Your Perspective on Health Insurance?

[Lansysta]

You know, I've been thinking a lot about the whole health insurance situation lately. It's a real mixed bag here in the States, isn't it?

 

[TreeFrogTrader]

?¡? seen like this insurance isn´t worth one bit !
It works differently depending on countries, I´ve lived mostly without private health insurance but contracted one in Spain because, besides needing it to get a residence permit faster, it works the opposite as in your case. Public and private health care are completely separated here, and if you go to the private practice without a private insurance accepted there, you are most of the time charged much more. Premiums are cheap as well, for 60/70eur euros a months I get for instance free consultations otherwise charged 120e and free blood tests otherwise charged around 200 (other private clinics offer somehow better deals to uninsured patients, but if one want to deal with private healthcare here, private insurance seems the way to go). Still a major issue with private insurances is they don´t cover old issues and don´t cover you at all if they don´t like those old issues.
In France it is quite different, private practice are always at least partially covered by public insurance, one is just charged extra by the private practice, afaik it is usually the same amount to a private person or their insurer. I see buying insurance in those conditions akin as buying puts, which I prefer selling, if having any relationship with them. Lived in Asia for many years as well and mostly lived without insurance there, also saw it as buying puts, was quoted insane prices in China/HK, over 30k a year I thimk for a family of 4, still with restrictions on all previosu ailments
I read in the US private patients get regularly charged more than insured patients, so surprised to read your story. I would feel quite a bit upset as well.

PS , as you are also on TRT, after trying the only TRT clinic in Madrid, where it appeared the doc would happily prescribe me test but wouldn´t care about my health one bit (came up with extremely dodgy blood test results that would justify a TRT in spain but with some numbers that were plainly faked), I went to see as a private patient an endo working for the major insurer, who started prescribing me 350mg test C every 2 weeks, the low end of what I want but acceptable. than talked to the insurer which besides covering all future health issues, accepted to cover the endo consultations and blood tests if not whatever therapy needed for problems resulting from TRT. But on my second visit to the endo she decided to lower the dose to 250mg every 2 weeks, although my test levels were far from too high imo. Huge bummer, I´m not following the dose she prescribed but pissed anyway, would rather pick up the test from the drugstore here.

I am paying 850 dollars per month with a 6500 dollar deductible (single). Essentially it is a VERY expensive catastrophic health plan. Before the "Affordable Care act" I was able to get the same coverage for roughly half what I pay now.

To put this in perspective this payment is MORE than the median house payment in my county. If I actually USE the insurance it is the equivalent of buying a brand new Nissan Versa car every year.

The "ACA" did nothing to address out of control healthcare costs and the clear violations of anti-trust and price fixing laws.

Even if you have a good plan, and I do. There are still a lot of rip-offs if you want anything non-essential.

For example they won't cover Vitamin D testing unless you have some specific disease or symptom. I used to just get it tested at Labcorp when I was in the city without even going to the doctor. It was 42.oo dollars so it was affordable to have it checked two or three times a few months apart. I am about to do that again so checked today's prices (Life Extension test done at Labcorp. With inflation and all, I expected it to be about 84.00. But I checked today's prices and it is on sale for 23.00. Okay fine. The local hospital said they would do it since the insurance would not cover it. Their price is 385.00 per test. Try doing ongoing monitoring at that price. NOT.

Same with PSA tests. If I am not having any health problems on my mind and don't want to pay the 150-180 or whatever it is deductible for that year, I just have my PSA done at Labcorp for 62.00 and skip the doctors visit. I can read the damn scale by now. duh. Also, for some reason that test is also on sale now for 47.00.

Now the astute ones will say "yeh but you need a doctor's prescription to get the lab test." Nope. In most/many states the law says "the results must be reviewed by a doctor." So you buy the test online with Life Extension and they have a contract with Labcorp. You just take the printed off lab order you get via email from Life extension and go to the Lab. The lab just scans the results and sends any outliers to a doctor who probably sends you a notice to see your local doctor or something if it is out of whack. Otherwise you just see the results in about two days or less online.

Those are just examples. If you monitor all sorts of blood and hormone tests, they do lots of other tests too. Not saying it is a substitute for doctors visits but realistically even with insurance you have to hold expenses down or want to hold them down for routine tests.

 

[Pekelo]

Asking @Baron for a 5 year update?

 

[newwurldmn]

You know, I've been thinking a lot about the whole health insurance situation lately. It's a real mixed bag here in the States, isn't it?

Bot post.

 

[MarkBrown]

to me i wish there was a global policy that was 100k deductible but guaranteed best of care anywhere in the world with air travel included.

you can get med-share copters but where they gonna dump you?

 

[murray t turtle]

You know, I've been thinking a lot about the whole health insurance situation lately. It's a real mixed bag here in the States, isn't it?

%%
WE like US much better than US ''Medicare -Medicaid or any gov health care''
A far as medical bills/ many of those in [USa] have well deserved reputation of wrong billing, excessive charges , full of fraud.
An honest hospital or doc may give an up front charge ;
overpriced crooks may give a run a round.
I had a tooth filled, yes they do take cash+ give a range of charges, upfront LOL
The dentist seemed to enjoy me noting I have some medical books.
By the way, a female doctor noted, those expiry dates dont mean much ,even though medicine can get weaker.
I recently traded some up to date cough drops for 10 year past expiry date stuff LOL

 

[TrailerParkTed]

%%
WE like US much better than US ''Medicare -Medicaid or any gov health care''
A far as medical bills/ many of those in [USa] have well deserved reputation of wrong billing, excessive charges , full of fraud.
An honest hospital or doc may give an up front charge ;
overpriced crooks may give a run a round.
I had a tooth filled, yes they do take cash+ give a range of charges, upfront LOL
The dentist seemed to enjoy me noting I have some medical books.
By the way, a female doctor noted, those expiry dates dont mean much ,even though medicine can get weaker.
I recently traded some up to date cough drops for 10 year past expiry date stuff LOL

I read several languages and can’t understand the first paragraph. Are you saying you like private insurance(My sister pays $3,000 for herself. I know people who pay $5000 a month USD plans) or you like being uninsured and at the mercy of price gouging? No disrespect meant.

 

[murray t turtle]

I read several languages and can’t understand the first paragraph. Are you saying you like private insurance(My sister pays $3,000 for herself. I know people who pay $5000 a month USD plans) or you like being uninsured and at the mercy of price gouging? No disrespect meant.

%%
YOU guesses right, T P Ted, I carry worst case health insurance , with car insurance company + more auto liability insurance than our USa state requires.
So you mostly guessed right + understood right .
As far as risk , i like to study risk in any area, health , stock markets , auto, guns ................
And guns are really much safer than talking snake media lies about.
And like my banker dad warned me ''accidents do NOT just a happen son, they are caused''
Good respect for capitalism, same here

 

[murray t turtle]

I read several languages and can’t understand the first paragraph. Are you saying you like private insurance(My sister pays $3,000 for herself. I know people who pay $5000 a month USD plans) or you like being uninsured and at the mercy of price gouging? No disrespect meant.

%%
I like Dave Ramsey 's comment, insure some stuff yourself.
My best insurance agent/ Red State Farm[symbol=horn of plenty LOL]ran up my 1st actual bill a few bucks past estimate. I also told him ''give me a good rate \I'm a good risk''
I called him up = said ''you ran over estimate \CUT out the car rental insurance '' \LOL never needed it\ + sent him a good message with in my budget.
One time i could have used /it but called mom/ she is glad to help with HMC ,4 cylinder auto.
so yes i like some private insurance, not that God needs that to heal .

 

[monkeyc]

Healthcare is like anything else: Prices of goods and services are determined by supply & demand.

I said it many years ago: Obamacare would increase the number of patients, which means more demand for healthcare, but it wouldn't increase supply of service providers (doctors, nurses, etc). The imbalance would cause prices to climb and cause long waits for services. That's what happened.

There were 21,500 medical school graduates in 2011, but only 23,000 in 2014. A paltry 7% increase in 3 years to cover millions of additional patients?? That barely covers the attrition and retirement of existing doctors.

Total Number of Medical School Graduates | KFF

Try to make an appointment at a doctor's office that primarily takes Medicare patients; it takes 3-4 weeks to get an appointment, and you have to come 2 hours ahead of time. There are far too many consumers (patients) for the number of producers (doctors).

Inflation is a monetary phenomenon caused by government policies.