Ladies, are you receiving better healthcare in the United States?

[tfcrew]

               
                           I hear ya man
       

[cojack]

I got my health insurance cancellation notice last week.  I'm covered up until October when they will force me into a new plan that is 3 times more expensive.  My coinsurance will go from 0% to 10-50% on the new plans.  I also lose my accident insurance rider as well, so if I break my leg out in the wilderness I will have to pay the full cost of an emergency helicopter flight.

Welcome to America, where it sucks to be healthy.

[calmissile]

I got my health insurance cancellation notice last week.  I'm covered up until October when they will force me into a new plan that is 3 times more expensive.  My coinsurance will go from 0% to 10-50% on the new plans.  I also lose my accident insurance rider as well, so if I break my leg out in the wilderness I will have to pay the full cost of an emergency helicopter flight.

Welcome to America, where it sucks to be healthy.

Thank you Obama......and those that put him in power.   


     

[Anotherkiwi]

I got my health insurance cancellation notice last week.  I'm covered up until October when they will force me into a new plan that is 3 times more expensive.  My coinsurance will go from 0% to 10-50% on the new plans.  I also lose my accident insurance rider as well, so if I break my leg out in the wilderness I will have to pay the full cost of an emergency helicopter flight.

Welcome to America, where it sucks to be healthy.

Are you not in one of those plans (discussed earlier) where the employer pays the health insurance premiums?  Or are you self-employed?

[jmana]

I got my health insurance cancellation notice last week.  I'm covered up until October when they will force me into a new plan that is 3 times more expensive.  My coinsurance will go from 0% to 10-50% on the new plans.  I also lose my accident insurance rider as well, so if I break my leg out in the wilderness I will have to pay the full cost of an emergency helicopter flight.

Welcome to America, where it sucks to be healthy.

I love it how people keep throwing out these numbers but you probably aren't telling the whole story.  You say your premium will triple in price, I find that difficult to believe, there has to be either a huge increase in coverage, or you are exaggerating.  I've heard so many people tell me similar things, but when I ask for proof, it turns out they are going from a worthless accidental only policy to a full coverage policy, or they are just outright lying to try and make things sound much worse than they are. 

[Chicagoguy]

My Russian wife goes back home once a year to see all her doctors. If she needed help more quickly she would still try and go home. A round trip ticket is still less than being admitted to a hospital in U.S. But I will still look for a very high deductible plan somewhere for her.

My wife of 35 years died in the hospital and her bill was 1.2 million.

[cojack]

I love it how people keep throwing out these numbers but you probably aren't telling the whole story.  You say your premium will triple in price, I find that difficult to believe, there has to be either a huge increase in coverage, or you are exaggerating.  I've heard so many people tell me similar things, but when I ask for proof, it turns out they are going from a worthless accidental only policy to a full coverage policy, or they are just outright lying to try and make things sound much worse than they are.

I'm on Anthem for $120 a month.  I got a discount about 6 years ago for taking voluntary physicals that keep the premium low.  When I first got the plan it was about $50 a month.  I get 0% coinsurance, doctor visits, and generic prescriptions covered.  The only thing that I consider high is the $5,000 deductible, but that is small fries for what I make and the risk is low for someone like me.  I'm a consultant so I don't have a specific employer covering me, but the small business I work at dropped their entire coverage for this year since they aren't required to provide health care and the new plans are so much more expensive.

Nearest similar plan for me is over $360.  It's similar, but with a ton of strings.  There are different coinsurances for the types of doctors.  No specialisst are 0% coinsurance.  The PPO network is also drastically reduced (I lose my doctor and my plan) and the out of network coinsurance is an odd $5,000/$10,000 amount.  I haven't looked much beyond that as I don't want to go find another doctor right now.

My 400 lbs+ coworker is getting a $200 monthly discount for his insurance.  When he needs his quadruple bypass in 10 years I'll have contributed over $20,000 to it.

Keep in mind, I'm like 20+ years younger than most of you, so the huge increases are pretty much screwing all the millenials.

[mendeleyev]

The real question is how the ladies will feel in 10 years.

Russia is in the process of gradually transitioning from socialized medicine, except for pensioners and the very poor. By 2025 Russia will be completely a two-system health care state: insurance driven like formerly in the USA, and state provided coverage for the elderly and poor.

Even now there is two-system care in place as you can slog slowly thru the existing system which is scheduled to receive less funding each year thru 2025, or you can pay for private care and now Russians can purchase private insurance if they wish although payroll deductions are still taken for the national system. Russian hospitals also offer two levels of care: solely state funded or you can "upgrade" in rooms and procedures by paying the difference. Private poly clinics are much more popular these days too as the wait times are reasonable and the patient service more professional and caring. If you can afford it, often the best choice is the private option.

Sweden just legalized a similar system of private plus state care as the state system was complicating Swedish law which says that from the time you are diagnosed one must be treated within 90 days. That rarely happens and the average is closer to a year for more complicated procedures so the privatization is aimed at getting care back down closer to the 90 day mark. Our elderly Swedish cousin Camilla lives in our USA home every October to early January as she is elderly and her health benefits generally run out before the year so she is what some Europeans call a "medical tourist." She can afford to pay the Mayo clinic Scottsdale doctors for what she needs during that stay.

Russia is fast developing a reputation as a place for "medical tourism" to come for care once their state benefits have been depleted or if the wait time for treatment is just too long.

[The Natural]

My Russian wife goes back home once a year to see all her doctors. If she needed help more quickly she would still try and go home. A round trip ticket is still less than being admitted to a hospital in U.S. But I will still look for a very high deductible plan somewhere for her.

My wife is a bit critical to our doctors. She don't feel they really do anything as in Ukraine they apparently go home with a prescription for something that seem to be more naturally based than the exclusively synthetic drugs offered in the west. But I must say I don't know how the system works in Ukraine.
 
She did however need to go to a dentist and start a root-canal three months ago. Even then she started thinking about doing it in Ukraine as it's much cheaper. But she did it here and a new apointment soon. I stressed to her that I want the same dentist finish that particular job and that she can rather go to the dentist in Kerch, when we go there in the summer, if other work is needed on her teeth.

My wife of 35 years died in the hospital and her bill was 1.2 million.

Sorry to hear that Chicagoguy. That must have been a hard blow.

[jmana]

I'm on Anthem for $120 a month.  I got a discount about 6 years ago for taking voluntary physicals that keep the premium low.  When I first got the plan it was about $50 a month.  I get 0% coinsurance, doctor visits, and generic prescriptions covered.  The only thing that I consider high is the $5,000 deductible, but that is small fries for what I make and the risk is low for someone like me.  I'm a consultant so I don't have a specific employer covering me, but the small business I work at dropped their entire coverage for this year since they aren't required to provide health care and the new plans are so much more expensive.

Nearest similar plan for me is over $360.  It's similar, but with a ton of strings.  There are different coinsurances for the types of doctors.  No specialisst are 0% coinsurance.  The PPO network is also drastically reduced (I lose my doctor and my plan) and the out of network coinsurance is an odd $5,000/$10,000 amount.  I haven't looked much beyond that as I don't want to go find another doctor right now.

My 400 lbs+ coworker is getting a $200 monthly discount for his insurance.  When he needs his quadruple bypass in 10 years I'll have contributed over $20,000 to it.

Keep in mind, I'm like 20+ years younger than most of you, so the huge increases are pretty much screwing all the millenials.

That does suck.  I assume the reason for the cost increase is the deductible has been drastically reduced from the previous $5,000 amount?   I agree younger, healthier people will be paying more because the bare bones insurance policies will no longer be sold.

[mendeleyev]

because the bare bones insurance policies will no longer be sold.

[calmissile]

This is such an incredible story in our history.  I am beginning to think that Obama was not deliberately lying.  That would be so incredibly damaging politically, that it is beyond my comprehension, especially since it is so verifiable.

I am more inclined to think that he did not know what was in his plan, just as Congress did not know when Pelosi told Congress to pass the bill and read it later.  I suspect that Obama is just so stubborn that he did not have the brains to correct the problem and instead thought he is powerful enough to ram it down our throats.

Hopefully the House and Senate will pay the price for this in the next elections.

[mendeleyev]

Doug, this is the man who claims that his father (not a US citizen) served in WWII. His birth records however list his fathers year of birth and if his birth records are accurate, then his father enlisted and served in the War at the ripe young age of 3 years old.

The man is a compulsive, pathological liar. 

[ML]

Doug, this is the man who claims that his father (not a US citizen) served in WWII. His birth records however list his fathers year of birth and if his birth records are accurate, then his father enlisted and served in the War at the ripe young age of 3 years old.

The man is a compulsive, pathological liar.

Actually, those 3 year old's could serve a useful purpose.  They could walk back and forth between enemy lines without much suspicion, and bring back some valuable papers stuffed in their diapers.

When I was in USNavy, way back, a couple of Filipino guys told me they did carry messages for USA in their pants during WWII when they were 8-10 years old or so.

And, a professor of Korean descent now in USA, told me that he did the same for USA during Korean war when he was 10-12.

[Anotherkiwi]

Obviously I have no idea what this guy earns, but this story demonstrates exactly why many foreigners are scared rigid by the thought of needing medical treatment in the USA:

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/21139374/snakebite-victim-charged-100-000-for-18-hour-hospital-stay/

Even though he's fully insured, he still had to pay over $6,000 towards the cost of treatment.    Thank goodness travel insurance policies here offer unlimited cover for medical expenses, even in the USA.    An excess of $500 (or less) per claim, depending on the policy, seems a heck of a bargain compared with the victim here.

[Faux Pas]

Obviously I have no idea what this guy earns, but this story demonstrates exactly why many foreigners are scared rigid by the thought of needing medical treatment in the USA:

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/21139374/snakebite-victim-charged-100-000-for-18-hour-hospital-stay/

Even though he's fully insured, he still had to pay over $6,000 towards the cost of treatment.    Thank goodness travel insurance policies here offer unlimited cover for medical expenses, even in the USA.    An excess of $500 (or less) per claim, depending on the policy, seems a heck of a bargain compared with the victim here.

There is a very simple solution to that, stay away. Don't come to America 

There is nothing unusual to this guy's story, as the article noted it is common occurrence. I experienced pretty much the very same thing for an outpatient procedure last summer. Another bonus of The Affordable Healthcare Act 

[Anotherkiwi]

There is a very simple solution to that, stay away. Don't come to America 

Don't worry, I'm highly unlikely to (at least in the near future).

There is nothing unusual to this guy's story, as the article noted it is common occurrence. I experienced pretty much the very same thing for an outpatient procedure last summer. Another bonus of The Affordable Healthcare Act

I'm the healthiest person you will never meet, but accidents can always happen...were you charged 100K as well?