AdobePinon

So what if screenings are free? Is the treatment free? Of course not. Paid healthcare for people like me with employer paid healthcare is great. For everyone else it sucks. Publishing a bunch of very specific statistics for a few people with cancer is not going to change that.

Oregon4now

Well, I do not want to seem unreasonable but YOU where the one who mentioned how some cannot afford to even get diagnosed. I addressed that post in the best way that I could, I thought I had provided some helpful links through community resources with the hope that they could be of use to anyone.. I never implied that treatment was free and I am sorry that you misread it that way.

Yorkieabroad

Unfortunately thats where we are....self employed, so we have a high deductible HSA eligible plan that has just increased to almost 450/month for a family of 5 with a 10400 family deductible. Its basically insurance agains the hit by a bus/heartattack/cancer sort of scenario. But this year we've paid over $6000 out of pocket on "minor" stuff, plus over 5000 in premiums.

I need minor knee surgery to repair a torn miniscus, but I'm deferring it till January so I can slip it into next years deductible:-
anaesthetist 400 (reasonable)
surgeon 1200 (including diagnosis and prior/post consultations - very reasonable)
hopsital treatment room for 1 hour - $4500 freakin outrageous!!!!
There are 2 places I could go, but this is the cheapest, but neither of them will tell me their insurance discounted rate till I've booked and prepaid the procedure. My insurance apparently are legally prevented from telling me what the discount rates are at the 2 facilities, so basically they've got me over a barrel - I have no way of making the "right" decision because I dont have enough facts to minimise the costs, and by the time I do, it'll be too late.

We're lucky - we have a decent income and I'm going to get the surgery without having to sell any of the kids. But even so I'm making medical decisions based on economics, and I don't like that. And I'm sure in the same situation there are a lot of folk out there who wouldn't be able to have the surgery at all......

I'm sure I will get good treatment from the surgeon I'm with, but if that ain't a f@#*ked up system, I dont know what is.

Yorkieabroad

Sorry, I'm pulling that sentence a bit out of context here, but it comes to one of my pet peeves. When I left the UK I regarded doctors, surgeons, nurses with a great deal of respect - professional, dedicated, devoted, pillars of the community etc etc. Since coming here, they have gradually (with a few notable exceptions) slipped down my rankings to lodge somewhere between used car salesman/realtor and pimp. I used to trade oil and ships with some of the sharpest negotiators around - eastern med/middle east/far east/russia and the tricks the medical profession here try to pull would make the worst of them blush! Of the medical people we have come across in the last 8 years, around 80% of them are guilty of one or more of the following:-
loading the bills;
calling for unneccesary tests;
charging for services not performed.
I spend a huge amount of time chasing up on misbilling, overbilling, double billing(!) and consequent refunds. And thats without any major illnesses or accidents.

I dread the letter saying I'm due a check up because although they use the rubber gloves when they do that unpleasant checkup, they don't seem to worry about them when they give me the real shafting - with the bill!

OK - thats my last rant for the morning....I've changed grades of coffee and it seems to be sparking something off....maybe better go get it checked out (when I can afford it)

AmerLisa

We're in the boat of "high deductibles", although not as high as yours and our premiums are less a month, but..... This year our deductible had reached its highest level, $2400 per person! And of course I fell at the end of last year and had a very badly sprained wrist (I know now, of course) that carried on into this year. $1400 later (ortho, MRI, GP a few times...) anyway, you just know that almost immediately after that damn MRI was done the wrist started feeling better.... Ok, back to it, I'm still paying on those medical bills.....sigh.

And here's the kicker, my GP's office will not book me a physical (funny enough, THAT is payed 100%) because I have an outstanding bill. And its not just that office that does that, my daughter's pediatrician does the same thing. But if I have an emergency, they'll see me....

The only good thing is that our deductible has been lowered to $1200 for the coming year. Once I pay off the prior bills I just might afford to get sick....

Yorkieabroad

Course they will - you're over a barrel then so they can charge what they like

That's a nice reduction on the deductible. Wish we could get something like that. Each year before renewal time I shop around and I just can't find anything better where we are....

scrubbedexpat097

I guess I have always worked for and had very decent doctors here. Not one that I worked for ever refused to make appointments for patients that owed money, as long as they were paying on the bill and believe me there were people only able to pay tiny amounts each month,then they could see the doctor for any type of appointment.

I always pay each year. into a flexi-plan that covers both mine and M's deductibles. If we dont need any medical treatment then the flexi plan helps with eye glasses, contacts or for excess on dental tratment not covered by insurance. I always say at the begining of the year that maybe this year we wont need any medical treatment but the last few years that hasn't happened


Also on medical billing, just yesterday after talking to United Health Care I found that the doctor that read the bloodwork I had to have at the ER in September was billing me for something that was written off by the insurance as he is part of the network. He thought he'd try and get it from me. I knew I didn't owe it as I'm at the point where I have met my deductible and all my out of pocket expences (yes, that is sad) so I shouldn't have been billed at all. He is now in trouble with UHC...

cindyabs

I got a bill several weeks ago for the diabetic management class I attended-526.00. BCBS of GA had rejected it, however we're actually covered by BCBS of NM and they do cover it. Anyway, I thought it was 526 for the 3 classes I attended. WRONG!! It was 526 per class!!!!!!!! The first class was 4 hours, the second one 3 hours and the third one, 2 hours.........

Btw, the ins, had paid for the first class and the third class, but not the second one. ?????????