Americans - Have you had a hospital stay or expensive treatment with health insurance?

[Salathor]

Our first daughter's birth was fairly troublesome and the bill came in at $100k, but it was only $1000 to us.

In my experience, every insurance plan we've had has had very clear rules about Out-of-pocket maximums and deductibles, and I've never been surprised or put out by a medical bill.

[chenda]

What happens if you get pregnant without insurance, can you buy it retrospectively ?

[guitarplayer]

the bill came in at $100k, but it was only $1000 to us.

Noob question as never had to deal with private health insurance plans: what is the price(range) of this arrangement? I imagine this is paid with per month subscription and the price varies according to individual circumstances similar to car insurance.

[Salathor]

Yes. Mine happened to be through my employer, but I have had private insurance and free government insurance before as well.

American insurance is now tiered to your income, so poor people pay literally nothing and wealthier people pay more as they make more. Within your income tier, you can also buy cheaper (with higher costs if you need service) or more expensive (and lower costs if you need service) plans. It's a decent system and I really don't understand why the American left still complains about it being so "unfair". All plans have a listed out-of-pocket maximum that is your guaranteed highest cost for the year, usually in the mid-four figures range (3-8,000, probably).

Note: there are a few states that are "non-medicaid expansion" states where there is a weird tier of higher-but-low income where you get no subsidies but still have to buy expensive insurance by law. That part IS unfair; related to dumb mistakes when passing the law.

[guitarplayer]

This creates heaps of jobs for actuaries! so what would be the price of $99,000 being covered by an insurance? Or if this is too personal, another example just to get a quick idea.

[Ego]

@guitarplayer, if you are asking about the cost of coverage, there are quite a few variables. Here is a good calculator to play with.
https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

Try entering different states, incomes and family situations. It can be very enlightening. There are some crazy steep cliffs built into the system.

[guitarplayer]

Yeah that's what I meant, thanks @Ego am having a look

[ZAFCorrection]

Here is a discussion of the limits of debt collection for credit card debt. According to the post, medical debt works in a similar way.

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/ ... r-finance/

[Scott 2]

Very interesting article, thanks.

A change to medical debt this year - amounts under $500 no longer appear on credit reports. Many appointments fail to clear that $500 threshold. One could see a care strategy of spreading across doctors, staying under that mark, but never paying.

Anecdotally, I've found smaller providers (especially vision and dental) much more proactive about getting a credit card on file. I've been successful resisting so far, but don't have high hopes long term. In my experience, providers are much more proactive in resolving issues, before they've been paid.

The change also favors large medical groups, where a single account ties the individual to most doctors in an area. I'm not a fan of a monopoly or even duopoly in local healthcare.

In aggregate, I'm not sure if the new consumer protection, is a net positive. Most of the US healthcare system is of this nature. Well meaning rules with unintended consequences.

[Salathor]

This creates heaps of jobs for actuaries! so what would be the price of $99,000 being covered by an insurance? Or if this is too personal, another example just to get a quick idea.

This came really late and I didn't see it. That was a weird case where I was in one of those income loopholes and had a bad situation with my employer. I believe I was paying $1000 per month at that point. EDIT: Actually, that was before we had our daughter (since she hadn't been born yet). I think it was about $500 per month at that point.

I currently have free insurance through work, and have had free insurance from the government (when I was low income) which would have covered just as much. The free insurance from the government would have actually covered all of it, so I wouldn't have even needed to pay the last $1000. I got a vasectomy for free on the ACA exchange that would have cost me $750 with my current insurance.

[chenda]

I have been interacting with a women on social media who is currently roaming between small towns in the midwest. She appears to be suffering from paranoid delusions and believes a sinister group of Dallas police officers are following her. Various videos of random locals have been published purporting to demonstrate the nationwide conspiracy against her.

Could anyone recommend any organisations which could help this lady ? I think she may be semi-homeless. I feel like I need to encourage her to seek help before blocking her.

[frugaldoc]

You could see if there is an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) nearby. They frequently treat a large number of uninsured people and typically operate on a sliding scale. And some may have homeless outreach clinics. Having said that, from my experience training in an FQHC with many patients exhibiting similar symptoms as you describe, it is damn near impossible to convince these patients to get help. Frequently they view health care organizations as an extension of whatever organization they believe is persecuting them and view any medications as some attempt at mind control. Or even if they believe the doctor is not part of the cabal, they believe their medication will be intercepted by nefarious parties and switched out before it is given to them.

[chenda]

Many thanks @frugaldoc. Yes it's a long shot but I'll mention it to her.