My "Stirring up the Pot Topic" for week | Arthritis Information

I am fairly new to this board but I am going to start a new series on my own...on whatever is going on it my head for the week that I feel needs some discussion. I want people's thoughts and perspectives. Some may flame me and get fired up, but I want to hear your opinion on this topic. Here is mine for this week...Enjoy!

I work a large hospital of a huge healthcare system here in North Carolina. We have insurance through my DH's work. But, we still pay about ,000 out-of-pocket for healthcare expenses a year. (That does not include premiums take out of his paycheck.) We put the max in our medical flexible spending account this year and we blew through that by September. So, here is my issue. I get angry when I notice in chart after chart at the hospital and see "Charity - Self Pay". I get angry when I am working more hours to pay for the part of the bills our insurance doesn't pay. I know most of these "Charity - Self Pay" don't or can't or won't pay. Whatever the case be...I'm angry.

My best friend's little sister got drunk....fell and broke her jaw in two places. No insurance...total bill .000. Financial aid counselor sat down with her....emergency insurance took care of some, hospital wrote off some, and set up with a payment plan to pay the rest. But, not nearly what I pay out-of-pocket every year.

This makes me down right pissed. Because I know...I won't get a break on my bill....nope. And guess who is paying for the people who are "Charity - Self Pay"? People like me.

Thoughts?

WifeofJFR39419.9102662037People with insurance do get a break on their bill, in the form of negotiated rates. Last time I had an Xray, the radiologist charge was . That would have been my price with no insurance. Since I had insurance, however, the "negotiated rate" between the healthcare facility and my insurer was around for the radiologist reading. That was what THEY paid. I paid nothing, since it was part of an ER visit.

I was in the hospital several years ago for acute gastroenteritis (food poisoning). I had no insurance. My bill was 00 for the hospital, plus another 0 for my GP to come see me the next morning and tell me to go home and rest. Two years later, I was in the hospital overnight again for the same thing, only I was pregnant and insured. The same bag of saline that I was charged dollars for as an uninsured patient was now under as the "negotiated rate". The double room that cost 00 as an uninsured patient was "negotiated" down to about 0 (and it was a single!!!). My OBGYN's charge was "negotiated" down from over 0 to NOTHING, because prenatal care and labor/delivery was billed as one set fee to the insurance company, no matter how many times I saw her.

That's a sore subject for me also! My mom is on disability and medicaid and is complaining because she only gets about 0 a month and has to pay or or nothing for her meds. I am insured on hubby's plan. About 0 taken out of his ck every month, co-pays for scripts or . Co-pay at dr , hospital 5 er. My pills cost over 0 with copay not to mentiont he enbrel which I am getting help with for one year. So I told mom and I think I pissed her off. Be thankful for what you have. At least she can get disability. I can't get anything. Any program out there, I have been turned down because my hubbie makes G's a year. When you have two teenagers, one in college, a mortgage, and just groceries, we are barely making it. I worked hard my whole life until late 90's when my step-mom (who raised me, not real mom I mentioned above) went blind from diabetes, and was diagnosed with lymphoma. I took care of her for two years. She passed on in 2000> then dad was dx with liver cancer and I (with 2 other sister's) took care of him and he passed in 2002. So there were 4 year's where I didn't have an income so now I am not eligible for disability because I didn't consistently pay into it.I don't mind if people who really need it and don't abuse the system for those on food stamps that pull up in a nice shiney new car, wearing gold and diamonds, buying shrimp and steak, and I pull up in my 93 buick counting pennies, buying ramen noodles, or something cheap to feed 4 grown people for two weeks, there's something wrong there!

But, the hospital is making a lot of money off that because they are getting paid from the insurance companies. And they get gurarenteed patients...because the hospital gets on that insurance companies plans.

Look at this statistic....my c-section for my youngest cost a total of ,000...I paid 15% of that - ,550. Two years ago, my c-section with my oldest cost ,000....I paid 0 of that. Now, I know the reason the rates for the insured are going up because the numbers of non-insured patients are going up.

WifeofJFR39419.9200115741 [QUOTE=WifeofJFR]

JasmineRain,

[/QUOTE]

I'm not arguing that... my point is that uninsured get stuck with the full non-negotiated bill. For those of us that actually pay the bill, there is no break like the insurance companies or the charity cases get.

I see your point now...but I didn't see it when I read it.

I'm not sure I understand this (duh) but I know that my Dr's office charges my insurance .00 per visit, I pay .00 co-pay. A friend of mine has no insurance and they charge her .00 per visit. Is that how an office normally charges?I will throw in my two cents for what it is worth. Wife, I have the same issues
as you do. As a nurse, I also see what you see and where I work, those self
pay/no insurance patients are by far the most demanding. They suck up my
time and energy and go home and come back the next day with the same
problem. They abuse, abuse, abuse and just don't seem to get it. I'm totally
with you on this one. But....it will continue to be this way until we get a
national health care plan. People should not go broke because they are sick.
People argue that health care won't be personal anymore if it goes social.
But, you know what? It is not very personal anyway. The waits are getting
worse. People cannot afford to pay for good quality food because their
health bills are eating them out of house and home. People are not going to
agree with me about socialized medicine but I guess things have not gotten
bad enough for them yet.Moana. That just does not seem fair to me.

Seems I got the "best" of both worlds. *sarcastic tone* I am on BC/BS & medicaid. BC/BS turned out crappy last renewal and medicaid is nice to have since I am the ONLY one who ever has any medical problems on a monthly basis.

Hubby pays alot for the premiums for us to have BC/BS, for the months my medicaid gets cut off... I have that to fall back on. It is kinda a bummer to go from paying 50 cents to for meds -to- to for meds, when you do not have the money for your expensive meds to begin with.

I do not mind paying the co-pay for seeing a dr without medicaid. If ya have to go to the DR you have to go.

Now meds are a different thing. I mean you can go without them, and I have due to not having money or insurance.

Medicaid likes people like me who also have private insurance. Because all they get to pay is my co-pay for everything minus a . Oh and medicaid did not have to pay for my Humira ever, I paid those co-pays from insurance. I just felt bad being a burden on society with my expensive med. Might as well put BC/BS thru it since hubby pays them all that money each year.

When we were first married we did not even go to the doctors or get meds as much as I do now. So BC/BS made a lot of money off of me for about 3 years. Because I did not have a use to for the insurance, but ya gotta have it even if you do not need to use it for a few years.

Joonie Lori and Wife are not talking about you hon...they're talking about dead beats who know how to work the system...so people like mine and your hubby pays through the teeth for insurance and still can't afford to go to the Dr. and buy meds.

Hospital charging practices are very interesting. Jasmine gave a very good explanation.

The government (Medicare/medicaid/etc) tell providers what they will pay based on the diagnosis or the procedure. Insurance companies negotiate prices with providers (We will make you a "preferred" provider if you give us a discount) and self pay is charged at the full rate.

A discount is usually given to self pay either because a person has no money or if the patient asks for a discount. It can be illegal for a provider to give further discounts to patients (government) and insurance company can ask for a further discount for themselves if a provider gives them to a patient.

I read something about this almost every month in professional journals for healthcare administration. It is confusing for all.
What about pharmacies.....they get deals too. I was put on enbrel and went to Walgreens to ask pharmacists how much my 20% co-pay would be. My insurance Health Alliance pays 80%. She said she didn't know until she actually put everything into the computer because they have a deal with Health Alliance. So I asked "Is that price different than retail?" She replied "OH, yes!" Makes me wonder how that works???

I know they were not talking about me. I just felt like replying. I mean I know it gets on my nerves having almost half of hubby's paycheck go to BC/BS and then what feels like the other half going towards my meds to keep me mobile. It is just crappy. And probably more crappy for people who actually work in that field.

MIL will not get insurance thru where she works because it costs so much, so she is tagged on to insurance from FIL's work. but if he losses his job then she will have to pay double what they are paying now to keep insurance. FIL has heart troubles and MIL is a Hodgkins Disease surviver. When MIL gets sick now, she gets sick. So... they have to keep insurance. She was quite shocked at how much she would have to pay for the monthly premiums compared to where her hubby works.

BTW the co-pay was 3. and some odd cents. They (pharmacy companies) are making a killing off us sick peoples.

Everyone is making monies off us sick people, but us. I think we need to find a way to make money off our own darn disease. What do ya'll say?

I know we can sell our blood for outragous monies because ya know it is special, it could keep other people from getting sick so much, because ya know when our immune system is not surpressed we do not hardly ever get sick like other people. So... we are sitting on a GOLDMINE!

And so, I'd LOVE to hear what the hell you expect some of us to do?

Last year, we had no insurance. We were not ELIGIBLE for insurance. As in, we apply and get told "no, we won't cover you because of your disease" We'd have to wait and go 6 months without being treated for that disease, in order to get the health insurance.

So what happens while we try to avoid the doctors and wait? My boyfriend gets pancreatitis, and it activates his crohn's disease, putting him in the hospital on and off for 6 months straight. He's so sick, he almost dies on me about 3 times. He has reactions to medications, symptoms that no one can account for, and I actually end up having to call 911 once, because he passed out on me for literally NO reason what-so-ever. He spends weeks at a time in the hospital, being so ill that to this day he has no memory of most of his stays. His gallbladder swells, and stops working. But they refuse to take it out because "its not life threatening, and you don't have insurance. We can only do emergency surgeries on non-insured people"

So we take him home, and he suffers for ages and ages, but he just can't make it. We have to talk him back in, another 4 or 5 times, for pain so severe and debilitating, that once again, he doesn't remember his week long hospital stays. He misses so much work, it's unreal. And he was only working part time (2 nights a week) to begin with.

He was making .33 and hour, and so was I (working full time) He finally gets a little break from it all, and makes it almost a year - in fact, he makes it long enough for us to get insurance through our work.

The most HORRIBLE insurance on earth, but at least it's something. The coverage they give us, could make you cry. But again, it's SOMETHING. It's enough that, when we bring him in the next time, they TAKE HIS GALLBLADDER OUT. Which has been infected for quite some time they tell us, but "it didn't look like it on the scan" Sure it didn't. Whatever. It's out now.

Now he goes BACK in, because his crohn's has been out of control - you know, no insurance, no treatment, bad thing. They have to take out 30 cm of small intestine, and drain the cyst that's been sitting on his pancreas for over a year. He spends almost a month in the hospital this time. He's been working full time for the past year though, but still at .33/hr. Oh, and he has no vacation time or sick pay through our job, because it's not offered to him yet. And we have absolutely no short or long term disability plan through our job either.

So we're out income for 2 months from him. We're once again, forced to live off of just my paycheck, which BARELY covers the bills, and in order for us to EAT and get gas to get to work, actually requires that I let bills slide in a zig zag pattern, and attempt to make arrangements with the companies (who are less than caring about my situation) And even take donations of money from people I've never met face to face, but who I love dearly for helping me out when I needed it.

At the end of all of this, can you even GRASP how much he owes in hospital bills? Before you scroll down, you stop for a second and try to calculate it. Think of how many CTs, Ultra sounds, x-rays he had. How many times the surgeon came to see him, how many times the doctor came in. How much fluid and meds he was given, oh and the blood for the anemia that set in. How many days out of the past 2 years he spent in a hospital room. You try to guess and then scroll down, and I'll give you a ballpark figure as to what WOULD have owed, if they didn't stick him on the charity pay. And you know what, they did it even WITH his insurance, because the bills were so high. You ready?

Appx. 0,000.

Now, explain HOW exactly, he's supposed to pay that? I'm really curious. I guess I should apologize for being on the charity list.

Excuse us, we'll try not to let it happen again. Oh, and I'll try not to look you in the face when we pass on the street, or park next to your car (you know, my hunk of junk might ding your pretty car) and I won't ask YOU for that nickel that I need to make up the rest of the change to give the cashier, because I'm 5 cents short and I can't afford to put any of that food back, because that 0 buggy is supposed to last 2 people over a month, so I've picked food out very well. No I won't do any of that with you, because I know how "people like me" make you mad. We're just leeches, right?

You know, I grew up upper-middle class and I NEVER thought so terribly of people who had less. I really wonder what the hell you people's parents taught you. It really is a shame.

Alright, I'm off my soap box.
Hi wife, my thoughts on this are somewhat plain and simple. I used to sell health insurance AND WOULD NEVER BE WITHOUT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. But there are people who cannot afford it AND HAVE TO RELY ON THE PUBLIC SYSTEM.

I believe that when you pay for health insurance you are actually paying for "PEACE OF MIND". YOU CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING YOU WILL BE MOSTLY COVERED FOR EMERGENCIES and elective surgery, but when you have no insurance, you are at the mercy of the public system, you might be able to get charitable assistance but you also might not.So I don't think those who don't have insurance sit back and laugh at those who do have it, thinking oh I'll be ok, they will wipe the bill! I just thank God every day that I have been able to keep up my policy so that I can have peace of mind.

Regards Janie.

Egad's Katie!

not sure if your area has this, but I had friends that used to belong to a food co-op. Not sure of the details, but something about you have to help unload the trucks, sort food into baskets and you get a basket of food. You take turns doing the work, something like that.

There is also churches and food pantries that may help out to be sure you have enough food. Again, sometimes if you help out in the soup kitchens, you get an added benefit.

I know our health care is the pits, but I'm not one for socialized health care. If you find out the details in other countries, you'll see they may have free health care, but you may wait more than a year to see a doctor for minutes. In the meantime, you may die.

Not sure how to say this, but life isn't fair. Not related to health care, but I have 2 kids in college. We make enough money that they didn't get any help for their tuition. So, I pay ,000 per year for my kids to go to college. That burns my ass knowing there are some people that pay so little because their folks don't make a lot of money. I also know that some of those people made poor choices. We didn't. We saved money and invested knowing we have 2 kids that will eventually go to school. So kudos to us, we saved money, however, now we'll spend about 0,000 for college. My retirement will be different had we had the added money in our bank instead of paying universities. I know friends that make the same amount of money that we do, and yet their kids were given "breaks" because their parents went on vacations, drive expensive cars, etc. Sometimes life...isn't fair.

Okay, now I'll get off of my soap box. And yes, I do understand that you don't choose to be sick. I don't either. My rheumy copay is about every month. I know some of the people in the waiting room are going for or and they drove in with expensive cars, and I see their expensive cigarettes hanging out of their expensive pocketbook but yet they are on Medicaid. Some people indeed need the help, others are screwing the system. Makes life hard for ALL of us.

Thank God for Socialised Medicine in Australia!

Every one is entitled to FREE hospital care.

I gotta agree with DebraK here-- it sucks that some people take advantage of the system. It used to really irritate the tar out of me when I checked groceries to see people with foodstamps buying lobster and steak, and sodas and candybars for their kids, while I worked hard and scraped by eating Mac and Cheese. The only meat hubby and I saw for almost a year was ground chuck. LoL. But there are people out there who really really need those government aid programs. People like us who are chronically ill get the short end of the health care stick. Our system is just not set up to deal with that kind of situation, especially if you are young and will need care for your entire life. Sometimes I joke that I ought to just keep out the 0 that I pay every month for basic health care and just put it in an account. The problem is, like Janie said, if you have a real emergency you might end up spending everything you put back all at once.

Katie I don't think anyone is saying that you are a second class citizen because you need help sometimes. We ALL need help sometimes. When people get frustrated with the system it's not because of people who really need it, it's because of people who don't give a flip and abuse the aid that's supposed to be reserved for those who are working hard and just need a little extra push.
Ok this is a VERY sore subject w/ me and forgive me if half of it is jumbled and makes no sense. I am one of those "charity cases"'. We cannot get insurance through the state and my huabands job does not offer insurance. We cannot get indvidual insurance obviously because of my RA. I was in the hospital last Aprilish for a ruptured ovarian cyst, if it wasnt for the fact that I was in HORRIBLE pain I would NOT have gone to the ER which eventually admitted me to the hospital. I had no choice, I later found out it could have been bad enough to where I was bleeding internally. I never recieved a bill for that AT ALL. The OB that I saw me for free for my follow ups after because I had no ins. Do I like the fact that I had to go that route? HELL NO. But what was I going to do? Oh, so you wanna know WHY I cannot get state ins? My husband makes 0 more then what the state "thinks" we should make for a family of 3. Sure I could have fudged my way through the system, could have said that we were seperated and such but then I am cheating the system the same way that the "others" are. Then I would be blasted on here for doing that. But because I did it the "honest" way I become a "charity case" from the hospital. No offense to you at all but it is because of comments from people like you that push those that do not have ins to not go to the dr, to the ER when they have major things happen to them because they dont want to be looked at as a "charity case"But when you get frustrated with the system, because of the people who abuse it STOP. And THINK about the people who are NOT abusing it. Maybe it's just because we do need all the help we can get right now, but I would rather have a system that's being screwed by some people, then no system at all. At least there's SOME help for me. No, it's not fair, but like Debra said, neither is life. I guess that phrase goes both ways, doesn't it? Deb, I'm sorry you have to pay so much for your kids' college. Did they not apply for scholarships? There are thousands out there just waiting for people, regardless of income.

No, Life is not fair. But nobody should have to go month to month and decide what meds they should get, what bills they should pay so that they can get their meds, food, etc. A VERY good friend of mine is self employed, has 3 kids. Because she is SE and they deduct EVERYTHING and have a loss at they end of the year and when they go into the Health dept here to get ins and daycare the get it. Why? because they know how to do it so they can. But you go to another friends of mine, they also have 3 kids, are barely making it each month but because her husband makes just over what the state thinks they should make, she cannot get a job to help make that extra money because they cannot get qualified for help from child care.

Too bad your husband wasn't an Illegal Alien ....Pammy416. Nothing is Free in this world. Someone is paying for your hospital care. 6t5. Why did you come on here and instead of offering some input, you
decided to critisize others on the board? If you can't say something nice on
this thread, stay out.Katie I'm sorry if I offended, I was trying to say that it's easy to get frustrated, BUT that we need to think about people who really need the help. It's not worth it to scrap the whole system because of a few abusers. Hope that makes sense. I wrote it at 4:30 am. :)

And I do know what it's like to choose between food and meds. I'm taking medicine that doesn't really work well because it's what I can afford and still feed my husband and myself. I make too much to get assistance. I guess they have to have the cut off somewhere.
6t5frlane...Of course we are.....we pay for it in our taxes. I'm not that stupid as to think it's paid for by leprechauns. I'm just saying that anyone in the country can front up at hospital and is treated to the same care for no up front cost and no bills afterward. If you are on a pension, the dole, low income, middle income. Our health care is paid for by a medicare levy which is 1.25% of our income. We personally have private health cover as well because of my health and also for dental and glasses, physio etc. It costs us 0 a month with NO co-pay for hospital and a minimal co-pay for the others. The govt also caps prescription medication around for most meds.After you have paid 00 for the year they go down to .70. For those on pensions or the dole or low income they are .70 all the time.you mean the leprechans arent paying for it? darnit now my day is ruined

I just want to echo what was said earlier about people "working the system." I agree those are the ones the rest of us are angry with. My husband and I did without most of our married lives to pay for our own medical care, college tuition for two kids, weddings and our retirement. We were fortunate to be able to do so by working multiple jobs, scrimping and saving and would NEVER begrudge someone who, through no fault of their own, couldn't do those things and needed financial help for food or health care. But it's the ones who party hearty, buy all the latest toys, take the great vacations, etc. and then expect the rest of us to pay for their health care, college for their kids and supplement their retirement. And now there's talk of bailing out those who made bad real estate choices who need money from us to make their mortgage payments. Where does it end? Again, I want to stress, the people who are truly in need because of circumstances beyond their control, well, I'd be the first in line to help them and I'm betting many of the others who are complaining here would too. Deadbeats are the problem, plain and simple, and only them.

Jesse8839420.3073148148Katie, one of the original points made does not trash you, it actually supports you. I do insurance billing and I see it all the time. People with insurance rarely have to pay the full bill because of agreements made with hospitals, drs. lab, etc. People with no ins on the other hand end up having to pay the ENTIRE amount because there is no one to mediate a better price for them. Why don't those who are making pmts. that have no ins have someone to mediate a better price for them? [QUOTE=country girl]Katie, one of the original points made does not trash you, it actually supports you. I do insurance billing and I see it all the time. People with insurance rarely have to pay the full bill because of agreements made with hospitals, drs. lab, etc. People with no ins on the other hand end up having to pay the ENTIRE amount because there is no one to mediate a better price for them. Why don't those who are making pmts. that have no ins have someone to mediate a better price for them?[/QUOTE]

Exactly.

Would you really like to hear what I expect you to do?

First, don't insult those others. That's rude.

Second, make a change in your life.

My husband and I work our butts off to make ends meet right now. My DH has worked for everything he has in his life. He got loans to go to college, then his mother took the money for herself. Did he give up? No, he worked his way through college with no one's help. And grauated cum laude. I worked my way through grad school. We worked hard to be able to have children and have me stay home with them. My DH drives a 12 yr old car and my car is 7 yrs old...but we planned for this...we worked hard to pay them off before we had our oldest. Now, because of insurance rates and out of pocket expenses it is even harder for us to make ends meet.

Have you thought of changing your career path to lead to you a job with insurance? There are plenty of companies that cover their employees. When you move onto a company's policy they can not deny you coverage because of pre-existing condition...its the way the contracts are worked out.

So, there is an idea run with it!

THANK GOD CANADA HAS SOCIALISED HEALTH INSURANCE

Yes, we have people who "abuse the system" but what system doesn't? After reading story after story on here for the last year I wouldn't have "peace of mind" even if I did have US health insurance. Who wants some corporation telling them what care they do or don't need? At least the government is voted by the people for the people, and aren't out to make a profit off my health needs. Corporate health insurance is some people you have no control over who are out to squeeze all they can from you and don't care if you live or die. When was the last time you voted a CEO out of office? Sorry, but that's the awful truth.

I wanted to clarify something...I did not come up witht the term "Charity - Self Pay"...its in the charts at the hospital where I work.

Do I understand that everyone gets in bad situations during life? Of course, I do.

Do I understand that not everyone takes advantage of help given to them in situations like this? Of course, I do.

Do I think that each person is in control of their own life? Sure, I do.

Now, this comes full circle back to me. We have made changes to cut back to be able to pay our bills. I have picked up more hours at work.

But, it still pisses me off that it comes down to the insured paying for the people who don't.

Now, don't jump on me...I'm not saying that everyone who is self pay is not going to pay their bill. Remember, I work in a large hospital and see people trying to take advantage of the system all the time.

Example of the last weekend I worked....pt in hospital. Family will not help to even walk patient. Lunch time rolls around. Family asks, "Could we have 2 guest trays please?"

Answer: "No - policy is unless extreme circumstances we aren't allowed to give them out. But, there is a cafeteria downstairs you are more then welcome to get something and bring it back up."

Answer from family: Blank look. Family turns around and says "Damn their greedy up here."

Now, you might think I'm harsh...I'm not. Just think if on that floor every room wanted 2 guest trays...that's for 36 rooms! People know they are coming during lunch time...bring your food from home!

I have great insurance and plenty of Peace on mind. Those Canadiens I met at the Mayo Cllinic did not www.angelfire.com/pa/sergeman/issues/healthcare/socialized.h tml

Just pick your country

[QUOTE=Gimpy-a-gogo]THANK GOD CANADA HAS SOCIALISED HEALTH INSURANCE
[/QUOTE]

I don't know if that is the answer or not. I have friends who moved from Canada that had to wait forever for treatment. I think I need to do some reading on this and decide where I stand! But, Gimpy you do bring up some good points!

Well, I'm actually USING the Canadian healthcare system and I wouldn't trade mine for yours! I'd rather wait a bit longer but have access to everything I need than have to go bankrupt and still not get the care.

(PS---it takes 3 weeks or less to see my DR for non-emergency visits, and it took 3 months to get into the RD "loop" and once you're in you're in, so I don't know where this "years" is coming from. I find our healthcare very efficient. To be fair, that varies from region to region. This is a big country. But I don't notice anyone on this board getting their healthcare any faster or better).

By the way, I can also walk into a walk in clinic without an appointment and see a Dr within an hour, but usually more like 20 minutes, and there's still no bill.

My experience in the Canadian healthcare system has been the same, Gimpy.

Absolutely no debt/bills from any care I've received. No outrageous waits that people talk about. Longest wait I had was for my RD which was about 3-4 months. During that wait, a doctor of internal medicine looked after my RA needs. He was just as good as my current RD.

I've had to go to the ER in an ambulance during a very bad RA time. No charge.

When I need to see my family doctor, they always get me in within a week or two. No bill after I see my doctor.

I've had 5 surgeries and quite a few tests which resulted in NO bills

Amanda I underatand what you are saying, we are insured but it seems like so much of our hard earned money still goes out for dr bills, meds, etc. I got so fustrated with it. I have had healthplus for many years now, but was still having to pay out abit with everything going on but I was still thankful because the previous insurance we had was so terrible. I was a high risk during pregnancy, that cost us well over ,000 out of our pocket, we have paid that off long ago. We are lucky we have no big medical bills right now, but we had to change insurance again we are now bcbs,if we stayed with Healthplus they were going to charge over 0.00 every 2 weeks for us and sorry we can't pay that. I have lost my job, and am currently looking for another and also taking classes to improve my skills. They are pushing people to go into the healthcare area because as you heard it is going to be the big boom for employment. They are saying that within the next few years babyboomers will start retiring and needing more helathcare which in turn is going to need more drs, nurses, support staff and so forth. It is a big business in the US and if you don't think various companies are going to profit off of this you are sadly mistaken. We need some kind of healthcare program which will cover everyone in the US and we need to come up with it soon or when it comes time for us to supposedly retire we won't be able to because we will have to work till the day we die, so we can get our meds and healthcare covered. Oh for those that don't know; more and more companies are excluding health insurance from their benefits because it is becoming too much of an expense. meme

Ps I don't know about your area of the country but there are many drs and other places that will no longer take healthplus because I was told they don't like healthplus telling them what to charge and telling them what meds their patients can take.

meme39420.6666319444

Meme...

RN's are needed desperately...I know our program connected to our hospital will pay 80% of your student loan back if you work 2 years in the system. Might be an idea for you. Pay is good!

~Amanda

Here is a good story about the US health care. I think those of us that DO have good care forget to mention it.

When I finally went to my PCP my hands, wrists and elbows were just about unusable. I could not hold a pen to fill out the paperwork, I could not drive. I had to have my 70 year old Mother drive me.

My PCP took one look at my hands and gave me a RD referral. BUT, and this is a big BUT, he pulled out his cell phone and made a phone call personally to the RD and told him I needed an appointment right away. After hanging up he told me to go right there and he would see me right away. The RD examined me, explained what his thinking was and sent me for blood tests. He also gave me a pred pack.

I got a call 3 days later to come in and was diagnosed with RA. It will be 5 years in February since my diagnoses and I still have the same doctors.

They are not all uncaring, slaves to the insurance companies.

I was lucky to be insured. But my RD sees a lot of people on Medicaid and also people that are uninsured. He gives the "working" uninsured or underinsured hefty discounts because, as he tells it, "its just the right thing to do." He respects his patients and expects them to treat him respectfully. Part of that respect is if you get the discounts, to please pay the amount you have agreed on in a timely fashion or call to say why. If you don't, he will not see you any longer.

I found out about this one day when my Rituxan infusion lasted about 10 hours (when they tried to speed it up I would have an allergic reaction). At 5:30, my RD let the PA that handles infusions go home and he sat with me until I finished about 7 pm. So I was asking himabout his thoughts re: socialized heath care, pharma companies, etc. I was amazed at how he opened up and discussed so many things, especially about his practise. It gave me a new appreciation for him and for the profession at large as he mentioned conversations he had had w/his peers at the national conferences.

Anyway, didn't mean to write so much. Just sort of started warming to the subject as I was writing. Hope you make it far enough to read this "Apology for length."

All the best.

Crispy

crispy39420.6751041667

I read so much I can't remember half of what I was going to say.

The job market where I live is crappy. Everyone's hiring, but no one wants to pay. I cannot do physical/manual labor. The job that I'm at, I've been here long enough to have the flexability that I need with my work schedule, my days off, etc. We also only have one car, FYI. So we have to have jobs that work around that. This one does. We have to drive 40 minutes to get here - where we live is where it's affordable, where we work is where the money is. KIWM?

Oh, Amber - would you believe that making is "too much" here in Florida? Yeah, right. With the cost of gas, they must be smoking crack. Oh, and the cost of milk, bread, food in general. (which I keep watching climb higher and higher here, and yet no one seems to notice. Or if they are, they're not saying anything)

I know there was more, but it escapes me. I know no one was attacking me, but you have to understand how it feels and how it looks from my end.

Crispy I agree there are good drs out there we finally get to go back to one because he wasn't taking healthplus, We had to at the time outweigh the coverage of healthplus or staying with the dr we liked but paying up the but.. we wanted to stay with the dr we had but with the insurance we had before healthplus and my health problems it just didn't work now we have to give up healthplus because of cost and go to bcbs but we get back our good dr which I am excited about. I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that my health stays fairly good. meme

By the way, if you are having financial problems and/or have no insurance, don't hesitate to ask your docs for payment plans, discounts and some even have loans (like the kind you can get for orthodontia). I was so embarrassed back when I was younger and raising two boys by myself. I got the courage to ask when one of my kids was sick and I had just enough money to get food for the week. This memory is frozen in my brain. I took the morning off work to take him to the doctor knowing that I would have to write a check and beg them not to deposit it for a week. Anyway, after he examined Jared (who by the way had 103 temp and was throwing up) and told me it was the flu, he wrote out some prescriptions. I told him I was working full-time, paying for child care, rent, utilities, food on 0 dollars a month (this was 1978). My rent was 0, you do the math. He agreed to take per visit instead of and gave me samples so I wouldn't have to fill the prescriptions. He went with me to the front desk and quietly told the front desk how and how much to bill me. I had 30 days to pay my .00. All he asked is that I pay on time and tell him if I got a raise, because he could only take a certain number of discount patients per month and if I was making more money it wouldn't be fair to continue on the program when someone else might need the help. I got insurance the next year so I didn't have to face asking for myself, but that taught me a lesson that it never hurt to ask, the worst that could happen is they say no and you are embarressed.

Sorry, another trip down memory lane. I promise not to do it again.

Thanks "wife" for starting this topic. I hope I didn't stray too far off topic. Welcome to AI.

PS: I would love to know if anyone has tried asking for discounts. It was so long ago when I did it, maybe I am living in "Wonderland" (yes, Katie, I was thinking of you) and it would be unheard of anymore. Has anybody tried?

edited for PS and spelling

crispy39420.8981481481Hi Katie, I believe that the added stress of financial problems makes me flare at least 4 times a year when we can't quite meet the costs of living. I reckon that would be happening to you too and you work, how disheartening? Good on you for trying, I admire you. What an insult per hour?

Yes Crispy, I have asked numerous times for discounts as I have to see so many Drs, only one has ever said no, a few have sussed out the situation before I have had to ask, and another one (my hand surgeon) said there are specialists in Brisbane who have made a pact that anyone with chronic illness gets charded Medicare only, how kind and considerate of them as the gap payments are so high for the specialists.

Best of luck Katie, hugs Janie.

[QUOTE=kelsaysmommy]No offense to you at all but it is because of comments from people like you that push those that do not have ins to not go to the dr, to the ER when they have major things happen to them because they dont want to be looked at as a "charity case"[/QUOTE]

That is why I am not so much into getting the help I need for my RA.

Because I do feel like a burden. I mean if not the government, my family. My disease sucks up more money then anyone else around me. My husband works hard and goes to work everyday even when sick. And here I am sitting at home and sucking up the money he works so hard for. I makes me feel really bad. The same way about being on Medicaid, but hubby & in-laws kinda made me feel better about the medicaid part. They said that they pay into the state for people like me to be able to have that medical assistance. And since none of them will probably be on Medicaid that at least someone in their family is getting to put it to good use. Still I do not like it, but that is all I got. I wish I could work, but I cannot. I have dreams of it... but you know how dreams go.

Sure I have private insurance, but can I pay the deductibles or co-pays? Heck No. Before I left my last RD... I owed them 0 worth of co-pays because I could not pay him the co-pays. He deals with low income patients, so I got to go almost a year before I decided to pay him off completely. I could have stuck him with the bill. They knew I could not pay the bill, but I did not. I took out of my check for 3 months to pay him off, then I had the last to pay off before I went to the new RD and I told hubby to get me so I could pay him off and not have to worry about I did not pay him and seeing a new RD. I felt bad, everytime his receptionist asked me to pay my bill, and I would tell her I did not have the money right then.

This is such a fustating situation for us all here in the states. It seems costs keep going up and up and up. It makes me wonder what is health costs going to be like in 5 years if we can't get it under control. How many of us are not even going to be able to go to the dr because we can't even afford to pay the copay, like Joonie was saying, because we are paying such high insurance premiums. It is such a no win situation. meme
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