Medical Insurance cost

[dockmurgw]

Nothing has changed. My good friend and hunting buddy lives in southern Ontario. North of Buffalo NY, south of Toronto. I hear lots of stories. Canadians living close to border often come to the US to see specialist. And often pay out of pocket

On any given day there more than a few Quebec license plates at the UVM Medical Center in Burlington.

 

[dockmurgw]

The uninsured and indigent receive the care they need, they are not turned back at the door...it has to be paid for somehow.
The innovation, advances and medical miracles the world benefits from come from here and our system, even with all its faults. They don't come from Japan or any other country with universal health care. Same can be said for pharmaceuticals. The entire world owes us a massive debt of gratitude...crickets as I wait for them to thank us.

 

[pawngal]

In the case of Medicare, if the hospital, clinic, doctor, is contracted with Medicare they have to accept what Medicare pays unless something is ruled not necessary. The hospital, etc, can bill whatever amount they want to but will only get what Medicare allows. Patient is only responsible for whatever deductibles/co-pay apply.

 

[mtgianni]

The private health insurance system is a complete disaster. Period. I don't yet qualify for Medicare, so my health insurance for me alone costs a hair under $1300/month which is a ridiculous amount. And it ain't nothing special, that's for sure! That is $15,600 per year for middle-of-the-road health care coverage with more than its fair share of deductibles, co-payments, co-insurance costs, etc.

Add onto that, but the explanation of how it is all supposed to function is unworkably complex. The presentations the companies give before the next year's plan goes into effect make everything look so direct and easy - until you actually try to keep track of it during the following year. As haphazard as most of these companies and the care providers in general work, it's virtually impossible to keep track of remaining deductibles, co-pays, balances, etc. because the limits, costs and percentages paid are different for everything in nearly every different circumstance.

Plus I am almost certain that the hospitals and other care providers still send out bills to the patient for beyond what the insurance companies agree to pay. They do this because they know a certain percentage of people will pay it regardless because they can't keep track or are too confused about their coverage to know better.

Yes, healthcare is a huge endeavor but all I want is a simple system of "Receive service A, pay amount X" and to heck with everything else!

Add to this the number of pension funds that are tied up in health care insurance as one of their investments areas. If the system fails it takes a lot with it.

 

[Doug M.]

There is a lot overhead in the improved quality health care compared to 30 years ago, maybe even less. Care for the indigent, many of whom have conditions related to their indigence, is a big drain. Unless you want to advocate for letting them die, that's going to have a huge impact. The knowledge that has kept me alive through this kidney stuff is costly to develop.

I have been on medicare since starting dialysis, and that has kept us from being broken - about a month of the treatment costs would end us fiscally.

 

[GypsmJim]

Nothing has changed. My good friend and hunting buddy lives in southern Ontario. North of Buffalo NY, south of Toronto. I hear lots of stories. Canadians living close to border often come to the US to see specialist. And often pay out of pocket

My wife's Grandparents were Canadian. They moved to NY because of Dad's job. But they still maintained a home in Ontario, which was listed as their legal residence. One of the reasons they did that was to get the free Canadian healthcare that they believed to be better than the **** that the US provided (their words).

When they got older and needed catscans, MRIs and stuff like that they found that the availability was so poor that they had them done in NY and paid out of their own pocket. Eventually, with dual citizenship they simply switched to Medicare. Problem solved.

On another note, the wife and I have both had cancer in recent years and now are fully cured. My best buddy has had cancer (massive chemo), a quadruple bypass, eye surgery and the cancer came back again...twice. We call him the "half million dollar man". The usual Medicare and a $20 / month supplement. His charges have been minimal and his care outstanding.

The 2 instances cited above have been with Independent Heath and Highmark BCBS. I can't speak about other insurance companies, but if I hadn't heard all the talk since the assassination I would not have known there was a problem.