debbiedowner
Gold Member
- Feb 12, 2017
- 12,295
- 3,290
$25,000? What happened to aca's out-of-pocket limit?Do you actually know what doctor's bill. Last year, my wife and I made over 75 trips to doctors, hospitals, or other healthcare providers. There was never a bill for as much as $500 for a 20 min office visit which is just about how long you would spend with an ENT to get a prescription. I just saw a claim for my wife's 35 min office visit with her pulmonolgist. The billing amount was $252. The insurer paid 88.93 and I paid $22.37 for a total of $111.30. Had she gone to her GP, the costs would have been significantly less. How about not grossly exaggerating. It doesn't help your claim.Of course the cost of medical care was low 50 or 60 years ago because effective treatments for most serious diseases did not even exist then.
While what you claim is false, it is also irrelevant. If you have an ear infection and need antibiotics, it will cost you $400 to $500 for an office visit. Then whatever the prescription cost is.
Basic, routine treatment is out of reach to a consumer, because government and employers pay into massive "health care plans" that are designed to ensure that health care is not available to consumers. There is no market. People think the copay that comes out of their pocket is the cost, but it isn't.
There is no connection between the cost of medical care and the value of services provided, which results in the flat out rape of consumers by the massive medical providers.
In 1960 the treatment for a heart attack was almost nothing compared to today. You rested in a hospital were given a few medication, were sent home with some nitroglycerin pills, and instructed to rest which meant take it easy while waiting for your next heart attack. There were no MRIs or other tools to see into the heart or arteries. There were no heart lung machines to make open heart surgery safe. And of course there were no artificial hearts, nor were their heart transplants, angioplasty for removing blockages, or effective cholesterol drugs. The story is much the same with other big ticket diseases such as cancer.
You've convinced me that catastrophic insurance is needed, yet 98% of medical care has nothing to do with catastrophic illness. Oh, and the silver plan Obamacare patient would be lucky to get the nitroglycerin. More likely they would be charged $1,000 for and aspirin and sent home to die.
Yep, medical cost were really low in those days. A few trips to the doctor to monitor the progression of the disease, pain killers, and waiting at home to die really saved on medical cost.
The first heart transplant was in 1971. Your claims that modern medicine began with Obama and socialized medicine is, shall we say "suspect."
The actually billing for an aspirin or Tylenol in a the hospital would be about $35. I saw it on a claim in Dec. The real cost is not the pill. It's the personnel cost. The nurse whose cost to the hospital is about $60/hr has to check the patient's chart and probably check with a doctor who cost the hospital $100/hr. If the nurse doesn't have the pills, she has to be order it from the pharmacy like all medications and someone has to delivery it. To that cost the hospital has to add their overhead. However, neither the insurance company nor the patient pays for it directly. It's folded into overhead of the hospital which is included in the cost of the room.
Catastrophic health insurance is a great idea for people that are in good health and can actually afford to pay the deductible. Premium are actually affordable. My son in Florida is single and has a high deductible plan. It think the deductible is about $25,000 and he pays about $110/mo.
A high deductible plan or any health insurance which has contracted rates with providers (a network) is a huge benefit even if you have not met your deductible. When you are in the deductible phase, the healthcare provider submits a claim to your insurance company for the contracted amount for the service which is what you pay. This can save 25% to 50% or more of the provider's bill. When you're billed you will be billed at the contracted amount, the amount the provider would receive from the insurance company and the patient's copay or coinsurance.
Sounds like a temporary plan or some off the wall indemnity plan and neither are subject to the ACA. It certainly is not a compliant plan with the law.