it's coming, Once states start proving it works (and they will) there's no turning back. New Report Finds Vermont Could Save As Much As $1.8 Billion By 2020 From Shifting To Single Payer
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The Democratic Party is not The Republican Party. It's lockstep stormtroopin' versus cat herdin' and the Health Insurance Lobby was tossing around open cans of tuna. (no, I just made that up)
What people don't realize about soaring medical costs is the amount of money spent on keeping people alive the last year of life. We're essentially paying to extend the lives of people who would have otherwise passed. Google end of life medical costs and read about what people, medicare and insurance companies are spending to keep seniors alive an extra 7 months. It is completely unsustainable. Obamacare was nothing more than a sweetheart deal for the insurance companies o remove the lifetime maxes to keep the tabs open on the seniors and then socialize the costs on the rest of us. We need to have a serious conversation in how to care for people when it is that time. We simply can't afford to keep doing what it is that we're doing. We're going broke because of technological advances in medicine.
Its too bad old people vote the most. I can't see a politician who wants to stay in office making an issue of this.
I know, it's too bad in a [DD strikethrough]democracy[/DD strikethrough] Republic a large group of voters won't let a politician make it easier for them to die.
My insurance went up $20 per month and is now $230/month. I just have me and my daughter covered on my plan. I'm not complaining as at least I have that and some people have nothing. Maybe somebody can explain the following: Since I have a family policy, does this mean my deductible is $1,000? What is coinsurance? Is $3,000 out of pocket the amount I must pay out of pocket before being 100% covered? If not, what is it?
This is one area I always get confused, so on this particular issue, don't take my word as gospel. But yes, I believe that aggregate deductible means on a family policy the entire deductible needs to be met before the co-insurance portion begins. $1000 is actually a pretty good deductible. That brings us to... Co-insurance is your cost sharing arrangement with the insurance company. This means that after your deductible, you will be responsible for 20% of the medical expenses and the plan will pay 80%. Your 20% is capped at a specific number. That brings us to... Yes you are correct. Your out of pocket maximum is the maximum you can pay out of pocket before your plan pays 100% of those charges. As it says, it includes your deductible but not copays. So in your case, after you meet that $500 deductible ($1000 aggregate, but only $500 will count for each person) you can only pay an additional $1000 for yourself before the plan pays 100%. That means for you, your total potential exposure is $1500, $3000 for you and your daughter combined. Pretty good plan.
Usually it means that you personally have to spend 500 dollars on your personal care before the insurance kicks in or 1000 total for the whole family regardless of how many you insure. So if are or your daughter are the only ones that get sick, 500 dollars is your deductible. If someone gets sick after that, you will have to pay out of pocket until you your a total is 1000. That's at least it works with the other insurances that I have. Same thing for the maximum out of pocket. When my son was in the NICU for 7 weeks, we had to pay only the maximum 3K out 300K for his stay. Then we had to pay and additional amount for my wife's delivery which equaled like a few hundred dollars.
^^^^^ Thanks for the explanation. The reason I am particularly concerned is because I recently had to have a colonoscopy to rule out cancer and I have not received the bill yet. The procedure, anesthesia and facility time I am sure won't come cheap so I am just wondering what I am looking at in terms of paying of it all. I guess we'll see when it all comes through.
If everyone in your family is relatively healthy, it seems like you could almost self-insure for $700/month.
Do you mean buy my own insurance or not get insurance and pay everything out of pocket. Either way, it would not make economic sense. I would get crappy insurance for 700 dollars for 4 people. My next door neighbor has to buy his own insurance and it over 1K a month and the deductible is really high. Do you know how much an ER visit or a broken bone costs? After seeing the NICU bill after my son left the hospital, I figure I will be ahead in the insurance game for a while.
Based on the information you provided, it should not be more than $1500 (assuming you have yet to pay any out of pocket expenses on yourself yet this year). You are too young to have a colonscopy. Hopefully everything is OK with that.
quoted (this part) for absolute truth. I wish everyone could read Atul Gawande's amazing essay, but it is super long (no, Bad Swoly, down): http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande Couple of quotations related to Classic's post: "Twenty-five per cent of all Medicare spending is for the five per cent of patients who are in their final year of life, and most of that money goes for care in their last couple of months which is of little apparent benefit." ... "Our medical system is excellent at trying to stave off death with eight-thousand-dollar-a-month chemotherapy, three-thousand-dollar-a-day intensive care, five-thousand-dollar-an-hour surgery. But, ultimately, death comes, and no one is good at knowing when to stop." The article points out that hospice care patients don't actually live less long than people who go into the "full metal jacket" of healthcare technology... but they're just happier. They get to spend more time with family and friends, and they are made more comfortable. Nobody wants to die with tubes and devices everywhere, with family or friends kept outside the intensive care unit, but... that's how most of us will die if we don't change how we think about the end of life.
not sure if serious, but ...there's a LOT of room between: A. euthanasia and B. deciding to NOT expend every possible dollar to extend a very uncomfortable and barely conscious life beyond its normal span.
