Someday I fear health insurance will be a thing of the past.

[Redheadsrock]

Do you ever think that health insurance will get so high that you just wont be able to afford it and pay your regular bills. I mean when it comes between paying your mortgage and buying food vs. buying health insuramce what will you do.

 

[justbishop]

We will move to a country enlightened enough to have universal single payer insurance. As it is with my DH's appendicitis this year, we had to take out a personal loan to pay the ~$4500 out-of-pocket bills that our "good" insurance (that we also pay an arm and a leg for) didn't cover.

What really ticks me off is that I've heard that if we didn't have insurance at all, we probably could have negotiated the full bills down to about what we paid out-of-pocket anyway...so what is the sense in us continuing to pay monthly for the darned insurance?!

ETA: oh yeah, and we are STILL working on the personal loan and other medical bills from DD's (non C-section, the actual term was filtered out, lol) birth almost 3 years ago...and it's not like she was super sick or premature or anything. She was in the NICU for 4 nights for a bit of fluid in her lungs, but otherwise just fine. It should not cost an insured family $7,000 out-of-pocket to have a minimally sick baby.

 

[crisi]

We will move to a country enlightened enough to have universal single payer insurance. As it is with my DH's appendicitis this year, we had to take out a personal loan to pay the ~$4500 out-of-pocket bills that our "good" insurance (that we also pay an arm and a leg for) didn't cover.

That's actually pretty hard to do and be covered, unless you have an "in." Countries with UHC usually have pretty strict immigration requirements.

 

[bettymae1121]

For myself personally? As long as I am with my current employer I'm not worried. They believe in health insurance for their employees and pay through the nose to make sure we are covered (we only pay 10% of the premium so our share is reasonable). My plan has 0% deducable and minimal co-pays. My baby, due in Feb, will cost us $10.

That said, for the nation as a whole, I'm worried. I had hoped for a public option from health care reform but it didn't happen. I'm fearful for those people who work for employers that can't or simply won't afford decent coverage for their employees. And self insured folks...I can't even imgaine!

 

[Redheadsrock]

Ya I think its coming. The day where noone will be able to afford it. And having anything in life like a nice home and land will be useless as the hopitals and such can come after what you have.

 

[monkey30]

even with UHC we still pay alot, not as much as you maybe, but we have monthly fees, user fees and such.

It is a bearable cost to handle though, and I count my lucky stars for it everytime my kids have to see the doctor!

 

[mrsklamc]

even with UHC we still pay alot, not as much as you maybe,

Yes, you do pay as much as we do. It's just paid differently. Yours goes in taxes.

 

[leebee]

I JUST posted a rant over on the community board about health insurance costs. Basically, we pay about $8750 a year for our share of health insurance through DH's work; he earns $52K as an assistant prof at the University and I make $13K as an ed tech (gross for both, not net). I don't know what the University pays as part of their share, but I know they do!! Except for co-pays ($25 primary care, $75 specialist with referral, $200 ER) we have to be $4000 OOP before they will kick in and cover things like xrays, throat cultures, etc. DD just had a medical issue that we thought was orthopedic but ended up being a ruptured ovarian cyst... 1 visit to primary, 2 to ortho, 1 to ER, ambulance, xrays, mri, ultrasound (and don't forget the charges to read those, too...). We paid the docs' copays, and the ER... the rest is yet to come. With premiums and OOP, Harvard Pilgrim will potentially make $12750 off us this year... certainly more than what I bring home... and that doesn't include what the University is paying them. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE???

 

[JoiseyMom]

Do you ever think that health insurance will get so high that you just wont be able to afford it and pay your regular bills. I mean when it comes between paying your mortgage and buying food vs. buying health insuramce what will you do.

Easy, what I am doing now. We are not currently insured. DH's job ended in July, our insurance ended at the end of July. Cobra for health and dental was 1600.00 a month. Well that is not in my budget. Luckily we should be covered on Nov 1, but I still in a quandry about October. I am waiting to hear back from a state program, but not sure if they will make a decision in time or not.

But my priority was our mortgage and food etc...

 

[Marionnette]

In a free market, a business will not price its product so high that the targeted market is unable to pay for it. Insurance and medicine, if allowed to compete in a free market, would not price itself out of existence. It's only when outside forces step in and make ridiculous demands on the system that costs spiral out of control.

 

[leebee]

Easy, what I am doing now. We are not currently insured. DH's job ended in July, our insurance ended at the end of July. Cobra for health and dental was 1600.00 a month. Well that is not in my budget. Luckily we should be covered on Nov 1, but I still in a quandry about October. I am waiting to hear back from a state program, but not sure if they will make a decision in time or not.

But my priority was our mortgage and food etc...

I hear ya! We were without health insurance for 4 months one year, when DH was between jobs. We sucked it up and held our breath. We just couldn't afford the cobra payments, and MaineCare, which is our state program, was almost as much. Honestly, it's all so expensive- and so much cheaper to pay for the dentist or doctor appts during that time period. Of course, you cannot predict a catastrophe, but you can pay the hospital $100 a month, faithfully, and they will be patient and take your payments!

Actually, we don't have dental or vision coverage. We go to a nearby college with a dental program to have our teeth cleaned and x-rayd; it's $50 each. If there is a major problem, of course we go to the dentist, but why pay them $275 for cleaning/xrays every year if we can get it done for $50? Yes, they are students, so it takes a little longer, but they are supervised and guided by licensed practitioners, so what's the difference?

 

[Mickeyflower]

Since I was dropped off of my parents insurance at 22 (I am 39 now) I have only been insured for a total of 6 years, nonconsecutive. The job I was laid off from almost 2 years ago had HORRIBLE & expensive insurance. I went in for a routine physical, and was later sent a bill for $1000!! When I called HR to drop it they told me "Well it's better than nothing" to which I responded "IT IS NOTHING!" .

When I was laid off, I went to apply for Medi-Cal (California medical insurance for low income) and was denied because I "Made too much money on unemployment" . I was taking home HALF of what I made while working, barely enough to cover my expenses.

I don't think I'd know what to do if and when I eventually do get insured.

 

[justbishop]

That's actually pretty hard to do and be covered, unless you have an "in." Countries with UHC usually have pretty strict immigration requirements.

Meh, I didn't say it was a plan I'd fully researched, lol!

 

[barbarabini]

this is more of a tip --
Check your ins. policy. Usually, you have your out of pocket maximum in the policy - so, if the provider takes yours insurance, in aggregate you shouldn't be paying more out-of pocket than your insurance policy dictates.

For example, my ins. has a maximum out of pocket of 8000.00. And i definitely do not have a great policy ( 900 per month for premium contribution plus 3000 deductible ... but most of my friends have this as well.) but the maximum out of pocket is 8000.00.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do you ever think that health insurance will get so high that you just wont be able to afford it and pay your regular bills. I mean when it comes between paying your mortgage and buying food vs. buying health insuramce what will you do.

This is one worry I don't have, as we are a military family.

 

[Redheadsrock]

We will move to a country enlightened enough to have universal single payer insurance. As it is with my DH's appendicitis this year, we had to take out a personal loan to pay the ~$4500 out-of-pocket bills that our "good" insurance (that we also pay an arm and a leg for) didn't cover.

What really ticks me off is that I've heard that if we didn't have insurance at all, we probably could have negotiated the full bills down to about what we paid out-of-pocket anyway...so what is the sense in us continuing to pay monthly for the darned insurance?!

ETA: oh yeah, and we are STILL working on the personal loan and other medical bills from DD's (non C-section, the actual term was filtered out, lol) birth almost 3 years ago...and it's not like she was super sick or premature or anything. She was in the NICU for 4 nights for a bit of fluid in her lungs, but otherwise just fine. It should not cost an insured family $7,000 out-of-pocket to have a minimally sick baby.

It cost you 7 grand because of the other 24 women ahead of you who had just recently gave birth and didnt have to pay a penny.

 

[eliza61]

Do you ever think that health insurance will get so high that you just wont be able to afford it and pay your regular bills. I mean when it comes between paying your mortgage and buying food vs. buying health insuramce what will you do.

LOL

No not at all. primarily because we don't really have health care we have a for profit billion dollar sick care industry.

Health care insurance companies have no vested interest in getting you healthy, they make their money when we are sick.

No I don't worry because bottom line Aetna, USHealthcare, blue cross blue sheild like any other corporation know exactly how to price their product so the majority will be able to pay some thing. Do you really think they don't know exactly how to maximize their profits?

Thats like worrying disney is going to raise it's ticket prices to the point where no one can come. They know exactly what the market will bear and they are not in the business of losing millions of customers.

 

[MrsPete]

Yes, you do pay as much as we do. It's just paid differently. Yours goes in taxes.

Yes, some people have the idea that universal health care means we'll all have "free health care". That'll never happen. If we go that direction, it'll mean our taxes'll be much higher and the government'll have more say-so in our health care. We'll pay for it one way or the other.

I'm quite certain, too, that health insurance is one of the reasons medical care is so expensive. Hospitals and doctors raise the rates because insurance'll pay. Over the years it's spiraled out of control.

Need evidence? A couple weeks ago I received a bill for a doctor visit. Somehow they made a mistake and labeled us a "self-care patient". The bill was something like $450, and the bill gave us a "self-care patient discount", knocking the bill down to something like $175. I was shocked. I take that to mean that the REAL COST of the visit was $175 -- that was enough for the doctor's time, the nurse who did the check-in, the building, the utilities, whatever else -- but they added in all that other money because 1) they know insurance'll pay, 2) they know they're going to have to wait weeks for insurance to get around to paying, and that waiting has to be worth their while, 3) they have to pay someone to file the insurance. Again, I was shocked at the price difference.

 

[yrdlyprincess]

after finding out that it would be over $2,000 to go to the ER for one of us....I think its a thing of the past for us...what DO I pay for??????

 

[justbishop]

I totally understand that taxes would go up. I guess I'm just assuming that not having to pay monthly for the private insurance that we pay for now would equal things out, and folks like us would end up better in the long run because we would no longer be paying an additional ~$5000 OOP on top of the taxes for something as necessary as an emergency appendectomy, as I mentioned we have done this year.

I don't mind paying for health insurance in one way or another, be it to a private company or the gov't via higher taxes. I just think it's ridiculous that I also have to take out loans and go into debt on top of that when we have a medical emergency.