Health Reform Needed Now!

$1000 deductible for each of us!!

Good luck and best wishes to your son.

Credit cards do have their use. Medical care should not have to be one of them.

We are lucky as husband's employer pays a greater majority so our deductible is less.

$300 for each member of the family.

Sorry to hear of all of your troubles.

Nothing is going to change.

In my life time I have seen medicine go from a calling to a business, from something everyone could access, to something only for the rich.

But what did we expect from a throwaway society, but to create throwaway people.

If we were at all humane, there would be euthanasia centers scattered around town, for those who seek the "cure", but we are a fickle people, seek the "cure" and wind up, locked up in a hospital. Sick and seeking the cure, find yourself out on the curb.

I am currently in witchdoctor training, I won't do a damn thing for what ails you, but you will get one hell of a show, and for a reasonable fee.

Impatient,for you & your son.Huge hugs too.

Wanda, part of my horror story and this happened years ago now. When I finally got into my pain clinic a year later and undiagnosed to see a dentist and an MD (he was both). He was not available except two, maybe three times. The war had just started and he went to Iraq to serve the injured soldiers. The hospital was changing and "improving". Different names were used. I had no idea. I was always healthy. This was all new to me. The dr. said I could get an MRI at that hospital or go some other place he recommended. Well, I went to the other place because it was closer to where I lived and I was missing too much work.

The outcome was, this big fat lady was brand new. She told me to go change. I started changing into that ever loving gown. I guess she could hear me. I was dysfunctional at that time. Pain like I cannot describe to anyone. I'm talking three years into my situation. She yelled through the curtain, what are you doing? I told her I was changing. She screamed.. I DID NOT TELL YOU TO CHANGE INTO THE GOWN. How the hell would I know. The gown was on the bench waiting for a patient. I was so upset, by the time they were ready for me for the MRI, I was crying. I got yelled at again to stop crying. They could not take clear pictures. Also, instead of using something to hold my jaw open, she shoved in one of those theramator things in my mouth as a make shift. Also, because for this test required dye be shot into me a doctor had to be there. She didn't even know how to set up the MRI machine. The dr. came out and asked if she needed help. She yelled at him too.

The MRI came out blurry. I did complain later. By this time, so many people were involved I didn't know where I should be.

Wanda, I'm sorry to hear about your son. It would be very frightening, I'm sure, to have you body to numb on you like that. I hope that all goes well with him and they don't find anything serious. About the costs . . . all I can say is that sucks and I hope that there is some drastic change for the better in the American medical system in the near future.

And that is a horrible story about your neighbour.

That is so outrageous, Wanda. We do so need change. Those seem like outrageous costs. Couldn't you have let the Facility bill you by the month, thus avoiding the credit card interest? Sometimes they will work out payment plan with you? No?

Please let us know how your son comes out.

Pam

I certainly hope your son is OK.
Look at it this way...gosh forbid there is a concern that needs further investigation or intervention that your deductable is virtually met and you may not have further out-of-pocket expense.....$1000 will seem like a drop in the bucket. IMHO, this is exactly how insurance should work.

All insurances have a deducatable...car, home...why should health be any different? Actually you call on health insurance more often theoretically deductables should be higher...Imagine if they were lower or there were no deductable at all...people would put claims in for their home for every single issue....same with cars...

Thanks everyone for your good wishes!

Yes, they are letting me pay in four payments so I'll be able to (hopefully) avoid the credit card. They told my son this before but he was so stunned at the cost he didn't compute. We do get the reduced rate of $660 because of having insurance.

This imaging center is affiliated with the walk in clinic where my son was seen. The folks there are just excellent--if only they could take us as regular patients! The receptionist told me we would get results today or Monday. Isn't that an amazing turnaround time?

Wanda

Life insurance doesn't.

I much prefer the Canadian system, where our costs are paid monthly and there is NO deductible. In our province, if one cannot afford this cost, their fee is waivered. There are some costs that are not picked up by our health plan, such as dental, vision care, prescription drugs, where there are group insurance plans offered by employers. Depending upon which "plan" one is on, they cover the cost of these expenses or a good part of it.

could you get that MRI next monday if need be?

I really couldn't tell you Harleyman. I know that for some things, if a doctor thinks something may need urgent attention, he/she will tell the patient to meet him in ER. Going through ER gets faster results, but I don't know about MRIs. There are private companies where you can have an MRI done, probably much faster than going through the health care plan . . . but how the cost is paid, I don't know.

Wanda is that an annual deductible per person? I have medicare due to my disability, and I have a quarterly deductible to meet!! What I try to do is when I have met my deductible for a certain quarter, I try to pile all my medical needs into that quarter.

I do believe that if a doctor believes it is an emergency then, the MRI would be done on that basis, but not 100% sure.

Our system, when compared with the U.S., is much more humane. People do NOT lose their houses here in Canada because they get sick. They only lose their house if they dare to question too much, and refuse to be intimidated. And yet, I believe that not questioning will cause further harm, and therefore I will continue.

Wanda - I will keep your son in my prayers, and look forward to hearing an update from you.

Sometimes something is said to set me off, and because I feel that not questioning on a personal, or systemic level, could very well contribute to harm, I feel that I must. Sorry to have hijacked. Both of my brothers and my mother died of congestive heart failure, but that was not the medical system's fault. They neglected their symptoms.

I believe that both the USA and Canada can do much better, and needs to do much better, and if we don't ask questions, we will not get answers.

Hi Msdoodle,
Thank you for your good wishes & prayers.
Wanda

Hi DG,
Bless your heart! I don't know how you stood it without a proper thing to hold your jaw open. They probably made your injury hurt worse. When I had to have my foot done I thought I would have muscle spasms before it was over & they had my leg propped up right. I just had a crown put on & it hurt my jaw again but it seems to be settling down.

Most of the nurses & techs who have assisted during our numerous procedures have been great but of course there are the few MEAN ones. I got one after my c-section 23 yrs. ago. Still think of her as that mean old B word. Don't know why people who don't like other people go into that kind of work.
Wanda

Hi HM
Thank you for your good wishes.

I realize that many types of insurance have deductibles.

We live on a moderate income & are very frugal people. For us, the amount we are having to pay for the insurance itself, plus the co-pays & deductibles is a crippling financial burden. Did you note the total amount we are paying? Remember that we are buying close to 20 prescriptions a month costing from $50 each on down.

At any rate, we consider ourselves fortunate to have the coverage that has (so far) allowed us to get the care we need without a bankruptcy. We have seen first hand what can happen with no insurance.

Did you read my neighbor's story? Even with our country's present problems, we live in a nation rich beyond compare. How could this have happened? This man worked hard all his life, lived simply, & still often could not afford good medical care or insurance. In the end his wife was carrying a bucket to him so he could urinate & he was praying to die to end his pain & her burden. He might still be alive & in reasonably shape had he had it.

I realize that I may be beating my head against the stone wall here but I do hope you will think about these situations & let me know what your solution is.
Wanda

Hi Harl,

Actually the MRI was done Friday night & will be read today or Monday. If you have the money, honey, they've got the time.

Maybe the MRI would have been greatly delayed in Canada & I think almost everyone realizes that this is a draw back of that system.

HOWEVER, had I not come up with the money, my son would be NEVER getting the MRI here in the USA until he possibly presented in the ER with some ghastly calamity.

Which is better? Can't we have reform that will be better than either option? I really am interested to hear your answer.

By the way, Harley, one of my docs is a Harley fan too. It's a little disconcerting to have a guy in a Harley T-shirt & boots doing my pap smear but he's a sweetie.
Wanda

Thanks AE.

We are just hoping for the best. My son has been under a huge amount of stress. He works 35 hrs. a week at a call center & is in graduate school too. Some of his courses this time are horrendously hard & he's never really had to study much before so it's pretty overwhelming. We are hoping it's "just" migraine.

Our poor neighbor. It just shouldn't happen to anyone. He was a hard working good family man.

Wanda

Hi Heartthrob,
We've tried that too when we needed colonoscopy, etc. But it seems like something always strikes near the end of the yrs we haven't paid out the deductible. This MRI will go on the 2009 deductible. Our son has to change over to his own insurance from ours this month so we may be having further complications if he has any serious problem.

Yes, it's every year per person& thank God it hasn't increased in yrs. I believe the family limit out is $4000 a yr.

Wanda

this whole thing is sad. glad my wife and I are finally on medicare. the company I retired from and have their health plan as a retire has just raised their deductable to 1600 per year for each of us. that is 3200 dollars a year for both. by being on medicare we never reach the deductable. the insurance is usless. all the major companies are getting out of the health care. they want the goverment to take it over. we checked on having a supplement on our own and any insurance that is any good is 400 dollars a month for a supplement for each of us. that figures out to 800 dollars a month for the 2 of us. totally crazy. I to am against the goverment being in any thing but in this case they need to.

there is so much talk of reform and such little action..it is frustrating.
terryr.. be careful of the donut hole in the prescription coverage..

my thoughts is the government does need to act, and the citizens. we need to push our representatives and congress to listen to the people and not corporate health care. lets be honest. this society has allowed a third party to determine what care is needed.. the insurance industry controls , not the patient, not the doctor. and they are all pretty exempt from lawsuit for non coverage, delayed coverage etc.

there are lemon laws for auto, there is the consumer protection that does not apply to health insurance.
the deductibles/premiums continue to rise, the pay out continues to decline and the difference is lining the pockets of the ceo's and lobbyist. enact real laws to begin reigning both the insurance and the pharm companies in, give the power back to the patient and doctor to determine together what studies are needed , care etc.. not a third party who doesnt know the patient from anyone and denies because of cost effect not care.. How did we ever let this happen?.
Pharma... new drugs.. no brand name.. everything generic.. profit share between the companies and not off the patients back..

eliminate pre existing condition, eliminate policies that cover well visits only.. thats a bunch of bs right there. or have the patient sign a specific document deliniating the coverage as they understand it to be.. ie: I noonespecial understand that the coverage i have purchased for medical will absorb the costs of diagnostic testing ordered by my doctor, for prescriptions ordered by my doctor. for hospital and emergency coverage. I fully UNDERSTAND that this policy will cover one well physical per year and sick visits will be my expense at the point of service.

eliminate HMO and having to select thru your insurance your doctor.
open up the country to competitive price thru the insurance industry and bring down policy prices..right now each state has different laws for health insurance.. universal that . make each state abide by the same laws.

meanwhile at least from what ive seen on a grass roots level.. patients dont want to be a number, a diagnosis , a chart.. they long for the relationship. honest communication wiht their doctors , the way it use to be before corporate greed took over.. i think it started with changing from patient/doctor to client.and service... lost the personal touch and for me honestly..how can you be an effective provider if you dont know your patients. i mean know them, who they are, what they like.. not just the vitals and the objective stuff. . that withered on the vine with the big hmo groups that compromised continuety and became about cost containment and profit..
there are doctors breaking away from all that and taking care of their patients, their community.. working with them.. i hope it spreads nationwide..
sorry for the rant.

Some really good thoughts there special, and in my opinion, thoughts such as these need to be collected and put on a thread to help fulfill Jane's last wishes.

could you get that MRI next monday if need be?

Yes, emergency procedures don't have a wait time, contrary to what US citizens, especially those making money in the medical profession, believe.

I stepped on a nail and went to emerg for a tetanus shot and oral antibiotics. Total time in and out the door: 32 minutes. The foot became infected regardless the emerg doctor ordered an ultrasound to search for any foreign organic bodies and started me on IV antibiotics. Total time in and out the door: a little over 1 hr. Ultrasound was ordered at 10 o'clock pm and performed at 8 o'clock am the following day.

My husband went to his GP with a complaint of new and frequent headaches...the MRI was performed less than a week later.

US MD's like to perpetuate the idea that wait times are atrocious under socialized health care because their rate of pay is lower in that same situation.

High deductible plans are meant to work in conjunction with a Health Savings Account (HSA). This is a tax deductible savings account used only for medical expenses, medication included. If you don't have one you need to set one up otherwise you're kind of defeating the purpose of having a high-deductible plan. If you don't use the money it rolls over forever. My deductible next year will be $3000 for my husband and me. We'll be putting more than that into the HSA. We'll be able to do that because the monthly charge is so low we'll have money left over to deposit into the account.

These plans are going to be our future. They will require some responsibility on the part of the people that have them. We will have to think twice before we go to the doctor or get certain meds so we all will have to be involved in our own health care.

All that being said, any time I've gone in for an MRI or whatever kind of test, if I didn't have the money right then they would just bill me. I've never been turned away.

Smash...what does that mean? The money rolls over? Sorry, I've never paid attention to these things in the past.
Can you take the money out easily (without penalty) if you build up enough? Every medical expense is used against taxes?

I did forget to mention on our supplement insurance the prescription portion is good we use it for our prescriptions.example on a 100 dollar prescription we would only pay 20 dollars the insurance covers the rest. so really can not complain to much. we are lucky our supplement insurance and medicare is much more than a lot of people in the U.S. have

Hi Smash,

We DO have a health savings account at m y husband's work place --it's called unreimbursed medical in our case. Not all of these roll over. In our case the money MUST be used the year it was deducted or it is lost forever.

We save a little over $2000 per yr. in our unreimbursed medical account. All of this is eaten up by our doctor and prescription co-pays.

This is helpful, especially that it's untaxed. It's still money out of our pay check.

HOWEVER, remember that between our employer & us we are paying over $14,000 for our insurance. Plus $1000 deductible per person per yr. Many advanced tests fall under the deductible. Plus $35 doctor visit co-pay. (We have chronic conditions requiring several specialist visits yrly plus primary for acute stuff.) Plus 20 prescriptions several of which have no generics (Plavix for instance) and are on our nonpreferred meds list & therefore cost us $50 per month. No coverage at all for dental--I take excellent care but still just had to have a $960 crown put on. All three of us need glasses & they are not covered.

This is GOOD insurance--BlueCross/BlueShield!!! I can't imagine what bad must be like.

I don't think medical savings in the total answer.

Wanda

Hi All,
We got good news today! My son's MRI was normal! He was told to return if he had another episode. If it's migraine, that's rough, but nothing compared to what it could have been.

Thanks to you all for listening & for your good thoughts & prayers.

Wanda

All Health Savings Accounts (HSA) rollover if you don't use them. If yours doesn't then it's not an HSA, it's more than likely a Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA). These must be drained by the end of the year. If you don't use the money you lose it. That's the beauty of a high deductible plan when used with an HSA. Especially if you're young or don't go to the doctor often. You can keep adding money to the account and it will collect interest just like any other savings account. You can deposit I think $6150 per year for a family. My insurance has a stop loss of $6000/family a year. That's the most you'll ever have to pay out of pocket per year. After that, any time you go to the doctor the insurance covers 100%. My employer is trying to push people into that plan this year by offering a one-time deposit of $1500 into your savings account. That's the amount of the deductible. With a cost of only $25/month for a single person it's a hard deal to pass up.

You can read more about Health Savings Accounts here:

http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/

Great news, Wanda!! Thanks for letting us know!

That is great. Lots of love to you and your son. I didn't mean to be selfish. Pain is a sign something is not right. I'm better, but I wish they could nail it down and get me out of this.

That's wonderful news! May you both be blessed with good health and good luck.

Happy to hear your sons good news, Wanda...................pam

That is wonderful news Impatient,such gratification when you see prayers working.

What a relief for you both.. has it been recommended for him to keep a food diary. see if he can isolate the trigger for the migraine?..
knock wood i havent had a "migraine". in 8 yrs... still get headaches..but not the numbness and cant move half my face type...
good luck and good health.