watchamacallit

I friend of mine who is a USC and has worked hard all his life fell ill about 6 weeks ago and it was discovered this week that he has cancer, he has paid the health insurance premiums as expected and has no been unable to work the insurance company have told him his coverage will end on the 20th of September. What's the point of health insurance that will not cover you when you get sick ?
I really miss the good old NHS, anyone in the UK who complains about it needs to try living elsewhere for a while.

civilservant

This is thr system I'm afraid, it can be excellent if you afford it but the reality is a policy can drop you anytime you get a little expensive. Personally I think that should be illegal.

Jerseygirl

We have heard similar stories. One in particular was a long term member of BE...his wife was a nurse and they loved living in the US...until she got sick. She lost her job at the hospital (unbelievable right?)...the insurance went out of the window. The debts piled up...they had to leave their house and return to the UK broke...living with relatives.

Then there was my daughter's high school friend...who discovered she had a rare form of cancer when she was 16. Bit by bit the insurance company withdrew cover. She died when she was 20....her parents were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

At least we always have the option of moving back to the UK to use the NHS. Sadly something USCs don't have.

robin1234

Depends on employment and insurance situation, I suppose. Where I used to work, there was a structure of short term then long term disability, which meant (I believe) that one remained fully covered by health insurance provided by the employer even if no longer able to work.

In general, though, Americans seem to resent the concept of paying for services for those less fortunate than themselves, so building a normal advanced society in the USA, with a rational range of social services, is always going to be a non-starter here. Folks can always set up a chicken barbecue benefit or sponsored fun run for friend or family member with unmet health care needs, though. That seems to work.

WEBlue

Yes, this is such a weird disconnect!

We have an American relation here who's being treated for a form of cancer and who can only work part-time for his employer. He's one of the lucky ones who actually still has health coverage (for now), yet the family are falling into debt from all the associated costs & co-pays, so there's a website the hospital recommended to allow friends and relatives to donate to their "cause".

This strikes me as a crazy way to handle medical costs! Hope that the good will and generosity of your friends and neighbours will keep you from going too far into debt, and thereby also further enrich the out-of-control US medical "industry"....

Adnams

It's disgusting and immoral.

kins

What reason did they give for cancelling his policy?

Have him read this:
http://www.healthinsuranceproviders....u-at-any-time/

Including:
In 2010 the Affordable Care Act’s provision to ban this practice went into effect. These government regulations for health insurance companies banned the practice of canceling insurance policies when a person became ill. All health insurance policies written after September 23, 2010 must comply with this law

If he is no longer working because he is ill then he should also look into whether his employer is obliged to continue the policy through COBRA. If they employ more than 20 people I believe COBRA applies.

If the company has stopped offering that particularly health insurance product then they must offer him the chance to buy an alternative.

He should also talk to his state insurance commissioner.

Duncan Roberts

I would imagine that he doesn't meet the requirements for the employer sponsored plan any more. COBRA may not apply if he is still employed but not at the level needed for insurance. I don't believe there is a provision for you to keep your old policy if you drop beneath the minimum requirements for it while still being employed. If COBRA does apply, he probably hasn't got the documentation yet since it takes a while to come through. Regardless, it's not a situation that should exist.

bewildering

This is important. Check your insurance, and make sure you are fully insured. Plenty of people don't pay for proper insurance and then complain, when shockingly, the insurance company won't pay for their treatment.

One main feature of obamacare is that it forces people to have appropriate levels of insurance.

RoadWarriorFromLP

It sounds as if he needs to quit the job, so that he is eligible for COBRA, then take COBRA (which he will have to pay for.)

Beginning next month, enrollment should begin for exchange plans under the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. Those plans can't be denied based upon pre-existing conditions.

The system isn't great, but at this point, it sounds as if your friend would benefit more from a gameplan than from a rant. He obviously needs to have insurance immediately.

maggot50

one of my medical friends from the UK did some shadowing of the US medical system recently. i really think from what he said that ex-pats are missing out on some medical nouse in accessing care that the locals know how to get 'in' the system.

e.g. there are some state insurances for 'poor' people which he said were as good as if not better than employer funded ones as they have virtually zero copays/deductibles etc

also medicaid etc is available. maybe the person the OP talks about should access that... fact is several hospitals in the US are closing so the idea they are raking it in and holding champagne parties doesnt hold true.

dont think the NHS is a bed of roses. the fact that a&e in the UK is under complete meltdown, waiting lists higher than ever and the mid staffs scandals means some form of user contribution is just around the corner I feel.

judesM

Can't tell u how many benefits that regularly occur for sick locals who are racking up hundreds of thousands in medical care bills. Absurd in such a wealthy country. Used to it though....I think its part of 'capitalism'

kins

When I cut my hours at work I was told that if I dropped below the minimum then I could switch to COBRA.

Sally Redux

It most certainly is compared to the US.

sime303

When my wife's Insurance was dropped (her employer let her go when FMLA expired) we couldn't afford COBRA as we were still waiting for long term disability to pay out.

By the time we received any long term disability we were past the date we could receive COBRA. We were also past the qualifying period for us to obtain medical insurance from my employer. Had to wait for open enrollment.

She had several huge (and expensive) procedures done during this period. So let's just say she racked up close to $250,000 total in bills over 4 1/2 years, of which I estimate we are probably liable for somewhere between $50,000 and $70,000, maybe more.