Health Care Costs

Now the insurance companies will raise the rates because they have an excuse to do so and there are no laws to prevent this. Hold onto your wallets! The premiums are high, the deductibles and copays are so high that lots of healthy people will pay high premiums and never get any benefits from their health insurance because they must meet a $5000 deductible before insurance pays a penny. This was all predicted. The next blow will be the employer mandate and people will lose their jobs. So much for "Affordable" health care. (I am for health care for everyone but not what we have)

Tom Trostel wrote:
I have a relative who is an emergency room doctor. He earns $400 per hour. No wonder is costs so much.

I doubt that he makes that much. Working just 8 hour days and 2 week vacation would yield him $800,000/year.
ER doctors usually have no office and staff, crippling malpractice insurance, few if any expenses.

bid_time wrote:

lbrjet wrote:

pnichols wrote:
Yep .... the time has finally come for the insurance companies to pick up the tab for the newly insured health needs instead of hospital emergency rooms. I'm not sure which approach is going to cost society more in the long run.

Health insurance companies profits have never been higher, as well as their stock prices. Look at the Humana buyout at $230 per share. This stock broke $100 for the first time ever less than 18 months and now is worth $230?

What do you think would happen to Maytag stock if the gov came in and said everyone has to buy a dishwasher, complete with 4 cycles and automatic water heating to the optimal temp? Makes about as much sense as me having insurance to cover pap smears and mamograms.

You kind of have a point, but how many people would forego car insurance if states didn't mandate that you have it? AFATG how many people don't have car insurance even though it is mandated? The unpleasant fact of the matter is that sometimes people have to be forced to do what's necessary. Education is necessary, but how many people would voluntarily give money to support schools? Not enough, so it's basically taken unwillingly in the guise of taxes.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Wow! I hope United Healthcare continues the zero premium Medicare Advantage Plan my wife and I have had for the past few years. The savings has been a big budget help.

That's supported under Medicare, so it's unlikely to go away without Medicare changing its basic structure. Not that that can't happen of course.

fj12ryder wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Wow! I hope United Healthcare continues the zero premium Medicare Advantage Plan my wife and I have had for the past few years. The savings has been a big budget help.

That's supported under Medicare, so it's unlikely to go away without Medicare changing its basic structure. Not that that can't happen of course.

Yep, we still pay the normal Medicare premium of course, but the UHC Advantage Plan adds on a number coverages that exceed the Medicare basic coverage. The zero premium Part D drug coverage alone is a big help.

Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

mockturtle wrote:
IMHO, health care should have never become an 'industry'. It's not the doctors who are getting rich. Many physicians I know are closing their practices because they can't afford to keep them and don't want to be swallowed up by the big corporations. We may all have to rein in our use of the system and its fancy services and even ration those services.

The mandate from D.C. made it an 'industry' by taking it over to give free health care to anyone wanting it. It's fatcat elderly RVers that buy new $135K TCs that should be paying their fair share. They're the ones getting a free ride.:W

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

bid_time wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

They only get Medicaid if their income is below poverty level.

Afford is subjective....
Over the poverty level you can get gov. subsides to off-set premiums IF you can afford to pay for coverage (after you pay for home/utilities/child care/food/fuel etc.)

And if you find that you can't afford the premiums you will pay a penalty/fee when you file your Federal Taxes.
Which at present is less than the cost of healthcare premiums and then you go to emergency rooms to get care.

bid_time wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
Question from a foreigner interested in other cultures. If an American can't afford insurance for diagnosis or treatment, is there some kind of backup plan. You read stories but its hard to cut though it all for a foreigner. We live in the US a few months per year but its all quite confusing. Does it also vary state to state?

Thanks in advance.

J and A

If they can't afford it, per gov guidelines, they get Medicaid (taxpayer provided medical care) for free. If they choose not to buy insurance, hospitals are required to treat them regardless.

Thank you.