HarryTheSpider

Get health insurance through a job or spouse. Or win the lottery and keep back $2 million just in case.

As for hospitals - we live in Phoenix. I didn't know about the county hospital or how good it is, but I can tell you that not every hospital here has a great reputation. We went to see our primary physician (like a GP) last year and she said we needed to go to ER. She told us not to go to the nearest one because it is, and I use my words here, shit. I checked with her to see if I was interpreting here balanced advice at the correct level. I was...

I have a great job and employer With fantastic medical cover by almost any standard... AND we still at times have to delay treatment or cram it in before the end of the medical year to reduce out of pocket expenses. Welcome to the USA!!

Good luck

Harry

Uncle Ebenezer

Pretty boring questions, IMO ... much better ones here:

http://www.funtrivia.com/

fatbrit

Use MIHS at 24th St/Van Buren if you require the emergency room.

Noorah101

Same here, sometimes. I have excellent health coverage through my employer, covering me and hubby. Hubby recently had some back pain, so they did an MRI. At the appointment, he paid nothing. We got the bill in the mail. It was $1,600 total, of which we only have to pay $20. I like to make hubby guess how much medical things would have cost without insurance...he guessed this one to be around $300. He was shocked that it was $1,600. And grateful for insurance!!!

Rene

fatbrit

But the cost isn't that straightforward. The MRI facility may well bill out $1600, but the insurer will have a negotiated rate that may well be less than even half of that. It's a silly game.

Just sorting out my paperwork from my second round of surgery -- the first was without insurance. Here are some examples from the insurer's documentation:
Doctor billed 910.90, insurer settled in full with 679.09
Doctor billed 840.92, insurer settled in full with 263.51
Doctor billed 236.50, insurer settled in full with 67.55

When I've finished with the billing, I suspect that the difference between my first operation (where I was not insured) and the second (where I was not) will be minimal when I take into account the very reasonable premiums for obamacare. In fact, the main difference is that I have a go-between that does the negotiations with the biller, and there's a limit on what I could pay out in a year.

The insurers want you to believe they're a necessity. The reality is that they're the scum of the frikkin earth, the festering sore on the backside of America.

Nutmegger

no. 2: This is a good brand.

http://www.escortradar.com/

guitarmaan

Thanks for so much information so far. This really is a huge help at a time when our to-do-list is overwhelming.

That sounds very interesting. I didn't know group coverage of one existed. And a trade membership set up sounds promising also. I need to research this. What kind of temp insurance are you on now?

ok that seems to be the consensus, and that's fine with me... a little less work.


Mulling it over, maybe I could keep my UK one running with a UK account for UK based birthday presents etc, & open a brand new US one. Not sure

So does that stuff work for you? I've read conflicting reports. The basic ingredients are easy to come by (probably). I might try the UK equivalent, which is Anadin Extra apparently.

It's becoming clear to me now that company provided insurance is superior, partly because they are more inclined to pay out (due to appreciating the business). My wife will be working with me, so no cover from her unfortunately. It's a dream we need to give a shot. If insurance issues stop us that would be disappointing.

I have been warned about that before. It has a real reputation!

Well that's not so bad then. Fixed cameras are now everywhere here it seems. The disadvantage of radar detectors is by the time you detect one it may have already detected you!
I'm not a speeder btw. I 'm just cautious & need to protect my license for work purposes.

Yes Migraleve is fantastic. Unfortunately I've built up some resistance to it over the years though. It may be that I have to get some pricey prescription drugs & save them for particularly bad migraines.
I realise now that I have broken the law in the past then, because I've taken Migraleve with me all over the world, not just the USA
Thank you.

So you use Obamacare then and not a group plan? Are you worried it may be repealed? Having a go-between sounds a good idea considering prices seem to be very negotiable. Any recommendations?
Brilliant! A direct link to a product. Thanks

Evidently I must try harder to entertain you. They may be boring questions, but the answers are VERY interesting to me I assure you

Uncle Ebenezer

I'd hate to be in a pub quiz, where you came up with the questions.

CAdreaming

8. Patriot America. I have it and its a good deal. U can have it for 2 years as a new immigrant

guitarmaan

Thank you, I'll look into it. Sounds good for me, though my American wife will need cover from somewhere also.

MrBaker2011

8. Cigna global. The people I spoke to over the phone were knowledgable and I was able to cancel at any time, no questions.

I only had it for a month (got on my wife's group plan once it was set up) and didn't have any medical needs so can't comment on how good it would be if you actually had to use it though.

fatbrit

We're both self-employed, so a group plan is not currently a viable option. And individual plans are just a waste of money. Having had a major hiccup just before Xmas without obamacare, I can confirm it was cheaper to use the "county hospital" than pay the premiums for an individual plan, which would have chucked me on Jan 1, anyway. Four days in hospital, an operation, and a trip through every fancy machine they had was less than the premiums for one year would have been on individual insurance once they'd applied their uninsured discounts. Of course, if I'd gone to the Mayo, they'd have just pumped me with morphine and thrown me out the door, so you've got to put up with a hospital without a marble fountain in the foyer and all that.

The choice for our insurance is obamacare or bankruptcy -- the assets are already protected. The stupid thing is that we ain't exactly poor, but these are the only viable options in our circumstances. Stoopid bloody system!

scrubbedexpat099

Healthcare Reform is definitely needed.

guitarmaan

Right, and that's pretty amazing. Surely if more people realized that, then companies would have to improve their individual plans or lose all their customers!

The really crazy thing about it is the system seems to discriminate against enterprising people. And considering America's reputation for innovation and capitalism that's surprising.

Obamacare is a hope. But you must be without insurance for 6 months first, and not all states have "county hospitals" to tide you over in the meantime.

It's funny I still have to refer to these hospitals as "county". I still haven't found out the correct technical term for them

When you say your assets are protected, do you mean that going bankrupt would save your home. Or do you mean you have some other clever plan in play?


On first look, I'd agree. But I know from past conversations a lot of Americans would disagree.

scrubbedexpat099

I can only think of one person who I have talked to who likes the current system.