Ever wonder why Insurance is stupid expensive?

[MLAH]

*

[double bogey]

Does anybody disagree that our healthcare system is broken!

Just imagine what it it'll be like when the government runs it.

[Uncle Saggy]

Does anybody disagree that our healthcare system is broken!

That’s putting it mildly


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[eaglegolfj]

My wife had a ruptured disk in her lower back. We went to a specialist in Houston. He did the normal x-rays and the talk about everything. He then told me it was going to cost about 20,000 dollars. I said well you are going to have to bill me as I didn't have insurance at the time. Working for a contractor at the time. He said oh you have no insurance you didn't tell me that hang on. He went back to his office and came back and told me the cost would be 6500 for everything payment up front.
Then I was thinking to myself that's why insurance cost so much.

[Traildust]

I though it was because everyone has to pay for the ones that don't?

[JLivi1224]

Man I was fired up about this yesterday! My developmentally delayed (born early) 2 year old needs speech therapy. To file with insurance is $260 a visit, recommend twice per week.
Cash payment without insurance is $60.
We have a high deductible plan before 90/10 kicks in. So this is just a bull**** deterrent to keep us from filing anything towards that deductible.

[jdg13]

Before they even have a chance to "cover their costs", the poor person billing it must have to go through calculus to figure how to code the stuff. Went to a PCP. Should be $25 copay. Sir it's gonna be $120. Uhh no it ain't. ER used to be just a $100 copay. Now it's $300 plus whatever else they add. I get it, this stuff is expensive, but they obviously make it where you can't understand so there's no way to keep them from overcharging.

[JLivi1224]

Here’s another doozie - the twins mentioned above were on the NICU for 36 days.
Anyone want to take a guess at total cost per child before insurance??









1.1M per child! Really!? People were great, but that’s asinine!

[JakeM]

Thats crazy..

[IowaHunter]

My wife’s PT is $400 per session. I know your pain. We’re about to pull the plug on it again.

[S-3 Ranch]

Big medicine

I though it was because everyone has to pay for the ones that don't?

Insurance makes for big medical job base
Example
Our pcp doctor had a small practice 3 people in the past
Now they have 15+ people sole jobs are to deal with and file insurance paperwork, another group that shuffled around the x ray ,ct mri , then they have a office manager to keep it all running and organized. Crazy it now takes over a dozen people to run one office
Same with our dentist, and eye doctor,ect
Huge job base
And the equipment in all the offices x-ray , ct ,ect have to have specific technical issues and operations
Horrible
Sometimes we get bills from 3-8 months before that has been in the paper shuffle
Between insurance company and care providers

[Sticks&Strings]

I dropped my normal healthcare when Obamacare kicked in. $1500/ month plus a $6850 per person deductible. I was 39, wife 37, and 3 small kids. I got catastrophic insurance and now operate on the monthly as a cash patient.

The reason in my opinion healthcare is so expensive, is due to the staff required to chase insurance payments. Since they have to chase the payments, they overcharge them, and the ruthless cycle continues.

We recently needed basic vaccinations for school. My wife shopped for best pricing as a gringa. It was $760 at Walmart. I work in construction and see that most of my guys get the same stuff as every other kid at a fraction of the cost, so I started looking. Within 5 minutes I found a clinic with free vaccinations, the same ones. But the line was going to be long and no guarantee we could get them that day if they ran out of their allocation. I called another place and they said they had plenty, $20/shot, if 2 could be combined, it was $30/ shot, cash or credit card only, no insurance allowed. Showed up, place was clean, staff friendly, wait wasnt very long, went in and they were very efficient. Paid our $40 or $60,and left. Absolutely zero unnecessary office staff chasing payments and having to file and code things 4 different ways to maximize their accounts receivable.
Yes we were the only non-Hispanic people in the joint, but that doesn't bother me a lick. In fact it verified to me I wasn't being wasteful and I had figured out the system.

We now do this every single time we go to any medical place. Tell them, no insurance, cash. They help us with the bill, and if it is prescription related, they write it as generic, not name brand, and inform us where to get a coupon to get the best price offered as many pharmacies will price match. The price gap is HUGE!!!!.

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[RiverRat1]

My wife had a ruptured disk in her lower back. We went to a specialist in Houston. He did the normal x-rays and the talk about everything. He then told me it was going to cost about 20,000 dollars. I said well you are going to have to bill me as I didn't have insurance at the time. Working for a contractor at the time. He said oh you have no insurance you didn't tell me that hang on. He went back to his office and came back and told me the cost would be 6500 for everything payment up front.
Then I was thinking to myself that's why insurance cost so much.

Stories like this are 100% true..

But this was happening long ago. My daughter just turned 18 and we didn't have insurance when she was born. "Normal" price was over 6k but cash up front price was about half that.

I think now it's just magnified with lots of confusion. Everyone is basically trying to scam as much money as they can from the system. It's become a big game.

[Slicefixer]

Here is the scary thought, at least to me...

Where does it go from here??

[Slicefixer]

I dropped my normal healthcare when Obamacare kicked in. $1500/ month plus a $6850 per person deductible. I was 39, wife 37, and 3 small kids. I got catastrophic insurance and now operate on the monthly as a cash patient.

The reason in my opinion healthcare is so expensive, is due to the staff required to chase insurance payments. Since they have to chase the payments, they overcharge them, and the ruthless cycle continues.

We recently needed basic vaccinations for school. My wife shopped for best pricing as a gringa. It was $760 at Walmart. I work in construction and see that most of my guys get the same stuff as every other kid at a fraction of the cost, so I started looking. Within 5 minutes I found a clinic with free vaccinations, the same ones. But the line was going to be long and no guarantee we could get them that day if they ran out of their allocation. I called another place and they said they had plenty, $20/shot, if 2 could be combined, it was $30/ shot, cash or credit card only, no insurance allowed. Showed up, place was clean, staff friendly, wait wasnt very long, went in and they were very efficient. Paid our $40 or $60,and left. Absolutely zero unnecessary office staff chasing payments and having to file and code things 4 different ways to maximize their accounts receivable.
Yes we were the only non-Hispanic people in the joint, but that doesn't bother me a lick. In fact it verified to me I wasn't being wasteful and I had figured out the system.

We now do this every single time we go to any medical place. Tell them, no insurance, cash. They help us with the bill, and if it is prescription related, they write it as generic, not name brand, and inform us where to get a coupon to get the best price offered as many pharmacies will price match. The price gap is HUGE!!!!.

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Lots of truth....

It's a self perpetrating bureaucracy that's spiraling out of control...as are many other things....