Health Insurance Rant

[berry99]

I realize that I am very lucky to have health insurance and that without it my troubles would be much worse, BUT!!!! I just went in for my first physical therapy appointment for my knee and it is a $30 copay each time I go. So, I have to go 2x a week for a month (or more, who knows?). Wow, that's quite a bit of money.

I don't want to get into a health insurance debate or anything, but jeez your employer and you both pay all this money per month for health insurance and then when something happens you are still paying a bunch of $$. It's just kind of sad.

Karin

 

[allwildgirl]

*thanks her lucky stars for socialized medicine*

 

[jordysyd]

I agree. I wish I could just buy health insurance for accidents/ER visits and save money on premiums for services I don't use like prescription drugs or doctor visits. I try to stay away from doctors unless I'm bleeding or pregnant.

If you have a flexben option at work, take advantage of it to help with those co-pays, if you haven't already.

 

[truton]

I just went thru PT for a herniated disc. $30 co-pay each time for me too. After all was said and done I was $360 poorer and still in pain. What ended up curing my pain was a bumpy ride on our boat, but that's another story....

My PT was charging my insurance company $200 a visit and all I was getting was 10 minutes of electricity in my back and a few minutes of ultrasound. The rest of the hour was spent doing exercises I could have very well done at home. The doc wanted to send me back to PT when my 12 sessions were over and I said no way. I really feel for people who could really benefit from PT but can't afford the co-pay.

 

[luvtorun]

TK... that reminded me of the time several years ago when my MIL hurt her shoulder. The orthopedic doctor she was seeing took her arm and raised it twice and circled her shoulder a couple of times and charged her insurance company $350 for physical therapy plus the office visit charge!!! Needless to say, her insurance refused to pay it! She let them have a piece of her mind about it and they reduced the charge she had to pay but didn't take it away completely. Ridiculous!

 

[alsrnbsn]

I am fortunate that I work at the hospital where my insurance is under and they have where there are no co-pays if you get your service at the hospital... which was one of the biggest reasons I change to working at that hospital from where I was.

Other than that....DON'T get me started!!! The billing department for my DH's chronic issues is so screwed up that they can't seem to get the right insurance company, even though the hospital's insurance is the only one on record!!! They keep sending the bill to the insurance company that covered DH when he was able to work (4 yrs ago!!!x( ) and then send the bills to us because they're not paid! Duh!!x(

 

[laspark]

Can you save the receipts and use it as a tax deductible?:-(

 

[pink_fortitude]

>Can you save the receipts and use it as a tax deductible?:-(
>

yes you can! Dh and I claim medical every year, it is on the tax form, though I don't remember exactly how much you can claim.

 

[rnyogamom]

To get a tax write off, your medical expenses have to be a significant - think is 7 percent? Something like that of your AGI....or is it 6 something...we need a plan like Canada's where you will pay if you run to the doc for every ache and pain, but you are covered and can keep your house...never mind what ya hear in the media, it ain't perfect, but having cared for many Canadiens, they got it over us.

 

[scm]

I wish the company I work for or my husbands paid for ANY of our health insurance. I have to work full time JUST so my family can pay for it.

 

[blkane]

I hear what your saying but you should see what is being billed to your insurance company. My DS's (2 of them) have Crohn's disease. Older DS needed infusions of Remicade to resolve a fistula. He needed about 8 treatments. We were billed by mistake by the doctor and to my horror each visit was $4000! So, if we hadn't had health insurace, it would have cost us $32,000 to get DS back in shape. But, in the end, all it cost us was $240 ($30/visit). After that, I didn't complain about the premiums anymore.