You hit the point that sticks in my craw. Now, I'm blessed to have good health insurance thru my husband's employment and to be able to afford the premiums and copays. However, I have watched insurance change over the years, and watched costs go up to crazy amounts. Case in point. When my kids were little a visit to the pediatrician was 15$. Yes, that was the COST, not the copay, we didn't have those back then. Back then, you sent in your medical bills to the insurance company, and when you reached your deductible, they sent you a check for something like 80% of the cost.
Anyway, I had to see a doctor when we were between insurances (hubby had a new job--we really did have the new insurance but I didn't have the card yet, so was unsure what they would pay). The girl at the doctors office (this was a GP) said I could just pay and then my insurance would reimburse me. Guess how much that doctors visit was? 110$! Now, this was for a condition he had seen me for before, and was just to get a new perscription for a medication I had been on. 110$? I'm sorry, I have no problem with doctors making a good living, but what accounts for that sort of increase in costs?
And again, if I were an illegal alien I would just show up at the ER and get treated for nothing.
susie