How has it changed? Has your deductibles gone up or down? Have your coverage's changed? Is your actually cost higher or lower?
Has your health insurance changed in the last year?
09/21/2013
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Deductibles have gone up as has the premium. But those kind of increases have been relatively consistent nearly every year in the ten plus years that I've been with my health insurance purchased through my employer.
09/21/2013
Until February of this past year we didn't have any health insurance due to my husband not having employment after 09/01/2012. But then I had emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer, and the resulting medical bills were so astronomical that we qualified for six months of emergency health insurance (Medicaid). And because our "final" income was determined by subtracting those medical bills from our income, and our income has been less than stellar, to put it nicely, we still have the coverage even though it's been past six months.
We're grateful and are using the insurance as responsibly as possible: no unnecessary appointments, no treating the ER like a doctor's office, etc.
Not having health insurance coverage sucks. :/
We're grateful and are using the insurance as responsibly as possible: no unnecessary appointments, no treating the ER like a doctor's office, etc.
Not having health insurance coverage sucks. :/
09/21/2013
Mine changed. I had been on my parent's insurance but then I was too old to stay on it. I don't get enough hours at work to get it covered through work since I work two part time jobs. I bought a plan that covers catastrophic things, but not much else.
It has been a huge adjustment for me. When I was on my parents' I never had a second thought about going to the Dr. and would go for any little thing that came up. Heck that insurance even covered things like acupuncture.
Now I definitely try much more to avoid visits when possible and try to use my own medical knowledge as much as I can. I think it's made me take better care of my health though since I am a lot more conscious of preventing health problems than I used to be.
It has been a huge adjustment for me. When I was on my parents' I never had a second thought about going to the Dr. and would go for any little thing that came up. Heck that insurance even covered things like acupuncture.
Now I definitely try much more to avoid visits when possible and try to use my own medical knowledge as much as I can. I think it's made me take better care of my health though since I am a lot more conscious of preventing health problems than I used to be.
09/22/2013
I haven't had health insurance since I was seventeen years old.
09/23/2013
health insurance of mine, family and friends has been changing a lot lately. it is moving more toward personal responsibility for one's own health. plans are covering catastrophic costs but not the minor things. deductibles are climbing by a lot making people think twice about rushing to the doctor. every booboo or sniffle does not need a visit to a medical professional. take care of your own health and you should be fine.
09/23/2013
Yep! I went from having coverage to not having coverage. VA benefits are a changin.
09/23/2013
Quote:
Our deductibles just went up by a factor of six! Meanwhile our coverage's all dropped.
Originally posted by
RonLee
Deductibles have gone up as has the premium. But those kind of increases have been relatively consistent nearly every year in the ten plus years that I've been with my health insurance purchased through my employer.
09/24/2013
Quote:
Oh my. OH MY. My dad told me that even if I had to sleep in a box or choose between bread or peanut butter, the one thing to make sure to always afford was health insurance. One single event can wipe you out. Right out of college, on my own, and poor as stink, I had a little "oops" on a ski slope. It cost me $250 because I had Blue Cross I had gotten at a kiosk in the mall, on my dads advice. Without insurance, way back then, the bill for three surgeries and therapy would have come to well over $100,000! Being without insurance is a risk none of us should ever take. It matters not how young you are, how healthy you are. No one decides when that car is going to smack you at a light, or when your appendix is going to go "pop"!!!
Originally posted by
Ansley
I haven't had health insurance since I was seventeen years old.
09/24/2013
Quote:
Indeed. Sad, so sad.
Originally posted by
cmm
Yep! I went from having coverage to not having coverage. VA benefits are a changin.
09/24/2013
Quote:
You are totally correct, except no one can plan for a million things that can happen that we cannot control. Some minor (melanoma, anyone?) to serious as can be, like getting hit by a car. Some are not really "catastrophic", but the financial effects on someone without insurance may well be!
Originally posted by
Bubba29
health insurance of mine, family and friends has been changing a lot lately. it is moving more toward personal responsibility for one's own health. plans are covering catastrophic costs but not the minor things. deductibles are climbing by a
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more
health insurance of mine, family and friends has been changing a lot lately. it is moving more toward personal responsibility for one's own health. plans are covering catastrophic costs but not the minor things. deductibles are climbing by a lot making people think twice about rushing to the doctor. every booboo or sniffle does not need a visit to a medical professional. take care of your own health and you should be fine.
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09/24/2013
Quote:
Thanks for pointing out how one single event can "wipe you out" with huge bills. Had he not been out of work, imagine having to be responsible for all those bills...even having your paychecks docked. You could end up owing for the rest of your life for one illness!
Originally posted by
Jenn (aka kissmykitty)
Until February of this past year we didn't have any health insurance due to my husband not having employment after 09/01/2012. But then I had emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer, and the resulting medical bills were so astronomical that we
...
more
Until February of this past year we didn't have any health insurance due to my husband not having employment after 09/01/2012. But then I had emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer, and the resulting medical bills were so astronomical that we qualified for six months of emergency health insurance (Medicaid). And because our "final" income was determined by subtracting those medical bills from our income, and our income has been less than stellar, to put it nicely, we still have the coverage even though it's been past six months.
We're grateful and are using the insurance as responsibly as possible: no unnecessary appointments, no treating the ER like a doctor's office, etc.
Not having health insurance coverage sucks. :/ less
We're grateful and are using the insurance as responsibly as possible: no unnecessary appointments, no treating the ER like a doctor's office, etc.
Not having health insurance coverage sucks. :/ less
09/24/2013
yeah i became a student!
09/26/2013
Quote:
Same here. I was given a pacemaker when I was 10 for a heart arrhythmia. Even though I've had no medical issues in 20 years, am a fitness fanatic, non-smoker in great shape, I can't purchase insurance from any provider in my state because I now permanently have a "pre-existing condition" from when I was in 4th grade.
Originally posted by
Ansley
I haven't had health insurance since I was seventeen years old.
Totally sucks. We pay through the nose for my wife and 6 year old son to have coverage but I can not ever go to a doctor even though I'm the working spouse supporting my family. Just seems it shouldn't be this way.
I can't wait until Jan 1 when Obamacare can finally allow me to pay for my own dang insurance and take responsibility for my health coverage for the first time in my life.
10/06/2013
Quote:
WOW! That's awful, do you attribute those changes to the Affordable Care Act ACA also known as ObamaCare? Or something else entirely?
Originally posted by
Bignuf
Our deductibles just went up by a factor of six! Meanwhile our coverage's all dropped.
On a little bit different note but still associated with this topic I've been hearing some of my co-workers saying things such as, if it weren't for ObamaCare our health insurance wouldn't be paying for... (fill in the blank) wnen I personally had that test or treatment paid for by our health insurance ten years ago. It seems like the propaganda machine has taken up residence in the regular guy, on both sides of this issue.
10/06/2013
Quote:
I think that when that law all of a sudden covers millions previously not covered, and also limits the amount companies can charge for serious, and expensive pre-existing illness, then yes indeed, someone, somewhere has to pay that difference and it is all the rest of us. In fact, it is why a healthy 23 year old, who could have gotten low copay coverage for under $89 last year, will now spend over $300 for far less coverage (and has no choice about "if" to get it, since they are required to by law), then I think indeed it is "driving cost way up". Beyond that, the plan is based on all those young people paying in to cover all the older folks and the very sick.
Originally posted by
RonLee
WOW! That's awful, do you attribute those changes to the Affordable Care Act ACA also known as ObamaCare? Or something else entirely?
On a little bit different note but still associated with this topic I've been hearing some of my ... more
On a little bit different note but still associated with this topic I've been hearing some of my ... more
WOW! That's awful, do you attribute those changes to the Affordable Care Act ACA also known as ObamaCare? Or something else entirely?
On a little bit different note but still associated with this topic I've been hearing some of my co-workers saying things such as, if it weren't for ObamaCare our health insurance wouldn't be paying for... (fill in the blank) wnen I personally had that test or treatment paid for by our health insurance ten years ago. It seems like the propaganda machine has taken up residence in the regular guy, on both sides of this issue. less
On a little bit different note but still associated with this topic I've been hearing some of my co-workers saying things such as, if it weren't for ObamaCare our health insurance wouldn't be paying for... (fill in the blank) wnen I personally had that test or treatment paid for by our health insurance ten years ago. It seems like the propaganda machine has taken up residence in the regular guy, on both sides of this issue. less
I agree there is much misinformation on both sides, but it strikes me as bad when over 2000 pages of law, which even lawmakers didn't have a chance to read, and citizens didn't have a say in, gets passed that will effect every one of us.
10/06/2013
Quote:
That IS a good part of the health care law. It is a fix that was long needed. However, have you looked at the co pay and deductibles in the new plans? What would it have cost you, out of pocket, to get that pacemaker, under the plan? I see caps of $10,000 or more, all over the place.
Originally posted by
Jack Factor
Same here. I was given a pacemaker when I was 10 for a heart arrhythmia. Even though I've had no medical issues in 20 years, am a fitness fanatic, non-smoker in great shape, I can't purchase insurance from any provider in my state because I
...
more
Same here. I was given a pacemaker when I was 10 for a heart arrhythmia. Even though I've had no medical issues in 20 years, am a fitness fanatic, non-smoker in great shape, I can't purchase insurance from any provider in my state because I now permanently have a "pre-existing condition" from when I was in 4th grade.
Totally sucks. We pay through the nose for my wife and 6 year old son to have coverage but I can not ever go to a doctor even though I'm the working spouse supporting my family. Just seems it shouldn't be this way.
I can't wait until Jan 1 when Obamacare can finally allow me to pay for my own dang insurance and take responsibility for my health coverage for the first time in my life. less
Totally sucks. We pay through the nose for my wife and 6 year old son to have coverage but I can not ever go to a doctor even though I'm the working spouse supporting my family. Just seems it shouldn't be this way.
I can't wait until Jan 1 when Obamacare can finally allow me to pay for my own dang insurance and take responsibility for my health coverage for the first time in my life. less
10/06/2013
Quote:
I don't need a new pacemaker. I simply want a checkup, simple dental work. I haven't seen a doctor since high school and I'm in my 30's. I just need the basic stuff that seems a lot of people take for granted.
Originally posted by
Bignuf
That IS a good part of the health care law. It is a fix that was long needed. However, have you looked at the co pay and deductibles in the new plans? What would it have cost you, out of pocket, to get that pacemaker, under the plan? I see caps of
...
more
That IS a good part of the health care law. It is a fix that was long needed. However, have you looked at the co pay and deductibles in the new plans? What would it have cost you, out of pocket, to get that pacemaker, under the plan? I see caps of $10,000 or more, all over the place.
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BTW you don't HAVE to go to the exchanges.
With my salary, I don't qualify for any subsidies. Thus, I will most likely be purchasing another private plan in the market once the pre-existing condition ban is lifted. The exchanges are just one solution for a specific demographic that it fits.
I would have certainly looked at the companies in the exchanges back when I was in my 20's.
10/06/2013
Total posts: 18
Unique posters: 9