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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Rat Bastard Medical Insurance Company

Yesterday, I got a letter in the mail. Apparently, my evil medical insurance company raised my insurance rate by $240/month back in July. It’s news to me. I just got a bill for $480 because they “forgot” to bill me the increase for two months. This raises my monthly insurance bill to just under $1,000/month.

Two things that ain’t going to happen. I’m not going to send them the $480 dollars, even though they provided an envelope “for my convenience.” The second thing is no way I am going to send them $1000/month.

I know what you are thinking: what if I have a major illness. Well, then I go bankrupt. However, even with insurance, medical bankruptcy is common. My dad had the same insurance I have, but when my mom suffered from medical issues, it bankrupted them anyway. Too many co-pays, travel expenses and uncovered medications did them in. I’m going to be one of those freeloaders who gets his medical attention at the ER.

The main reason I kept medical insurance is for my wife. However, just this month another insurance option became open to her. She’s covered.

What am I going to do? Get serious about taking better care of my own health. Sure, I’m a big fat guy in 50s, so on paper I’m not a great risk. However, my blood pressure is pretty normal. I’m not on any medications. Currently, I do use a CPAP on a low setting. Occasionally, I have to get new supplies for that. My usual order costs the insurance company about $460. A quick search on-line found the same gear for $59. Maybe when I take off a few pounds I won’t need the machine at all.

Looks like diet and exercise for me. I can take some of that $1000/month and buy new hiking boots, some cross country skies, a bit of exercise equipment and a bigger medical kit. Just to be on the safe side, I’d better start drinking a glass of red wine every night.

This is the line in the sand for me. If you aren’t rich, we have the worse of all medical systems. If we had universal health care, no one would have to suffer the fear of not being able to afford insurance. In a truly open market, medical costs would be reasonable.

By 2014 insurance is supposed to be mandatory. I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.

In the mean time, I’m just angry.

-Sixbears

7 comments:

  1. almost every town has a low income clinic. If you stay on top of an impending health issue you should be able to save some money. I have a doc in my town that gives low rates to cash users. Costs me about 100 dollars for a trip and meds if I need them. 1000.00 could make a lot of trips and you'd still come out ahead. You might want to research it before it's needed though

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  2. you can apply for a hardship voucher to be excluded. many (1400+)companies are doing that. McDonald's is one which I find ironic simply since Obama's wife is SO against junk food and yet it is exempt from having to provide the health care.

    I do not have health care insurance. I am hoping to be able to get a job with it or I will get the drastic kind that covers emergency traumatic (like heart attack) or I will simply keep going without.

    We were just talking about this in school and most of us agreed it will be repealed by the supreme court holding up the lower courts ruling it is unconstitutional.

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  3. Many years before I turned 65, my insurance company kept raising my rates. I never used it, so decided to go without. Sure, it cost me a lot of money once in awhil, but in the long run, I came out ahead. When you pay your own way, you don't have to take all those unneccessary tests, etc.

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  4. I don't blame you a bit...good for you. Insurance companies are nothing more than regulated ripoffs.

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  5. Six, I know exactly how you feel. I must have my own policy because of my previous back injuries and my wife’s hip replacements. No other company will pick us up with this history even though we have had no recurring issues with the hips or back. For my wife and I it costs me $1,200.00 a month pre tax money and that’s for an 80/20 policy with a $2,500.00 ($5,000 for both) deductable. I’m ready to throw in the towel myself!

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  6. Sweetie has Medicare & due to our low income he qualified for help paying the premium via the local DHS office. However, his plan seems to change its mind often about covered and uncovered expenses. In August he received a stack of bills showing his 20% due. It equaled more than $700!!!!!

    Someone had told me our hospital had a hardship program that would either forgive the bill or cut it according to income. I inquired, supplied the necessary forms and documentation and they wrote off both of our hospital incurred bills. Any procedure done outside the office; at another specialist or other lab other than theirs was not paid. It cleared $1200 for me and $400 for him.

    We can yelp all we want about the public dole but damn it - we have $1007 in income a month and worked all our lives.

    The day may come when a write off or other program won't cover these expenses. Until then we took advantage of what we could.

    Theory is one thing. Real life is another.

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  7. We all have to do what we can to survive.

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