$640.00 to fill the tanks...

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Andrew Sarangan wrote:
Bret Ludwig wrote:
And don't forget all the Americans who cannot afford to fly because of
medical bills.

But, just like Europe, no one in the United States is denied required
medical treatment (Medicaid).

-Robert


Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

Um, isn't that as it should be?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

Robert M. Gary wrote:

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care
whether you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give
the gov't money to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you
give the insurance company money to pay for your healthcare.

And if you live in the UK and have a good job, you're paying twice over
because your employer will also provide you with private medical
coverage to make up for the fact that the socialized medical care sucks
except in certain limited circumstances.

Mike Granby
(Ex-Brit living in Pa.)

In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

"AES" wrote

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

Around half your bill is someone else's bill.
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
AES wrote:

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system.

I don't know. Is $45,000 too much for ER, surgery (4 hours), and 14 days
in the hospital?

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

In article ,
AES wrote:

In article . com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

Show me who qualifies for medicaid and can afford to fly at the same
time.

If you can afford to fly, you are paying for your health care whether
you live in the U.S. or in Europe. In Europe you give the gov't money
to pay for your healthcare, in the U.S. you give the insurance company
money to pay for your healthcare.
In both cases, if you don't have money, the gov't picks up the tab.
-Robert

I wonder if the final sentence above is true. If you've had any close
encounters with hospital bills lately, you have to be dismayed at what
seem to be the "way up there" costs or charges for every little aspect
of that part of the healthcare system. I have to suspect that somehow,
the charges on those who can pay are driven up by the hospital's legal
requirement to provide walk-in care without reimbursement for those who
can't, or won't -- and it shows up in _our_ payments, whether for direct
care or for insurance.

My wife had to be taken to the ER by the squad two weeks ago. They kept
her overnight and released her the next afternoon. We had to go back for
a test Wednesday morning.
The hospital bill was $8000.
Today we received the statement from the insurance company informing us
what they had paid and what the hospital had accepted and how much we
owe.
Insurance paid $3700, we owe $1200 (20% of the total bill).

john smith wrote:
Insurance paid $3700, we owe $1200 (20% of the total bill).

You could also have elected to buy a more expensive policy that covered
more, you selected a policy that paid 80% based on the cost of the
policy and what you would get for it. Personally, I just carry a
catastrophic policy and pay everything out of pocket with pre-tax
dollars using an HSA. I'm saving a ton of money over my previous PPOs
and HMOs and if I ever do get really sick, the catastrophic policy
kicks in.

-Robert

In article .com,
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

john smith wrote:
Insurance paid $3700, we owe $1200 (20% of the total bill).

You could also have elected to buy a more expensive policy that covered
more, you selected a policy that paid 80% based on the cost of the
policy and what you would get for it. Personally, I just carry a
catastrophic policy and pay everything out of pocket with pre-tax
dollars using an HSA. I'm saving a ton of money over my previous PPOs
and HMOs and if I ever do get really sick, the catastrophic policy
kicks in.

We picked the policy we have based on what we could afford out of pocket.
Our family is normally healthy, spending less than $2000 annually on out
of pocket medical expenses. Eyeglasses for the family being the biggest
expense each year.
This medical emergency was completely unforeseen so the insurance cost
has already paid for itself.