Seriously backwards thinking....

[DizBelle]

A woman (an RN no less) had a pap smear and it came back "very abnormal". Because she has a high deductible health plan, her coverage does not pay for anything until she reaches here deductible. So, she would have to pay for the additional tests. She says she cannot afford them so she chooses to not have the tests. She now wonders if she has an undiagnosed cancer that will take her away from her 4 children.

She's saying she "can't afford to have the tests". She's a mother of 4 and I say how can she afford to not have those tests?

What in the world is she thinking?!?!?

 

[mom2rtk]

Maybe she really does not have the money.

More and more people will face the same.

For many, having a plan with a huge deductible is the same as not having coverage.

So sad.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Maybe she really does not have the money.

More and more people will face the same.

For many, having a plan with a huge deductible is the same as not having coverage.

So sad.

Exactly. We skip many routine tests these days because we know if they find anything, we'd never be able to afford the follow up.

Yes, it sounds backwards, but it is what it is. It's certainly not how we've ever lived our lives up until these past few years.

 

[sunshinehighway]

A woman (an RN no less) had a pap smear and it came back "very abnormal". Because she has a high deductible health plan, her coverage does not pay for anything until she reaches here deductible. So, she would have to pay for the additional tests. She says she cannot afford them so she chooses to not have the tests. She now wonders if she has an undiagnosed cancer that will take her away from her 4 children.

She's saying she "can't afford to have the tests". She's a mother of 4 and I say how can she afford to not have those tests?

What in the world is she thinking?!?!?

She's probably thinking she does not have the money for the tests. If she literally cannot afford the tests then I really wouldn't say she's choosing to not have them.
I'd love to have a sweet little convertible. I can't afford to buy one. That doesn't mean I'm choosing to not have one.

 

[Heidict]

Are you talking just another Pap smear or something more? For her to refuse a pap due to cost is just stupid. They are not that expensive and she could pay the lab $10 or so a month to cover it if she is really that broke.

Now other testing such as biopsies can get very expensive. Even so, she should talk to her doctor and the lab to see what options are out there. Most medical places are more than willing to work with you and many have programs to help reduce costs.

 

[gwynne]

A woman (an RN no less) had a pap smear and it came back "very abnormal". Because she has a high deductible health plan, her coverage does not pay for anything until she reaches here deductible. So, she would have to pay for the additional tests. She says she cannot afford them so she chooses to not have the tests. She now wonders if she has an undiagnosed cancer that will take her away from her 4 children.

She's saying she "can't afford to have the tests". She's a mother of 4 and I say how can she afford to not have those tests?

What in the world is she thinking?!?!?

Maybe you can tell her how much she means to her kids and that you think she should have the tests. If she really can't afford it, could a group of friends help her with the cost?

 

[rwdavis2]

That's very strange. If she was in a car accident and needed surgery to be able walk again would she not do it?

 

[mom2rtk]

Exactly. We skip many routine tests these days because we know if they find anything, we'd never be able to afford the follow up.

Yes, it sounds backwards, but it is what it is. It's certainly not how we've ever lived our lives up until these past few years.

She probably had the Pap because it was covered under "preventive care". It's why many people will now skip even their basic preventive care. No need to turn over the rock if you can't afford to take care of what you find under it.

 

[gwynne]

Exactly. We skip many routine tests these days because we know if they find anything, we'd never be able to afford the follow up.

Yes, it sounds backwards, but it is what it is. It's certainly not how we've ever lived our lives up until these past few years.

Probably another issue for another day, but some tests have a high false positive rate. It's good to find out everything is fine, but it can be quite an expensive venture.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

A woman (an RN n less) had a pap smear and it came back "very abnormal". Because she has a high deductible health plan, her coverage does not pay for anything until she reaches here deductible. So, she would have to pay for the additional tests. She says she cannot afford them so she chooses to not have the tests. She now wonders if she has an undiagnosed cancer that will take her away from her 4 children.

She's saying she "can't afford to have the tests". She's a mother of 4 and I say how can she afford to not have those tests?

What in the world is she thinking?!?!?

If you are concerned maybe you'd be willing to help her out financially. If she doesn't have the money, she can't take the tests.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Probably another issue for another day, but some tests have a high false positive rate. It's good to find out everything is fine, but it can be quite an expensive venture.

Been there, done that, to the tune of 10's of thousands of dollars (cumulatively).

 

[gwynne]

Been there, done that, to the tune of 10's of thousands of dollars (cumulatively).

That must have been so difficult. Good news, but it takes a huge long term toll on a family financially.

 

[pat fan]

THIS is the problem with the "Affordable" Care Act. It's not. Forcing people to buy coverage that is useless is worse than having NO coverage. You are already broke from paying the premiums so there's nothing left for the deductible etc...If you didn't have that high premium, maybe you could work out a payment plan or something,but you can't do both. Mt sister-in-law in NC had this same problem. It stinks. The ACA did nothing to fix the problem we have with medical costs in this country, it just put a band-aid on an amputation. It needs ACTUAL fixing. Can the new administration come up with a plan? I sure hope so. Some of what I heard the other night on CNN sounded like it might help so I hope those proposals get included in whatever plan they come up with, but for sure something needs to be done.

 

[kimblebee]

What an awful place to be in. Like a pp said, if you don't have the money, you don't have the money.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

That must have been so difficult. Good news, but it takes a huge long term toll on a family financially.

It does, and because we don't have an HSA and purchased most of our plans outside employer plans, we get to pay for the bulk of that post tax.

 

[mjkacmom]

We have a high deductible that we always meet. Therefore, we try to schedule expensive tests and procedures at the beginning of the year. We know we will pay OOP at least $6000 before insurance kicks in and we only pay 10%.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

THIS is the problem with the "Affordable" Care Act. It's not. Forcing people to buy coverage that is useless is worse than having NO coverage. You are already broke from paying the premiums so there's nothing left for the deductible etc...If you didn't have that high premium, maybe you could work out a payment plan or something,but you can't do both. Mt sister-in-law in NC had this same problem. It stinks. The ACA did nothing to fix the problem we have with medical costs in this country, it just put a band-aid on an amputation. It needs ACTUAL fixing. Can the new administration come up with a plan? I sure hope so. Some of what I heard the other night on CNN sounded like it might help so I hope those proposals get included in whatever plan they come up with, but for sure something needs to be done.

Here's a crazy idea. They can look at the healthcare of Canada, Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark, UK etc, etc healthcare and copy one plan. Any one.

 

[DizBelle]

If you are concerned maybe you'd be willing to help her out financially. If she doesn't have the money, she can't take the tests.

I don't know her. I'm not going to say where I heard the story because politics is banned.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Here's a crazy idea. They can look at the healtfhcare o, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Denmark, UK etc, etc healthcare and copy one. Any one.

Until we do something to contain costs, it won't matter. Out gov't already spends more per capita on healthcare than any of those countries, and that's WITHOUT us having universal healthcare.

 

[DizBelle]

THIS is the problem with the "Affordable" Care Act. It's not. Forcing people to buy coverage that is useless is worse than having NO coverage. You are already broke from paying the premiums so there's nothing left for the deductible etc...If you didn't have that high premium, maybe you could work out a payment plan or something,but you can't do both. Mt sister-in-law in NC had this same problem. It stinks. The ACA did nothing to fix the problem we have with medical costs in this country, it just put a band-aid on an amputation. It needs ACTUAL fixing. Can the new administration come up with a plan? I sure hope so. Some of what I heard the other night on CNN sounded like it might help so I hope those proposals get included in whatever plan they come up with, but for sure something needs to be done.

It is not useless. Imagine getting hit with a major injury or illness and your responsible for only $20,000 instead of $1M or $2M. That's the real point of insurance. To protect you from major financial responsibility in case of something catastrophic. It's not there to pay for every little thing.

If she truly can't afford it then when one of her children has an abnormal test that needs further investigation, she wouldn't have that done either right?