I have great medical insurance and dental, through Aetna. The only downfall is that they ONLY cover 50% of psychiatric/psychology. Which is a shame, since I truly believe that this country can really use a better mental health care system. I've unfortunately been to the ER countless of times, due to being sick and asthma, but I'm working at better maintaining my health. The total expenses weren't too high, they were anywhere from $400 to $4000 ish, for one visit, the $4 grand one including full xrays, CT scan, ekg, etc, and with insurance they all came down to about $50 to $200 ish, after going through insurance, so it's not unreasonable, and they DO have payment plans. However, what if something major happened. Surgery, heart attack, cancer. Wouldn't that catapult the total costs into the $100,000 range? And even if I have insusrance then, how much would they cover? This really scares me. Should I be saving alot just in case? How do we prepare for this?
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You are right to be concerned because insurance companies have all manner of exclusions and "caps" on procedures so you will find many times if seriously ill (as with cancer or heart disease) that there is plenty that the insurance will not do a thing about. How do you prepare for this? If you can get a catastrophic medical care plan, that might be useful to you. Many people have two or more insurance policies--and for good reason. IF you are eligible for an HSA, that's a smart move. Find some info here: http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-af… Depending on what your income as well as debts, etc. are, you MIGHT be able to qualify for some reduction in expenses for treatment with "charity" care but hospitals are loathe to offer this information and apparently don't have to post their guidelines for them either. You WILL find that in many cases, if you speak with the financial department and offer to pay in a very short space of time (such as a week) that you CAN get a discount on something you owe. The tricky part is when you're really sick, you can't find the energy or brain power to do this usually. Also if you have insurance you really do NOT know what they will cover until it's a done deal--and they likely will try NOT to pay even if they are supposed to. Still, as soon as you get an EOB (Explanation of Benefits) from your insurance, look through and see why anything was denied. You may be able to appeal that decision. Also patient financial services SHOULD be willing to look at any substantial bill AND your policy and try to do something to help you. They'll say it's not their job, etc. and in some cases, probably could get in trouble, but let's get real: the average person can NOT afford what the hospital charges the uninsured (or insured who have something NOT covered) so something is going to have to give. You SHOULD be very concerned no matter what anyone says because more than half of all bankruptcies in the US are owing to medical bills AND many of those people ARE insured. The system does not work well for a variety of reasons. You may also be able to get assistance through a charitable organization or such if you get buried in debt. You will also want any denied portions of a bill examined carefully as hospital billing errors are common. People are simply going to have to get over the notion that being insured means they are TRULY protected financially. It's not the case (see bankruptcies). There's a ton of misinformation out there on insurance, health care, and more. Insurance policies tend to waffle on important issues and because of their "caps" trick, many times you are told something is covered, BUT YOUR financial liability will be in the tens of thousands or more. You need to do everything you can to get to a BOTTOM LINE accounting for anything expensive. In an emergency, this is NOT possible to do, however, which is why the above suggestions are offered. To be blunt, there are NO guarantees that you won't be bankrupted no matter how careful you are or if you have policies. One of the other smart things to do is to do everything you can to get yourself as healthy as possible. Your diet, amount of sleep, exercise, not smoking, not drinking (the resveratrol can be had in grape juice), not drugging, not participating in dangerous activities (from driving fast to texting while driving as well as obvious things like bungee jumping), and having a reasonable weight all help. Get a physical and listen to the doc's advice. Get YOUR lab work numbers in good shape--whatever that means for YOUR situation. Even people who feel well should have a physical with just that idea in mind. Also get a health care power of attorney--find someone you can trust in case you're unable to speak for yourself--so you get the treatment you'd ask for IF you were capable of doing it. (You can be unconscious for many reasons.) Kudos to you for recognizing you're vulnerable. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah, and the current president of the US have nothing to worry about for medical bills. That's the complete list of people who should not be concerned in the US. Outside the US, many don't realize their national health has all manner of restrictions on what they can get--and when.
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