Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
Pg, $44k or $34k to hit the out of pocket max? I'd have to add up ours we just hit the max. The big picture though of your post I completely agree with.
But Bar, this brings up a question. When your kid went to childrens what again was the difference between what the hospital would charge you for no insurance and what you had to pay.
I've gotten suspicious over the last year of extra costs because you have insurance. I got suspicious about a lot of stuff that happens once youre admitted actually. ERs might be expensive but I think they do a phenomenal job.
Of course I dont know where the money is. Got family and friends all over the medical industry from clinic managers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, drug/equipment reps, ambulance owner, everyone seems to struggle. many excet the doctors went chapter 11 or were unemployed at some point or walked away. the doctors just seemed to not make very much, they sound like 10 year rj fo's.
Funny you bring this up today, since yesterday I got a textbook superfluous bill from an ER. Long story shortened.. Last month my two year old was out in the back yard playing on the playset and got torqued off about something (most likely big brother induced...). Being a two year old, he reverted to the best method he knew to express his displeasure which was to take and 8 foot header off the top of the playset.
Of course I was on a layover in Grand Rapids...
Of course, my wife scooped him up and took him to the ER where, after she presented her insurance card, he was given a thorough once-over, an X-ray, and a clean bill of health (Thank God...)
Worth every penny, and my wife and son (and his older brother) were treated very well throughout the whole ordeal at Kennestone Hospital.
All told, the ER visit cost me about $200, which I consider reasonable.
But... yesterday... a bill for $160ish showed up from the hospital for some kind of ear thing. Ask the wife about it, and she tells me the nurse, while examining my son, said something like, "Wow! He has a lot of ear wax in there. I'll go ahead and take care of that."
Of course, after insurance adjustments and the 80/20 split, the ear cleaning only cost us about $30, but how many uninsured ER patients do you think get cursory ear cleanings? I'm thinking somewhere between none and, well... none.
I actually have been relatively pleased with the HRA we are enrolled in, and I think Delta provides much better medical coverage than most companies. Health care costs are skyrocketing, and the healthcare industry is going to recoup their costs anywhere they can. You and I, as the gainfully employed middle-class are going to suffer the brunt of it.