your current plan, high deductible plan, is illegal under obamacare.
obamacare is doing away with high deductible plans. especially ones that are over $5000. this what it means to be "underinsured". many people do not have 5 grand sitting around and then they can't pay their medical bill. if they pay out of pocket $4995 they would nearly have met the deductible yet the insurance company would have taken your money and paid $0 out to cover you. that is no kind of coverage if you ask me.
so what is gonna happen is your premiums may rise a bit, but you will not be burdened with such a high deductible.
those high deductible plans were cash grabs by the insurance companies. you are paying monthly premiums, and if you do not meet your deductible, why should you pay those premiums if you get ZERO return on that investment?
i am extremely sorry to hear about your wife. i wish her good health and i wish you both several more decades together.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
The only people we should try to get even with...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Breathe a sigh of relief and good riddance to your crappy $7500 deductible. The premiums in Texas are coming in lower than average compared to other states. Depending on where you live, you might pay somewhere in the upper $200's for a mid level plan, which is probably better than what you had. I imagine a catastrophic plan is a little lower than that. And, if you and your wife make less than $62,000, you'll get tax credits.
I'm not sure why people have already deemed the ACA a failure. It's not a single payer system, but it's a step in that direction.
High deductibles are the absolute smartest way to handle your health insurance.
The only people we should try to get even with...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
If they have to essentially pay more than $5K in a year for the premiums on a low deductible plan, why can't they save up the difference in premium cost as they go along to have that $5K as an emergency fund in a year's time or so? That IS a will power issue.
Interesting you bought up the car insurance question. I think if we used health insurance like we did car insurance - i.e. ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES - then we wouldn't be in this mess.
I've been saying it for years, but Insurance is the problem. We never see the premiums because they are deducted before we receive our pay and we never see the costs because insurance magically takes care of it for us. That is EXACTLY how you end up with medical costs that are through the roof.
The only people we should try to get even with...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
If they have to essentially pay more than $5K in a year for the premiums on a low deductible plan, why can't they save up the difference in premium cost as they go along to have that $5K as an emergency fund in a year's time or so? That IS a will power issue.
Interesting you bought up the car insurance question. I think if we used health insurance like we did car insurance - i.e. ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES - then we wouldn't be in this mess.
I've been saying it for years, but Insurance is the problem. We never see the premiums because they are deducted before we receive our pay and we never see the costs because insurance magically takes care of it for us. That is EXACTLY how you end up with medical costs that are through the roof.
I have to agree with you. It's not a good move financially to have a low deductible policy. Chances are you will be paying out the equivalent of a high deductible amount every year, whether you use it or not which is just a dumb thing to do. As I mentioned in my example earlier, I could have received a much lower deductible than my current $7,500 one, but would have been paying $6,000 more per year in premiums. Um yeah...let me think on that for half a second...no thanks.
Now if the new system can keep my premiums down, and I'm not losing any of the coverage I had, AND my deductible is less, then ya I'll be happy with that.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
Yeas car insurance is a scam also....people get punished with higher payments because of age or so called statistics. When I got divorced at 32 my car insurance went up. When I asked why I was told 32 yr old single women are more a risk that married woman. I have had one accident and two tickets (not speeding tickets or due to anything dangerous) in over thirty years of driving. Never should someone be punished or penalized until they do the crime....in the USA......if we could just get back to the Constitution we could all REALLY live Free.
“We the people are the rightful masters of bothCongress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
Breathe a sigh of relief and good riddance to your crappy $7500 deductible. The premiums in Texas are coming in lower than average compared to other states. Depending on where you live, you might pay somewhere in the upper $200's for a mid level plan, which is probably better than what you had. I imagine a catastrophic plan is a little lower than that. And, if you and your wife make less than $62,000, you'll get tax credits.
I'm not sure why people have already deemed the ACA a failure. It's not a single payer system, but it's a step in that direction.
Why is a $7500 deductible necessarily crappy? It kept his premium low and allowed his healthcare plan to function precisely as he and his wife desired and designed -- an emergency backstop for major, unpredictable medical expenses.
Yes, we have a high deductible plan and HSA. What I save on premiums I put in a HSA, tax deductible and with tax free earnings. We pay our routine medical expenses, and that's appropriate, in my opinion. Insurance should be for major events, not routine medical expenses. It is too expensive because people think that all health care is free, since they don't see the cost, so they overutilize services that they don't need, and they don't look around for better prices. Think how expensive auto insurance would be if it paid for oil changes, blown tires, tune-ups, etc.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
If they have to essentially pay more than $5K in a year for the premiums on a low deductible plan, why can't they save up the difference in premium cost as they go along to have that $5K as an emergency fund in a year's time or so? That IS a will power issue.
Interesting you bought up the car insurance question. I think if we used health insurance like we did car insurance - i.e. ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES - then we wouldn't be in this mess.
I've been saying it for years, but Insurance is the problem. We never see the premiums because they are deducted before we receive our pay and we never see the costs because insurance magically takes care of it for us. That is EXACTLY how you end up with medical costs that are through the roof.
Yes, we have a high deductible plan and HSA. What I save on premiums I put in a HSA, tax deductible and with tax free earnings. We pay our routine medical expenses, and that's appropriate, in my opinion. Insurance should be for major events, not routine medical expenses. It is too expensive because people think that all health care is free, since they don't see the cost, so they overutilize services that they don't need, and they don't look around for better prices. Think how expensive auto insurance would be if it paid for oil changes, blown tires, tune-ups, etc.
There's several reasons it's expensive, but overutilization isn't necessarily the root. Overbilling/charging is a big problem, and a huge chunk is spent on care for people at the end of their lives. There also isn't much negotiation of prices happening.
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
If they have to essentially pay more than $5K in a year for the premiums on a low deductible plan, why can't they save up the difference in premium cost as they go along to have that $5K as an emergency fund in a year's time or so? That IS a will power issue.
Weren't we talking about a high deductable plan? It sounded like you were saying they should have an extra $5000 after paying say $3 to $5k on premiums each year. What are thinking are premiums for a high deductable plan right now?
Glad your Wife is alright. But if she would have gotten sick where I come from (Canada), it wouldn't have cost either of you a dime.
So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
Yes....I'm brainwashed. Magical fairies pay for my healthcare.
Think about what I said. Completely different than what you are implying. I know you don't really believe what your saying, just trying to be dramatic.
Glad your Wife is alright. But if she would have gotten sick where I come from (Canada), it wouldn't have cost either of you a dime.
So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
Yes....I'm brainwashed. Magical fairies pay for my healthcare.
Think about what I said. Completely different than what you are implying. I know you don't really believe what your saying, just trying to be dramatic.
Single payer, look it up.
Single payer means the government pays the bills. Where does the government get their money? To say that it wouldn't have cost either of them a dime is just wrong as far as I can tell.
The only people we should try to get even with...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Glad your Wife is alright. But if she would have gotten sick where I come from (Canada), it wouldn't have cost either of you a dime.
So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
It actually cost in the form of high taxes and very limited choices ... anyone that is looking at Canada's health care as a solution needs to get their head out of the sand.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Glad your Wife is alright. But if she would have gotten sick where I come from (Canada), it wouldn't have cost either of you a dime.
So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
It actually cost in the form of high taxes and very limited choices ... anyone that is looking at Canada's health care as a solution needs to get their head out of the sand.
Even though your system ranks much higher than the US system in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality rate, cost, etc?
The Canadian system puts the USA to shame
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So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
It actually cost in the form of high taxes and very limited choices ... anyone that is looking at Canada's health care as a solution needs to get their head out of the sand.
Even though your system ranks much higher than the US system in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality rate, cost, etc?
The Canadian system puts the USA to shame
What I'm saying is there are better single payer systems than us ... look to some countries in Europe. Our system has been in a steady decline. 2 huge problems here are far to many people have no family doc relying instead on ER and walk-in clinics ( I was one of those who didn't have a family doc for years), trust me the service you get from having a family doc is far better and I'm grateful that I found a family doc. Problem number 2 far to long to wait for elective surgery, no big deal if everything works fine, but if your waiting for surgery living in pain and are unable to work then you just might be receiving assistance of some sort which those cost aren't factored.
The one good thing about our system is your never to poor to be sick, but I wish our government would look overseas to see what other countries are doing, not just patching leaks.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Has ANYONE on here signed up at healthcare.gov and received rates? Has anyone you know been able to? Tried again a couple of times this morning and still can't sign in.
Has ANYONE on here signed up at healthcare.gov and received rates? Has anyone you know been able to? Tried again a couple of times this morning and still can't sign in.
Health Insurance has never been convenient in my life time. I had a car accident that left my back in pretty banged up shape but I needed a doctor's visit before I could get prescribed physical therapy. It took me 45 days to get an appointment in Santa Barbara which made the car insurance company I was dealing with come to the conclusion my injuries couldn't be that bad, which then led me to have to lawyer up.
I think all the insurance companies and lawyers are working together to create this gridlock as it means more money for all of them in the long run.
I think if we let the Affordable Care Act take hold and then amend the parts that don't work, we'll be on our way to a much better system then what we have now. The system we have now is one of the worst health care systems in the world. We as Americans should demand better which is why I'm shocked so many people prefer the status quo.
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I am from Germany and have moved to the US. I was employed in Germany and the cost for my health care was taken out of my salary every month. I could see the amount in my paycheck. It was around 230 Euros a month, if I remember correctly. My employer had to pay a certain amount too.
I never felt unsafe when it came to my health in Germany. I knew I was covered whenever I needed medical care. My sister had three children during her time as a student and this didn't bring her to the poor house. She was covered. I needed surgery for a cyst, it didn't cost me an extra dime. I needed a night guard for my teeth, and got it for free from the dentist, cause it was covered (here, I was told it would be 300 dollars). Now living in the States, I pay for a basic health care option as a self-employed person. I pay a little less every month than I paid in Germany. Yet, I don't really feel insured. I don't wanna get in deep debt because my health declines. I am scared to get pregnant because I know that my insurance doesn't cover maternity. Everytime something doesn't feel right with my body, I get paranoid because I fear the costs. I lead a healthy life style, and I excercise. I love living in America, but the health care system makes me sick.
I am from Germany and have moved to the US. I was employed in Germany and the cost for my health care was taken out of my salary every month. I could see the amount in my paycheck. It was around 230 Euros a month, if I remember correctly. My employer had to pay a certain amount too.
I never felt unsafe when it came to my health in Germany. I knew I was covered whenever I needed medical care. My sister had three children during her time as a student and this didn't bring her to the poor house. She was covered. I needed surgery for a cyst, it didn't cost me an extra dime. I needed a night guard for my teeth, and got it for free from the dentist, cause it was covered (here, I was told it would be 300 dollars). Now living in the States, I pay for a basic health care option as a self-employed person. I pay a little less every month than I paid in Germany. Yet, I don't really feel insured. I don't wanna get in deep debt because my health declines. I am scared to get pregnant because I know that my insurance doesn't cover maternity. Everytime something doesn't feel right with my body, I get paranoid because I fear the costs. I lead a healthy life style, and I excercise. I love living in America, but the health care system makes me sick.
Nice pun.
Since we're going all anecdotal here, I'll add that I've never had a bad experience with my various providers of healthcare and/or insurance in the US. I've had major reconstructive knee surgery, a child (well, technically speaking my wife did that part, but you know what I mean), among other things. Never had an issue, always covered, have a huge selection of doctors to choose from. I pay less than the EUR230/month that you used to pay, though I do have a small deductible. There are good insurance plans and bad ones -- if yours doesn't cover maternity, well, it's probably the latter. Keep shopping.
Since we're going all anecdotal here, I'll add that I've never had a bad experience with my various providers of healthcare and/or insurance in the US. I've had major reconstructive knee surgery, a child (well, technically speaking my wife did that part, but you know what I mean), among other things. Never had an issue, always covered, have a huge selection of doctors to choose from. I pay less than the EUR230/month that you used to pay, though I do have a small deductible. There are good insurance plans and bad ones -- if yours doesn't cover maternity, well, it's probably the latter. Keep shopping.
Well, we did shop around and I could have it covered. If I pay 500 dollars a month more. Which would raise my monthly insurance payment up to around 700 dollars. If I go with this, I would also have to wait a year before I could get pregnant. Something isn't right here. Or at least it feels like that to a German.
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2 things that are extremely frightening about this...first, my wife nearly died last year because of an issue with her thyroid that ended up causing what they call a thyroid storm. If you've never experienced that, consider yourself lucky. It basically puts your heart in a cocaine like overdrive and cannot be stopped. She was cardioverted (you know...CLEAR and then shocked) 4 times...while she was conscious and without anesthetic. It was horrible. I never knew they did that to people who were alive.
Anyway, she was in the hospital for a month, and they got everything sorted out, even though it nearly destroyed her heart. Our insurance was great. I carry a high deductible, around $7,500, but it kept the monthly premiums reasonable at around $400 for both of us, and it was really only intended for emergencies. After all the madness of last year, we expected to get reamed on our premiums, but were surprised to only see them go up $25 per month.
...
This is probably WHY your Insurance company dropped you. They don't want people with health problems on their plans... they only want healthy people who will pay premiums and never use them.
This could have happened to you... even if there ws no such thing as Obamacare. Insurance companies dropped people who were costing them money... and no other company would pick you up without you having to pay an unaffordable premium because of your wife's, now... pre-existing condition.
...
This is also WHY access to Health Care coverage needed to be overhauled. Because Insurance companies are in their businesses to make money... not to spend it on people who'll actually need them.
Everyone blames the government for this... but, if the Insurance Companies weren't in the business of making money and raising the price of their stocks so their executives could receive annual incentive bonuses.. then, the government would not have had to step in and tell them quit being such greedy assholes.
...
P.S. I'm glad your wife is alive. and i hope all the best works out for the two of you.
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2 things that are extremely frightening about this...first, my wife nearly died last year because of an issue with her thyroid that ended up causing what they call a thyroid storm. If you've never experienced that, consider yourself lucky. It basically puts your heart in a cocaine like overdrive and cannot be stopped. She was cardioverted (you know...CLEAR and then shocked) 4 times...while she was conscious and without anesthetic. It was horrible. I never knew they did that to people who were alive.
Anyway, she was in the hospital for a month, and they got everything sorted out, even though it nearly destroyed her heart. Our insurance was great. I carry a high deductible, around $7,500, but it kept the monthly premiums reasonable at around $400 for both of us, and it was really only intended for emergencies. After all the madness of last year, we expected to get reamed on our premiums, but were surprised to only see them go up $25 per month.
...
This is probably WHY your Insurance company dropped you. They don't want people with health problems on their plans... they only want healthy people who will pay premiums and never use them.
This could have happened to you... even if there ws no such thing as Obamacare. Insurance companies dropped people who were costing them money... and no other company would pick you up without you having to pay an unaffordable premium because of your wife's, now... pre-existing condition.
...
This is also WHY access to Health Care coverage needed to be overhauled. Because Insurance companies are in their businesses to make money... not to spend it on people who'll actually need them.
Everyone blames the government for this... but, if the Insurance Companies weren't in the business of making money and raising the price of their stocks so their executives could receive annual incentive bonuses.. then, the government would not have had to step in and tell them quit being such greedy assholes.
...
P.S. I'm glad your wife is alive. and i hope all the best works out for the two of you.
Thanks. Your theory makes sense and I would consider that a possibility if I hadn't talked to 4 other people in the last 2 days who had the exact same issue. 2 of them had plans with the same company I did and they never even used their coverage. No Dr. visits at all. Just deductibles that were too high. So it wasn't just us being singled out.
Still not able to log in, and getting a bit nervous about some of the feedback I'm hearing. Had a friend of ours in a similar situation. He was dropped and he never even used his policy in the 3 years he had it. Since he had a deductible similar to ours he just paid for the few Dr. visits and scripts he had in cash. Ended up being charged less as well by doing it that way.
Anway, they bypassed the website and just toughed it out on hold for an hour waiting to talk to an actual human. They went over everything with him. His premiums through the exchange are DOUBLE what he was paying before, and now he has a co-pay, where he didn't before (once he hit his deductible of course). So he's screwed because you can't just stick with the policy you once had, because it no longer meets the guidelines. I swear my head will explode if I end up having the same situation, but I don't see how it could be much different. This isn't looking good at all...for ANYONE...except insurance companies. :evil:
I went through the New York State one. It's called NY State of Health and saw one for myself for 307 per month with a deductable that wasn't over 3,000. I didn't apply for it just yet since I wanted to do some more researching and so on.
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So I was casually going through the mail late this evening, and I noticed two pieces from our health insurance company, one for myself and one for my wife. I open them and it is a cancellation notice. It says something to the effect that since my current plan doesn't fall under the new healthcare guidelines, that the policy is being terminated, however they are "gracious" enough to continue my coverage until the end of the year. This is a company wide cancellation of the insurance certificate, not just for us, but for everyone on the plan. I now will be one of those that has to go to healthcare.gov in the morning to see if I can find a plan.
2 things that are extremely frightening about this...first, my wife nearly died last year because of an issue with her thyroid that ended up causing what they call a thyroid storm. If you've never experienced that, consider yourself lucky. It basically puts your heart in a cocaine like overdrive and cannot be stopped. She was cardioverted (you know...CLEAR and then shocked) 4 times...while she was conscious and without anesthetic. It was horrible. I never knew they did that to people who were alive.
Anyway, she was in the hospital for a month, and they got everything sorted out, even though it nearly destroyed her heart. Our insurance was great. I carry a high deductible, around $7,500, but it kept the monthly premiums reasonable at around $400 for both of us, and it was really only intended for emergencies. After all the madness of last year, we expected to get reamed on our premiums, but were surprised to only see them go up $25 per month.
So now with our policy being cancelled, I'm worried about what options we are going to have. I was perfectly fine with the coverage I had, and I'm still not 100% sure how it didn't meet the upcoming mandates within the new laws. I'm hoping that if nothing else we can have the same type of coverage for roughly the same cost. I just don't know if I'll be that lucky, but who knows. If I end up having to pay more for insurance now, especially with my wife's issues from last year, I'm going to be wicked pissed. :evil: :evil: :evil:
"If you like your insurance plan; you can keep it" Obama
Comments
This is a complete kick in the teeth. High deductible plans are the ONLY plans that make any kind of sense so it's only natural our government would outlaw them.
I don't buy the "people just don't have $5000 sitting around" in case they have a medical emergency. That is THEIR problem and if I do happen to have the will power to keep $5000 in an emergency fund I shouldn't be PUNISHED because other people can't.
This whole thing makes me sick. Insurance IS THE PROBLEM. Anyone who thinks more insurance solves the problem CAUSED BY INSURANCE is either not very bright or is somehow biased to the insurance industry.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
So healthcare magically has ZERO cost in Canada? You're completely brainwashed if you think that's the case.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
High deductibles are the absolute smartest way to handle your health insurance.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
You think people not having an extra $5000 is a will power issue? You have an interesting reality.
Do you feel the same about car insurance?
If they have to essentially pay more than $5K in a year for the premiums on a low deductible plan, why can't they save up the difference in premium cost as they go along to have that $5K as an emergency fund in a year's time or so? That IS a will power issue.
Interesting you bought up the car insurance question. I think if we used health insurance like we did car insurance - i.e. ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES - then we wouldn't be in this mess.
I've been saying it for years, but Insurance is the problem. We never see the premiums because they are deducted before we receive our pay and we never see the costs because insurance magically takes care of it for us. That is EXACTLY how you end up with medical costs that are through the roof.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I have to agree with you. It's not a good move financially to have a low deductible policy. Chances are you will be paying out the equivalent of a high deductible amount every year, whether you use it or not which is just a dumb thing to do. As I mentioned in my example earlier, I could have received a much lower deductible than my current $7,500 one, but would have been paying $6,000 more per year in premiums. Um yeah...let me think on that for half a second...no thanks.
Now if the new system can keep my premiums down, and I'm not losing any of the coverage I had, AND my deductible is less, then ya I'll be happy with that.
Yeas car insurance is a scam also....people get punished with higher payments because of age or so called statistics. When I got divorced at 32 my car insurance went up. When I asked why I was told 32 yr old single women are more a risk that married woman. I have had one accident and two tickets (not speeding tickets or due to anything dangerous) in over thirty years of driving. Never should someone be punished or penalized until they do the crime....in the USA......if we could just get back to the Constitution we could all REALLY live Free.
Yeah... we should take the Affordable Care Act all the way to the SUPREME COURT to have it overturned.
Oh wait...
(nobody cares about your car insurance. it's your problem to deal with. If you don't like it, take the bus. Smells like Freedom.)
Yes, we have a high deductible plan and HSA. What I save on premiums I put in a HSA, tax deductible and with tax free earnings. We pay our routine medical expenses, and that's appropriate, in my opinion. Insurance should be for major events, not routine medical expenses. It is too expensive because people think that all health care is free, since they don't see the cost, so they overutilize services that they don't need, and they don't look around for better prices. Think how expensive auto insurance would be if it paid for oil changes, blown tires, tune-ups, etc.
I agree 100%
There's several reasons it's expensive, but overutilization isn't necessarily the root. Overbilling/charging is a big problem, and a huge chunk is spent on care for people at the end of their lives. There also isn't much negotiation of prices happening.
Weren't we talking about a high deductable plan? It sounded like you were saying they should have an extra $5000 after paying say $3 to $5k on premiums each year. What are thinking are premiums for a high deductable plan right now?
Yes....I'm brainwashed. Magical fairies pay for my healthcare.
Think about what I said. Completely different than what you are implying. I know you don't really believe what your saying, just trying to be dramatic.
Single payer, look it up.
Single payer means the government pays the bills. Where does the government get their money? To say that it wouldn't have cost either of them a dime is just wrong as far as I can tell.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
It actually cost in the form of high taxes and very limited choices ... anyone that is looking at Canada's health care as a solution needs to get their head out of the sand.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Even though your system ranks much higher than the US system in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality rate, cost, etc?
The Canadian system puts the USA to shame
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What I'm saying is there are better single payer systems than us ... look to some countries in Europe. Our system has been in a steady decline. 2 huge problems here are far to many people have no family doc relying instead on ER and walk-in clinics ( I was one of those who didn't have a family doc for years), trust me the service you get from having a family doc is far better and I'm grateful that I found a family doc. Problem number 2 far to long to wait for elective surgery, no big deal if everything works fine, but if your waiting for surgery living in pain and are unable to work then you just might be receiving assistance of some sort which those cost aren't factored.
The one good thing about our system is your never to poor to be sick, but I wish our government would look overseas to see what other countries are doing, not just patching leaks.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
I'd wait awhile and let the smoke clear.
I think all the insurance companies and lawyers are working together to create this gridlock as it means more money for all of them in the long run.
I think if we let the Affordable Care Act take hold and then amend the parts that don't work, we'll be on our way to a much better system then what we have now. The system we have now is one of the worst health care systems in the world. We as Americans should demand better which is why I'm shocked so many people prefer the status quo.
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I never felt unsafe when it came to my health in Germany. I knew I was covered whenever I needed medical care. My sister had three children during her time as a student and this didn't bring her to the poor house. She was covered. I needed surgery for a cyst, it didn't cost me an extra dime. I needed a night guard for my teeth, and got it for free from the dentist, cause it was covered (here, I was told it would be 300 dollars). Now living in the States, I pay for a basic health care option as a self-employed person. I pay a little less every month than I paid in Germany. Yet, I don't really feel insured. I don't wanna get in deep debt because my health declines. I am scared to get pregnant because I know that my insurance doesn't cover maternity. Everytime something doesn't feel right with my body, I get paranoid because I fear the costs. I lead a healthy life style, and I excercise. I love living in America, but the health care system makes me sick.
I tried to find something that explains the German system a little better than I can, cause I'm really no expert. http://www.thelundreport.org/resource/g ... are_debate
This was interesting too http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media ... ief_v2.pdf
Since we're going all anecdotal here, I'll add that I've never had a bad experience with my various providers of healthcare and/or insurance in the US. I've had major reconstructive knee surgery, a child (well, technically speaking my wife did that part, but you know what I mean), among other things. Never had an issue, always covered, have a huge selection of doctors to choose from. I pay less than the EUR230/month that you used to pay, though I do have a small deductible. There are good insurance plans and bad ones -- if yours doesn't cover maternity, well, it's probably the latter. Keep shopping.
Well, we did shop around and I could have it covered. If I pay 500 dollars a month more. Which would raise my monthly insurance payment up to around 700 dollars. If I go with this, I would also have to wait a year before I could get pregnant. Something isn't right here. Or at least it feels like that to a German.
This is probably WHY your Insurance company dropped you. They don't want people with health problems on their plans... they only want healthy people who will pay premiums and never use them.
This could have happened to you... even if there ws no such thing as Obamacare. Insurance companies dropped people who were costing them money... and no other company would pick you up without you having to pay an unaffordable premium because of your wife's, now... pre-existing condition.
...
This is also WHY access to Health Care coverage needed to be overhauled. Because Insurance companies are in their businesses to make money... not to spend it on people who'll actually need them.
Everyone blames the government for this... but, if the Insurance Companies weren't in the business of making money and raising the price of their stocks so their executives could receive annual incentive bonuses.. then, the government would not have had to step in and tell them quit being such greedy assholes.
...
P.S. I'm glad your wife is alive. and i hope all the best works out for the two of you.
Hail, Hail!!!
Thanks. Your theory makes sense and I would consider that a possibility if I hadn't talked to 4 other people in the last 2 days who had the exact same issue. 2 of them had plans with the same company I did and they never even used their coverage. No Dr. visits at all. Just deductibles that were too high. So it wasn't just us being singled out.
Anway, they bypassed the website and just toughed it out on hold for an hour waiting to talk to an actual human. They went over everything with him. His premiums through the exchange are DOUBLE what he was paying before, and now he has a co-pay, where he didn't before (once he hit his deductible of course). So he's screwed because you can't just stick with the policy you once had, because it no longer meets the guidelines. I swear my head will explode if I end up having the same situation, but I don't see how it could be much different. This isn't looking good at all...for ANYONE...except insurance companies. :evil:
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I saw an interesting video about the costs of health care in America yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjGouBmo0M
Best of luck to all of you to find something appropriate and not too expensive. Stay healthy, people!
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