Question about US medical insurance

ShortWarning said:
What would happen in regards to a pre existing condition like type 1 diabetes?
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If the patient has been paying for health insurance since before the diagnosis then the health insurance will pay as usual. Where the health insurance has limits is things like someone without any insurance gets diagnosed with cancer, they then won't be able to get easy affordable insurance to treat that and will have to look at other options.

It is like car insurance. You can't crash your car and then Pay for car insurance and expect the insurer to pay for a new car. Insurance works by making regular small payments before the incident.
 
D.P. said:
Find one, it is illegal to decline emergency treatment to a patient.
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Not in all states, I have an official US gov brochure for new immigrants and it states clearly that In MOST cases its illegal to refuse treatment but some hospitals are allowed to do so...

I can get it to you, but its a pain in the backside to find it again.

In the end, even if you are accepted you will be presented with a very nice bill which you probably wont be able to pay up to, so bankrupcy would be the option screwing your credit rating beyond belief and good luck in getting anything in USA with dead credit rating... Either way you are totally screwed.
 
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Bottom line is that while you are working at a good job and dont have any serious conditions everything is plain sailing... Once you lose a job and get something like cancer you are on your own and you will not be treated.

At least in UK, you wont be given up on if you are terminally ill and dont even work, its a nice thing to know.


Dont get me wrong, I like USA and probably will move there one day given the chance... But I do think their medical policy is a major down-side.
 
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D.P. said:
Overall, is is far, far cheaper than the National insurance tax and higher income taxes in the UK. Not only do you get stung by 10% ni you employer also has to match at even higher rates. That is much more expensive than a standard health insurance in the US.
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Cheaper for an individual with insurance if you compare the insurance cost against NI/tax contributions but not on a nation-wide scale.

That additional expense in the UK is providing healthcare for everyone, even those that can't afford it.

I couldn't believe some of the messages on a Facebook post about Obamacare that basically said "why should I pay for your healthcare, if you haven't got insurance it's your own fault for being too stupid to get a good job".

What a fine 'society'. :rolleyes:
 
Irish_Tom said:
Cheaper for an individual with insurance if you compare the insurance cost against NI/tax contributions but not on a nation-wide scale.

That additional expense in the UK is providing healthcare for everyone, even those that can't afford it.

I couldn't believe some of the messages on a Facebook post about Obamacare that basically said "why should I pay for your healthcare, if you haven't got insurance it's your own fault for being too stupid to get a good job".

What a fine 'society'. :rolleyes:
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Thing is, its not simple as saying its your own fault for not getting a good job... You develop a terminal condition which doesnt allow you to work, you lose your medical insurance because without your employer contribution you are clearly screwed.

What are you supposed to do next?
 
Abraxaz1 said:
If the us system is so good why does yhe wotld health organisation rank the usa at 37 whilst yhe uk is at 18?
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Is that not based off of overall health of a country and life expectancy?
Nothing to do with the actual service the hospitals give etc?

As stated, the service over here was miles better (knee surgery personally) and been through family members and cancer over here in the States and over there in England. If anything happens to me, I know where I want to be!
 
Clipsey said:
Is that not based off of overall health of a country and life expectancy?
Nothing to do with the actual service the hospitals give etc?

As stated, the service over here was miles better (knee surgery personally) and been through family members and cancer over here in the States and over there in England. If anything happens to me, I know where I want to be!
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How good would it be if you were on minimum wage and couldn't afford insurance?
 
Woden said:
How good would it be if you were on minimum wage and couldn't afford insurance?
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It would be exactly the same :confused:
It's the type of cover you get/want which determines your expense. The service remains the same.
You can get pretty decent insurance coverage (it's all about deductibles, and co-pays) for about $100 a month. Which I think is more than reasonable.
 
Clipsey said:
It would be exactly the same :confused:
It's the type of cover you get/want which determines your expense. The service remains the same.
You can get pretty decent insurance coverage (it's all about deductibles, and co-pays) for about $100 a month. Which I think is more than reasonable.
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Maybe on your income but it's certainly not going to be reasonable for everyone.

It's definitely NOT reasonable if you don't have insurance and are expected to pay $10,000 per night to stay in hospital. :eek:

The level of service may well be better but only if you can actually access it. There are millions of Americans that can't or won't have access to this ‘incredible’ service and as a result overall health and life expectancy suffers.

Considering America spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world (almost twice as much as Norway, number two on the list) it's no surprise that the service is good.

However, it's also utterly shocking that as a country, outcomes are so poor.
 
Abraxaz1 said:
If the us system is so good why does yhe wotld health organisation rank the usa at 37 whilst yhe uk is at 18?
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That is based on the general health of the whole population, not the level of care provided by hospitals and doctors. Which is at the top of the table. Americans have very high rates of obesity, type 1 diabetes and an actual level of absolute poverty with the poorest people having significantly lower life expectancies and higher infant mortality rates.

IF you have insurance it normally works out very cheap for the best medical care in the world.
 
Irish_Tom said:
Maybe on your income but it's certainly not going to be reasonable for everyone.

It's definitely NOT reasonable if you don't have insurance and are expected to pay $10,000 per night to stay in hospital. :eek:

The level of service may well be better but only if you can actually access it. There are millions of Americans that can't or won't have access to this ‘incredible’ service and as a result overall health and life expectancy suffers.

Considering America spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world (almost twice as much as Norway, number two on the list) it's no surprise that the service is good.

However, it's also utterly shocking that as a country, outcomes are so poor.
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Outcomes are generally best in the world, the US leads the world in things like cancer recovery rates, neurosurgery, heart transplants etc.

Things like life expectancy have far too many other variables that are completely unrelated to the quality of health care. There are more fast food cafés per head than any other country- that fact a lone has a far more important impact on the average life expectancy.
 
Irish_Tom said:
Maybe on your income but it's certainly not going to be reasonable for everyone.

It's definitely NOT reasonable if you don't have insurance and are expected to pay $10,000 per night to stay in hospital. :eek:
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Sorry, I meant even on minimal wage, people can get medical insurance. They just take the gamble of not getting it as they'd rather spend their money on something else.
The whole medical insurance system is a complete joke admittedly, however it is not as bad as some of the posts make it out to be.

Oh and too the original OP question :D
My wife is expecting our first baby in December and he will automatically go straight on to her insurance without any questions or anything.
 
D.P. said:
That is based on the general health of the whole population, not the level of care provided by hospitals and doctors. Which is at the top of the table. Americans have very high rates of obesity, type 1 diabetes and an actual level of absolute poverty with the poorest people having significantly lower life expectancies and higher infant mortality rates.
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Don't you think that those in absolute poverty would have better life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates if they had access to the incredible healthcare available in the US?

D.P. said:
Outcomes are generally best in the world, the US leads the world in things like cancer recovery rates, neurosurgery, heart transplants etc.

Things like life expectancy have far too many other variables that are completely unrelated to the quality of health care. There are more fast food cafés per head than any other country- that fact a lone has a far more important impact on the average life expectancy.
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I meant the outcome for the population as a whole, as opposed to individual outcomes, perhaps I used the wrong term.

I don't think anyone is denying that the level of care in the US is excellent, the difference is that not everyone in the US can access it.

You said it yourself:

D.P. said:
IF you have insurance it normally works out very cheap for the best medical care in the world.
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That's the issue I and many people can't get past. Personally, I would rather live in a country where healthcare was available to everyone regardless of their ability to afford it, even if that meant getting 'slightly worse' care (very subjective term).
 
Irish_Tom said:
Don't you think that those in absolute poverty would have better life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates if they had access to the incredible healthcare available in the US?



I meant the outcome for the population as a whole, as opposed to individual outcomes, perhaps I used the wrong term.

I don't think anyone is denying that the level of care in the US is excellent, the difference is that not everyone in the US can access it.

You said it yourself:



That's the issue I and many people can't get past. Personally, I would rather live in a country where healthcare was available to everyone regardless of their ability to afford it, even if that meant getting 'slightly worse' care (very subjective term).
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Personally I would like to live in a country where everyone has access to excellent health care- neither th UK or the US offers that. At least in the US most people have easy access to excellent health care.
Something definitely has to be done about the uninsured in the US, but the NHS would be a huge step backwards in health service quality. Far too many personal horror stories of the NHS. Everyone might have access to free care but that is inconsequential of the quality is so poor that you will be misdiagnosed, mistreated and suffer through extortionate waiting periods to see the specialist or get operated upon.
 
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