the trees.

Just for fun lets think about it. I'm going to take a guess and say that there are 220,000,000 tax payers in the country.,
That $10,000 MRI would have cost you a very large portion of the 10 grand, all by yourself even with insurance. Now let's look into the coverage for all direction. All 220,000,000 tax payers including yourself would have to pay $0.00004545. That would be everyone's share. That is a very, very, very small fraction of a penny. Which one makes the most sense. Big business and sadly a lot of people with power want you to believe that it is bad because it will take lots and lots of money out of their pockets.

 

[sam_gordon]

Don't forget that all those with insurance, unless it's company supplied with no weekly charge for the insurance you are paying that even if you aren't sick. Then you usually have a deductible and and a co-pay.

All this concern about not wanting a good for all system is just another example of how so many have been brainwash by big business to thinking it would be awful and us buying into it are just plain unable to count. Think about it! Right now if you get sick with anything from flue to cancer will have to pay whatever you are paying for the insurance, and your deductible and your copay by yourself. With the coverage for all the population of the country is paying for it or help you to pay for it.

Perhaps when you are working you don't like paying for all that stuff, but you know you have income. Think ahead to the day when it is very possible that you will have a whole different income in the form of Social Security only. Then the co-payments and deductibles are on a sliding scale based on income. I have that right now. Because I actually served in country in Vietnam and am a Veteran almost all my medical is taken care of by the V.A. Because my income is only SS the only thing I have for a co-pay is my meds and that is ridiculously low. I can't tell you how much of a wonderful thing that is when you get older and don't have any other income. So far I have had two kidney stone removals, both eyes were taken care of when I had Cataract Surgery, a pacemaker installed and just had a Cervical fusion of two vertebrae in my neck and I have yet to see a bill. And that is not to mention the amount of testing that I had leading up to the fusion at no charge to me. I don't even want to think about how much that all would have cost me. I know that all of my retirement savings would be gone. Heck, one of the tests I had was a Cardiac MRI which is quite complex. I saw what the Hospital billed the V.A. just for that was $10K. That was just about an hour long procedure. Here's the kicker because the VA can set the maximum they will pay regardless of what the are billed, they will probably pay only 10% of that number. As an individual you do not have that power. Everyone should be wanting the medical for all possibility. Sometimes we are our worst enemy and can't see the forest for the trees.

Just for fun lets think about it. I'm going to take a guess and say that there are 220,000,000 tax payers in the country.,
That $10,000 MRI would have cost you a very large portion of the 10 grand, all by yourself even with insurance. Now let's look into the coverage for all direction. All 220,000,000 tax payers including yourself would have to pay $0.00004545. That would be everyone's share. That is a very, very, very small fraction of a penny. Which one makes the most sense. Big business and sadly a lot of people with power want you to believe that it is bad because it will take lots and lots of money out of their pockets.

There are many versions of insurance. I had one that, yes, we paid the premium, and a deductible for "non-routine" visits, but no copay. After meeting the deductible, everything was covered at 100%. "Preventive" procedures (annual physical, teeth cleaning, colonoscopy (at a certain age) were covered at 100%, no deductible or copay.

And, while your math is correct about everyone paying an extremely small fraction of a single MRI, how many MRIs are done every day across the country?

Now, that being said, I think I would be happy with a single payer/"medicaid for all" (whatever it is called) system. But I'm sure it will have it's bad points also. And, since we can't discuss politics, that's all I have to say about that.

 

[mjkacmom]

Care to inform the rest of us how to "play the HMO game"? Unless you're referring to meeting the deductible early in the year and having high value procedures after that at no out of pocket cost (hard to plan a heart attack that way)?

Lol that’s what we do! $7000 in network deductible, $7000 out of network, we don’t pay extra each month for each kid, so they stay on until 26, we usually meet the in network by spring. Come December we are getting last minute well checkups.

 

[mrodgers]

No idea with my insurance how a large thing would work.

For general routine stuff when you have kids, my insurance pays nearly nothing.