I have employer provided health insurance, for which I pay about

[Bunny]

$40/month. My employer pays about $1,000/month for my plan, which includes me and my two daughters.

In the past six days, I've had the following medical situations with my girls:

Young Bunny - Emergency Room, suspected broken foot. Got x-rays, doctor, radiologist, and nurse practitioner consults, crutches and an Ace bandage, for a total cost to me of $42.50.

Young Bunny - ringworm (ewww!). Doctor consult, cost to me $10.00. Anti-fungal cream, cost to me $10.00.

Young Bunny - orthopedic surgeon, foot not healing. Got x-rays, surgeon consult, and a cast for her foot. Cost to me: $10.00.

Baby Bunny - two routine doctor appointments, cost to me $25.00 each, total $50.00. Got refill of routine medicine, cost to me $10.00.

Now, $132.50 in six days is a lot of money, that's for sure. But I shudder to think of how I would have managed if I didn't have health insurance. I am so very grateful for it.

Things are frightening in this country. God help you if you ever get sick.

[mondo joe]

1. My employer's premiums are going up 22% in 2006 - now we are faced with

having to pay more toward our own premiums, or changing the plan in some way to pass more expense onto the individual.

Healthcare in the US is a slow moving disaster.

[Bunny]

5. Our employer premiums have gone as high as 33% in the past.

When that happens, the only options are to increase the employee pay towards the premium (hard to do when the majority of employees make less than $25K), drop coverage for employee family members (really hard on the single parents), or switch to a more affordable but crappier plan (sucks for everyone).

Sometimes I think we're just doomed.

[mondo joe]

9. And of course it's harder because what's better for 1 employee is worse

for another - there is no one option that's best for everyone. :-(

[Bunny]

12. Yep. Yes it is.

We really need a better way. Having the week that I just had has really driven that point home.

[Neil Lisst]

2. If you didn't have insurance, you'd still be sitting in the waiting room

seriously



-----
my progressive political cartoon
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/neillisst

[Bunny]

6. You are so right.

It's a damn shame, too.

[bee]

11. more likely... if you didnt have insurance...

you wouldnt even have gone at all. Literally... I would have to be dying before I would go to the hospital or a doctor. With no insurance, its too damned expensive for me and I simply cant afford it. Anything less than a critical emergency and health care is simply out of the question.

[Bunny]

15. Well, you're right in that I wouldn't have gone for myself, but when

your kids are hurting, it's hard to take.

[RebelOne]

13. Even with insurance, I am still stuck in the waiting room

at my doctor's for at least 1/2 hour. That's one reason I hate going to the doctor. Then once I am taken into the examining room, that is at least another 15-minute wait.

[Cleita]

3. Now wait for them to raise your employer's insurance because

you and others actually used it. Or, wait until the doctors won't accept your insurance because they won't pay enough, or wait until you are too old to be covered. Even having insurance is no guarantee you will always have it and have it the same way as before.

[Bunny]

7. I know. Most of the employees where I work are more

concerned about maintaining our current health insurance than we are about the dollar amount of our annual raises.

[China_cat]

4. No shit

almost 4 years ago my grandson had to have 3, count 'em --3--, stitches in his hand. It cost $900. No insurance.

[Bunny]

8. Ouch. That's awful.

How do people do it? And the new bankruptcy laws will make it difficult for people to get rid of lingering medical bills. We're in a world of shit, aren't we?

[RebelOne]

10. I am also fortunate that my employer picks up most of my

insurance premium. I pay just under $100 a month for medical insurance, eye care, dental, prescription, and life insurance.

[Bunny]

18. You've got a pretty good deal. I don't have any vision coverage,

so naturally, me and both of my daughters are blind as bats! Optometry bills can really start to add up. We have dental, but the plan really sucks, AND it's costs about $50/month. But I need to have it so my daughters can get routine dentals exams and cleaning.

[RebelOne]

38. I work for a really large media corporation with thousands of employees

so the insurance is really inexpensive.

[left is right]

14. i can remember my dad saying in the late 50's that tyeing

health insurance to employment was a bad idea. He said way back then that it was a recipe for high insurance costs, that it could be catastrophic in the case of job changes with pre-existing conditions and that there would always be some employers who couldn't or wouldn't provide it.
He was always ahead of his time and although he claimed to be a conservative back then, he was/is one of the most liberal people I have ever known

[Bunny]

22. Sounds like your dad was a true visionary.

Everything he said, has come true, hasn't it?

[left is right]

33. He opted out of his companies insurance in 57

had his employer pay that amount directly to him. He invested some and save the rest. That money then paid for my parents first home in 1960, which they mostly built themselves. He continued to self-invest/save the insurance premiums and then bought his own business with the investment. But it was my mom that was the real genius about health care. She ordered my brothers and sisters and me to not get sick or break a bone or need to have our tonsils out. And we were too afraid of her to go angainst anything she ever said.

[Bunny]

35. I love your mom! That's so funny!

Your dad was a pretty sharp cookie, wasn't he? A :toast: to him!

[Bozvotros]

16. I wish I had your coverage

My employer pays about 3/4 of my premium. I pay about 200 a month for my wife and I. There is however a 4000 buck out of pocket deductible, before insurance pays anything.

We are a small company in a large HMO which each year has been steadily raising rates on individual companies based on their past experience with them. Several folks in our company have had major medical crises in the last few years, so our rates went right through the roof so my employer switched from a regular HMO to one with a (hahahahahaha) "Health Savings Account." The first year he popped for about 3/4 of the deductible. Next year it will be 1/4. I was told that any money left over each year was mine to keep....or I could just roll it into the next year. Unless there is a big health problem, it looks like we will just hit the out of pocket limit at the end of December. There won't be no rollover this year or any year that I can see.

If you each take one or two meds each month, like we do, you easily hit 300 a month or 3600 a year. After you hit the deductible the coverage is pretty good. Still some out of pocket costs but mostly it pays at 100%. Next year I look to spend minimally 5000 bucks for health care and I know that whenever the insurance company feels like it they will raise rates, raise the deductible and or cut benefits.

[Bunny]

21. I am very lucky to have what I have.

Small employers such as yours are doubly screwed. They can't afford to pick up a bigger portion of the premium for you, and they have no leverage with the insurance companies to negotiate better rates, so they have to take whatever scraps get thrown their way. It sucks all around.

[qanda]

17. I have no health insurance

And these thing happened in my house over the past month.

I got my finger caught in mixer blades (don't ask) and thought I had broken my index finger. I cried, I hollered and then I iced it, took two motrin tablets and called myself in the morning. :) A week later, it still hurts but I can type and so I'm fine.

Q (my son) developed a fever and a severe cold and it lasted for seven days. I cried, I prayed and I nursed him back to health.

A (my daughter) developed a fever and a terrible cough which is still hanging on. I'm still praying and nursing her back to health.

I have a tooth that I know needs a root canal. The other day it was hurting so bad that it drove me to tears. Again, I took some Motrin and just had to deal.

There was a pain in my lower left side that just wouldn't stop. I thought about what I could do to make myself better and decided that the only thing I could do was to change my eating habits and cut all soda and sugary drinks out of my diet. I did and thankfully that pain has gone away.

I don't even consider the doctor or the hospital first. My husband went into the emergency room a few months ago and we received six different bills for one visit-- the total was over $2,000. They sent him home and told him he may have a pinched nerve in his neck. I looked online and discovered that many people who were taking the same medication he was taking for his asthma were complaining of the same pain he was having. He discussed with his doctor if he could afford to cut back on one of the medications and sure enough, after cutting out one of the medications, the constant pain he was having in his neck is gone.

Having no insurance is like watching the weather channel waiting for a severe storm to come. It's hard to describe the insecurity you feel. I hate not wanting my children to do anyting too physical for fear that they may need to visit the doctors. It just plain sucks.

[Bunny]

19. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. What an awful month.

I wish I had something more comforting to say. :hug:

We have got to do something so you and your kids don't need to suffer for no good reason. It's infuriating to me that in this country, where we have cutting edge medicine and research, that anyone, especially kids, has to go without a doctor and medication. It's just unconscionable.

[qanda]

20. Thank you so much

Your compassion is comforting!!!!!

Thanks for starting this thread-- I needed to vent. :)

[prolesunited]

37. Just curious as to the name of the asthma med

as I take several kinds for mine.

No one should have to suffer and worry about dying when we supposedly have the best health care in the world — if you could afford it.

I lost my job and am paying COBRA at $520 a month, which has been worth it since I had major surgery in July and have three chronic pre-existing health conditions, I'm not even insurable on the open market.

I'm still not working F-T and if Jason didn't move in and share expenses, I would be on the verge of losing everything by now.

[mikefromwichita]

41. Med Woes

With the exception of the rootcanal, each of the items mentioned is an example of how those with insurance tend to over use the doctor for things that are perfectly self-treatable. A tooth abcess can end up causing heart problems- not likely but possible. A major improvement to healthcare in general would be a hotline for the general public such as some HMO's provide which helps the consumer separate trivia from true trouble brewing. This is an area where I think the State could provide a valuable service at very modest cost.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. You Guys Are Lucky...

I'm self employed and pay $5,000.00 a year for health insurance...

[Bunny]

24. Wow. That's a LOT of money.

Do you have a decent plan?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. It's An Awesome Plan...That's Why It So Expensive

Fifteen dollar copay... Twenty five for specialists....


Most meds are 7, 13, or 25 dollars....


Don't need a referral for a specialist....


The bad thing is I can't get dental insurance so I can spend a couple of grand a year on that....

[Bunny]

36. Do you have a spouse and/or children on that plan, too? Or is

it just you? If you've got dependents, that's probably not a bad deal, then. It seems like an awful lot of money for a single person, though.

[HockeyMom]

25. I have phenomenal health insurance,

which includes Dental and Eye, $48 dollars a month single and $150 family, BUT I took a MAJOR hit in my pay to work here. It's a non profit mental health agency.

If we elect to go to the agency clinic (again dental too), it is totally free with no co pay.

[Bunny]

26. At a certain point, the health care becomes almost more important

than the pay, doesn't it? If need be, I would forfeit a lot of pay to make sure I had good coverage for my kids.

[mikefromwichita]

27. job based insurance

mine is a no cost HMO option.

Personally I think much of the very high cost of medical care is driven by insurance. No one in the system has any personal incentive to use resources wisely. The HMO bean counters want to keep the bottomline Black but choose to do so by rationing services already paid for. too much defensive medicine is practiced and too much expensive high techequipment is underutilised while at the same time people are discharged too soon after surgery when what they need badly is another week of bedrest.

Eyecare is the least covered by insurance, but has remained the most affordable out of pocket while improving in quality over the years. Dental is covered by more plans and its costs have risen somewhat faster. Regular medical is the most heavily insured and people wreck their health worrying about loss of coverage. I once visited an orthodonist for my eldest when she was about 12. Just walking across the guys carpets in the lobby he needed to squeeze us $25 for wear and tear. Insane. It did not take long to figure out that he was a used car salesman at heart. He knew to the penny how much the insurance lifetime beefit was and he had a plan tailored to get it all. The only problem- my daughter did not really NEED the gold plated service. It was all scare to scam. Pharma companies slam the customer harder than fly by night long distance phone companies.

People need to realise that docs by and large are in it for the money and are perfectly capable of pushing unneeded even harmful products/services.

[Bunny]

30. Well, I agree that there is a lot of defensive medicine being

practiced. Employer-provided Dental coverage is universally sucky, I know because I looked into alternate plans when my oldest needed braces. I ended up spending $160 to buy into a Dental plan on the internet, but it saved me $1,000 on her braces so it was worth it.

[cally]

28. The lack of care for too many is such a huge issue in this

country. All during my medical problems, I just kept reminding myself how lucky I was because at least I had insurance. I think it's almost the number one issue in this country. We have to have universal health care.

We own a small business and I'm considering getting a job with the state or county solely so I get insurance that can't be taken away. I'm scared that we'll lose our insurance because we used services. This is just insane.

Quanda..I'm so sorry for your experiences this month.

[Bunny]

31. It really is a huge problem. So many in the wing-nut brigade

seem to view healthcare as a privilege awarded only to the worthy, or something. Way too many people have no coverage, and for an industrialized country like ours, this is hard to justify.

[meti57b]

29. My husband had lung cancer considering he has never smoked ....

That cost $130,000. We paid about $3000. That included 12 days in the hospital (extra time because it kicked off an irregular heartbeat), surgeon/oncologist, other doctors (cardiologist, pulmonologist) and tests. It's possible they charge extra when you have insurance to make up for those who cannot pay.

He is now considered cured, but he has to get ctscans every six months for five years.

[Bunny]

34. Glad to hear your hubby is considered cured. What an ordeal that

must have been! I think they do charge extra when you have insurance, remember the infamous $600.00 aspirin, or something like that?

[meti57b]

39. bunny, thank you so much for your very kind best wishes!

[prolesunited]

40. Actually, that's not true

I don't have time to look up the references, but recent studies indicate that those WITHOUT insurance pay the most money.

If you're in a group plan, like Blue Cross, they have the leverage to negotiate discounted rates. Individuals don't have that abilitiy. I can't remember the figures exactly, but the uninsured pay a considerable amount more, like 20 or 30% IIRC.

On my bills, they always show the discount, what insurance is paying and my costs.

As always, the poor and disenfranchised get hit the hardest.

[SheilaT]

42. I know I don't have to say it hear,

but in other situations, every time someone comments in some way about health insurance (especially if they start telling Tales of The Uninsured, I simply point out that we're the only first world country without national health care.

More and more people say things like, Maybe that should change.

All of the tales of suffering because of no insurance make me angry.

I saw a neighbor recently at the grocery store -- we rarely see each other, so we chatted for a while. Her younger daughter, who's about 23 or so now, was born with spina bifida and has had developmental issues. We talked a little about some of the things the daughter has dealt with in recent years, and I found myself angry at the fact that this family is supposed to carry the entire burden themselves.

What crap! We should all be collectively helping each other out. I've had the extreme fortune to be very healthy. Same for my husband and two children. Are we more virtuous or deserving than others? I think not.

Goddammit! We need adequate health care for everyone.