I have “health insurance”. I pay $271.00 a month, my employer pays $271.00 a month.($542.00 is paid towards my insurance every month)
My deductable is $2000.00 before any insurance benefits kick in. After I pay an additional $2000.00 cash for services rendered, my insurance company just might pay 80% of charges, untill I pay $5000.00 in actual cash, in any one calender year.
I can't be certain how much my insurance will cover, because my doctor refuses to tell me in advance how much he will actually charge for his service.
But I can not really schedule any appointments unless I have at least $2000.00 cash saved up to pay for my insurance deductable.
Otherwise, I won't be allowed to be seen by the doctor's assistant.
OTOH, If I didn't have an insurance policy, and had to pay cash for medical treatment, the same doctor would charge double the rate he charges patients who have insurance.
Cash paying customer Charged $460.00 for an office visit,visual exam, and taking two skin biopcies.
My real cash cost so far for services rendered, $206.73.
I do not know how much the lab is going to charge me for reading the results of my biopsy.
I am still awaiting the bill.
YOU do not pay jackshit for my healthcare, or lack thereof.
YOU actually jacked up my cost for healthcare, because
YOU ignorantly think the Doctor has an actual set price for his services.
YOU don't appear to care that there is no real way to actually shop around for the best healthcare practitioner.
YOU appear to be content with an arbitrary system, that YOU pay extra for, one entirely divorced from actual cost/benefit ratios.
Please read post 29.
If we didn’t take care of them, we could take care of you.
I know exactly what you’re screaming about. After thyroid cancer, I now have to have yearly blood tests done and must see my endo for thyroid meds. Between those two alone, I don’t know how I’m ever going to get ahead because the costs of both is well over $1,000 and my deductible $1,500.
My doctor wanted me to have the followup scan for cancer markers last year but I was trying to dig myself out of debt at the time. Now I’m buried again with the latest yearly appointments. On top of it all, no one can tell me how much the scanning will costs.
If the government had stayed out of this in the first place, if HMO’s and the lot hadn’t been implemented, AND market forces would have been allowed to work, (let’s also not forget tort reform) I don’t think we’d see nearly the costs we have with our doctor bills or insurance.