[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Never_Enough

TN must be a nice place to live then. Not all states offer help to people that actually need it. We're obviously not talking about $565 breaking 6 figure income homes.

Also, most people do not have a 100% company paid program.

Well..

1) I chose to move to TN, I am not from here. I was smart to move to a state that does well for it's residents. Others can do that too, with a few exceptions of course.

2) If you read my post, you will see that I have not always had company paid insurance. This is a somewhat new benefit, since I only started here last year. My previous employer offered a more typical insurance plan.

3) It isn't the state offering the assistance on the injections, it is the pharma company. So anyone within the USA would be eligible.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

My insurance deductible is $3000, and I have the second best plan my company offers. I had to laugh last time I went to the doctor, there was a sign that office visits for people with no insurance were $99. Mine came to $150 for the same thing because I technically have insurance, even though I had to pay out of pocket since it was under my deductible. I told them that was ridiculous and finally walked out paying $99.

I had insurance which I had a $3k deductible for an individual and $6k for the overall family. I ran into the very same situation you did one year. I didn't argue too much over it as I knew I would be exceeding my $3k individual deductible that year. Paying the higher rate just got me there quicker.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Yep. For my previous employer, I did integrated audits of a couple large insurance companies. Very familiar with how the money flows....





I'll inquire the next time I have an appointment. I don't believe there is a path for my issue with respect to your statement, as it is assumed my issue is environmental related. The tumor is caused by abnormal retinal blood vessel growth, hence the use of Anti-VEGF chemo (Avastin) - which is being used in a similar method for those with Wet AMD.

Feel free to ping me privately if you want to discuss further.

Sorry to hear you have to deal with cancer. I've also had to deal with cancer. Twice. Has your oncologist talked about long term issues with using Avastin? Avastin is used as one of the drug therapies for Colon Cancer which I had but only when you're stage 4 or had metastatic recurrence. One of my oncologists said there was consequences with long term use of Avastin.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by xander_g

i think it's also the fact that a lot of chronically-single people are wrapped up in their careers. One of my coworkers is a single attractive smart lawyer who's into cars and guns and for some reason she's single. If she wasn't my friend, I'd be trying very hard.

Just the other day, I was talking to a woman on the Hinge app & she essentially said she doesn't have time for a relationship, but is looking for someone supportive & understanding of that. So you want some guy to date you & be supportive of you not having time for him?

It's fine to be all about your career, but don't then expect other things that require a lot of time & effort to also happen for you. Pick your poison.

[xander_g]

Originally Posted by Never_Enough

Just the other day, I was talking to a woman on the Hinge app & she essentially said she doesn't have time for a relationship, but is looking for someone supportive & understanding of that. So you want some guy to date you & be supportive of you not having time for him?

It's fine to be all about your career, but don't then expect other things that require a lot of time & effort to also happen for you. Pick your poison.

its all about balance

[Yapakanichi]

Did I miss pics???? Am I too late?

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by knowthebattle

Did I miss pics???? Am I too late?

I hear PornHub has good stuff

[UncleWede]

I'm gone for a few hours and miss all the fun. I get back and it's just MKSixer and his doll dancing around. Been there, seen that. I need a little variety (left Rosy this week!)

Why does my palm itch? Should I be using more lotion?

[Maynard]

Not to go all wonky on this, but medical expenses are the #1 cause of bankruptcy, IIRC over 50% of the time. There are many situations that can easily overwhelm even a prudent and thrifty person, even w/ a 6-figure salary (lots of issues rack up million dollar bills, and tons of things will put you into the $2-300K range - that's a big bill to pay out of savings).

And insurance was originally a way to distribute the cost of low-frequency high-cost accidents over an entire group (like with farmers, where a barn fire or bad weather could ruin a family, but spread amongst a bunch of them is not catastrophic). Once you start adding 50-100% profit on top of overhead, then let specialists write your policies so they gerrymander costs, you get the extortionistic practice we have today.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Not to go all wonky on this, but medical expenses are the #1 cause of bankruptcy, IIRC over 50% of the time. There are many situations that can easily overwhelm even a prudent and thrifty person, even w/ a 6-figure salary (lots of issues rack up million dollar bills, and tons of things will put you into the $2-300K range - that's a big bill to pay out of savings).

This isn't entirely accurate.

Yes, medical debt is the #1 "stated" reason for BK, however, the average medical debt filed within a bankruptcy in the USA last year was $4,167 and respondents stated that any medical debt over $1,000 would leave them without any savings - so this isn't a medical costs problem, it's a fiscal responsibility problem.

Second, your comment about 'lots of issues rack up millions in bills' and 'tons of things put you in the 2-300k range' is inaccurate. 98% of all medical expenses are less than $3,000, with the median total medical bill being $2,582.90 before any reimbursement by insurance. Less than 0.1% of all medical procedures or emergencies exceed $40,375 per patient. In 2016 (last year for data), there were less than 100 procedures nationwide that exceeded $500K in total billed expense.

[aozer]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

This isn't entirely accurate.

Yes, medical debt is the #1 "stated" reason for BK, however, the average medical debt filed within a bankruptcy in the USA last year was $4,167 and respondents stated that any medical debt over $1,000 would leave them without any savings - so this isn't a medical costs problem, it's a fiscal responsibility problem.

Second, your comment about 'lots of issues rack up millions in bills' and 'tons of things put you in the 2-300k range' is inaccurate. 98% of all medical expenses are less than $3,000, with the median total medical bill being $2,582.90 before any reimbursement by insurance. Less than 0.1% of all medical procedures or emergencies exceed $40,375 per patient. In 2016 (last year for data), there were less than 100 procedures nationwide that exceeded $500K in total billed expense.

You’re talking about single procedures. A lot treatments encompass more than just a single procedure, i.e CAT scans, consultations, physical therapy etc that will all add up to a lot of money.

I got a CAT scan and a few stitches on my head last year and the bill would have been over 9k if I had paid out of pocket. I was in the emergency room for less than an hour. For someone working minimum wage with no health insurance, that simple accident would have completely fucked up their finances.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by aozer

You’re talking about single procedures. A lot treatments encompass more than just a single procedure, i.e CAT scans, consultations, physical therapy etc that will all add up to a lot of money.

I got a CAT scan and a few stitches on my head last year and the bill would have been over 9k if I had paid out of pocket. I was in the emergency room for less than an hour. For someone working minimum wage with no health insurance, that simple accident would have completely fucked up their finances.

Fair point, however, the totals even when combined don't equal the ridiculous million dollar amounts that were stated in the previous post.

With respect to your example, will $9K hurt someone who is making minimum wage and has no health insurance? Not a chance. Why? Because someone making minimum wage will be considered indigent and will be financially absolved from payment. If you push that up a bit, and say $9K will have a major impact on someone making, say, $40K/yr - that I would agree with. One has to ponder though, that all medical bills can be paid on installment plans of usually 24-48mos, frequently with no interest. That is gonna come out to around 250/mo or so. If $250 on a $40k income is going to have a major impact, then I go back to my original comment and say it isn't a medical problem, it is a financial responsibility problem.

Look - I am not saying that our medical system isn't expensive and could really use with an overhaul - it certainly can, and is. The problem, however, isn't the issue that many make it out to be and the answer isn't to have some nanny state government try and make it better. The true answer would be to have the patient be more involved with the actual billing and create a more free-market system, versus the 3rd party payee system we currently have.