Health Insurance
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TheJason
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I don’t think convoluted and expensive healthcare has to be intrinsically linked to being able to walk into a gun store, does it?regardless, let’s not derail this thread by turning it into a 2A issue, because it is not.
OntarioHunter
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Right. They'll just clean out the gun safe later in bankruptcy court.The problem is they won’t toss you out if you don’t have it down here!!!
Beanland_fan
Active member
Sorry for the misinterpretation caused by my apparent lack of clarity. Was not aimed at Ontario Hunter and certainly not meant to turn it into a different issue. Apologies.
Bambistew
Well-known member
I feel your pain. Been through that a couple times recently. There are zero anesthesiologists in network in AK... which means we get an exception but still forkout for out of network deductiblewhich is separate. I think we're at about $800,000 for the year, and about $10k out of pocket. Luckily I had been stuffing away money in an HSA so that helped a lot. I had no idea surgeries cost $50-60k an hour.
All I can suggest is to max out your HSA if you can, and sock away when you can in there it's about 4500/year I think.. It's yours forever and tax free. I'm really worried about later in life. Healthcare is likely going to be the deciding factor on when I retire. Need to either come up with a small fortune to use on premiums until Medicare kicks in or keep working. This is the last hole in my retirement plan.
I have no idea how our healthcare system is sustainable. I don't know that Canada's system as good for treatment. I have a number of Canadian freinds and hear mixed results but it's for sure less stressful to navigate.
OntarioHunter
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Wow, $50-$60K/hr for surgery? That's ridiculous. Totally. I think by the time many of you younger folks on here will be ready to retire there will be some drastic changes made in American health care system. It's heading for a giant size crisis. The govt keeps trying to "reform" by keeping the insurance companies and doctors in the loop and all they do is find ways to manipulate the system and enrich themselves even more ... at the taxpayers expense. What a joke! Sooner or later the US will have to take the reins directly like the rest of the countries in the world. It will be a crisis for Wall Street ... but only a temporary one. In the end the money hogged by the health care industry and insurance companies will be spent in other sectors: new vehicles, kids educations, etc. It will all adjust in the long run.
TheJason
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Same.
npaden
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We have been on a medical sharing plan ever since Obamacare kicked in and our regular insurance tripled in cost.
My wife tore her ACL skiing and it did what it was supposed to do. $30Kish in costs for everything and the Preferred Provider discount got that down to $9K which was below our deductible of $10K. You can pay more per month for a lower deductible but we keep our monthly costs as low as possible by having as high of deductible as they allow.
Right now we are paying just over $400 per month for family coverage with a $10,500 deductible. Pre Obamacare we were paying $500ish per month with a $5,000 deductible for regular insurance. The cheapest regular insurance I could get through my office is now $1,400 per month with a $8,000 deductible.
Read some of the fine print on the medical sharing plans, they do have some gaps that they do not cover and that is part of why they are cheaper.
My wife tore her ACL skiing and it did what it was supposed to do. $30Kish in costs for everything and the Preferred Provider discount got that down to $9K which was below our deductible of $10K. You can pay more per month for a lower deductible but we keep our monthly costs as low as possible by having as high of deductible as they allow.
Right now we are paying just over $400 per month for family coverage with a $10,500 deductible. Pre Obamacare we were paying $500ish per month with a $5,000 deductible for regular insurance. The cheapest regular insurance I could get through my office is now $1,400 per month with a $8,000 deductible.
Read some of the fine print on the medical sharing plans, they do have some gaps that they do not cover and that is part of why they are cheaper.
tphelps45
New member
Has anyone ever had luck negotiating with docs? I’ve only done it several, but they usually knock off 20% immediately without any kind of fight, which is pretty telling.
The costs are beyond comprehension. I can tell you it’s about $5,000/day for labor and delivery before insurance adjustments. Just paid the invoice for our son born in September which depleted our HSA.
The costs are beyond comprehension. I can tell you it’s about $5,000/day for labor and delivery before insurance adjustments. Just paid the invoice for our son born in September which depleted our HSA.
npaden
Well-known member
The best places for negotiating are the labs, scans, testing type places. We paid cash for my wife's last MRI and got close to a 70% discount.
I really don't understand why they don't do a better job at that. Which would they rather have 50% or so up front from the patient in cash or pay a employee to jump through hoops filling out all the insurance claim forms and get 30% 3 months from now....
But most Dr.'s and Clinics just don't seem that interested in negotiating for cash payment.
I really don't understand why they don't do a better job at that. Which would they rather have 50% or so up front from the patient in cash or pay a employee to jump through hoops filling out all the insurance claim forms and get 30% 3 months from now....
But most Dr.'s and Clinics just don't seem that interested in negotiating for cash payment.
Bambistew
Well-known member
We did that with a diagnostic test that turned out to require further test. Couldn't apply that to a deductible, so was out that cash and still ended up paying the full deductible and max out of pocket.
What's crazy is the f'n scam, that they can give you a 70% discount and you get the service you needed... where does the other 70% go?
Couple of things here. Providers (Docs, PAs, NPs) have very, if any, control over the billing practices. If it’s a small independent outpatient clinic, maybe. But if it’s part of a hospital or hospital system, forget it. I can’t even get accurate cost estimates for my patients about how much their visit or a procedure will cost. Administrators and health insurance companies are the collective devil. If the cost for a procedure is $10, then the billed price will be $10k. An agreement will be made with the insurance company to accept $12, but if you’re self-pay it’s $10k. It’s absolutely robbery and it makes me nauseated to practice in such a system.
Gone are the days of the physicians with power, pocketing large sums of money and spending the day on the golf course. Those are hospital administrators now. Anyone actually practicing medicine is a replaceable drone.
There’s no kickbacks, no under the table deals, no secret plan to rob you. We are all just trying to make it through the day with a shred of our soul intact.
Gone are the days of the physicians with power, pocketing large sums of money and spending the day on the golf course. Those are hospital administrators now. Anyone actually practicing medicine is a replaceable drone.
There’s no kickbacks, no under the table deals, no secret plan to rob you. We are all just trying to make it through the day with a shred of our soul intact.
MarvB
Well-known member
Well I can give you an EXACT amount on mine done just about six months ago, grand total of $72,000. That included all the related bells and whistles for the 2021 model Stryker Marathon (titanium) done via robotics as well as a three month MUA, and 32 PPT sessions (2x a week for 4 months).
I pay out the rectum for our current family insurance in retirement (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) but we’ve also used the hell out of it. After my deductible ($200/yr per person/$600 max total for the family this year) they picked up 100% of that $72k.
I thought I’d be on the hook for my 20% co-pay but they waved it completely!
TheJason
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Parts and labor warranty?
rtraverdavis
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Something mentioned earlier but I think is worth really noting is that if you anticipate a number of healthcare visits in the coming year, pay into a flexible spending account if one is available to you. My wife and I started doing this when she was pregnant with our first kid and it basically covered all of our out-of-pocket expenses. We do it every year now.
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
I would be less worried about something temporary, like a broken leg, and more worried about something potentially permanent, like a broken neck. I can’t even imagine having to navigate a long-term pre-existing condition for which you’d be racking up additional bills for the rest of your life. That can be a huge emotional and financial burden on the rest of your family.
406dn
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I'd wager that it isn't.
We'll end up with some version of single payer. It won't happen until employers providing health coverage for their employees and those employees are bled out financially. Until then there is too much resistance to socialized medicine.
My over under on a timeline...15 years, about the same as I can expect to hang around.
MarvB
Well-known member
More like getting your tires rotated..
You know when they said we’re going to do an MUA I thought ok? What the hell is that? Then after I went through it (Manipulation Under Anesthesia) it really and I mean f’n REALLY made me hit my PT at 110% It still swells up like a mother when I push it (like my elk hunt) but the doc said I can expect that for up to a year.
Dude… no. A better idea would be selling the skis until you have health insurance.
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