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Post by Crockett on Apr 16, 2016 9:09:30 GMT -8
I can stand a $100K hit right now, possibly 200K Being Canadian, I don't have any experience with American health costs but from things I've read, I would think that can go pretty quickly when a serious health issue arises. The whole purpose of any insurance is to be prepared for the more dire scenarios. I don't think you can take a "didn't get my moneys worth this year" perspective.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Apr 16, 2016 9:16:34 GMT -8
I have no plans to fight the really expensive stuff. When it is my time, I'll go kicking and screaming, but without major healthcare input. In any case, as of the upcoming Oct, I will be on Medicare so I will then have insurance coverage. It is all about playing the odds. Our great grandparents had no assertion that medicine would prolong their lives, or even make the ending less painful. I'll accept that level of end of life medicine.
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jj
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Post by jj on Apr 16, 2016 15:31:17 GMT -8
Sadly not at all. I still pay $320/mo for Asthma meds and now our family has a tax penalty because we can't afford the insurance that is more than our mortgage. The insurance we were quoted had a $6500.00 deductible and didn't cover my medicine at $1075/mo ($1495 Inc meds) for 5 of us. . We have always paid cash for dr visits and still do. Now it just cuts into our spending money for not having it thanks to the IRS.. We are both self-employed so it isn't like we can get it from work.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Apr 18, 2016 6:53:00 GMT -8
I've watched my youngest son's Epi-Pens go up in price to now the "retail" price on a box of 2 junior ones is $1547. A year ago it was $900. The year before it was $500.
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echo
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Post by echo on Apr 18, 2016 9:32:33 GMT -8
Yeah, the epi pen price is crazy, too bad most of it isn't for the actual medicine.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2016 12:38:14 GMT -8
How has this benefited me....let me count the ways.....my premium increased 38% this year....my maximum out of pocket tripled, my deductible went up by 1.5 times, my copay doubled......so, no, I can't say it's been to my benefit....but rather, to my detriment.
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Post by SaltyBoots on Apr 19, 2016 15:25:52 GMT -8
My husband was out of a job for a couple of months this year, and because of Obamacare, it was affordable to have him covered. Without it, it would have cost $475 more a month to add him to mine. We only had to pay $200. When he got a new job, the employer didn't offer any benefits, so we had to stay on it. Not that he's making more $, the cost has gone up, but it's still much lower than adding him to mine. However, it covers hardly anything.
I hate that our job status and who our employer is seems to control how/if we are covered - at least this program helps with those in between periods - or during a time period when you are trying to startup a business or go back to school. It sucks because you could pay into insurance companies for the first 20 years of your adult life, hardly seeing a doctor for all of those years, never have any emergencies, and then all of a sudden you lose your job (or one of the other situations mentioned), let your coverage slip for a couple months, get into a car accident, and then before you know it you owe $100,000 in hospital bills.
As hard working citizens, we should all be covered. It's scary what can happen when you aren't. Single payer is coming someday, I feel sure of it, based on the way the young vote seems to be going, but hopefully it isn't too many years/decades away. We are far too advanced/wealthy/intelligent of a country not to be doing it that way. If others can do it, we should be aiming to find ways to do it even better, not avoiding it altogether and making excuses. The health and well-being of the people of this country should certainly be a not-for-profit endeavor in my opinion. Obamacare isn't perfect, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Apr 19, 2016 16:40:34 GMT -8
How has this benefited me....let me count the ways.....my premium increased 38% this year....my maximum out of pocket tripled, my deductible went up by 1.5 times, my copay doubled......so, no, I can't say it's been to my benefit....but rather, to my detriment. I'm surprised you actually signed up for Obamacare.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Apr 20, 2016 4:27:47 GMT -8
The health and well-being of the people of this country should certainly be a not-for-profit endeavor in my opinion. Up here we're trying desperately to ensure healthcare remains not-for-public-debt. It seems our newly minted federal government has not budgeted any money for healthcare this year, so the provinces are left floundering trying to cover costs on [shrinking] provincial budgets alone. Cost cutting over the past few years has put thousands of healthcare workers out of work. RN/RPN schools churn out grads with no viable work prospects. All of this when we need to be increasing healthcare spending in preparation for this aging baby-boomer populace we've been warned about. Each approach has its ugly side, but after hearing stories of healthcare in the US, I'll always choose free universal healthcare rather than... whatever it is you have in the US. Long wait times and all.
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Apr 20, 2016 6:14:11 GMT -8
Not much difference here, with Mrs. Jack and I both on employer-sponsored programs. As many have noted, the trend is increasing premiums and reduced coverage. Needless to say, the best health insurance is making healthy choices--don't smoke, limit the sauce, lay off the fatty and sugary stuff, exercise--and pray for good luck. Randomness is a big factor in more serious issues like cancer.
What does not surprise me is major insurers losing large sums on the exchanges, and making plans to exit this underwriting. I never thought the young-healthy to older-less-healthy subsidization strategy would work. And running it through private insurers who, for the most part, are expected to generate returns on investment, only makes it harder. It was a fatal design flaw, IMO. If the goal is single payer, they should have just expanded Medicare, which seems to work reasonably well.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Apr 20, 2016 6:45:34 GMT -8
Each approach has its ugly side, but after hearing stories of healthcare in the US, I'll always choose free universal healthcare rather than... whatever it is you have in the US. Long wait times and all. Well Kid 2 yesterday had been sick for 3 days so I took him in. Same day appointment. He was called in quickly. They gave him an oral swab test, 5 minutes later confirmed: strep throat. Out 5 minutes later to go get meds. That is good medicine. My co-pay will be $20.
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Apr 20, 2016 7:26:32 GMT -8
These private "minute clinics" have been pretty useful for minor issues, such as diagnosing an infection and getting a prescription or even minor stitches. There is one about 3 blocks from home. Just walk right in, see an MD right away, and you are quickly served.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Apr 20, 2016 9:38:19 GMT -8
Each approach has its ugly side, but after hearing stories of healthcare in the US, I'll always choose free universal healthcare rather than... whatever it is you have in the US. Long wait times and all. Well Kid 2 yesterday had been sick for 3 days so I took him in. Same day appointment. He was called in quickly. They gave him an oral swab test, 5 minutes later confirmed: strep throat. Out 5 minutes later to go get meds. That is no doubt enviable. Depending on the city, the clinic, and when you call in, same day appointments are not uncommon. For common illnesses like strep, diagnosis is quick. For lab items, most clinics are located within walking distance to labs and the labs, being significantly less busy, will often swab/draw blood/"issue your cup" within minutes. Results depend on the test being performed, but it's a day or two usually. The majority of my experience is with the ER and walk-in clinics. I've waited many hours in an ER with injured workers (including myself when I was younger) as well as 1-3 hours in walk-in clinics for my annual checkups/follow-ups. Family doctors are becoming much less common and they typically work on appointment only, but usually can accommodate same-day (again depending on city, etc).
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Apr 21, 2016 9:13:48 GMT -8
Depending on the city, the clinic, and when you call in, same day appointments are not uncommon. For common illnesses like strep, diagnosis is quick. For lab items, most clinics are located within walking distance to labs and the labs, being significantly less busy, will often swab/draw blood/"issue your cup" within minutes. Results depend on the test being performed, but it's a day or two usually. The majority of my experience is with the ER and walk-in clinics. I've waited many hours in an ER with injured workers (including myself when I was younger) as well as 1-3 hours in walk-in clinics for my annual checkups/follow-ups. Family doctors are becoming much less common and they typically work on appointment only, but usually can accommodate same-day (again depending on city, etc). We have a hospital with ER 3 miles away. Youngest son has had to go there a couple of times due to his severe food allergies. He has been seen immediately every time - that is of course because it literally is life threatening, so he gets bumped up. Yeah, it sucks if you have a broken arm or leg, I don't use walk-in clinics for the wait reason, yes, we have them here (urgent care is usually the name, attached to the regular doctor offices or hospitals). So I always try for a real appointment first. We have a lot more nurse practitioners, which I am fine with - they can do pretty much everything a doctor can, but you get longer visits. More in-depth. However, I live in area that has a huge growth (doubled in the past 10 years) and is nearly all families, so we have a lot of offices here. They are all associated with big hospitals, so have the gear. Now then...for the big stuff, like my son's allergy panels, I do have to wait if I want local. They only come out our way every month, from the big city. So I have a 2 month wait this time. He could be seen now, if I wanted to drive, but no thanks. It isn't urgent. It's a "see you every 2 to 4 years kind of thing"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2016 9:39:45 GMT -8
Here in Idaho we have faith healing; no wait times, no out of pocket expenses, and you can be seen by the diety of your choice. This year our govener wants to study the effectiveness of faith healing. I guess the faith of children has come into the limelight. Many children die, in Idaho, of common dieases because their faith is not strong enough. I am sure a more stern fire and brimestone approach at a younger age will work wonders to increase the success rate of faith healing. Idaho beleives that if they can get this faith healing down pat, the need for hospitals, nurses, and doctors would be close to nill. This would drop the states health care money output to almost nothing and, thus, its attraction to Idaho as a valid form of medical care.
Me, I place my faith, in Idaho, in the god An. The way I figure it, whiles I am in the Doctors office waiting room, if An helps me out cool, if not then my expected out of pocket was... Well. Expected. So far An has not been much of a help, I guess my faith is not strong enough *chuckles*.
Silly Idaho.
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