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The insurance is saying she had a preexisting condition (apparently insurance isn't as good as we thought in Canada) and her flying to Hawaii caused all the additional expenses and the premature baby. She had Dr. permission to fly (but that doesn't trump an insurance claim).
Her insurance was travel insurance. The thing about the Canadian system is that it doesn't really involve insurance at all, you just go to the hospital with your provincial health card and get treatments and the hospitals bills the government an amount that the government has decided it is going to pay for that procedure. Insurance companies aren't a part of the picture when it comes to hospital care. This system doesn't apply at non-Canadian hospitals, for travelling abroad you need to buy travel insurance for the country you're travelling to. I assume this must have been American insurance she bought, so perhaps the ACA does not apply to foreign tourists and they can still be rejected for pre-existing conditions?
I assume this must have been American insurance she bought, so perhaps the ACA does not apply to foreign tourists and they can still be rejected for pre-existing conditions?
I doubt it was American insurance, because Canadian firms sell Canadian travel insurance to Canadian people.
And no, ACA would have nothing to do with it, because American law doesn't apply to it.
This is one of thoese "only in USA" things. I spent half my life living in Europe. Most countries there have similar systems which are far from being perfect...but it's so much better than what we have here! 1 mil for the bill!? Are they crazy?! When this "leader" wanted to change things i thought to myself "finally, someone see we have a problem"...and then he comes with this idea to make the insurance companies even more richer...the level of stupidity leading this country is unmatched. How could you not see that it is the insurance companies are the only winners in this system. He was hopping that the prices will go lower due to competition...idiot! Nothing frustrates me more than the current medical system.
They bought Canadian Blue Cross insurance according to the news last night.
Regardless if the bill is a 1 Million or $300K they'll probaby declare bankruptcy unless the insurance company decides to pay or other stars align.
They had around the clock care. While a Million seems high - hundreds of thousands don't seem out of line. The Doctors, nurses, equipment, and on and on isn't cheap.
The hospital will knock off probably hundreds of thousands - but that leaves hundreds of thousands left.
This is one of thoese "only in USA" things. I spent half my life living in Europe. Most countries there have similar systems which are far from being perfect...but it's so much better than what we have here! 1 mil for the bill!? Are they crazy?! When this "leader" wanted to change things i thought to myself "finally, someone see we have a problem"...and then he comes with this idea to make the insurance companies even more richer...the level of stupidity leading this country is unmatched. How could you not see that it is the insurance companies are the only winners in this system. He was hopping that the prices will go lower due to competition...idiot! Nothing frustrates me more than the current medical system.
Blaming any of this on the President is not productive. The insurance companies do negotiate lower rates with caregivers and facilities, and the premiums are coming down on health insurance in many cases. But ultimately the cost reductions have to come at the point of delivery. (no pun intended)
I don't know what the actual percentages are and discounts are, but lets say that $900,000 bill would actually be paid out by an insurance provider at a negotiated settlement of $400,000. My questions are 1) If $400,000 is the amount the hospital will take from an insurance carrier why doesn't the bill read $400,000 to begin with? and 2) If my bill in 1966 was $12,000 for nearly the same thing, including 2 weeks in a preemie incubator, how did we get from there to here, and how do we roll it back?
And old friend of mine, born in Chicago and educated in the US, lives in France now and has a French wife and son... he had a bike accident and his doctor prescribed an MRI to make sure there was no hidden injury. It cost him $75 out of pocket. I had an MRI 4 years ago and my copay was $1200.
Another old friend, this one from the NE, also lived in France now. His wife just had a hip replacement done in the south of France. Her American insurer paid all her bills in France, less $1,000. She says her out of pocket in the US, same insurer would have been $8-10,000, because the $40K+ cost is so much higher here.
That's what needs to be handled, the total costs, and no President can make that happen.
I don't know what the actual percentages are and discounts are, but lets say that $900,000 bill would actually be paid out by an insurance provider at a negotiated settlement of $400,000. My questions are 1) If $400,000 is the amount the hospital will take from an insurance carrier why doesn't the bill read $400,000 to begin with? and 2) If my bill in 1966 was $12,000 for nearly the same thing, including 2 weeks in a preemie incubator, how did we get from there to here, and how do we roll it back?
And old friend of mine, born in Chicago and educated in the US, lives in France now and has a French wife and son... he had a bike accident and his doctor prescribed an MRI to make sure there was no hidden injury. It cost him $75 out of pocket. I had an MRI 4 years ago and my copay was $1200.
Another old friend, this one from the NE, also lived in France now. His wife just had a hip replacement done in the south of France. Her American insurer paid all her bills in France, less $1,000. She says her out of pocket in the US, same insurer would have been $8-10,000, because the $40K+ cost is so much higher here.
A couple of things should be put in perspective - France is one of my favorite places and I'll probably retire there.
With that said:
Unemployment is over 10% in France.
Taxes and cost of living is extremely high - more than Hawaii.
The initial bill cannot be $400,000 - it probably doesn't reflect the cost - but also the high bill ($1 million) reflects all the people who can't pay anything - people with money subsidize people without insurance. It is, what it is.
Your 1966 bill cannot just reflect inflation - a premature baby can't get the care in 1966 that it could in 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006 - and now 2014 due to technology, various drugs, and care. Think about life expectancy in 1966 vs. 2014. More so for premature babies in 1966 vs. today. Probably, the baby just born to the Canada couple probably had no chance to survive in 1966 - sure, a cheaper bill but probably not the result they wanted.
Your $1,200 MRI isn't just the cost of the service - you are also subsidizing those who can't afford it - in many respects, you are the insurance. Did they even do MRI's in 1966? That equipment isn't cheap to develop, build, and train people to use and read the results.
Yeah used to be a Canadian could go Anywhere in the world, get care and then be "refunded' what ever that cost would be in Canada, folks even made money doing that. I think they changed that, well obviously they did, lol.
Hard to feel too sad for them, traveling on vacation while pregnant is silly and they are so lucky the mom and child are ok.
Hard to feel bad when she was told by the insurance she bought for her trip, she was denied. Why is she shocked? Just another case of someone going to another country (and thankfully not staying) and saying "Well, I KNOW you do certain things in your country, but despite being told the rules apply to me while here I don't think they should because I'm from another country". I know Americans do this lot, but it really is annoying.
Her insurance was travel insurance. The thing about the Canadian system is that it doesn't really involve insurance at all, you just go to the hospital with your provincial health card and get treatments and the hospitals bills the government an amount that the government has decided it is going to pay for that procedure. Insurance companies aren't a part of the picture when it comes to hospital care. This system doesn't apply at non-Canadian hospitals, for travelling abroad you need to buy travel insurance for the country you're travelling to. I assume this must have been American insurance she bought, so perhaps the ACA does not apply to foreign tourists and they can still be rejected for pre-existing conditions?
The article said she was denied travel insurance and was aware of it BEFORE she left, due to her bladder infection(s).
Had she gone to Thailand, her medical bill would have probably been around $10K. A lot of folks I know go out of the country for medical procedures if they can. I know someone travelling in Ireland who did the same thing and had a horribly complicated early delivery and she wasn't charged anything at all.
We don't have health care in this country, we have (supposedly) health insurance. Big difference!
If we could somehow reign in the insurance companies and corporations and have regional hospitals where folks could just walk in the door and get treatment, we'd have a much healthier nation and more money for day to day living for the majority of the population. Of course, the insurance companies and corporations aren't gonna allow that, nor are they gonna let go of the policy makers.
I wonder if each island could build a hospital for it's population? How much would it cost for Honolulu to run Queens? Let everyone who is a resident of the state have free basic health care? Not sure how to handle the expensive procedures or the ones where they need to send them off somewhere else. Probably have to make some restrictions that folks would have to either be born here or live here for five years to qualify or we'd have a new instant population of gravely ill people.
Had she gone to Thailand, her medical bill would have probably been around $10K.
Well - I'd take my chances with a very premature baby in born in the United States over Thailand anytime....
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