Fricken insurance!!!!!!!!!!!!

[93Ranger4x4]

Welp, im offically and extremely PO'd with my insurance. I had surgery a little over a month ago to remove an enlarged lymphnode that was on my neck. Got a bill for 50 bucks, not bad, got a bill for 369 bucks, kinda upset but again not too bad. Then today i get home from work and get the mail, walk inside, what do i find? ANOTHER bill, opened it and this time it was the final blow to the wallet, $1240 bucks!!! AAAAAHHHHHH, this is the worst timing to be getting bills like this. They just cut our hours back to 32 hours a week for this month(depending on how things go, might go back to 40 or worse.....) Also got a baby on the way and we are just about ready to close on some land to build our house on. I was wanting to hurry up and get my new gears installed in the ranger so i could get it moving again but looks like thats gonna wait a little while longer now since i gotta pay 1500 bucks outta my pocket, i could have sworn that my insurance said i only had to pay up to 1500 bucks then any other medical thing after that was 100 percent covered under the insurance, i know that i have paid at least 500 bucks so far not including the 369 bucks and now the 1240 bucks. if i pay both the 1240 and the 369 i'll be well over the out of pocket thing. im just extremely upset right now.

Sorry for the long post, i had to get this off my chest. It just really rubs me the wrong way at this point in time.

 

[dru]

HMO? this is a great example of the "for profit" medical care in this country. i had the state attorney generals office call me 2 years ago telling me to pay $14,000 for medical care i received in a car accident that was not my fault, or they would hold all accounts in my name and garnish my wages. jackasses!!!

 

[93Ranger4x4]

My insurance is through united healthcare. really good if you need it, but evidently not good for your wallet....

 

[Viva*the*Ranger]

I have Blue shield, and they suck too. My co-pay for a CT scan was $50, then I got three other bills rolling in, totalling $756. Just for a damn CT. It's not fun when you live paycheck to paychek.

 

[Jspafford]

CONGRATS DUDE! Thanks for telling me the good news!

 

[doorgunner]

when i grow up i want to be a congressman--free health insurance, freeeverything, you don't even have to pay ur taxes unless you get appointed to a presidential post. Oh i forgot--give urself a $30,000 a year payraise to help out when the economy bottoms out & free sex(male or female--depends on the mood ur in) fellas don't sweat the healthScare system--this summer we might not be able to afford the gas to get to the doctor if Exxon keeps cutting back on gas production to offset the economic downturn(like my grandma use to say, if something is stealing the chicken egss, look for the snake in the grass!)and being a Nam vet i just happened to notice our soldiers are still giving their lives to .....--- "of the people, by the people, for the people"

 

[igiveup]

Hello

Thank god I live in Alberta Canada. Government takes care of our healthcare. We have longer waiting times and other problems but at least we won't go bankrupt.

igiveup

 

[jmcarthy]

Just heard today more than half of all bankruptcies have a health care issue behind them. Most of those people have health insurance. My boss is from Canada (he moved here about 10 years ago (and had a baby down here)). I asked about their (Canadian) health care compared to ours. He said they have long lines only because they have absolutely no co-pay. He suggested the lines would be short or non-existent up there if they were to add a $10 or $25 co-pay. He said people go to the doctors up there for hangnails. Mostly I refuse to see a doctor, they cost a lot of money and are most often wrong! At my expense!!!

 

[LearjetMinako]

Sounds like someone is screwing up. Check your plan and call their office. My mother had a similar thing with dental. She got billed twice because someone screwed up.

 

[Mark_88]

Just heard today more than half of all bankruptcies have a health care issue behind them. Most of those people have health insurance. My boss is from Canada (he moved here about 10 years ago (and had a baby down here)). I asked about their (Canadian) health care compared to ours. He said they have long lines only because they have absolutely no co-pay. He suggested the lines would be short or non-existent up there if they were to add a $10 or $25 co-pay. He said people go to the doctors up there for hangnails. Mostly I refuse to see a doctor, they cost a lot of money and are most often wrong! At my expense!!!

When we had OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan)...I think I posted this a long time ago...and you got a cold...the Doctor would bill you for coming in the first time $50 but OHIP paid it so you never saw the bill...then the doctor would ask you to come back in a week for another appointment...even though you didn't need to come back...and they'd bill another $50...or more...

Before OHIP...if you have a cold...come see them if it gets worse...and otherwise just suck it up because a cold will be gone in 7 days...regardless...but people flocked to their doctors for the OTC (Over the Counter) meds that did nothing other than drain your wallet...

It's mostly the fear factor that gets people flocking to see doctors...but I've noticed that there are not too many doctors offices where I live...and they don't take patients anymore...unless one dies...then there is a lottery to see who gets in...

Freaking pathetic at this point...

 

[AKBroncoII]

It's almost better to NOT have healthcare in most cases. I've had many fees waived from doctors just because I didn't. I have ended up paying more by having insurance. They see it as a way to make MORE money.

 

[Will]

This negativity is the problem. Personally, as a person I mean--I don't want to hear your problems. Go sort it out. I have 4 kids. I am in and out of the doctor all the time from various accidents. Most recently, my oldest son busted out his 2 front teeth while sledding. The insurance company refused everything initially--of course. You figure it out and go on with life. We don't all need to hear about it. Everyone has problems. Use the telephone and get some answers. Try to be positive.

The whole world is not in the toilet. Cancel your subscriptions and blow your TV up with your shotgun. The world economy is completely based on people's attitudes. When you pass on negativity, it doesn't make things better. It makes even more people curl up in a ball. The whole economy is for the end user--you and me. Getting people the things they need and want.

This whole turndown is simply a period of general negativity. People are scared to move their money because of all the bad news. The bad news gets worse as more people are even more scared to move their money. The negativity begins to infect us at all levels. It's stupid. But it's real. Don't you remember "there's nothing to fear but fear itself"? What do you think that was aimed at?

In the ideal world everyone is working doing something other people want. That's the basis of any economic system. So do something other people want. And spreading your negative attitude isn't it. The best thing you can do to make your own life better is to try to cheer up the people around you. Happy people buy things. Scared people don't. It's really that simple.

 

[superdave1984]

I am guessing that you had a co-pay and a deductible. Probably the deductible was $1500 and usually after that they pay 80%. Likely that's the reason for the bills.

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

I work a lot with insurance companies since I'm a receptionist at a family practice in MA. Here's my take.

Insurance sucks, but it's damn good to have when you need it. They are going to try and get out of paying because it's a business and they want to make money too. Fight them long enough, and you can get them to pay. It just depends on if you want to take the time to work with them.

To the OP, you need a better plan and you need to READ the plan. You obviously have no idea as to how your plan works. People often choose the "cheapest" plan they can; the problem with this is that they have HUGE deductibles for average claims like sick visits and lab work. You save money monthly on a low premium, but you will pay for it when you get sick. READ your plan and make a decision based on your needs. Don't ever just sign up for the cheapest plan without carefully considering the consequences.

To AKBroncoII, it might be better for you, but when those doctors waive their fees, they are not getting paid one cent for the time spent with you. Multiply that by a couple hundred, and it gets out of control and totally unsustainable. Good doctors are not out to make a killing, and deserve to be paid well after all the school and training they went through to help you get better. The problem lies with people that go to the doctor that don't really need to see one. As stated before, there's a fear factor that drives people to see their doctor when they really don't need to.

 

[Ozwynn]

if it was all done at the hospital then it was billed wrong. Happened when I had my surgery back in September. I started getting bills I should not have because my out of pocket is only $1800. the individual doctors (I saw like 4 of them) presented their own bills instead of the hospital presenting one bill. I gathered up all the bills (at the insistence of the surgeon) and the hospital put them all into 1 bill and rebilled the insurance company.