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Well that's good, you were covered...I'm more worried about this Healthcare that Washington is cramming down our throats..the fact that very few in the senate have even read the bill is disturbing
and if you complain, then you are unamerican and a terrible person because there are so many people
out there without insurance. I DO NOT WANT THE PUBLIC OPTION. and they should open up the equal
insurance so you can shop across state lines for the best insurance that you can afford. what the hell
is wrong with that option? And I really beg to differ on the #'s of americans they claim do not have
health insurance and by the way you can go to any emergency room of any hospital and not be refused
if you don't have insurance..I'm not saying this is the way to live, but everyone should pay their fair
share of the burden. Not just sit back and expect the Govt. to take care of you. that's what happened
to the welfare system...Lazy, lazy people sat back and collected $$$ for food, etc. and the rest of us
struggle to hold jobs, raise our kids and pay our bills.
The emergency room is no solution. Indeed, it just contributes to the problem. It should be a last resort - it should be for emergencies. But uninsured people go there for routine care because they don't have any other choices, and then they go there for acute care because they didn't have any options for preventive care that would have arrested the problems before they increased in severity.
I heard Glenn Beck was hospitalized today. I wonder what kind of insurance he has. Do you know he probably makes millions of dollars a year and will NEVER walk into an emergency room for care because it's his only option?
He makes all this money agitating poor people into thinking somebody is going to take away their precious--WHAT? They got nothin', what the hell are they afraid of?
more expensive to buy it on the market in NJ, and a large part of it is that insurance has to provide all the bells and whistles.
What are the bells and whistles? I'm just asking b/c as someone who has had to purchase their own insurance coverage for the past 14 years, you don't get much bang for your buck!
To make our insurance coverage "work" for us we don't have eye or dental. We also don't do "family". My husband is covered as "single" and I have the kids covered under me. It would be more expensive to be covered as "family". Makes no sense!
We pay the highest co-pays Aetna has to offer in order to keep the premium down....$30 co-pays for well and sick visits, $100 for a co-pay to see a specialist (includes ER) and our minimum prescription payment is $25 - sometimes I only have to pay $20, but it's always a crap shoot and I don't know the reasoning behind that either. One of my children needs an prescription eye drop during allergy season...which costs us $125 for the tiniest little bottle of eye drops you have ever seen - and since I have to carry it around with me when we are out with him, I can't tell you how easy it is to misplace the darn thing.
With my last pregnancy I had to go to the hospital for a level II u/s and had to pay out of pocket for it. Twice. I don't remember if it was $1800 per u/s or the total was $1800 for both.
Do we have crappy coverage? Maybe! But I can't imagine what we'd be paying to have a $5 co-pay across the board or a $5 script plan, let alone adding in eye coverage or dental.
We pay a little over $1200/month for what we do have and it is an HMO with Aetna. We're up for renewal next month and just got an email stating that if we want our premiums to remain in the same ballpark, we'd have to incur an in-network deductible fee. This is typical, however. We tend to change insurance companies every year because the initial monthly premium is a "teaser" and the rates always rise a few hundred a month after the first year is up.
What are the bells and whistles? I'm just asking b/c as someone who has had to purchase their own insurance coverage for the past 14 years, you don't get much bang for your buck!
To make our insurance coverage "work" for us we don't have eye or dental. We also don't do "family". My husband is covered as "single" and I have the kids covered under me. It would be more expensive to be covered as "family". Makes no sense!
We pay the highest co-pays Aetna has to offer in order to keep the premium down....$30 co-pays for well and sick visits, $100 for a co-pay to see a specialist (includes ER) and our minimum prescription payment is $25 - sometimes I only have to pay $20, but it's always a crap shoot and I don't know the reasoning behind that either. One of my children needs an prescription eye drop during allergy season...which costs us $125 for the tiniest little bottle of eye drops you have ever seen - and since I have to carry it around with me when we are out with him, I can't tell you how easy it is to misplace the darn thing.
With my last pregnancy I had to go to the hospital for a level II u/s and had to pay out of pocket for it. Twice. I don't remember if it was $1800 per u/s or the total was $1800 for both.
Do we have crappy coverage? Maybe! But I can't imagine what we'd be paying to have a $5 co-pay across the board or a $5 script plan, let alone adding in eye coverage or dental.
We pay a little over $1200/month for what we do have and it is an HMO with Aetna. We're up for renewal next month and just got an email stating that if we want our premiums to remain in the same ballpark, we'd have to incur an in-network deductible fee. This is typical, however. We tend to change insurance companies every year because the initial monthly premium is a "teaser" and the rates always rise a few hundred a month after the first year is up.
We are paying 850/month with BCBS for a family plan with $1500 deductible, $30 co pays $150 out of network/emergency room and $20-$50 scripts AND there are alot of scripts that are not covered. Basically, anything that would not be deamed as medically urgent is exempt. For example, my wife was having bad allergy problems one year, they would not cover allergy meds stating that they were only to make her more comfortable and not medically necessary. F&ckers!!!
When my wife worked in the city, we had 6-7 different plans to choose from all with different "goodies" as to what ws covered or not ranging from the type of plan I described above to one where they send a hot swedish nurse to your side anytime you sniffle. Depending on your position with the company, different % of the costs were included in your Compensation Package. The difference in % was amazing!!! From what I know, this is very common for many big corporations to offer such plans.
If you are a blue collar worker in a mom and pop shop, you have little to no options and the coverage either sucks or costs a fortune compared to what your bringing home. Not everyone can work for big companies and not everyone wants to.
What are the bells and whistles? I'm just asking b/c as someone who has had to purchase their own insurance coverage for the past 14 years, you don't get much bang for your buck!
I mean that you can't buy catastrophic coverage or high deductible low cost plans.
Last time I shopped, it cost about twice as much to buy health insurance in NJ than in TX.
I do agree with you that you don't get much "bang for your buck". There isn't much emphasis on cost control, so health care in the US is very expensive.
I mean that you can't buy catastrophic coverage or high deductible low cost plans.
Last time I shopped, it cost about twice as much to buy health insurance in NJ than in TX.
I do agree with you that you don't get much "bang for your buck". There isn't much emphasis on cost control, so health care in the US is very expensive.
Well I don't know about catastrophic insurance anymore....I had it and it was to the tune of a $10K deductible back in the mid 90's. Not married, no kids, a healthy 20-something. Didn't even have to give blood to prove anything.
Yep, it is very expensive and ridiculously expensive at that.
We are paying 850/month with BCBS for a family plan with $1500 deductible, $30 co pays $150 out of network/emergency room and $20-$50 scripts AND there are alot of scripts that are not covered. Basically, anything that would not be deamed as medically urgent is exempt. For example, my wife was having bad allergy problems one year, they would not cover allergy meds stating that they were only to make her more comfortable and not medically necessary. F&ckers!!!
Yep, I hear you! Next time you need to put a claim into your states Division of Insurance when your insurance co won't cover something. I can't tell you how many times my mother has done that after fighting with her insurance company. I did that for the first time when my insurance company stated that they would cover "medically necessary food" but balked when I submitted the receipts for my child's prescription formula. Sent a little letter to the state and got my 5K back (a year's worth) within a few weeks.
Don't let them slap you around. They deny, deny, deny and just wait for you to give up!
I don't know why it's never addressed that doctors can charge whatever they want and they get it whether they perform their job or not. Yes, I know about the ever-claimed high malpractice insurance premiums, but still. You go to a doctor, it costs several hundred dollars just to walk in the office and talk to him or her, then more for the tests or whatever, and even if they don't EVER find out what the problem is, they get paid exhorbitant amounts of money so that they can live in mansions, belong to exclusive country clubs and take exotic vacations.
Maybe people wouldn't need as much insurance coverage if the doctor's rates were reasonable and competitive--people could have insurance for big problems/surgeries/hospitalization, but just pay as they go for routine visits if the prices were in line with reality.
I do have insurance, better coverage than anyone else I know, but it still galled me that I took my daughter to a gastroenterologist, who initially charged $368 just for the privilege of letting us walk through the door -- she spent 15 minutes with my kid, poked at her stomach a little, asked a few questions, then had her go for an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, all of which were covered but were also exhorbitant prices. Found NOTHING. Too bad, so sad, come back and see me in two months if you don't feel better. Daughter wasn't feeling well for SIX months before, so what in God's name did this doctor think was going to change when she hadn't treated her for anything?
My 17-year-old then commenced to do her own research on the Internet, came up with something diet-related that caused her symptoms, put herself on a diet restricted certain foods, and was better in one month. The doctor never even SUGGESTED or discussed a dietary reason. Just took the money and ran without ever actually finding a solution.
I don't know why it's never addressed that doctors can charge whatever they want and they get it whether they perform their job or not. Yes, I know about the ever-claimed high malpractice insurance premiums, but still. You go to a doctor, it costs several hundred dollars just to walk in the office and talk to him or her, then more for the tests or whatever, and even if they don't EVER find out what the problem is, they get paid exhorbitant amounts of money so that they can live in mansions, belong to exclusive country clubs and take exotic vacations.
Maybe people wouldn't need as much insurance coverage if the doctor's rates were reasonable and competitive--people could have insurance for big problems/surgeries/hospitalization, but just pay as they go for routine visits if the prices were in line with reality.
I do have insurance, better coverage than anyone else I know, but it still galled me that I took my daughter to a gastroenterologist, who initially charged $368 just for the privilege of letting us walk through the door -- she spent 15 minutes with my kid, poked at her stomach a little, asked a few questions, then had her go for an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, all of which were covered but were also exhorbitant prices. Found NOTHING. Too bad, so sad, come back and see me in two months if you don't feel better. Daughter wasn't feeling well for SIX months before, so what in God's name did this doctor think was going to change when she hadn't treated her for anything?
My 17-year-old then commenced to do her own research on the Internet, came up with something diet-related that caused her symptoms, put herself on a diet restricted certain foods, and was better in one month. The doctor never even SUGGESTED or discussed a dietary reason. Just took the money and ran without ever actually finding a solution.
You had a horrible specialist. But....why didn't the internet research start BEFORE the visit...especially if it were that easy to find the solution to the issue?
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