for $420 per month, I could pay to see my doctor and get my meds..

[mdmc]

Actually, I might not be able to be, but that is what the Bridge program costs PER MONTH in NY! That is what "health care" looks like after "reform"!

----
Health plan aids uninsured who have pre-existing conditions
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100824/BIZ/8240322/-1/NEWS
New York residents with pre-existing medical conditions and no health insurance will soon be able to get coverage to hold them over until federal health-care reform fully kicks in.

A new state program called NY Bridge Plan is now accepting applications. It goes into effect Oct. 1 and is open to residents who have pre-existing conditions and haven't had insurance for the past six months.

Premiums in Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties will be $421 a month.

NY Bridge Plan is a byproduct of the health-care reform law passed last spring.

[AndyA]

1. I read a report yesterday that in the states where people can begin to sign up,

interest has been far less than they'd expected.

Apparently, it's TOO EXPENSIVE! Who could have possibly predicted that with 10 percent unemployment, and so many living hand to mouth, that health care could still be too expensive?

Idiots. The only way this could work is with a public option, but no...they'd rather protect the health insurance corporations instead of the people.

They can take their health care "reform" and stick it in a dark place. Hopefully, they have insurance that will cover its removal.

[Vinca]

3. I was wondering what the numbers would be on this.

I know when I checked out the cost (and for me, anything in the $400 range would have sounded like a bargain), I sat down and cried because I knew there was no way in hell we could come up with that amount of money every month. "Reform" amounts to nothing if it's in name only. That's why I'm so furious they've "checked the box" and patted themselves on the back for helping 37 million Americans.

[Greyhound]

7. "Nobody could've predicted...". K&R

[Uben]

2. I'm on a bridge program.....

.......unfortunately, it's the bridge to nowhere! $20K+/yr for premiums on a $5K deductible and 50% of the next $10K. I call it the Delay Program. It will delay me from going bankrupt, but won't stop it.

With today's medical costs, what do hospitals and insurance companies think is going to happen? Do they think American wages will catch up with their charges? FAt chance! No, just like the American auto industry, they are pricing themselves out of a job. It won't be long before only a fraction of Americans can afford to get sick. Then who will pay for those huge bonuses?

I sickens me that hospitals charge $800 for a pair of forceps. HAve they not heard of sterilization? Why the hell am I paying for them to use tools that they throw away when they are made to reuse? Why should I pay them $10 for a pill that costs 50 cents? Who the fuck came up with this concept and why have we allowed them to do it? Usury? That's what it is, plain and simple yet no one seems to want to call them on it..

Hospitals and insurance companies are in cahoots. I called my insurance company to report a bogus charge on my hospital bill. Were they grateful? Hell no! They told me that was between me and the doctor who overcharged! They charged me for a second surgeon performing the operation (broken leg) when the guy was just a physician's assistant! No shit! They removed the charge when I threatened to sue. If you don't get a detailed statement and review every charge, you will be paying thousands of overcharges. It's what they do!

[ejpoeta]

4. when i had my daughter last year they sent me a bill considering that

my 'insurance' is one of those deductible and then 80/20 and my daughter had no insurance. i noticed that they charged me AND her both for the labor room. so they were double charging! we signed her up for child health plus (which should have been medicaid) which wouldn't go back and pay that charge. luckily they had a financial assistance program which wiped out abby's bill. but they wouldn't evne help me at all with my bill because i had insurance. at least my part was $200 which isn't too bad in the big scheme of things.

[Greyhound]

8. They think that their "campaign contributors" will make billions more before

they escape the chaos they're creating.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. And how much would a policy for yourself, with your pre-existing condition, have cost you without

the reform? The offered policy is much less than what my ex-employer offers me as a single, retiree ($523 per month) and I have no pre-existing condition. All health care costs are expensive, with insurance or without. It's the cost of it that is bankrupting everything.

[mdmc]

6. probably twice as much, if it was available at all

still too costly to use. 1/2 off and still too costly.

It seems that access to affordable medical treatment continues to be problematic.

[Subdivisions]

9. If it's still too expensive to afford, what good is it? n/t