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Dulcesuenos · 19-12-2013, 21:05

Ok so laying here with my ankle foot bandaged up after surgery, ligament re anchoring and debridement. Thinking about why our great health insurance coverage and the entire healthcare industry is a bunch of pirates. Forgive my mistakes its the drugs I swear....
My ins was charged $4700 for an mri. I was billed.$700. (Havent met my deductible ) I called another well.known.Mri facility(too far to actually go to given the time frame) and they would do the same mri for a cash customer w no insurance for $300.00 met my deductible w the mri so the surgery which is $9700. (Yeah only.twice what the mri is for a 2 hour surgery)
Next year our insurance rates almost double, and our out of pocket goes up 90%.
I have to wonder what would all this cost out of country.
My total costs here will roughly be $4000.00

belizesailor · 20-12-2013, 10:00

Yes, costs are out of control in the USA (and have been for many years). Equally good care available in other venues at a fraction of the cost.

Next time you should get injured in another country! ;-)

Ocean Girl · 20-12-2013, 10:12

I agree.

That's all. Just thought I'd post before the fur starts to fly and thread is closed.

Hope your recovery is speedy and you are up and about in no time.

gonesail · 20-12-2013, 10:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Next year our insurance rates almost double and our out of pocket goes up 90%

that is par for the course but i might add some will triple in price .. god help you if you actually try to make a claim. the working stiffs will get stiffed next year. thanks democrats .. merry christmas.

AirBoyzT · 20-12-2013, 10:27

Outside the country you'd wait months for an appointment sometimes....grass is not always greener...

Dulcesuenos · 20-12-2013, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirBoyzT

Outside the country you'd wait months for an appointment sometimes....grass is not always greener...

Even as a cash customer?

tdoster · 20-12-2013, 10:31

You first have to understand what insurance is first. Simply you and I put a few dollars a month into a jar. If either of us get sick, we pull form the jar. If we both get sick, then we have to find someone who is not sick to contribute to our jar and it goes on.

Insurance Companies Negotiate with providers to come up with what they are willing to pay for an aspirin, for example. That is also based off of what the governments will pay for welfare care. Indigent care is also included. So, based off of that, the insurance company has agreed to pay UP TO $1 per pill in this case, the provider will always charge the maximum they can get. Try for yourself. If you have spent the night in the hospital, you will always see a charge for $9,999 for misc. - to include aspirin. Why? This is the maximum charge the insurance company will accept without the charge being itemized.

Insurance companies bring in Premiums, then may re-invest those premiums back into the market and usually try to find safe and short investments. Why the government had to bail out AIG, they had too much premium invested in a failed market - example, they owned airplanes that are leased to airlines and make a safe return on that investment.

So, with the new healthcare laws, do you see that as getting better, or worse?

You point out a great example of why things like HSA's are better ways since if we had to go from Doctor to Doctor finding the best deal, we could probably find not only a better deal all round, but even cost us less than fully insured deductibles in some cases.

Areas of medicine that are allowed to be competitive such as Lasik, for example have come way down over time because the doctors are more competitive, get paid at the time of service, and don't require entire staffs just to submit claims to either the Government or Insurance Companies.

Dental is another example. Not too many years ago, it was thousands for an implant, now it is hundreds. Again, find anything that is set by insurance, Medicare, etc. that you can say the same about.

Drugs are another item. When a drug company comes out with a new drug, they charge a fortune for it until their patent expires and generic are allowed by other drug makers, then compete. Good and Bad. The drug maker has to develop the drug, test the drug, get approval for the drug, then market the drug. And the biggest - accept liability for the drug even after the patent has expired. Just watch tv late at night on any given night and you will hear of a class action lawsuit against any given drug maker.

I have insurance, but my primary care doctor does not accept any insurance. The cost to go to him is $10 more than my copay, but get right in at anytime. So, why am I getting better service and care from a Doctor that ultimately gets less money to see me?

Now, your insurance company would be happy if you went to a facility that only charged $700 for something they were billed $4700 for and a lot of employers pay companies to do the research for you... Yes, your employer (if you are insured through where you work) has a stake in the game too. Your claims affect their premiums, so they want to keep you healthy and going to doctors that charge less for the same services.

Dulcesuenos · 20-12-2013, 10:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

I agree.

That's all. Just thought I'd post before the fur starts to fly and thread is closed.

Hope your recovery is speedy and you are up and about in no time.

Thanks OG!

AirBoyzT · 20-12-2013, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Even as a cash customer?

Places that will place you before others for using cash, chances are that it is not a place you want healthcare from.

Hell I'm a disabled vet and wait 3 months for an appointment through the VA.

Hope you have a speedy recovery!

Dulcesuenos · 20-12-2013, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirBoyzT

Places that will place you before others for using cash, chances are that it is not a place you want healthcare from.

Hell I'm a disabled vet and wait 3 months for an appointment through the VA.

Hope you have a speedy recovery!

Thanks, maybe I worded it wrong but I hear like in canada you can see a private dr and get right in. Under the government program you could wait weeks or more. I winder if thats where this country is headed.

AirBoyzT · 20-12-2013, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Thanks, maybe I worded it wrong but I hear like in canada you can see a private dr and get right in. Under the government program you could wait weeks or more. I winder if thats where this country is headed.

I hope not, living through government healthcare right now for me sucks. Luckily I have private insurance as well. Sad thing is, medical equipment, malpractice insurance, mandatory costly regulations, etc is expensive. This, cost is passed on to us. I need to check into health insurance for us sailors that works world wide.

Boatguy30 · 20-12-2013, 11:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonesail

that is par for the course but i might add some will triple in price .. god help you if you actually try to make a claim. the working stiffs will get stiffed next year. thanks democrats .. merry christmas.

I'm a registered Green Party member so on behalf off all lefties, you're welcome.

That's quite a ignorant statement, wonder how many democrats are on the board of all the for profit and well paid staff of non for profits that have been making a killing on healthcare the last many, many years?

when I look around my waterfront neighborhood, I see doctors, drug reps, implant reps, etc, etc. That and lawyers are pretty much the only ones in florida making any money. I can point you in their direction as far as cutting their pay.

This really has nothing to do with politics, but with the medical industrial complex that has been created since the 1950s.

belizesailor · 20-12-2013, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by AirBoyzT

Outside the country you'd wait months for an appointment sometimes....grass is not always greener...

That's more typical of the USA or other developed countries. Where exactly outside of the USA or you refering too?

I've never had trouble making an appointment here in Guatemala. Typically can get in within 24 to 48 hours.

mcm · 20-12-2013, 11:08

If you as a tourist get injured in Canada, go to the emerg of any Hospital, they take cash or visa all charges are published before you sign in and are a lot less than in the US, heart transplant approx 100K plus costs of the donor side.
Quality here is excellent, I had an aortic aneurism growing, was monitored every 6 mos, then the specialist decided it was close to time to operate, one week later was all done, zero cost specialist was a professor of vascular surgery, students would come in to admire the fast recovery time etc.

My heart meds here are 43.00 for 100....300.00 in the US.

YMMV