How important are your health benies??

[eelman]

I know lots of people complain about there Job etc.. But do they ever take time and look at there health benefits? I just got the lowdown in the mail for my brief 3-1/2 days in the hospital last month, the Bill was a whopping $15,745 dollars !! Holy god ! If we did not have health coverage we would be in the street ! It cost us a total of $20.00 for the copay. My wife just told me that seeing that makes her thankfull indeed for her job and the benefits it provides. How in the world do people pay for healthcare without it! Now yes, its a gamble and sometimes you never need it but in my situation, it was a lifesaver...I was just shocked when I opened the bill and saw the cost of that...It did include Cat scans, antibiotics , doctors etc but still....Big money.

[ThrowingTimber]

14 grand was for sponge baths huh? C'mon fess up

[Flaptail]

Next to your annual salary, it's the next thing you should consider before taking a job. My employer pays 82% of my monthly premium and the co-pay for the plan is 10.00 ofr office visits hospitalization and 5 for meds.

In 93 when I spent 11 days in the hospital the bill was 26kplus, I paid 10.00 dollars.

You bet it's important Bill, very important.

[PaulS]

- and that's with the insurance companies negotiated discount.

2 weeks ago my bill was $1,295.00 for 4 stiches in the forehead. About 7 min. w/the doctor.

People should complain less about ins. companies and more about Dr. and hosp. bills.

[MakoMike]

No doubt it's important. But keep in mind that those bills the hospitals, labs, doctors etc. send out are really bogus. I got a bill from some blood work I had done, and the bill was for $400. when I checked my health Insurance statement I find out that they paid $40 for it. I don't know what the insurance company will relly pay on that $15 grand, but I'll bet it will be a lot less than full price.

[crash]

Even with my insurance i would have shelled out about a grand, better than 15, but still excessive if you ask me. My company just switched plans, it's really bad now, so I've got three job interviews this week.

[likwid]

doctors want more money
doctors have more liability
insurance charges doctors more for insurance
we get charged more for insurance
insurance wants more money
insurance charges doctors more money
insurance charges company more money
doctors have to ask for more money

vicious cycle indeed.

[Sluggoslinger]

Very important. As a kid I had a tumor in my spine and the bill was well over 100K but my parents had health ins. They would have been screwed and also might not have found it in time for me to still be walking. The doctors said there was a good chance i wouldn't have walked anyway. I was lucky.

4 years ago a cracked some bones in my face and that was about 2oK to fix...

It IS worth it. Thank god for it!

[BigBo]

You wouldn't believe the medical bills I've racked up this year alone. Even with the employer subsidized health care benefit, it's put a major financial strain on my wife and I. The insurance company has been very slow in paying, and I'm getting the daily collection calls Not what I need with ongoing treatment to worry about.

[maddog2020]

Employee benefits typically cost companies 3X what your salary is. That is what the HR person fed us ..... lol.

Health benefits are crucial. Always good to have more than one option IMHO. Medical bills are crazy $$$ now a days for sure.

I remember my uncle had a small business of his own and never got health insurance. Stomach cancer killed him, but he racked up a HUGE debt..... he had to pay it out of his pocket! No one would touch him until he gave them a lot of $ up front for the operation(s) he needed......... in the end he starved to death. Cancer didn't kil him - he couldn't digest food any more. Not a fun way to go.

If I had to change jobs (knock on wood) the benefits would be pretty important to me. My wife has pretty good health plan and we are all on it. Dental plan - my company is better.

Don't skimp on coverage and ALWAYS get the long term disablity insurance.... cost less than a couple of drinks a month.... well worth it!!

[reelecstasy]

I know I love my beny's, and would leave my job in a second if I didn't get
100% free Medical, dental and vision.......for me and my kids

[Backbeach Jake]

One of the great shames of this country, the lack of universal health care. It's also a great way to keep workers shackled to a crap job.

[UserRemoved1]

My dad's surgery in July was $130,000 no bs he has a copy of the bill. 9 days in icu. There's probably another 30-40,000 to add to that due to all the other bs he's been through since then. And it ain't done yet

Lemme make a comment from the self employed side of the fence.

If you get insurance through your company you have no clue how good you got it. I pay $750 a month for a family hmo through Tufts. We used to be on bcbs but they went up last year to $1100 a month and we had no choice but to dump them. Next year the bill will prob be around $1000 a month and realistically we're probably going to have to dump it. As much as I hate putting money in these lizards and snakes pockets it's almost a necessity. But at what expense. It's not worth working 7 days a week to be able to afford health ins.

Canada has universal health care. Their gas, cigarette and booze taxes pay for most of it. They can go to any doc they want. I'm not impressed with their hospitals but if they can do it then we can too!!!

It's all about money.

[gone fishin]

Salty - I'm in the same boat witih you..another bennie of being self employed. Don't that piss ya off? And on top of that the income tax adds another 15% to their take for the privilage of being in your own business. On top of all that bull Tufts has a 500 buk deductable on my policy for hospitalization.

[timf]

I did not have insurance while unemployed for 9 months. It was scary to think if either of the kids got really sick what that would have done to me.

In terms of universal health care, try before you buy. Go to canada, or ireland, and try and get decent care. I have a brother-in-law in ireland that had to sell his cows when he hurt his back and could not get care for 6 months. He ended up flying over here to get treatment. Luckly my other sis works on mri's, she took the pics and asked a doc to look at them. He ended up getting a couple cortizone shots and was back in business in a month or so. All that and his wife (my big sis) is a nurse in the county hospital over there.

I hope we continue to push the need for health insurance but stay away from universal health. It does not work as a viable health care system.

[mrmacey]

8 weeks ago Honest to God 43 thousand dollars I paid 300.00 thank God for wifes insurance.

[UserRemoved1]

Tim my inlaws live in NB, I must be seeing something you're not. It does work if you can get all the $5000 pills out of the bills.

[MakoMike]

All universal health care will do is ration medical care by the time willing to wait vs now, which is what you can afford. Think about it, if something costs you nothing you'll use as much of it as you want. Same goes for health care, if it doesn't cost you, you'll go running to the Dr. every time you sneeze (or at least a lot of people will) Look at Canada or Europe, the waiting lines are incredible. Anyone who can afford it goes to other countries, like the U.S. and India, to get medical care. Don't belive the line of crap that some politicos are selling.

[MarshCappa]

All it takes is one hospitalization to realize how expensive health care costs are. I worked in healthcare for over 14years as a Hospital Administrator and saw first hand how tough financially that industry is on all of us, hospitals included. Many hospitals run in the red year after year because of the strangle hold insurance companies place on the facilities. Not having insurance can be devasting for a patient and their family but there are plenty of programs that a patient can qualify for if they do not have insurance. I actually liked the Romney plan for MA, but I'm not sure where it stands currently.

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by MarshCappa

All it takes is one hospitalization to realize how expensive health care costs are. I worked in healthcare for over 14years as a Hospital Administrator and saw first hand how tough financially that industry is on all of us, hospitals included. Many hospitals run in the red year after year because of the strangle hold insurance companies place on the facilities. Not having insurance can be devasting for a patient and their family but there are plenty of programs that a patient can qualify for if they do not have insurance. I actually liked the Romney plan for MA, but I'm not sure where it stands currently.

So how do you justify the outrageous costs you charge?????? Was my 4 stiches and 10 min. with a Dr. really worth $1,295?? Did the tetnous shot really cost $29.95???

[UserRemoved1]

marshcappa it's a load of horsecrap is where it stands. It does NOTHING to help people like me who are tweeners.

Tween making too much money to afford your own, and the limit cap for how much you can make before you qualify for state plan.
I believe that is how the plan was designed on purpose.

It's a big joke. Sorry to hijack your thread #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by PaulS

So how do you justify the outrageous costs you charge?????? Was my 4 stiches and 10 min. with a Dr. really worth $1,295?? Did the tetnous shot really cost $29.95???

1st of all I don't charge you anything. 2nd of all costs are based on what insurance comapnies actually pay vs what the hospital charges. It's not a good system but it's the only way a hospital can stay in business and YES this is a business which people don't realize. Anyone running a business can appreciate time and money. Hospitals have the most overhead of any business but need to staff for anything that may walk thru the door. So in reality your stitches charge has built into it the RN, Techs, Administrative, and whatever else is involved in the process that you never see or interact with. Take a look at your EOB(explanation of beneifts) from your insurance company for that visit and you'll see what the plan actually paid to the hospital. You'll be amazed. Do you know what the hospital does with the remaining UNPAID balance? They write it off as the Contractual Allowance" Like I said it's a business and the way our current health care delivery system works in our country. I'm not saying it's right but it's reality and if hospitals don't charge the way they do they won't stay in business too long and then you'd have to drive a lot further and wait in even longer lines for your care.

[fishpoopoo]

1) the bill you get from this hospital is always inflated. little known factoid if you can't afford to pay your bill: everything is negotiable.

2) hospitals have to charge some people more to cover the costs of many people who can't afford to pay at all.

[RickBomba]

Yup, when I worked for myself I paid $79 a week for just health, just for me, my business partner paid $100 a week towards it, too, that's $720 a month just for health insurance.
Right now, through Bugaboo, I pay $22 a week for full health and dental, it's sweet...went through all sorts of crazy doctors visits this time last year...I had to pay the co pays and like another $50.
Later,
Rick

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by MarshCappa

1st of all I don't charge you anything. 2nd of all costs are based on what insurance comapnies actually pay vs what the hospital charges. It's not a good system but it's the only way a hospital can stay in business and YES this is a business which people don't realize. Anyone running a business can appreciate time and money. Hospitals have the most overhead of any business but need to staff for anything that may walk thru the door. So in reality your stitches charge has built into it the RN, Techs, Administrative, and whatever else is involved in the process that you never see or interact with. Take a look at your EOB(explanation of beneifts) from your insurance company for that visit and you'll see what the plan actually paid to the hospital. You'll be amazed. Do you know what the hospital does with the remaining UNPAID balance? They write it off as the Contractual Allowance" Like I said it's a business and the way our current health care delivery system works in our country. I'm not saying it's right but it's reality and if hospitals don't charge the way they do they won't stay in business too long and then you'd have to drive a lot further and wait in even longer lines for your care.

So I'm paying for something that I didn't use??? I agree that the hospitals have a lot of overhead but how is that the ins. co. fault?

When Pfizer stops trials on a drug and writes off $800m. do they add that cost to another drug or when Exxon stops development of a oil field, they don't add the cost to another field.

There is currently overcapacity in the medical industry and in certain areas hosptitals s/b closed (NYC wants to close 8-10 I think).

The $1295 was the from the EOB. I don't think ins. would be able to negotiate a disc. on an emerg. room service

[MarshCappa]

Originally Posted by PaulS

So I'm paying for something that I didn't use??? I agree that the hospitals have a lot of overhead but how is that the ins. co. fault?

When Pfizer stops trials on a drug and writes off $800m. do they add that cost to another drug or when Exxon stops development of a oil field, they don't add the cost to another field.

There is currently overcapacity in the medical industry and in certain areas hosptitals s/b closed (NYC wants to close 8-10 I think).

The $1295 was the from the EOB. I don't think ins. would be able to negotiate a disc. on an emerg. room service

This will be a never ending thread/debate. It's our current system and unless Canada or some other country with national health insurance invades us and puts us under their rule it will NEVER change. People way smarter than me have been trying to make it better and have made little to no progress. Just wait for EMR(Electronic Medical Record) debate/implementation. That is going to put national insurance on the back burner while they come up with a way to interface with everyone's computer systems!!!!!!!!!!!

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by MarshCappa

People way smarter than me

You could have said "People way smarter than you and I" and I wouldn't have gotten upset.

[MarshCappa]

That's cool PaulS This is a touchy subject with some people. Most of my professional career has been in healthcare and I've spoken to hundreds of patients and families about the importance of knowing your health plans benefits inside and out. The ironic thing about that last statement is I'm totally out of healthcare now and in the high tech industry but you can't totally get it out of your system. No pun intended. If there's anything I can answer about health insurance or our current delivery system I will certainly try to help. Otherwise, being married to an RN and having two young kids that are constantly seeing the MD for various minor ailments is the closest I get to the system these days. I was getting burned out in my career from having to deal with a system that is tough on everyone, just like all the previously mentioned comments on this thread so a change was needed to keep my sanity.

[TheSpecialist]

Employee benefits typically cost companies 3X what your salary is.

Your employer is supposed to provide you with something telling you what they pay monthly for your insurance. My company sends a document to my house 1 time every year and on it it say's that companies are required to do it. My company pays about 1800/ month for my family coverage. I pay 0. This is why I belong to a union. Health insurance is such an important issue to us, that we would strike over it, and have done so in the past. One reason we went on strike in 98 because they want retirees to start paying a huge portion of theirs.

As a side note, I think one reason health care cost, and insurance rates are so exspensive has to do with useless procedures. Does anyone elses dentist send them a letter around October letting them know the year is almost over, and they have x amount of benefits that have been unused and will dissapear if not used by the end of the year, but to hurry up as appointments are running out?

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialist

As a side note, I think one reason health care cost, and insurance rates are so exspensive has to do with useless procedures. Does anyone elses dentist send them a letter around October letting them know the year is almost over, and they have x amount of benefits that have been unused and will dissapear if not used by the end of the year, but to hurry up as appointments are running out?

That certainly has something to do with it. There is also the mentality of "I paid for it, I'm going to use it", also Dr. who have exp. machines (cat scans) tend to have patients who ave. more procedures that others, hosp/ins. comp. expenses, needless tests so that Drs. don't get sued for missing a diagnosis but probably the biggest exp. (which also effects S. Security when you think about it) is the general advances in medicine which keeps people alive longer. For ex. someone w/a serious illness would die fairly quickly. Now they are helicoptered to a trauma center and 6 weeks and $1,000,000 later, they come out and live until 90 years old.