This could probably be solved by more HSAs, or something

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/28/175062...insurance-baby

Idiots.

Why didn't they shop around for the best possible prices at different emergency rooms while their baby was crying?

Incredibly, hospitals go after people personally, ruining their credit or decimating their savings, even after their insurance negotiates a (ridiculous) reduced amount.

Hospital: oh, you were here an hour and got a band aid, well, uh, you could have required complex surgery so we're charging you a fee of, uh (licks finger, puts it in the air) $32,874.65.

Insurance: gtfo with that bull****, we agree to pay, uh, (checks coverage, notes $10,000 deductible) $10,000.

Hospital: hahaha yes! Amazing!

Also Hospital: hey patient, you owe us $22,874.65

Patient: that fee seems crazy, also my insurance paid you

Hospital: actually they just negotiated the fee down, you're actually paying it, also we are going to ruin your finances if you don't pay $22,874.65 more

Patient: what! Please transfer me to your billing department

Hospital: hahhahahhha good luck sucker

That story is completely nuts.

In Nevada, trauma patients are graded into three categories depending on mechanism/objective findings. The charges are steep - about 14K for the most serious, and then 11K and 8K for the two lower categories. If you don't meet the criteria, (and a baby falling off a bed wouldn't come close) no trauma charge. Not that the bill still couldn't make your eyes water.

The trauma criteria are set by the state, not by the hospital.

(additionally, we have some leeway in downgrading/dropping the charges if on review the mechanism seems off - usually a 15 foot fall will qualify you for the lower grade, even if you have nothing much wrong with you - but if you drop off a ski lift into fluffy snow and sprain your ankle, we'll "turn off" the trauma charge

So there's a lot wrong in that article.

MM MD

Jesus ****

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/28/175062...insurance-baby

As dth was saying

sounds legit

god our healthcare system is ****ed

What else would you expect from a hospital named after Mark Zuckerberg?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/07/0...-coverage.html

The maximum OOP is 7k and like $1k/mon for premiums for an older person with an Obamacare plan. How is he paying $35k ? Alaska maybe ?

Family?

He didn't sign up for Obamacare or he got care Obamacare didn't cover (in a lot of countries such services would simply not be offered.)

Or he got care out of network.

AND he got care from idiots that won't negotiate (aka not try to squeeze blood from a stone) or he ran from reality and didn't negotiate before they just turned it over to collection.

Most likely answer is family.

I quoted numbers earlier somewhere itt, but last year the premium alone (varies by region or group or whatever) for a family of five with both parents late thirties was nearly 30k. For the bronze plan; maybe silver...can't remember.

Subsidies phase out at like 115k or something for the above family.

We're about $1200/mo w/$6500 max per person deductible and I think about $14k max total for a family of four including two 50 year olds. I think bronze plan - Kaiser. And the kids are like $160/mo each - us olds cost more.

I'm a single 55 year old, and I pay $650/mo for the $6500 deductible plan via Anthem.

Eff that. Doctor, heal thyself!

I took a layoff in Dec. Because I had 5 years of service, my work gave me the option of keeping my employer health insurance, with their contribution, for 6 months. Then I can pay the full amount for another year.

I stupidly switched to a silver plan before 2017 (like $1500 deductible, $5k OOP max or something), so I couldn't change it as it wasn't the end of the year yet. I paid $190 for 6 months, then I'm supposed to pay $660 for the next 6 months. Then I go on COBRA I think which is 102% of $660. I love the 2% just as a little **** you on top.

I stopped paying on July 1 when it went up to $660. Apparently I have no option to just cancel, other than not paying. Very weird.

I think the cheapest company plan was like $412 a month for $6500 deductible or something.

https://jacobinmag.com/2018/07/medic...-center-report

Dip**** mainstream media people running this study with the $32T figure when it lowers aggregate spending are enemies of the people tbh

Yup. Enjoy & expect "32 TRILLION!!!" to be bandied about during every election season for the rest of your natural lives.

There are a lot of "interesting" assumptions in that article. One of the biggest savings (if I understand them) comes from assumed lower drug costs - which would occur if Medicare was allowed to negotiate with pharma. Which they aren't (which makes no sense).

The medical pricing is so opaque anyway. I had some health issues a couple of months ago and had some blood work and a CT done. My initial bill was around 14K. After my "negotiated" prices for my insurance were taken into account, I wrote a check for $1500. But it was interesting to see the baseline charges for some of the stuff.

MM MD

Just had my first experience using my own health insurance in my adult life, and while looking over the bill it was amazing to see what the initial cost of things were and then see what the negotiated price ended up being.

Current front page headline in Columbus Dispatch: "Medicare for all would cost $32 trillion."

Worth remembering most media people aren't partisans, they're just idiots. A generation of propaganda and discipline works, folks.