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Thread: Health Care Costs/Heatlh Insurance

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    Default Health Care Costs/Heatlh Insurance

    I finally have health insurance but as I'm finding out as expensive it is, and as much of a discount I'm getting with my subsidy to make it seem like a great deal, the deductible is still 4000. As far as I understand, this means that I must still pay 4000 out of pocket before it covers anything. I'm having an issue right now that my primary care doctor absolutely refuses to treat with a drug that will cost $4/month. Because of this, I foresee some unnecessary costs as I bounce myself to yet another primary care doctor in the same clinic who sides with the original doctor. Both refuse to refer me to a specialist. I'm going to a specialist regardless, but I suspect he'll want to order more lab tests. All of this is out of pocket to be used towards the deductible. I was advised to go off a certain medication about a year ago during a primary care visit with health insurance I had then. I should have never listened to the doctor who got me off these meds, and now it's a pain in the butt to get back on.

    Anyhow, if one wants to start pinching pennies, wouldn't it make more sense to forego health insurance entirely and declare bankruptcy in the event something catastrophic happens? Or otherwise, outright refuse to pay the bill? I know the latter sounds really messed up but at this point, I've been literally giving my money away to health insurance companies and not getting anything back. I recall paying $350/month for insurance while living in San Francisco. My deductible was $5500/year. So when I wanted to get vaccinations prior to traveling outside of the country, I had to pay everything out of pocket to be used to go towards my deductible. My situation is similar in NYC. I suspect I'll be seeing a lot of doctors to resolve my current issue, and all will be going out of pocket. I do have a hsa but still...

    Are there super cheap, catastophic options for ppl over 30? I remember signing up for a policy that was only 70/month just a few years ago, something similar. And in the event I want to cancel my current policy and simply go without, as I'm paying out of pocket for most of everything anyhow, how can one protect their assets in the event of a catastrophe and the resulting five or six figure bill?

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    Default Re: Health Care Costs/Heatlh Insurance

    Catastrophic plans aren't really available yet for people over 30, at least not anything beyond 3 months. They also don't alleviate the penalty provision of Obamacare. If you are getting a good deal now with the subsidy, then you may want to ride it out for 2018 as you'll pay a penalty anyway if you have nothing this year. The good news is that the individual mandate goes away in 2019, so you'll be able to ditch your mostly useless insurance then without having to pay a penalty.

    It sounds like you may need to switch primary care physicians. If you go to a specialist without a PCP referral, it will probably not be considered a covered service under your plan. What that means is that the cost of the specialist wouldn't even get applied towards your deductible. If a new PCP wants to order more tests, you can explain to him/her that lab work has to come out of your pocket and ask the doctor to limit the tests to what is truly necessary.

    For now there is really no choice between an expensive shitty Obamacare plan or nothing at all. The good news is that regulations are in the works to allow catastrophic plans that can cover as long as 12 months. This, combined with the elimination of the individual penalty, is going to be a boon for a lot of healthier people. How that will play out with subsidized people is another matter as catastrophic coverage will not be subsidized.

    In any event, good luck.

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    Default Re: Health Care Costs/Heatlh Insurance

    At least I have an HSA, so the $$$ spent is tax-deductible from my understanding. I've yet to check as to whether the insurance will allow the specialist to count towards the deductible if there is no referral. Heck, if not, I might as well go anywhere, and not to any of the crappy hmo doctors.

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    Default Re: Health Care Costs/Heatlh Insurance

    Quote Originally Posted by ZeroSugarMonster View Post
    I finally have health insurance but as I'm finding out as expensive it is, and as much of a discount I'm getting with my subsidy to make it seem like a great deal, the deductible is still 4000. As far as I understand, this means that I must still pay 4000 out of pocket before it covers anything. I'm having an issue right now that my primary care doctor absolutely refuses to treat with a drug that will cost $4/month. Because of this, I foresee some unnecessary costs as I bounce myself to yet another primary care doctor in the same clinic who sides with the original doctor. Both refuse to refer me to a specialist. I'm going to a specialist regardless, but I suspect he'll want to order more lab tests. All of this is out of pocket to be used towards the deductible. I was advised to go off a certain medication about a year ago during a primary care visit with health insurance I had then. I should have never listened to the doctor who got me off these meds, and now it's a pain in the butt to get back on.

    Anyhow, if one wants to start pinching pennies, wouldn't it make more sense to forego health insurance entirely and declare bankruptcy in the event something catastrophic happens? Or otherwise, outright refuse to pay the bill? I know the latter sounds really messed up but at this point, I've been literally giving my money away to health insurance companies and not getting anything back. I recall paying $350/month for insurance while living in San Francisco. My deductible was $5500/year. So when I wanted to get vaccinations prior to traveling outside of the country, I had to pay everything out of pocket to be used to go towards my deductible. My situation is similar in NYC. I suspect I'll be seeing a lot of doctors to resolve my current issue, and all will be going out of pocket. I do have a hsa but still...

    Are there super cheap, catastophic options for ppl over 30? I remember signing up for a policy that was only 70/month just a few years ago, something similar. And in the event I want to cancel my current policy and simply go without, as I'm paying out of pocket for most of everything anyhow, how can one protect their assets in the event of a catastrophe and the resulting five or six figure bill?
    Can you PM me later about this topic?

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