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Family of three, BCBS with a high deductible, still costs us $435/mo. Plus Rx is covered AFTER a $500 per year deductible. With a teenager, you can't take chances with low coverage, but seriously, how ridiculous is this? On top of that, our premium used to be $100 less each month and they raised it that much just because I turned 35 last year. I also lost forty pounds last year due to my own change in diet and exercise, but they didn't care about that. Needless to say, I'm shopping for a different company even now.
As to the other costs, always remember that you can negotiate prices with hospitals and other services, the same way insurance companies can. Don't ever take a bill and just pay it without negotiating; you can always get some sort of discounts.
I'm all for "socialist" medicine. Just take the 5-6K we pay per year and put that same amount in taxes and then NOT pay more for the services we use. Hmmmm... that does sound sinister.
I am self-employed, always paid above $500 per month for my single policy until BCBs offered a new policy to me (and many others in Raleigh) years ago without any pre-existing clause. My cost was cut in half. I went with an HSA policy ($2700 deduction, $5000 max) plan and now pay $176 per month- the lowest price in my life.
I had a bad health experience to the tune of $170,000. I am now uninsurable outside of BCBS in NC. I tried to relocate out of NC, but could only get into a state program for uninsurables that cost $1000 a month. For health purposes, each state is like a different country.
I work for the state and pay $480 a month...I'll take yours over mine any day! BCBS has this state buttoned up...there is no real competition. In CA, they had BCBS HMO coverage which was much less and the coverage was way better and all the drs. took it. I was told that in NC, the drs banded together to not accept HMO's, so here we are...high cost PPO's are all you can get.
When we first moved here we paid for private coverage thru BCBS...for $775 a month!
I am self-employed, always paid above $500 per month for my single policy until BCBs offered a new policy to me (and many others in Raleigh) years ago without any pre-existing clause. My cost was cut in half. I went with an HSA policy ($2700 deduction, $5000 max) plan and now pay $176 per month- the lowest price in my life.
I had a bad health experience to the tune of $170,000. I am now uninsurable outside of BCBS in NC. I tried to relocate out of NC, but could only get into a state program for uninsurables that cost $1000 a month. For health purposes, each state is like a different country.
And folks say the UK and Canadian systems are bad.
If only we got realistic about end of life care as described in this month's Consumer Reports.
Alzheimers patients should at least be able to request death in dignity while they are still lucid.
In a round about way they can by calling hospice.
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