Planning on dropping Health Insurance. Change my mind.

[thepumpguysc]

OH.. I got a bill for 16.00 yesterday for a Dr. to "read" the xray.. lol

 

[Turbys_1700]

My neighbors wife is in that situation and I think she pays $1300 a month. Are you going to work past 62 to keep insurance?

Fortunately my insurance is covered through by the State Employees Health Care Plan.

 

[Streetcar]

OH.. I got a bill for 16.00 yesterday for a Dr. to "read" the xray.. lol

My favorite crazy bill was from a couple years ago, I was billed for a second doctor to read X-ray. Charge was eventually down when office could not give me reason second reading was necessary

 

[John White]

For 40 years I worked with no insurance. (hazardous occupation, owned my own business.) I had a few incidents, just paid them out of my pocket. If I had insurance ( a bad gamble) I would not have had money to eat or make my monthly mortgage. I was always healthy but sometimes required a visit to the doctor to get stitched up. Just bit the bullet and paid. When I was 45 I got involved in flying ultralight planes. I had a crash, broke two vertebrates , couple of ribs, damaged my spleen. I was in bad shape. No insurance, and I knew I would loose my house and shop, and equipment, and no means to make a living. I couldn't even stand up. Doctors wanted to fuse my spine back together. The doctor came and gave me a sad review and said I might be paralyzed if they didn't do it, as I had serious internal injuries also. I explained my situation and told him I had no insurance and could not allow them to do anything with me and to dismiss me from the hospital. We had a long discussion about it. Finally he agreed to fit me with a back brace, tape me up, gave me a pair of crutches and said if I could hobble out I could go and I called a employee and had him come and take me home (after three days in hospital) in the back of my pickup. Back then (1984) a 3 day stay was about $1500. Finally got bill paid off. Long road to recovery. Was able to keep my shop and business. Then when I was 62 I got prostate cancer, the V.A took care of that. Then at 65 I got Medicare. I chose a private insurance to take the place of medicare after about a year. They only insured non smokers, and non alcohol and healthy. Around 2006 I begin to get sick, went to 4 different doctors and VA doctors also. I was constantly coughing and something going on in my body, even spent time in hospital. I kept getting worse, got one morning and I knew my body was shutting down, wife said she was going to take me to the Cleveland clinic. We got into a argument and said you just don't walk into the Cleveland clinic without a referral and appointment. She wheeled me into the emergency room. In two hours they did some tests and said I had a very serious disease and my body was shutting down and said I might not make it. They said I had "Churg Straus" They admitted me and treated my aggressively. I was in the hospital for 12 days and the bill was $90,000 (permanent damage to kidneys and feelings in legs) My insurance paid every dime. Wasn't too long and the govt. would not let them insure any one any more because the choose who they wanted to insure. Can't say enough good things about them and Cleve. clinic. I have served my country, paid my taxes, raised my kids to be productive citizens. And at the drop of a hat, something can happen and they will bankrupt you. A friend I know got Hep. C, using drugs. Just quit his $60k a year job and went on the dole. Cost 0ver $500.00 to treat him. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

 

[D2Cat]

I'm guessing you put the decimal point in the wrong place?

 

[John White]

Yes. Should be $500,000

 

[Travelover]

.......... A friend I know got Hep. C, using drugs. Just quit his $60k a year job and went on the dole. Cost over $500,000 to treat him. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

The worst part of this is that the government (us) pays these enormous drug prices to cure Hep C, and people turn around an get reinfected using drugs.

 

[John White]

Yes. He has better health care than I do. He gets dental work, glasses, food stamps, rent paid, never paid his child support, or hospital cost for him. There is a solution to that but I can't print it here. I am 78 years and have worked since I was 12. Started selling wood and delivering the Grit newspaper. (if any one is old enough to remember) and still go to work every day. Some time ago some homeless kid (28 or so) needed money. I told him I wouldn't give him any money but would buy him $25 in groceries if he helped me for a hour. He would show up every once in a awhile and he would help me for about a hour. I would buy him $25 in groceries. Got to talking to him. His father, fathered 18 kids, all were on welfare or homeless. Guess who pays their medical bills?

 

[KubotainNH]

I see this first hand, relative in her mid forties maybe worked a full 5 or 10 years of her life. On the dole, her BF died of an OD but didn't stop her any. The focus is just off too many times.

 

[ultrarunner]

There are really two camps... those well insured and those with nothing who are also well covered... it is the middle that has the most to lose... I have seen it over and over again... both managing low income rentals and working at the Hospital.

The daughter of my 31 year old tenant gave birth prematurely to a son with heart defects... intensive care for many months and many surgeries over the years... the Mom was 15 at the time... and my tenant a Grandmother at 31.

That child received the finest care at Stanford Hospital and each time the family was put up at no cost at the Ronald McDonald House.... care like this today would run millions...

At the time... it was said he received a million dollars in medical care... the young man is now 24 and doing great...

2/3 of our surgical cases are some form of Government Insurance... either Medicare, County, etc...

The real question is what do you have to lose...