Health insurance emergency!

Cuda wrote:

poopshovel wrote: LISTEN: Negotiate cash price up front, and talk to an insurance rep about a supplemental policy in case the E36 M3 hits the fan, and it ends up being a $30k bill instead of a $3k bill. ~or~ if you GENUINELY CAN'T afford insurance, get that sweet ass Medicaid, f00! Mama will get treated like a queen! All the drugs you can eat!

If it hits the fan, it will be WAYYYYYYYYY more than 30k. My sisters went wrong and ended up north of 200K. She is still having problems and is going to be having another surgery in two weeks. I would recommend getting insurance, but if it is an impossibility prepaid is the way to go. Medicaid is not that great btw. The hospitals have a true treat 'em and street 'em attitude. Every medicaid and medicare patient is a loss in the books so the hospitals want them gone asap.

I am aware that the number could be any multiple of $3k. I'm sure you get the point I was trying to make.

You're dead, DEAD wrong about the Medicaid, at least in my state. With family members and ex-friends on it, the hospital knows they're only to get a fraction of the bill, so the goal is to rack that motherberkeleyer up as high as it'll go. You can GUARANTEE that baby will go in for an EKG because the Dr. will notice an "abnormal heartbeat." It is truly the "Cadillac Plan." What do you expect when the customer has no incentive to keep the cost down?

I posted a story a while back about a family member who has cancer. She started feeling like E36 M3 one night. High fever, sore throat. Hospital ran every test in the book. Urinalysis, drew blood, x-ray. Sent her home and told her to take aspirin for the fever and sore throat. I said "Sounds like Strep," having just had it a few months earlier. Sure enough, CANCER doctor diagnosed it the next day as Strep.

Total cost to taxpayers: Almost $3,000 with NO DIAGNOSIS.

Total cost for me ($60 visit, comp'd Strep test, comp'd shot in the butt, $4 worth of generic antibiotics:) $64.

Streetwiseguy wrote: For a Canadian, this is a very weird conversation. And yes, I know my taxes are higher than yours.

I'm not so sure about that. My health insurance ran about even what my various Federal taxes were, this year. Money's money.

I expected to be reading a bunch of suggestions about having your baby at home for the cheap

Inspired by Streetwiseguy and Spoolpigeon; you could drive north of the border and have the baby in Canada. It's what my hippy parents did back in the 70s, and the only downside seems to be that I can't ever be President.

fromeast2west wrote: Inspired by Streetwiseguy and Spoolpigeon; you could drive north of the border and have the baby in Canada. It's what my hippy parents did back in the 70s, and the only downside seems to be that I can't ever be President.

Or drive south and give them a taste of their own medicine I don't think you want that medicine though.

Spoolpigeon wrote: I expected to be reading a bunch of suggestions about having your baby at home for the cheap

Grassroots Deliverysports?

fromeast2west wrote: Inspired by Streetwiseguy and Spoolpigeon; you could drive north of the border and have the baby in Canada. It's what my hippy parents did back in the 70s, and the only downside seems to be that I can't ever be President.

I might be wrong, but aren't you still a natural-born citizen (a phrase not defined in the constitution to the best of my knowledge) if both parents are US citizens?

Swank Force One wrote:

Spoolpigeon wrote: I expected to be reading a bunch of suggestions about having your baby at home for the cheap

Grassroots Deliverysports?

I was going to suggest a water birth at home, cash pay to the doc, and hire a doulah..... but that's a little much for some people.

mtn wrote:

fromeast2west wrote: Inspired by Streetwiseguy and Spoolpigeon; you could drive north of the border and have the baby in Canada. It's what my hippy parents did back in the 70s, and the only downside seems to be that I can't ever be President.

I might be wrong, but aren't you still a natural-born citizen (a phrase not defined in the constitution to the best of my knowledge) if both parents are US citizens?

Logically speaking, you'd be correct. But we live in a nation that happily hands out birth certificates and citizenship to people intentionally doing just this, so I cannot be 100% certain.

Congratulations. Is a midwife supervised home delivery an option?

As far as being the presidente of the USSA, these are the birth requirements.

•Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States, though from time to time that requirement is called into question, most recently after Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, was elected governor of California, in 2003. The Constitution originally provided a small loophole to this provision: One needn't have been born in the United States but had to be a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted. But, since that occurred in 1789, that ship has sailed

The rest is here

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/presrequire.htm

Streetwiseguy wrote: For a Canadian, this is a very weird conversation. And yes, I know my taxes are higher than yours.

I was going to say exactly the same thing earlier, but didn't want to derail the discussion. It just seems so unnatural.

This is how it works here: Get pregnant and see doctor for 8 months. Go to hospital to have baby. Stay a few days. Go home with free stuff from baby supply companies, and instructions to look after new baby. Some hospitals charge for parking.

Don't think the taxes are the issue they once were.

Does insurance still not cover birth control? That's one I never understood.

Thanks for all the replies, some notes.

Last kiddo was a caesarian, so this one will be too, scheduled hopefully. So sorry Spool but there will be no kiddie pool in my living room.

Health insurance through work will run between $160 - $180 a WEEK. On $10.50/hr.

They also offer an HSA but the deductible on a family plan is like $6000. Medicaid is not an option, our income is too high. Last kiddo that's what we had, and it was pleasant.

Thanks again for all the input guys.

Quit job, acquire Medicaid?

Sucky situation my friend.

Could try calling Anthem directly, but my guess is that the price is going to be about twice what it's going to cost through your employer.

Swank Force One wrote: Could try calling Anthem directly, but my guess is that the price is going to be about twice what it's going to cost through your employer.

Indy insurance costs (a few years ago of course) ran much cheaper than what you're quoting when I priced them out - I think the deductible was $3500. If you insure just your wife, it will be cheaper. Look into it. There are websites which get you in touch with various brokers...

In reply to tuna55:

Don't just tell me, LINKS MAN, LINKS!

Call 800-222-5052

Anthem Individual Sales - Indiana.

On $10.50/hr. I would look into the Medicaid thing again. Don't just look at the numbers on the website. The people at the office have a vested interest in getting you in the system, and both they and the hospital would rather see mama get proper care than show up at the hospital about to pop one out.

Best of luck, and congrats.

poopshovel wrote: On $10.50/hr. I would look into the Medicaid thing again. Don't just look at the numbers on the website. The people at the office have a vested interest in getting you in the system, and both they and the hospital would rather see mama get proper care than show up at the hospital about to pop one out. Best of luck, and congrats.

The only problem with that (at least in Indiana, it may be different elsewhere) is you can't get Medicaid if your employer offers insurance, regardless if it's too expensive to actually take.

mtn wrote:

nderwater wrote: I have a seven week old - our billed total rang up to $28,000. We would have been bankrupt without insurance.

That is the insurance price. Real-world cash price would be lower if you were to actually talk it out with a doctor. (Assuming relatively straightforward pregnancy)

maybe..... a friend of mine had an artificial hip that was going bad .. needed replacing ... he worked for himself / had no ins....

the hospital ( total $$$) was ~ $50k ... if he had had ins the price would have been in the area of $25k... (ins co negotiated price) and he would have owed 80% ... he pleaded with them to at least give him the negotiated ins price ... no deal

then he got "lucky" ... his Mother died .... his inheritance was such that he could get the operation and become a part time wrench instead of full time

so real world price isn't always better

914Driver wrote: Ban me if this gets political, but isn't ObamaCare supposed to take care of this? My paycheck is smaller, I thought it went to Brandon's issue.

In a nutshell - NO

wbjones wrote:

mtn wrote:

nderwater wrote: I have a seven week old - our billed total rang up to $28,000. We would have been bankrupt without insurance.

That is the insurance price. Real-world cash price would be lower if you were to actually talk it out with a doctor. (Assuming relatively straightforward pregnancy)

maybe..... a friend of mine had an artificial hip that was going bad .. needed replacing ... he worked for himself / had no ins.... the hospital ( total $$$) was ~ $50k ... if he had had ins the price would have been in the area of $25k... (ins co negotiated price) and he would have owed 80% ... he pleaded with them to at least give him the negotiated ins price ... no deal then he got "lucky" ... his Mother died .... his inheritance was such that he could get the operation and become a part time wrench instead of full time so real world price isn't always better

Correct.

Depends on the provider. They aren't REALLY supposed to be charging two different prices, but unfortunately the "insurance price" is mostly a scam to be used as a bargaining chip with Provider Relations when mapping out "usual and customary" amounts in their contracts.

mtn wrote:

fromeast2west wrote: Inspired by Streetwiseguy and Spoolpigeon; you could drive north of the border and have the baby in Canada. It's what my hippy parents did back in the 70s, and the only downside seems to be that I can't ever be President.

I might be wrong, but aren't you still a natural-born citizen (a phrase not defined in the constitution to the best of my knowledge) if both parents are US citizens?

there's a clause somewhere that says born outside of the US even though to US citizens NOT eligible to be president ... not sure how it would work if you were Speaker of the House and Pres. and VP were both gone .....

upon further research ... I can't find anything that backs that up .. but I do remember some of the BS during the last 2 elections ... and somewhere it was brought up that you had to be born in country ... but like I said, I can't find anything to back that up

Paid cash for all 5 kids.

Negotiated cash in advance- saved 70-80% of the "going" rate.

Yes, I understand the risk. Never really mattered- can't afford health insurance. (Yeah, I know someone will say I can't afford to not have it).

Best scenario would be to have insurance for the catastrophic, and negotiate cash for the expected.

SVreX wrote: Best scenario would be to have insurance for the catastrophic, and negotiate cash for the expected.

This is what i do. Really high deductible ($8K), cash for everything else. Doctors love cash around here. Usually good for a 40-60% discount.