I'm sorry it's taken me so long to read and respond. I was down with Covid while visiting Idaho. Before I tested positive, however, I went to the pharmacy to get free tests. And I was denied b/c my insurance said I was out of network. For government sponsored Covid tests. WTF???
Thirteen years ago, my sister, age 50 at the time, had her health insurance rise to $750/month. It was outrageous. Yes, she had endometriosis and had two laparoscopies but come on! and then she fell and her insurance doubled. Now, in 2022, for fourth year in a row, my insurance is changing b/c the plan I am on (subsidized by ACA thank goodness) is being terminated and I need to pick a new plan. I am 56, healthy, rarely use the medical system except for annual exams, take only one regular prescription, have practiced yoga for 30 years and used alternative complementary medicine for the same time (acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage) and my monthly insurance now costs $768 with a $7,500 deductable and out of pocket max of $9,100. This is absolutely insane. While I still need to update my PoA for healthcare and my medical directives, I have told those closest to me that if something catastrophic happens or if I am ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, just let me die. I will not pay the medical costs in this country. I would prefer to simply die. And it's not like I have a death wish. Healthcare is, in part, why I so very much want to move to Italy.
oh, and my sister had to declare bankruptcy twice due to medical bills associated with her endometriosis which, come on, is not something like cancer treatments. But 30 years ago these procedures were crazy expensive - I have no idea what they cost now.
The privatization of healthcare and for-profit nature in our country is absolutely criminal. And now we are seeing doctors retire in droves b/c of lack of support these last few years during the pandemic. Our country only has sick-care. Very expensive sick care, which is so stressful as to make many of us even more sick. Healthcare? No. We do not have healthcare in the U.S.
Wow! Thank you soooo much for this response and important information, Jan. As I mentioned in the post, real people with real problems are what drive home a point. What both you and your sister have gone through just to have basic medical care is outrageous, as you said. To have to declare bankruptcy twice for medical debt?! A $7500 deductible plus A $768 monthly premium? Is that premium amount with subsidies?
And still our Congress and even our President shun universal, government healthcare like it is some big socialist agenda. It's just what every other industrialized country on this earth provides its citizens. And don't get me started on the cost of prescription drugs!
I qualify for Medicaid right now, which I am not proud of, but that is my situation. I am incredibly grateful that a Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, chose to accept the federal government's offer to expand Medicaid under the ACA, or who knows where I'd be. If I make it till next June, I'll be on Medicare with no dental, vision or hearing aide coverage...!
I have ongoing health issues and, as an adoptee with no “legal” right to my genetic health history, I am, as one doctor put it, “another walking time bomb “!! She said that, yes, she really did, I cried all the way home! Later on a re-visit this “empathetic doctor” DENIED she had ever said it. All that plus some other things prompted me to search for my birth families, another long story & can of worms. (“How dare you interrupt our lives with this information about our mother”??!!) they even said that (my two younger half-sisters, same mother, different father) when I kept saying I was “just” looking for health background info. They would never give me any, they were so resentful about finding out this illegitimate child had been born to their strict mother! Eventually I did find out what I needed to know about both (deceased) birth parents. Found my birth father’s family in the Central Valley of Northern California where my birth father had had a barber shop business. I had applied & been accepted to a barber school soon after my divorce, but couldn’t afford the commute or time it would have taken with a total lack of child support from my charming, selfish ex-husband.
Boo-hoo, I was always made to feel responsible for all this, but despite these circumstances both my daughters have done very well with their lives. I’m very proud of them.
I’ve done well too. I was a secretary in several different companies while my daughters were growing up. With the loving support of my current husband, I went to shiatsu school & had an active practice in the town in which we lived. I only had to close that business when I was diagnosed with the same brain tumor my birth mother had died from! Later on I developed the same heart health issues my birth father had died from!
My insistence in searching for my birth families, despite the resentment of so many along the way, definitely saved my life!!
Wow. What a powerful story you have! I'm so sorry about the anger and resentment you faced as you searched for your birth parents, but certainly glad to hear you and your family have done well. Thank you so much for sharing it here.
It's ridiculous that vision and dental aren't automatically part of health covereage. Makes me so angry. The $768 is the cost of my insurance. Fortunately, at the moment, my ACA subsidy covers this. I would have better health care, maybe even a plan that didn't expire every year, if I paid more on top of the subsidy. But the fact that it costs SO MUCH - quite frankly a ridiculous sum - makes me unwilling to pay more than the subsidy covers. I finally found a good dr. this year but she isn't covered under what will be my new plan next year. Thankfully, one of the places she works out of is a local clinic where they accept sliding scale. So, in order to keep seeing her--to keep continuity of care, which really should be a priority--I will simply deny having insurance and pay on a sliding scale. Honestly, this topic never ceases to make my so upset.
That is the vicious circle of red tape — the recipient having to do an "end around" to achieve a legitimate goal that should be built into the system. I'm glad your premium is covered via a subsidy, but the deductible is incredibly high! Private health insurance does everything it can to avoid paying for medical care, that's why health insurance should be eliminated and substituted with government-run health care for all.
I absolutely agree. Today I am once again beside myself and in tears. I'm on day 12 of Covid and feeling awful (even with 4 shots). Yesterday I did a virtual Dr. appointment. The Dr was very nice and said she would call in 2 prescriptions to my pharmacy to help me breathe (the most important is an Albuteral inhaler). But alas, nothing was called in. And my recourse? can't find the appointment on my insurance website where I scheduled it, insurance says I should just do another virtual appointment, and in the meantime I can't even reach my PCP. WHY IS HEALTHCARE SO COMPLICATED??? sorry, don't mean to shout, just frustrating as heck.
Oh no, Jan! I didn't realize your still had Covid symptoms! What an unfortunate mix up—you don't have the Dr.'s name, I take it??? Why wouldn't she have followed thru and called the pharmacy? It makes no sense, which in turn, makes it all the more frustrating. Is there a walk-in clinic nearby you could go to?
You're spot on about the expensiveness of care, but we should also recognize the uncertainty. Going through the insurance market is VERY complicated, and as 99% of us aren't insurance experts, it's pretty worrying the plan we chose will have hidden fees or lagging coverage that will leave us sick and bankrupt.
Yes, it is a complicated process and most of us, as you said, probably don't have the insurance acumen that would allow us to make good choices. On the upside, there are a number of published guides and you can actually call the ACA exchange and talk with someone. Still not a good scenario when it's your health that's on the line!
Joan, David and I had excellent coverage however as I went through David’s medical situations the last 3 years, I became painfully aware of the plight of those less fortunate and particularly those with no insurance. One 8 day hospital stay was billed out at nearly 100,000. Who could do that? Enjoyed the article and it’s an important issue.
Thanks for your important comment, Sara. So many of us already carry some form of debt, but to add medical debt to that through no fault of one's own is quite scary.
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to read and respond. I was down with Covid while visiting Idaho. Before I tested positive, however, I went to the pharmacy to get free tests. And I was denied b/c my insurance said I was out of network. For government sponsored Covid tests. WTF???
Thirteen years ago, my sister, age 50 at the time, had her health insurance rise to $750/month. It was outrageous. Yes, she had endometriosis and had two laparoscopies but come on! and then she fell and her insurance doubled. Now, in 2022, for fourth year in a row, my insurance is changing b/c the plan I am on (subsidized by ACA thank goodness) is being terminated and I need to pick a new plan. I am 56, healthy, rarely use the medical system except for annual exams, take only one regular prescription, have practiced yoga for 30 years and used alternative complementary medicine for the same time (acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage) and my monthly insurance now costs $768 with a $7,500 deductable and out of pocket max of $9,100. This is absolutely insane. While I still need to update my PoA for healthcare and my medical directives, I have told those closest to me that if something catastrophic happens or if I am ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, just let me die. I will not pay the medical costs in this country. I would prefer to simply die. And it's not like I have a death wish. Healthcare is, in part, why I so very much want to move to Italy.
oh, and my sister had to declare bankruptcy twice due to medical bills associated with her endometriosis which, come on, is not something like cancer treatments. But 30 years ago these procedures were crazy expensive - I have no idea what they cost now.
The privatization of healthcare and for-profit nature in our country is absolutely criminal. And now we are seeing doctors retire in droves b/c of lack of support these last few years during the pandemic. Our country only has sick-care. Very expensive sick care, which is so stressful as to make many of us even more sick. Healthcare? No. We do not have healthcare in the U.S.
Wow! Thank you soooo much for this response and important information, Jan. As I mentioned in the post, real people with real problems are what drive home a point. What both you and your sister have gone through just to have basic medical care is outrageous, as you said. To have to declare bankruptcy twice for medical debt?! A $7500 deductible plus A $768 monthly premium? Is that premium amount with subsidies?
And still our Congress and even our President shun universal, government healthcare like it is some big socialist agenda. It's just what every other industrialized country on this earth provides its citizens. And don't get me started on the cost of prescription drugs!
I qualify for Medicaid right now, which I am not proud of, but that is my situation. I am incredibly grateful that a Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, chose to accept the federal government's offer to expand Medicaid under the ACA, or who knows where I'd be. If I make it till next June, I'll be on Medicare with no dental, vision or hearing aide coverage...!
I have ongoing health issues and, as an adoptee with no “legal” right to my genetic health history, I am, as one doctor put it, “another walking time bomb “!! She said that, yes, she really did, I cried all the way home! Later on a re-visit this “empathetic doctor” DENIED she had ever said it. All that plus some other things prompted me to search for my birth families, another long story & can of worms. (“How dare you interrupt our lives with this information about our mother”??!!) they even said that (my two younger half-sisters, same mother, different father) when I kept saying I was “just” looking for health background info. They would never give me any, they were so resentful about finding out this illegitimate child had been born to their strict mother! Eventually I did find out what I needed to know about both (deceased) birth parents. Found my birth father’s family in the Central Valley of Northern California where my birth father had had a barber shop business. I had applied & been accepted to a barber school soon after my divorce, but couldn’t afford the commute or time it would have taken with a total lack of child support from my charming, selfish ex-husband.
Boo-hoo, I was always made to feel responsible for all this, but despite these circumstances both my daughters have done very well with their lives. I’m very proud of them.
I’ve done well too. I was a secretary in several different companies while my daughters were growing up. With the loving support of my current husband, I went to shiatsu school & had an active practice in the town in which we lived. I only had to close that business when I was diagnosed with the same brain tumor my birth mother had died from! Later on I developed the same heart health issues my birth father had died from!
My insistence in searching for my birth families, despite the resentment of so many along the way, definitely saved my life!!
Wow. What a powerful story you have! I'm so sorry about the anger and resentment you faced as you searched for your birth parents, but certainly glad to hear you and your family have done well. Thank you so much for sharing it here.
It's ridiculous that vision and dental aren't automatically part of health covereage. Makes me so angry. The $768 is the cost of my insurance. Fortunately, at the moment, my ACA subsidy covers this. I would have better health care, maybe even a plan that didn't expire every year, if I paid more on top of the subsidy. But the fact that it costs SO MUCH - quite frankly a ridiculous sum - makes me unwilling to pay more than the subsidy covers. I finally found a good dr. this year but she isn't covered under what will be my new plan next year. Thankfully, one of the places she works out of is a local clinic where they accept sliding scale. So, in order to keep seeing her--to keep continuity of care, which really should be a priority--I will simply deny having insurance and pay on a sliding scale. Honestly, this topic never ceases to make my so upset.
That is the vicious circle of red tape — the recipient having to do an "end around" to achieve a legitimate goal that should be built into the system. I'm glad your premium is covered via a subsidy, but the deductible is incredibly high! Private health insurance does everything it can to avoid paying for medical care, that's why health insurance should be eliminated and substituted with government-run health care for all.
I absolutely agree. Today I am once again beside myself and in tears. I'm on day 12 of Covid and feeling awful (even with 4 shots). Yesterday I did a virtual Dr. appointment. The Dr was very nice and said she would call in 2 prescriptions to my pharmacy to help me breathe (the most important is an Albuteral inhaler). But alas, nothing was called in. And my recourse? can't find the appointment on my insurance website where I scheduled it, insurance says I should just do another virtual appointment, and in the meantime I can't even reach my PCP. WHY IS HEALTHCARE SO COMPLICATED??? sorry, don't mean to shout, just frustrating as heck.
Oh no, Jan! I didn't realize your still had Covid symptoms! What an unfortunate mix up—you don't have the Dr.'s name, I take it??? Why wouldn't she have followed thru and called the pharmacy? It makes no sense, which in turn, makes it all the more frustrating. Is there a walk-in clinic nearby you could go to?
You're spot on about the expensiveness of care, but we should also recognize the uncertainty. Going through the insurance market is VERY complicated, and as 99% of us aren't insurance experts, it's pretty worrying the plan we chose will have hidden fees or lagging coverage that will leave us sick and bankrupt.
Yes, it is a complicated process and most of us, as you said, probably don't have the insurance acumen that would allow us to make good choices. On the upside, there are a number of published guides and you can actually call the ACA exchange and talk with someone. Still not a good scenario when it's your health that's on the line!
Joan, David and I had excellent coverage however as I went through David’s medical situations the last 3 years, I became painfully aware of the plight of those less fortunate and particularly those with no insurance. One 8 day hospital stay was billed out at nearly 100,000. Who could do that? Enjoyed the article and it’s an important issue.
Thanks for your important comment, Sara. So many of us already carry some form of debt, but to add medical debt to that through no fault of one's own is quite scary.