been struggling the last couple weeks, recovery comes slower as we age...

[Oldspartan]

I have a different take on medical insurance --- Insurance is to make whole. Magnum's injury is an example of a serious and expensive injury that requires insurance and should be paid for without a question or whimper by the insurer. It is serious, unexpected and expensive in relation to an average salary. OTH -- having insurance paying for doctors' visits, not so much. Kind of expecting your car insurance pay for oil changes. It drives cost.

I look at insurance companies as checkbooks. I look at the providers at most levels as the drivers of cost. The provider sends a bill, the insurer makes payment within the terms of a contract.

Just my take.

FTR -- Linda's bills are now plopping into my mailbox. It appears our total pocket cost will be about 1000 bucks. A chunk of change but miniscule compared to what the insurance company is tasked with paying which amounts to more than 10,000 dollars for 6 - 7 hours in the hospital. Not claiming it is unjustified what with all the machinery, nurses, spare parts, and physician talent involved, but the cost is provider not insurance driven. We on the other hand get a pretty good return on her 3000-dollar annual policy that also includes a few thousand dollars of scripts annually, 3 scheduled maintenance checkups annually, laboratory workups, and any number of unscheduled visits as required, (not many).

I have a friend in England who waited several months for a surgery similar to Linda's. Linda's was accomplished less than a month from original diagnosis. I will keep our insurance Thank You.

 

[Oldspartan]

Magnum, that is one nasty injury. I am sorry to hear the medical services near you are so inadequate. I had always thought Mayo to be the Cadilac of healthcare. It almost looks like the bad ending of diabetes.

 

[Lcc86]

I have a different take on medical insurance --- Insurance is to make whole. Magnum's injury is an example of a serious and expensive injury that requires insurance and should be paid for without a question or whimper by the insurer. It is serious, unexpected and expensive in relation to an average salary. OTH -- having insurance paying for doctors' visits, not so much. Kind of expecting your car insurance pay for oil changes. It drives cost.

I look at insurance companies as checkbooks. I look at the providers at most levels as the drivers of cost. The provider sends a bill, the insurer makes payment within the terms of a contract.

Just my take.

FTR -- Linda's bills are now plopping into my mailbox. It appears our total pocket cost will be about 1000 bucks. A chunk of change but miniscule compared to what the insurance company is tasked with paying which amounts to more than 10,000 dollars for 6 - 7 hours in the hospital. Not claiming it is unjustified what with all the machinery, nurses, spare parts, and physician talent involved, but the cost is provider not insurance driven. We on the other hand get a pretty good return on her 3000-dollar annual policy that also includes a few thousand dollars of scripts annually, 3 scheduled maintenance checkups annually, laboratory workups, and any number of unscheduled visits as required, (not many).

I have a friend in England who waited several months for a surgery similar to Linda's. Linda's was accomplished less than a month from original diagnosis. I will keep our insurance Thank You.

We do wait longer on average over here but we don't get declined care because an arbitrary company has decided we don't need it even if a doctor has said we do.

I have a different take on medical insurance --- Insurance is to make whole. Magnum's injury is an example of a serious and expensive injury that requires insurance and should be paid for without a question or whimper by the insurer. It is serious, unexpected and expensive in relation to an average salary. OTH -- having insurance paying for doctors' visits, not so much. Kind of expecting your car insurance pay for oil changes. It drives cost.

I look at insurance companies as checkbooks. I look at the providers at most levels as the drivers of cost. The provider sends a bill, the insurer makes payment within the terms of a contract.

Just my take.

FTR -- Linda's bills are now plopping into my mailbox. It appears our total pocket cost will be about 1000 bucks. A chunk of change but miniscule compared to what the insurance company is tasked with paying which amounts to more than 10,000 dollars for 6 - 7 hours in the hospital. Not claiming it is unjustified what with all the machinery, nurses, spare parts, and physician talent involved, but the cost is provider not insurance driven. We on the other hand get a pretty good return on her 3000-dollar annual policy that also includes a few thousand dollars of scripts annually, 3 scheduled maintenance checkups annually, laboratory workups, and any number of unscheduled visits as required, (not many).

I have a friend in England who waited several months for a surgery similar to Linda's. Linda's was accomplished less than a month from original diagnosis. I will keep our insurance Thank You.

We have private care over here too if people want to go down that route, the NHS is sadly underfunded which causes delays (my tin foil hat says it's on purpose so that it can be at least partly privatised). MagnumMan your leg is looking better, I hope it continues to recover! Seen many horse-related injuries but nothing quite like that. Had a very minor horse related crush injury a few weeks back, in and out of A&E after x-rays within 2 hours but it's still painful so I hope you're okay!

 

[GaryE]

Since I'm fishing my wife out of the hospital today, I'm close to this one. She had an endoscopy, surgery, and a CT within 5 days, and is walking out of there today. The cost? Taxes we paid in all our lives. I went 30 years and barely saw a doctor, but I was glad my taxes went to help others in that period. Now we sometimes need the system, and it works. I had to wait for one surgery, once, but that was because I chose to live in a less populated region with fewer specialists. I had had the same surgery years ago in a city, and it was quick.

I would happily pay higher taxes if I knew they were going to health care and education. Those are the fundamentals of a functioning society. I pay into an insurance scheme, but the surplus doesn't go to shareholders - it goes to care for fellow citizens. I'm good with that - it's just basic civics to me.

Our health care system has been administered by people who want in on private, for profit care, so they underfund to undermine. In my books, it shouldn't be that way, but it is.

In any system though, it would be a slow process to heal that kind of wound.

 

[Oldspartan]

Any comment on my part would need to delve into the differences between individualism and communalism, (not communism). Best not here though.

 

[fishorama]

Your leg is looking much better, Magnum! Remember us old folks heal slowly. Fingers crossed for your speedy healing.

I've dealt with several US forms of health insurance over the years. A few different employer companies w/various coverages, Medicaid for a few years & now Medicare. Except for Medicaid, all had some form of co-payments. Luckily, when my husband had very scary heart issues we were on Medicaid. We paid nothing toward what would have been very high co-pays or for his drugs. Now we pay for $2k for drugs annually at most & a monthly hit from Medicare & supplemental insurance. But that only covers some things. We opted out of an HMO-type plan, the options are not good here & don't cover anything for "out of network" care, meh!