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

[leahjade]

GOVERNMENT PAYS 120 MILLION TO DEAD PEOPLE

This was the quote in my paper today - another reason why I don't want government in charge of my healthcare!

 

[justbishop]

You are obviously intelligent so I am sure you have already thought about this but could DH possibly find a different job with better health care coverage? Whatever policy you have sounds terrible. No idea regarding the feasibility of this but I certainly understand your frustrations.

He actually has a standing offer at his current company's competitor in town, but there are several non-monetary reasons he's staying where he is for the moment. His Dad actually works at the competing company, though, so we will be talking to him about the specifics of the insurance offered there, and our wanting to have a second child might become a factor in the decision to take the position there or stay where he is.

I have also been very sick with Hyperemesis Gravidarum in the past, which very well might be worse with each subsequent pregnancy, so we will have to be sure that whatever insurance we are on will cover things like Zofran (very expensive meds to keep me from vomiting pretty much constantly), regular IV fluids, and possible home health care nursing or even hospitalization for TPN or a PICC line if it gets really bad.

I just wish that whether or not we can come up with a few thousand dollars right away did not have to be part of the decision making process on the subject of growing our family, KWIM?

 

[twinboysmom]

He actually has a standing offer at his current company's competitor in town, but there are several non-monetary reasons he's staying where he is for the moment. His Dad actually works at the competing company, though, so we will be talking to him about the specifics of the insurance offered there, and our wanting to have a second child might become a factor in the decision to take the position there or stay where he is.

I have also been very sick with Hyperemesis Gravidarum in the past, which very well might be worse with each subsequent pregnancy, so we will have to be sure that whatever insurance we are on will cover things like Zofran (very expensive meds to keep me from vomiting pretty much constantly), regular IV fluids, and possible home health care nursing or even hospitalization for TPN or a PICC line if it gets really bad.

I just wish that whether or not we can come up with a few thousand dollars
right away did not have to be part of the decision making process on the subject of growing our family, KWIM?

I hope things work out soon! But I wanted to say that I do know people who had hyperemesis and did not have it with subsequent pregnancies so you can always hope. And I know about Zofran. The good news is although still pricey, it is in generic form. My insurance let me have 12 pills per month with my pregnancy. Now we have changed insurance and it doesn't cover it at all. I haven't ruled out more children completely, just mostly lol, and for certain the cost of delivery is an issue.

 

[justbishop]

I hope things work out soon! But I wanted to say that I do know people who had hyperemesis and did not have it with subsequent pregnancies so you can always hope. And I know about Zofran. The good news is although still pricey, it is in generic form. My insurance let me have 12 pills per month with my pregnancy. Now we have changed insurance and it doesn't cover it at all. I haven't ruled out more children completely, just mostly lol, and for certain the cost of delivery is an issue.

Yeah, we are hoping for the best, but you still have to prep for the worst

I would have died had our insurance only given me 12 ondansatron (generic Zofran) pills a month! I took on average about 6 per day, and all that did was make me not vomit (except once when I first woke up). I still spent the majority of the first 5-6 months of pregnancy so weak and tired that I needed DH's help to bathe myself

I hate to say it, but if the insurance we are on now (different than when we had DD1) doesn't cover at least the prescribed amount of Zofran (or generic), I'm not sure what we'll do.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Sorry but an accident is being struck by a chunk of blue ice from a plane flying over... something completely beyond your control. Getting pregnant isn't an accident unless you were raped in which case it was a crime... otherwise I think most grown-ups know how you get pregnant and how you can keep from getting pregnant so I don't really buy your argument that a single mother is an accident.

As for people no being able to make enough money when they become teachers... well when I was going to college there was no gun held to your head where they said you will get a degree in education or you will get a degree in accounting... people had a choice, though there was a trend of people flunking out of the engineering or orther colleges going to the education college because it was easy... but at any rate, people that get degrees should be smart enough to look at the job prospects that will be available when they get out... unless I'm missing something teaching has never been a lucrative job, only a job with very nice hours and long vacations... I can't feel sorry for someone that decided they want to be in a job that has never paid well and now suddenly act surprised when they find that the job still doesn't pay well... doesn't sound all the smart to me.

And yes, if a woman has a child she can't afford to take care of it would be better for that child to be in another home, orphanage or foster home either one would give the kid a better chance of growing up to be somebody... the reason we have such a sorry society where the welfare class is growing by leaps and bounds is because little John and Jill are raised in a single mother home where they learn from watching mom to become a single parent and get on welfare, or in the boys they learn that a man doesn't isn't supposed to be involved in raising the kids... so a resounding yes, strip the kids from mothers that can't afford to care for them and put them somewhere else.

Hmmm...are you intelligent to know how pregnancy works? I mean it takes 2, and birth control is not 100% effective. The pill has a failure rate, so do condoms and all other methods. And as a side note, if the MEN ( you seem to want to totally blame the women who get pregnant and get on welfare) covered their johnsons, or stepped up and supported their kids, then there wouldn't be an issue. So please stop blaming the moms...it takes 2 to make a baby and to use birht control properly.

ANd do you have any idea how foster homes and orphanges work? You do realize that alot (not all) foster homes are really bad places for kids to be! And as a previous poster said...how much gov't money they use up? Hmmm...if the gov't paid the real parents as much as the foster parents.... .

You also realize if you don't like how the USA gov't spends "your" money, you are free to move to another country. Just saying....

 

[dhardawa]

I would assume that those positions require a particular degree or training and don't just take anyone with any degree or background. Specialized job openings are out there but we don't all have what is required. I assume that these openings must be very specialized since so many people who genuinely want to work are having trouble finding decent jobs.

By the way, to some of you - the ignore feature is a wonderful thing. By that, I'm not saying to ignore you dhardawa!

These roles are for experienced IT developers.

 

[PatsMom]

Yeah, we are hoping for the best, but you still have to prep for the worst

I would have died had our insurance only given me 12 ondansatron (generic Zofran) pills a month! I took on average about 6 per day, and all that did was make me not vomit (except once when I first woke up). I still spent the majority of the first 5-6 months of pregnancy so weak and tired that I needed DH's help to bathe myself

I hate to say it, but if the insurance we are on now (different than when we had DD1) doesn't cover at least the prescribed amount of Zofran (or generic), I'm not sure what we'll do.

I don't want to single out difficult pregnancies, buy reading your posts has kind of made me think about something that is making our insurance more expensive than ever. And that is the number of things they are covering. You are talking about a planned pregnancy that could involve extensive medical expense. I don't believe insurance should necessarily cover this type thing. One hot topic among a few cancer survivor groups that I talk with is that they are considering rationing some of the more expensive care. Weighing the benefits of a few extra months of life vs. the cost of the drugs and care. No one chooses to get cancer, people do choose to embark on high risk pregnancy.

People also choose to undergo fertility treatments which most insurance plans must cover. I think we as a society may have to make some hard choices about opting for treating true illness rather than fertility issues. I know some people pay out of pocket and that is fine - their money, their choice. But I also know many who got lots of help from insurance companies.

I also have an issue with prescription plans that pay for Viagra but not birth control. Something really wrong with that situation!

 

[thomas998]

I don't want to single out difficult pregnancies, buy reading your posts has kind of made me think about something that is making our insurance more expensive than ever. And that is the number of things they are covering. You are talking about a planned pregnancy that could involve extensive medical expense. I don't believe insurance should necessarily cover this type thing. One hot topic among a few cancer survivor groups that I talk with is that they are considering rationing some of the more expensive care. Weighing the benefits of a few extra months of life vs. the cost of the drugs and care. No one chooses to get cancer, people do choose to embark on high risk pregnancy.

People also choose to undergo fertility treatments which most insurance plans must cover. I think we as a society may have to make some hard choices about opting for treating true illness rather than fertility issues. I know some people pay out of pocket and that is fine - their money, their choice. But I also know many who got lots of help from insurance companies.

I also have an issue with prescription plans that pay for Viagra but not birth control. Something really wrong with that situation!

You aren't the only one that thinks things are getting out of hand. A close friend of the family was telling us about their daughter how suffers from some form of muscular dystrophy... The daughter was told she should not get pregnant because it would be a very high risk to her health and that if she had a child it would have a very high chance of getting the same genetic defect which might result in the baby being retarded... Well guess what the brilliant idea was, go ahead and have the baby and just hope that God does what's best... Unfortunately for the child it was born extremely messed up, not only retarded but suffering from other issues that will likely mean she will never walk.... All the expenses of that pregnancy were passed through to everyone else through higher premiums when any sane person would never have decided to get pregnant... Making it more disturbing is the fact that the daughter had already had 2 kids, one that was normal and one that is already suffering the same muscular dystrophy as the mom...

My person thought is that when a pregnancy reaches a certain point in the amount of risk to the baby, well the insurance and everyone involved needs to tell the prospective mom, NO. You are being stupid if you get pregnant and if you do you aren't going to saddle everyone else with the cost of your stupidity.

 

[Tink-aholic]

I don't want to single out difficult pregnancies, buy reading your posts has kind of made me think about something that is making our insurance more expensive than ever. And that is the number of things they are covering. You are talking about a planned pregnancy that could involve extensive medical expense. I don't believe insurance should necessarily cover this type thing. One hot topic among a few cancer survivor groups that I talk with is that they are considering rationing some of the more expensive care. Weighing the benefits of a few extra months of life vs. the cost of the drugs and care. No one chooses to get cancer, people do choose to embark on high risk pregnancy.

People also choose to undergo fertility treatments which most insurance plans must cover. I think we as a society may have to make some hard choices about opting for treating true illness rather than fertility issues. I know some people pay out of pocket and that is fine - their money, their choice. But I also know many who got lots of help from insurance companies.

I also have an issue with prescription plans that pay for Viagra but not birth control. Something really wrong with that situation!

Most insurance plans do not cover fertility treatments, and currently there are only five states that require health plans to cover it. I would like to offer a different perspective to your post -- not to argue, but to show you a different point of view:

Many, many cancers are preventable, particularly those caused by smoking, poor eating habits, and sun exposure. Yet we spend millions on surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy treatments without saying a word. Heart disease caused by decades of poor choices frequently lead to life-saving cardiac intervention and lifelong medication afterward. Heck, even people who ski in the winter often require tens of thousands in orthopedic reconstruction. Yet it is a rare instance indeed that an infertile woman is infertile by any of her own actions. Procreating is as basic human desire to many people...as simple as breathing or eating to most. So, why should fertility treatment be excluded while all of the other treatments be allowed? Keep in mind, I am talking about responsible treatment; no "Octomom" scenarios.

Food for thought...

 

[justbishop]

Ok, first of all, if you read a little into HG, the baby is actually born quite healthy, despite the mother's issues during the pregnancy.

Second, as someone else in the thread mentioned, there is no guarantee that someone who has had HG in the past will suffer from it again.

Third and most importantly, I don't think that someone in my situation should be discouraged from having more children, but rather the medical industry should be discouraged from charging insane amounts of money here in the US for the same meds and services that cost a fraction of the price elsewhere, and we would all be better off. Or do something to get the insane rates of US C-sections and overly managed and overly medicated hospital births in check, which would also save loads of money. The meds and run-of-the-mill IV fluids I could end up needing are a drop in the bucket compared to all of the unnecessary birthing procedures we Americans freak out at the thought of not having as the norm (but that the rest of the civilized world does without just fine...and usually with BETTER maternal and infant mortality rates than we have).

 

[mrsklamc]

Actually a LOT of American infertility - my own included - IS due to our own actions. Childbearing years are coming a lot later as we pursue careers and a lot more people have trouble getting pregnant in their early 30s than you would think. And there are a LOT of cancers- my own included - that we could have done nothing to prevent.

 

[DeniseinNS]

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 would rather pay higher taxes on what I make and not have to worry about paying for my health coverage no matter what my situation (whether having a great job or no job) then have to worry about whether I can afford to see a doctor. My daughters birth inlcuding a week in the hospital and a baby in the NICU cost us $96 and that was only because I upgraded to a private room.
When we were in Maine this summer there was a medical clinic in the Walmart with a list of prices, I was shocked but what people are charged!!! It was like $90 to get looked at for a severe sore throat. That is insane!

 

[justbishop]

I would rather pay higher taxes on what I make and not have to worry about paying for my health coverage no matter what my situation (whether having a great job or no job) then have to worry about whether I can afford to see a doctor. My daughters birth inlcuding a week in the hospital and a baby in the NICU cost us $96 and that was only because I upgraded to a private room.
When we were in Maine this summer there was a medical clinic in the Walmart with a list of prices, I was shocked but what people are charged!!! It was like $90 to get looked at for a severe sore throat. That is insane!

It's so funny how the Canadians who apparently would trade their system for ours are never vocal enough to post in these types of threads (or any types of threads that I've read...on many different forums, Facebook, blogs, etc.)

 

[arniniVT]

wow what a thread this is for sure.
I can only say I switched jobs and then last year the premiums went to over $800 a month. Mind you it is ok insurance for prescriptions. The co-pays though are $30-$50 each time you go and the out of pocket you can pay is is like 8000 a year for my family. I have no idea if something was really to happen how we could come up with that kind of money. Guess as another poster said you have to take out a lone.

I though and not blaming the company, they are small (20-30 people) and their part of the price is high too. Seems like this year if it goes up again it will be to the point the company can no longer provide insurance.

 

[averysmom]

Sorry but an accident is being struck by a chunk of blue ice from a plane flying over... something completely beyond your control. Getting pregnant isn't an accident unless you were raped in which case it was a crime... otherwise I think most grown-ups know how you get pregnant and how you can keep from getting pregnant so I don't really buy your argument that a single mother is an accident.

As for people no being able to make enough money when they become teachers... well when I was going to college there was no gun held to your head where they said you will get a degree in education or you will get a degree in accounting... people had a choice, though there was a trend of people flunking out of the engineering or orther colleges going to the education college because it was easy... but at any rate, people that get degrees should be smart enough to look at the job prospects that will be available when they get out... unless I'm missing something teaching has never been a lucrative job, only a job with very nice hours and long vacations... I can't feel sorry for someone that decided they want to be in a job that has never paid well and now suddenly act surprised when they find that the job still doesn't pay well... doesn't sound all the smart to me.

And yes, if a woman has a child she can't afford to take care of it would be better for that child to be in another home, orphanage or foster home either one would give the kid a better chance of growing up to be somebody... the reason we have such a sorry society where the welfare class is growing by leaps and bounds is because little John and Jill are raised in a single mother home where they learn from watching mom to become a single parent and get on welfare, or in the boys they learn that a man doesn't isn't supposed to be involved in raising the kids... so a resounding yes, strip the kids from mothers that can't afford to care for them and put them somewhere else.

Snort. Teaching is easy? Since when?
Thanks - my laugh of the day!

 

[thomas998]

Snort. Teaching is easy? Since when?
Thanks - my laugh of the day!

You didn't read what I said... I never said teaching was easy, I said getting the degree was easier than some of the other degrees.

 

[CdnCarrie]

It's so funny how the Canadians who apparently would trade their system for ours are never vocal enough to post in these types of threads (or any types of threads that I've read...on many different forums, Facebook, blogs, etc.)

I think there are a lot less Canadians than you think who would trade. The founder of our healthcare system was voted in as the Greatest Canadian during a national contest. Majority of us love the healthcare system.

Not sure why you think we are all so unhappy with it?

 

[RadioMom]

I am thankful for our healthcare system. Is it perfect? Absolutely not, but it's getting better in some areas.
However, I don't worry that if my family members are ill, they are going to lose everything they've spent a lifetime building.
Yes, there are waiting lists for many things. And sometimes people fall through the cracks but I think that happens in every healthcare system.
My father was diagnosed with liver, stomach and colon cancer. He had two major surgeries, chemotherapy for a year, plus follow up meds, in-home nursing for dressing changes and follow up appointments weekly, then monthly, now every six months. These include bloodwork, MRI's and other scans. The only thing he had to pay for was some of the meds that weren't covered under OHIP (our Ontario health plan). And his medical insurance paid (insurance that we have through our employers to cover the cost of medical expenses not covered under OHIP) for a portion of it. Had he lived in the US, he would have lost his home, his truck and all of his retirement savings.
My husband has osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, fibro and a myriad of other health issues. He's had knee injections this past week, will be taking hydro therapy, sees the doc every month at no cost at all. Our personal health insurance covers the costs of his meds that would run us $600 a month.
These are the good things. The bad things include an 8 month wait to see a dermatologist for my son for his acne. I waited nearly a year for a colonoscopy. Now, both of those things were not emergencies or critical. I had the colonoscopy because of my father's medical history and my son is only 13 and acne is not life or death. Had these been life or death situations, the wait would be different.
Waits for MRI's can be long. Mammograms as well. Hip surgeries too.
We have walk-in clinics for when your doctor's office is closed, which are of no charge. Eye doctor appointments for kids under 18 are covered and for seniors. I paid nothing when I had both of my children, one of which was in the NICU for a time.
As I said, our system isn't perfect. And for some that can afford it, they do go to the US and other countries even for some treatments if they don't want to wait. But no one will be or ever has been turned away from care because they didn't have the money to pay for it. Our taxes are much higher, but not unbearable. Every province is different for tax rates, but Ontario is likely the highest. But we also have the greater population too, using those resources.
It's what we have and while we sometimes get frustrated, I don't know anyone who would trade it for the US system. I get health insurance every time I cross the border. It scares the heck out of me, the thought of getting in an accident or an illness that detains me because I know it would wipe us out financially. I adore visiting the US. I've never had a bad experience and have always felt like I was visiting a friend. But I don't know how people can afford to get sick, I really don't.

 

[Colleen27]

I think there are a lot less Canadians than you think who would trade. The founder of our healthcare system was voted in as the Greatest Canadian during a national contest. Majority of us love the healthcare system.

Not sure why you think we are all so unhappy with it?

Because that's the only part of the picture that American media tends to paint - long waits and rich Canadians coming here to get care more quickly. There isn't a lot of talk about the millions of not-rich Canadians who are happy not to have to worry about losing everything they've worked for all their lives to one medical issue. I live in a border town and it is really quite a funny dichotomy - I know a LOT of Americans who preach about how bad Canadian health care is but I've yet to hear it from a Canadian's lips.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Many, many cancers are preventable, particularly those caused by smoking, poor eating habits, and sun exposure. Yet we spend millions on surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy treatments without saying a word. Heart disease caused by decades of poor choices frequently lead to life-saving cardiac intervention and lifelong medication afterward. Heck, even people who ski in the winter often require tens of thousands in orthopedic reconstruction. Yet it is a rare instance indeed that an infertile woman is infertile by any of her own actions. Procreating is as basic human desire to many people...as simple as breathing or eating to most. So, why should fertility treatment be excluded while all of the other treatments be allowed? Keep in mind, I am talking about responsible treatment; no "Octomom" scenarios.


Food for thought...

Nope - no food for thought. Having a baby is not required to LIVE - having chemo IS. The selfishness of people wanting an insurance company to cover fertility treatments is astonishing! The health care system is in bad shape and I can't justify spending money on such things when there are some who cannot even get basic care.