Medical Insurance???

[Wifezilla]

Big Daddy, I am talking about procedures. Like ER visit for a broken arm. My total cost was the same when I paid cash as my gf paid for a deductible for a similar procedure.

Insurance is a freaking scam

 

[Big Daddy]

Hope you don't have anything serious.

 

[reinbeau]

There's a difference between paying out of pocket for a broken arm vs. cancer treatment, the argument can't be made that they're in the same league. My father's cancer treatment cost over 1.5 million over four years, insurance covered most of it - they would have been bankrupt if they hadn't had excellent insurance. You just can't pay for that out of pocket.

 

[Wifezilla]

Insurance is a game of odds.

What are the odds of getting cancer?
What are your odds of getting heart disease?
What are your odds of needing a liver transplant?

Odds are, most people will not need these procedures. That's how insurance companies make their money. Playing the odds.

Whether you, as an individual, want to risk going without insurance is up to you.

Most insurance policies have limits on what they pay out regardless of the illness. The also have deductibles. Having insurance is no guarantee your treatment will be covered....as many people have found out after they filed a claim.

If you can get a good policy for an affordable price through work...great. A lot of people do NOT have that option.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Excerpt_from_CDC_2003_Table_1.png

 

[Beekissed]

Speaking of cancer treatments....how many of you would forego the prescribed cancer treatments...not just due to cost but for health reasons?

Do any of you question the doctors on the treatments they prescribe and explore other options? Does your insurances encourage this or will they refuse to pay for..say... holistic medicine as opposed to traditional medicines?

This is a topic much debated in my circles and I was wondering if this is something on which you all ponder.

 

[FarmerChick]

Speaking of cancer treatments....how many of you would forego the prescribed cancer treatments...not just due to cost but for health reasons?

Do any of you question the doctors on the treatments they prescribe and explore other options? Does your insurances encourage this or will they refuse to pay for..say... holistic medicine as opposed to traditional medicines?

This is a topic much debated in my circles and I was wondering if this is something on which you all ponder.

I don't ponder this at all. If or when or "whatever" medical problems I have down the road, I will attack it with research from all sides of the coin, from regular conventional treatments to whatever is new out there to whatever might be natural etc. etc.

but I can't ever say what I would do with a "horrible diagnosis" and can't even think to consider how my true reactions would be.

So no, I don't ponder this type of thing. I wait til I get hit with something then go on the attack.

This is just too much of a personal "what if" regarding the medical problem, your beliefs, your "whatever" in life for me to answer.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, as with anything SS, we would like to think that we are working towards preparation. As you said, its hard to prepare oneself for a catastrophic illness, but not impossible.


It bears pondering, as one doesn't want to try to come up with data and information while dealing with the realities of a bad diagnosis....just as one doesn't want to be gathering food and other perishable goods during an emergency like a flood, fire, tornado.

The time to think about treatment options and decisions that suit your lifestyle and family is when you are clear headed and emotionally stable...not at the height of fear, grief and anger. Especially when doctors are pressing you to make a decision on treatments while you are in their office for the consult~ after hearing the worst. As the incidents of cancer are growing and not decreasing, in our population, it bears some serious thought.

This is the one of the biggest decisions some families or individuals will have to make in their life....do they really want to only prepare or think about it if it happens?


Not me. I've discussed all my health care preferences and treatments with my children and my mother. I want them to know, in the event that I am unable to make a decision, exactly WHAT I want to happen. I've written it down in a living will and we've also discussed what I will or will not do with a diagnosis of cancer or other terminal illness~and why. We've gathered data, read up on treatments, discussed the various aspects of these treatments and made our decisions on what we have found.

As I work very closely with cancer patients on a daily basis, I get to see the fallout of decisions made in fear or haste, I get to hear the voices of regret over certain decisions, and I get to see how such decisions affect the quality of life for these patients. Every single patient and their families wish they had been more prepared and had more information before they got their diagnosis. Not after.

 

[Wifezilla]

At this point in my life, my biggest health risk is from a car accident. I have car insurance and I drive defensively.

Other risks that develop in people my age are the beginnings of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle diseases.

GOing low carb has reversed a lot of the damage I already did. I had hypertension a couple of yours ago. Now my bp is on the low side of normal. By avoiding sugar and other carbohydrates (especially refined ones), I take type 2 diabetes and heart disease out of the risk category as well. High carbohydrate consumption is also associated with several types of cancers and tumor growth. Another cancer risk factor is low blood levels of vitamin D. I take D3 supplements and get sun exposure without burning, so I have that covered as well.

While none of this is a guarantee of perfect health, by actively handling my most common risks, I seriously reduce my need to medical care.

Of course, I could trip and break something.....

 

[reinbeau]

John Lennon said it best "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

 

[the simple life]

I would never fathom not carrying medical coverage. My son for instance needed a surgery last week, with 2 days notice. Now what would happen if we didn't have insurance, sorry son we can't afford to take care of your body right now.
Maybe when we get some insurance we'll get it taken care of.

Anyone can get sick at any time, you cannot plan for that.
My brother's wife didn't drink, smoke, eat unhealthy foods etc. took good care of herself and died of cancer last year at the age of 44.

One of my best friends died of cancer last year as well at the age of 43. She left behind a husband and 2 children and if they did not have insurance there would have been massive bills left behind as well since she was in and out of hospitals for a year.

My friend's husband dropped dead of a heart attack on their living room floor at the age of 40.
He should have planned for that I guess, but somehow I don't think vitamins would have prevented that.

If it was a matter of eating well and taking vitamins then people wouldn't be dying of these horrendous diseases.

I personally think its unfair for anyone who has a family to not carry insurance if they access to it, you could leave them with devastating bills.
I feel its my responsibility to make sure that my family is covered and they can have access to any and all medical care they need and that I am covered so that they don't have any additional burdens to bear.
I would not be able to sleep at night if I didn't have medical coverage for my family.
I may not always like the expense of it but it gives me peace of mind and I certainly use it I make sure I use it.
If my kids are entitled to dental exams, cleanings, orthodontics and physicals at certain intervals I make sure to take them.
I have gotten thousands upon thousands of dollars covered through my insurance for surgeries, orthodontics, physicals, emergency room visits,

The thing is, for people who can't get coverage through their employers you can at least get it through the state.

In Massachusetts every single person is required to have medical insurance and if you don't have it you get fined.
They will attach your tax returns to take the fine.
They have enough affordable plans to cover everyone to some degree.

As far as the you could always trip and break something, yup, you sure can and if you don't have insurance............
I slipped and hurt my back, it required 3 back surgeries, physical therapy chiropractors, mri, xrays and doctor visits.
I have always lived a very healthy lifestyle, go to the gym, take vitamins, don't eat junk food, drink or smoke etc.
However that does not prevent a life altering and financially devestating situation.
I fell and required over $50,000 in medical treatments and the insurance paid for it all.
So a fall is not always a broken arm or a skinned knee.