Let’s get this point out of the way upfront: everyone should have health insurance. We all know this without anyone emphasizing the point. But with job losses in recent years, companies canceling their coverage, and the cost of independent plans spiraling out of control, millions of people have been forced to drop coverage in favor of just surviving. Many just can not afford health insurance any longer.
If you’re one of them, or think you might be in the near future, here are some suggestions that might help in the event that you absolutely can’t afford a traditional health insurance plan. One or a combination of several may at least partially offset the loss of the typical $1000-plus per month plans that cover all of the things we’re used to.
AFLAC
This isn’t health insurance in any sense of the term, but AFLAC offers plans that will pay flat amounts for specified illnesses and injuries. Far less expensive than health care plans, you can buy a plan for well under $100 per month that will pay thousands of dollars at the time of a covered injury or illness.
Healthcare providers won’t accept it as health insurance, but the company pays direct to you so that you will have some opportunity to pay bills at your option after the fact.
Take care of yourself
What to do if You Absolutely Can’t Afford Health Insurance
Playing tackle football with your buddies on the weekend might help you blow off steam but it’s an accident waiting to happen. Alcohol consumption brings all kinds of potential for disaster, as does climbing a ladder to clean your gutters. And reckless driving is a complete no-go. Slow down and be more aware of what could go wrong, because now there’s no back up plan if it does.
Mini clinics
In the past few years, in house mini clinics have opened at retail outlets by the thousands. If you can not afford health insurance these are a definate option.
We had problems with a health plan conversion recently, during which time my wife had an ear infection. Since our insurance was invalid (though fully paid!) we opted to go to a clinic at Walgreens. They diagnosed the problem and prescribed three medications. Total cost: $49 for the visit, plus $63 for the prescriptions.
Now with a plan in place, we’d have paid $40 for the office visit and $20 each for the meds, or about $80. But for just $112, we took care of it at Walgreens. I’m not minimizing spending $112, but it’s quite a bit cheaper than $1000 per month for a plan, plus $80 for treatment co-pays.
Non-prescription substitutes for prescriptions
If you need a prescription and don’t have coverage, ask the pharmacist about a non-prescription alternative.
We’ve had two situations in the past couple of years where prescriptions were not covered under our plan for one reason or another. The alternative was for us to pay out of pocket. In both cases, the pharmacist recommended an over the counter alternative, and each time it did the job. Many over the counter meds were once prescription only.
We probably should be doing this all the time in an effort to keep healthcare costs down but it’s critical if you have no coverage.
Get your kids into a plan
If you can not afford health insurance for your entire family, at least try to get your children covered. I can think of no more tragic situation than a parent facing a medical emergency for their child with severely constrained treatment options due to finances.
You can generally get a plan for a child in the low 100s per month, and well below with reduced coverage. Eliminate your cable TV, cut back to eating rice and beans every day, sell your second car, or do what ever you need to do to make room in your budget to get your kids into a plan.
Government programs
Check and see what coverages may be available through Medicaid or state agencies. The income qualifications are stiff, but again try to at least get coverage for your kids, and to see what other benefits might be available.
Buy the LEAST EXPENSIVE plan available
Finally, consider buying the cheapest health insurance possible, sometimes referred to as “catastrophic coverage”. This isn’t the kind of coverage that will pay for all of your healthcare needs, but it will cover the big ones where it matters most.
As an example, let’s assume a married couple, both 40, with two children, considering a plan under Assurant’s popular CoreMed Plan. (This is not an endorsement of Assurant, but their website is extremely user friendly!)
With a $1000 deductible, $35 office co-pay, 80% coinsurance (to $3500) and a $6 million lifetime maximum, the monthly premium is $1213. That’s the size of a typical house payment! And your out-of-pocket maximum could be as high as $4500 (deductible plus coinsurance) on any single event.
But by going with a $10,000 deductible, no office visit coverage, but zero coinsurance with a $6 million lifetime maximum, the monthly premium falls to $303, or about the size of a modest car payment. You wouldn’t have much coverage for routine care, but your out of pocket maximum would be limited to $10,000—true catastrophic coverage.
Many people view the quality of a health plan by the routine care it covers, such as doctor visits and tests, but that kind of coverage is where the expensive premiums are and if you’re reading this article you probably can’t swing that level of protection right now.
While it’s true that the cheaper plan would leave you paying for most (or even all) of your medical costs in most years—in addition to your monthly premiums—it will offer undeniable advantages:
- Just having an insurance ID card will make it far easier to be admitted to a hospital
- You will be part of a network that requires providers to discount their services. My son had surgery a few months back in which the providers discounted their fees by up to two-thirds; absent network coverage, we’d have been on the hook for 100%.
- Though you will pay for routine procedures, you WILL have coverage for the truly big ones—the kind that land people in bankruptcy court when they have no coverage
- In a truly serious medical situation—where costs exceed $10,000—you will have coverage available that will enable you to have access to what ever treatment options are available.
Get a part-job with health insurance
Many people are unaware that there are companies that offer health insurance to their part-time employees. I’ve compiled a list of prominent employers with health insurance for part-timers in the post, 20 Part-time Jobs With Health Insurance.
This is an excellent source to consider if you don’t have health insurance on your primary job, can’t qualify for private coverage due to pre-existing conditions, or you just can not afford health insurance at the going rate.
There’s a saying in the health insurance business, ”any coverage is better than no coverage”, and that’s generally true. Better to have low premium/high out of pocket coverage than none at all. One serious medical emergency will have made it money well spent.
Are you in, or have you had, a situation where you had to drop health insurance coverage due to job loss or financial problems? What did you do to deal with it?
I’m an emergency physician. By federal law, if you present to an emergency room with an EMERGENCY CONDITION (Note – that does not include a rash you’d had for a year!) the emergency department and the entire hospital must stabilize you up to their maximum capability, regardless of your ability to pay – that may include such things as a heart bypass or brain surgery. Of course, the hospital will send you a (huge) bill. But – if you have no assets (or no locatable assets), the hospital can’t get water out of a stone, and will write off the bill.
Good points. I have 2 brothers without health insurance. They do need at least catastrophic coverage. They’re minimal wage earners and don’t manage money well.
.-= Ken´s last blog ..Weekend Roundup =-.
Ishabaka – That’s an excellent point about true emergency cases. But it won’t help the person who needs something critical that falls short of an emergency.
But even if you’re accepted to the ER with a true emergency, you could come out with a catastrophic financial situation absent any insurance coverage at all.
Ken – If they’re minimum wage and don’t manage money well, they may be banking on the fact that they’re too poor to ever be forced to pay. But that still would leave them with very limited options in the event of a health problem, particularly one that’s progressive.
For me it’s not about being unable to afford health insurance, it’s about being unable to qualify for private insurance if I were no longer employed. Supposedly HIPPA is supposed to help with that, but I’ve heard horror stories.
.-= Jackie´s last blog ..Potato Success & Links =-.
So true Jackie. The health insurance companies are able to turn you down for just about anything. Some will turn you down if you’re on too many prescription therapies–like three or more.
It was said however that under President Obama’s healthcare bill that companies will no longer be able to decline applicants for pre-existing conditions. That’s one of the changes that needed to happen, but we’ll have to see what the insurance companies will charge. Approving coverage at 2-3 times the going rate will have the same net affect as a declination for most people.
Kevin, there is also an alternative out there called Short Term Medical – there are some reputable companies selling this and basically the way it works is you pay month by month and you have the choice of several different plans including lower or higher deductibles – coverage is really good, but it only lasts for 6 months. But, at least it’s something!
My brother-in-law signed up for this b/c he had no insurance and shortly after developed some pretty serious conditions – the insurance company paid their portion no problem – his premiums were right around or just under $100/mo!
.-= Jason @ Redeeming Riches´s last blog ..The Best Debt Everyone Should Have and Never Pay Off =-.
Thanks Jason, that sounds like something worth looking into, especially if the uninsured period is expected to be temporary.
Several general comments: most health insurance plans are health care “financing,” NOT health care “insurance.” Insurance is, by definition, the pooling of risk for an unexpected financial loss (like your house catching fire or a tree falling on your car during a tornado, or, health-wise, having heart surgery for $87,000). Question: does your auto insurance pay for oil changes, new tires, or that brake job? Of course not; those are routine maintenance items that you pay for on your own. What if your auto insurance offered to cover them – think your premium would go up? Same thing with health insurance: the “better” the coverage, the more expensive it is. When looking into this:
1. How “much” health care to you generally use? Don’t buy a Lexus if all you need is a used car.
2. What’s your real risk? Big, expensive stuff (like hospital stays & surgery)? Most folks could find a way to finance $5-10k if they had to, but how about $50,000+? That’s what health insurance is for.
3. While it’s okay to shop online “on your own,” most folks are better off dealing w/ a broker who specializes in health insurance. Find a broker near you by visiting http://www.nahu.org, the probessional association for brokers (full disclosure: like me) who specialize in health insurance. He’ll be able to present you with a wide range of plans and options designed to give you the best, most cost-effective coverage.
4. If you find it hard to get coverage, especially due to health reasons, remember: there are a LOT of different plans & companies around and, to be frank, there are very few people who find themselves completely out of luck. Again, deal w/ an NAHU broker who has a “vested interest” in helping you (remember: if you’re not happy, he doesn’t get paid!).
5. Finally, stick with the “brand name” companies. This stuff is too important to “play around” with and, sadly, there are a bunch of plans around that, frankly, are not all that great.
While there are certainly a lot of things that could/should be changed about our current health care & health insurance system, getting mad at your insurance company because of high prices is rather like being mad at the waiter because the food at the restaurant is too expensive. Your premium cost reflects (1) the cost of health care (MD, hospital, drugs, & lots of gov’t regulations), (2) how much health care “financing” you want or expect (i.e., routine care benefits like MD & drug copays, etc.), and (3) your specific “situation” (age, sex, dependents, location, &, especially, health because, just like auto insurance, if you have a bunch of tickets or accidents, you’re gonna’ pay more for your car insurance).
We don’t really have a health “insurance” crisis in this country. It’s the health “care” that’s expensive, and that’s reflected by the premium cost. Control the cost by:
1. Finding a good broker (see above).
2. Buy a plan with a big deductible.
3. Consider supplementing that big deductible plan with critical illness and accident coverage (73% of claims over $10,000 are due to either accident or the “big things” – heart, stroke, cancer, etc.).
4. Take better care of yourself; eat right, exercise, be smart about it.
Art – Very well said, and I endorse all that you’ve said for anyone in a position to be able to afford a health insurance plan.
What Art has pointed out is the critical difference between a true health insurance plan–a plan that pays for true catyclisms–and the better understood, but much more expensive health benefit plans that pay for all things medical. The former is what we all need, the latter is what we increasingly can no longer afford.
Knowing the differnce is critical.
I’m afraid this does little to uncover the big myth about Health Care. Insurance works best when it spreads the risk of low-probability, major losses among a lot of people (the law of large numbers). It does NOT work to run all of your expenses through a middle-man.
Catastrophic health insurance uses the insurance concept for it’s strengths. All those plans with small copay’s and coverage at the first dollar of expense are completely wrong and inefficient use of the concept of “insurance.”
Find the lowest cost policy you can and then use your premium savings to fund a cash reserve account (or better yet, an HSA). Use that money to pay your medical costs. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with the doctor on your fee. Many will be happy to be paid today at 50% of MSRP rather than wait 90-180 days for the insurance company to pay them nearly the same “negotiated” rate.
Unfortunately, the government doesn’t want that competition and will eventually crowd you (the individual) out of the market. Oh wait, they’ve already done that. It is called ObamaCare.
.-= John D. Buerger, CFP®´s last blog ..Money Matters =-.
So true John, they’re really benefit packages! Unfortunately, that’s what people have become accustomed to and how the prefer to consider “insurance”. That’s really caused the cost to explode.
I have been looking for insurance coverage for my wife and myself and wondered if it’s worth waiting to see how the presidents Health Reform Bill impacts me purchasing our health insurance. Does anyone have any idea on this.
Many Thanks,
Robert
I would also ask your church for help… welfare use to be the job of the church until the government took it over. It’s the church that is supposed to be helping those struggling and in need.
Good idea! Churches can be good places to get help in life’s emergencies. With huge medical bills, you might find someone at Church who can negotiate a lower and more tolerable payment arrangement, even if direct financial help isn’t available. The community aspect of Church is often forgotten, and if it doesn’t exist where you’re worshipping, it may be time to find another.
I also forgot to mention that it’s the church that should be helping out other Christians in trouble… and non-Christians. Many churches are struggling these days financially but it never hurts to ask.
Just don’t expect the church to write you a check and not ask questions or require you to do some things yourself… a good church will ask questions, get you on a budget if you’re not already doing so, and may ask you to do some financial training or read a book as part of giving you money… .which you should cheerfully agree to if you really need and want help.
hi,
my daughter is a food server until she finds a job in marketing. she pays about 100.00 for insurance but it hardly covers anything. she has had to have a colonoscopy and her tonsils removed (tonsils should have been done when she was on our insurance)and we have had to pay so would it be better for her to just drop her insurance for now and just go to emergency room….her boyfriend just had a seizure while driving my daughters car and spent 2 days in hospital with cat scan, etc and probably won’t have to pay a dime. by the way he’s allright…thank you, susie
Hi Susie – like the quote in the post reads, “any coverage is better than no coverage”, so my advice is to keep the coverage, but maybe do some digging to see exactly what it DOES cover. Hopefully, it at least covers catastrophic say anything above $5000 or $10,000.
I don’t know why the colonoscopy and tonsils weren’t covered, unless they fell below the plan deductible. If the deductible is $5000, and she had one procedure done in 2009 and the other in 2010, she would have to satisfy the deductible in both years, but that’s just a guess. Colonoscopies may fall under well care, and while group plans generally pay for well care, individual plans often don’t.
Did you contact the insurance company and ask why they didn’t cover anything?
Lost my job with excellent health insurance then COBRA ran out … now I have a job that only pays a fraction of what I used to make and with NO health insurance. To top it off I have an “indolent” cancer. Thank God I don’t need treatment. I looked into the new program for people like me offered by the government but it is still $500 per month for me … which I just can’t afford.
Well, I lived in Japan with my Japanese wife for 15 years so I know what a good medical system is like, and isn’t … I’ll be returning to Japan one day.
Things have changed in the past year. A lot of commenters are talking about horror stories when they lost their job. For people with no group coverage and pre-existing condition, there are now PCIP plans that were not available before. You can see this information on my updated site.
There are also often state based health care plans and usually those that can’t afford health care can qualify for discount coverage.
Shey–That’s good information on your site. The President’s plan is supposed to require health insurers to accept clients regardless of pre-existing conditions, but I don’t think that will happen until January 2013, if memory serves. Either way we don’t know what the details will be or how much they’ll charge. Hitting someone with a pre-existing and charging them $2000 a month in premiums will be the same as declining them so it may not be the advantage that it sounds at first glance.
Hi Shaun–That’s true, but there are also income thresholds that are set pretty low. In many cases you’d have to be a certified poverty case to qualify. They’re always worth checking into, but don’t be surprised if your income is “too high” at $35,000 for a family of four. The healthcare problem really is greatest amoung the middle class.
I can’t afford insurance, and I do not qualify for state help…so when I get sick I just wait it out. I had an ear infection a couple of weeks ago. I had to just pop an Advil and wait it out. It sucks…In my family the men have a history of high blood pressure and heart disease, and colon cancer. I know I should get myself checked, but I can’t afford it. Even if I went, and they discovered something…I would have no financial means to get well…so I just bought a life insurance policy instead.
i make 26,000 a year and will not be able to afford the out of pocket 1,300 to 1,400 dollars a year for health insurance, will stay afloat until put in jail, good luck to everyone else, but my days if i stay in this country are numbered, goodbye!
asashii, you’re doing it wrong if you make 26,000 a year and cannot afford 1,300 to 1,400 dollars a year. It costs about 7,200 to 10,000 a year for a decent dwelling, 2,400 a year for food, your figure of 1,300 a year for health insurance, and 3,600 a year for amenities such as cable, phone, internet, and utilities. As long as you don’t buy expensive clothing, eat out regularly, finance a car, or buy stupid things like 50 inch televisions, the remaining 10,000+ should be enough for anything else that comes up, including household necessities and emergencies. Try living off a meager 10,000 a year.
Stevebo, In response to your last comment — I’m sure $26,000 a year is BEFORE taxes. And who can live on $200 a month for food? Some kind of fruit everyday is at least $1 a day. 1 apple is $1.00 – so that is $30 for fruit alone if you want to eat something healthy!!! How about a salad every 2 days– Lettuce 1, Peppers $1.50, Celery $1.69, Carrots $1.50 and you have a minimal salad! Not to mention DECENT ground sirloin and $4.99 a lb. If you eat 8 oz that would last 2 days; if you eat 4 oz. that would last 4 days. I mean $200 a month is NOTHING unless you eat Top Ramen. You certainly cannot eat healthy on $200 a month!!!Never mind that you don’t have a perfect car; one breakdown can be $500! What about dental work!!! 1 crown is $2,000–to have a tooth pulled is $200 – as long as you have no emergencies it is possible to live on $26,000 but its not easy
Hi Patricia–I have to agree with you. Stevebo’s analysis figures a single person who doesn’t have a car (at least $4,000/year if you DON’T have a loan on it!). It would be a tight squeeze with little room for savings or extra’s. Social Security taxes alone would eat up another $2,000 and a matching amount for federal and state withholding.
And if asashii has a family, food alone would rocket to $600-$800/month (an extra $4,800 to $7,200 per year).
I know people who earn the kind of income asashii does, and unless they have an employer plan, they don’t have health insurance. That’s the problem.
Thanks for sharing this very written article. There is no doubt that more people than ever are now facing the reality that they do not have health insurance. One thing the article mentions which I like is that one of the main things people in this circumstance can do which doesn’t cost any money is to get and stay in shape. Simple exercises like walking, jogging, swimming, whatever it may be, along with eating right could help eliminate some of the health issues many people face. That should be the first line of prevention. Another great point, especially for families is to do whatever you can to get your kids at least covered, whether from privatized insurance or a governmental program. In the meantime, when health issues need to be addressed, most of the urgent care centers are easier and more affordable to make appointments at that hospitals.
Thanks Jonah, you’ve hit on the very points I was going for with this article.
what oganizations can provide medical coverage for my sister. Harbor U.C.L.A. is just giving her the runaround. At last measurment the “ovarian cyst” she had measured 26cm. * 12cm. * 24cm. I think it is a tumor. Anyway sis can not afford to pay at all. Any suggestions would be so much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Wolf Gang–Some hospitals will work with her, but she’ll at least have to agree to a payment plan. Check different hospitals and see what can be worked out. Also, look for government agencies (start with the local department of health) and see what programs are available. You may also be able to get help from charities. Does she belong to a church or temple that might provide some financial assistance?
These are all great ideas, but how do you suggest it be handled when the employee group plan costs 50.00 more a month than you make. Then you still have to meet a $5000.00 out of pocket expense. Oh and the 50.00 more per month is before taxes. And that is just coverage for employee and children, not spouse.
I would look into your state sponsored Medicaid program. It will generally only cover your children, not you and your spouse. For you and your spouse, you should qualify under PPACA/Obamacare come January 1, 2014. The rates are supposed to be heavily subsidized by tax credits, even if you have no tax liablity. We’ll have to see how that plays out in 2014, but it may offer hope for your situation.
We currently have medicaid, but due to my husband getting a job, my kids lose their coverage in September. My twin daughters won’t even be a year old, and have no coverage. We will no longer qualify to have them covered even though we qualify for nearly the maximum amount of food stamps.
Try getting private coverage for the girls, it’s usually not that expensive for children. However I’m hearing that some insurance companies are abandoning child-only policies with the onset of healthcare reform. But I imagine you’ll be able to get some sort of coverage come January 1st, 2014. The rates are expected to be favorable for lower income families under the new plans.
There are surgeons out there offering surgeries for the uninsured at amazing prices. My boyfriend just had gall bladder surgery for $120 initial doc visit, $60 pre-op blood work, and $3700 for the surgery in Bakersfield, California. No additional fees! Included in this is one night in the hospital, if needed. Look up Cirugia Sin Fronteras or Surgery for People Without Insurance. Dr Jorge Enriquez performes the surgeries at San Joaquin Community Hospital in Bakersfield. They also have podiatrists, OBGYN, urologists, gastrointestinal, etc. 1-661-333-5746 or 1-661-327-1655. I understand that another doctor offers similar services in Las Vegas. Google No Insurance Surgeries.
Hi Gracie–Thanks for the advice. I’m hearing that such practices will only become more common as the price of healthcare/health insurance continues to rise. Another big growth area are cross-border procedures. Its a lot less expensive to have surgeries in foreign countries than in the US. With Obamacare rolling out, I’m hearing that facilities are springing up in Mexico just accross the border. We’re truly living in interesting times.
Humorous to read these comments, most of which view the issue only from their personal point of view (like Art, the broker!). As a former broker, one thing to know – you cannot fully trust a person who works on commission. That being understood, our healthcare is one aspect of our lives that should NOT be insured. It should be funded by all of us in some form. Insure my car and house and life…not my ability to obtain medical treatment for myself. I only have the one life. I can get another car…..
Unfortunately, the middle men (insurers, brokers, medical supply companies, pharma reps) are all taking precious money out of the system that should be going to CARE. They need to be slowly eliminated.
We do NOT need groups and industries enriching themselves from what should be our healthcare system. We have this now.
To minimize the risk, everyone must participate in paying, everyone must be covered. Thank you Mr. Obama for risking it enough to try to help us. Reform is not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction simply in eliminating insurers ability to DENY applications for coverage from citizens. It will be worked out over time. What we have now hasn’t been working since the 1970′s when I first sold it.
Spoken like a true, redistributionist Socialist, FormerBroker; the government knows best, how to handle my money better than I do, how to make decisions for me better than I do, how to take care of me better than I do … I should be glad that there are those “betters” who are willing to sacrifice themselves by going into government / public “service” so they can take care of us ignorant peons. Who was it that said “from each according to their ability; to each according to their needs?” (Hint: look it up)
The government does few things well or efficiently … It’s hard for me to see how trusting them to handle my health care needs and decisions will be better for me. While there is certainly more than enough “blame” to go around in the lousy system that we’ve “jury-rigged,” there’s also a lot of things that could have been done to improve our health care system that wouldn’t have entailed a complete takeover of it by the government. Fact is, there’s very little in the “Affordable Care Act” that actually does anything to control or lower the cost of health care, but there is a lot that will raise costs and increase wait times for care significantly.
As an evil, blood-sucking “middle man” who takes money out of the system (money better entrusted to the government, who will be far more efficient with it than I will), I simply find it hard to believe that a bureaucrat living and working in the DC “bubble” (I.e., not working in the real world, etc.) will do a better job at handling my money and making my decisions than I might. On the other hand, perhaps I’m simply to “dumb” to know the difference or how better off we’ll all be in the future.
Thank you, FormerBroker, for opening my eyes!
Hi FormerBroker–I have to agree with Art here, I don’t see the government doing a better job. I’ve studied Obamacare a good bit. There’s a lot that I like – applicants cannot be turned down, rated up or dropped due to health conditions – we should have had that all along. But the bill does nothing on the cost containment side, which I believe to be the core problem with the US healthcare system. Some friends of mine who work in healthcare believe that reform has been set up to fail so that it ultimately can be replaced by a single payer system. That’s basically an expansion of Medicare, which is no longer even a standalone system in that people need to have generous private insurance supplemental policies to cover the increasing amounts Medicare won’t.
I don’t believe any system – private, public or the disasterous hybrid system we’ve got now (and will continue under “reform”) will fix anything until cost containment is implemented. The grab bag system isn’t workking because it can’t. To simply turn the system over to the government under the “they always know best” mentality won’t fix the problem.
I am completely out of a job. What do I do?
Hi Debra–Does you employer offer health insurance coverage under the COBRA plan? It’s usually expensive but it could work for a month or two. Longer term, you can either consider a private plan with a very high deductible to keep the premiums low, or you could look for a part time job that has health coverage. You can start by checking out this post: http://outofyourrut.com/20-part-time-jobs-with-health-insurance/ . For what it’s worth, I talked to a girl who works at Starbucks last week and she raved about their health insurance coverage. You only have to work 20 hours per week to qualify. Good luck Debra, and please report back with what you work out.
Here is my problem, a year ago my husband got a compression fracture in is spine, we have no health insurance, we went to the same back dr he has seen over the years. He needed x-rays and an MRI. Since we put it all on a credit card (sucks) we got discounts for paying cash, if we had insurance we would have forked out much more. They gave us 60% off for the office visit 50% off for x-rays and 60% off the MRI. So we spent out of pocket $1500 total, with insurance we would have paid way more. This is the problem with insurance, you can get a “cheap” plan with a $10,000 deductible but the Dr’s charge twice as much as they normally do if you HAVE insurance, and people wonder why health care is so expensive. There is no such thing as “affordable” health care with these kind of practices. Imagine what they charge to those living off of welfare benefits, and I(we all) pay taxes for that crap.
Very disappointing. Our health should not be a commodity, but it is.
Hi Christy–You make an excellent point. I’ve seen and heard this elsewhere too. It’s a bit of a vicious circle in that the insurance companies are constantly lowering payments to providers, so providers raise their prices to compensate. No matter how it plays out, we always seem to pay more. What’s becoming discouraging is how even with insurance, people are still paying out thousands of dollars, or going into debt. There’s a price spiral that’s making everything worse accross the board.
So, really, what does Obama care do for the ones that cant afford insurance? Say you make 10 grand a year and have no insurance because you just cant afford it, you don’t qualify for medicare because you are a single male that works a low paying or part time job. They are just lucky that they have never been sick, after you pay your bills, ie pay rent, utilities, food, child support, then there just is no money left. I don’t see Obama care doing anything for these people. I see them getting a penalty for not having any insurance. so now they have even less money to work with, doesn’t sound like much help there does it. They couldn’t get insurance before and will still be unable too. Sounds like all it really is, is just a big money grab! Seriously, I know people that fit this description, and it sounds like they are now #$%^@&!# more so under Obama care.
That part is fuzzy for me too Marcel. Supposedly, the working poor will get generous tax credits, but those don’t come until your taxes are filed and the refund comes in the following year. How do they pay for the coverage in the year prior to filing their income tax return??? You need coverage in order to get the tax credit, but if you can’t afford the premium until you get the credit, then the whole thing falls apart.