Re: Update on my brother #5 (and somewhat OT)

Sherry wrote:
On Oct 11, 4:28 pm, "jmcquown" <jmcqu...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sherry wrote:

But you had insurance. Out of pocket max may have been $5000 for
family coverage. Surgery such as yours would easily hit the OOP (I
like to call it the OOPS factor) in the first day. If you don't
have insurance, sure, you get follow-up visits. They can't deny you
medical care. But they charge for it. And if you don't have money
they come after you, big time. They'll garnish your paycheck.
They'll lock down your bank account. Been there, done that. It's
no fun to be uninsured in the U.S.

But, even *having* insurance isn't a free ticket to medical care. We
pay huge
premiums every month. And I *still* owed thousands of dollars. As a
matter of
fact, I owed $221.85 per month for five years, of which I paid every
last penny. The hospital can still "come after you".....but it's
better to work with them before that happens. Hospitals are pretty
eager to help figure out a way for you to be able to afford to pay the
bill. AFter all,
it's to their benefit.

I'm not trying to argue with you. When I had insurance I was paying a hefty
monthly premium just like everyone else. It was an irritant, of course, but
I deemed it necessary. Unfortunately (that came out wrong, but you know
what I mean!) I didn't incur any large medical bills while I had insurance.

Then, if you *don't* have insurance, the hospital will "adjust" your
bill, and reduce
it tremendously. And *that* isn't fair to the people who *do* pay
insurance premiums, and receive the same care for a *much* higher
price, no matter who is paying it.

I sure didn't find that to be the case when I had that emergency surgery in
1993. If $15,000 for the surgical bill alone was "reduced" I'd have hated
to see the actual bill. And that was just one of the bills. It didn't
include the overnight room charge,and "incidentals" such as a plastic
drinking mug with the hospital logo on it... as if I'd want a 'souvenier' of
my not-so-lovely overnight stay in their hospital. The anesthetist's bill
was also separate. May have been another bill or two, I honestly don't
recall.

I spoke with a woman in the financial services department at the hospital
when I went in for a follow-up check the next week. The bills hadn't
started arriving yet but I wasn't planning to wait for them. I asked if
there was any sort of assistance I could apply for. (I had no way to know
for sure my "boss" could hold that job open for me even if he wanted to.)
The woman sighed and said you can apply, but I wouldn't bother. She was
quite blunt about it, to whit, "You don't have kids or grandkids you're
caring for. You aren't over 65. The state isn't gonna help you."

That's still the case now, at least in Tennessee. It makes me very angry.
I've worked since I graduated from high school. I paid taxes into the
system all those years... for what?!

The health care/insurance industries just suck, no matter how you look
at it.

I totally agree with that :)

Jill


.

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