In 2007 I still had great healthcare. I had to have major liver surgery, and my out of pocket was literally $128. I was also much younger. Policies were cheaper.
That policy got downgraded over time, and the costs were growing outrageous. We went without healthcare for a few years. I purchased a catastrophic plan that really only covered anything after a huge deductible.
In 2010 I was hospitalized for 4 days. We are still paying this off.
In 2016 I was in hospital again for several days with subsequent testing confirming something that had been mentioned in 2007 via scans but never addressed until I had this blockage. I blame no one, it just wasn't on the front burner at the time. I was diagnosed with a moderate level of Crohn's disease. We are still paying this off.
In 2018 DH put us on his policy at work. We didn't do it midyear when he started the job in 2017 as I had finally met the 10k deductible we had and didn't want to lose the med coverage for the rest of the year. His coworkers said the insurance was not great. Are they kidding? It's fantastic. We still have the lowest cost to us plan, and I am thrilled. Even with the changes for 2019 I am thrilled. For the first time in 30 years we have vision and dental. I have done the math. The 30 dollars more a month was so worth it based on what I know our (mainly mine) yearly eye costs are (due to Crohns)
I eluded to the fact that I had to take DH to the ER in Maine over Labor Day weekend. We were impressed with the care he got. We were worried about the out of network bills we would get.
The entire OOP for this ER visit was LESS than one Dr.'s appointment here in CT. We owed $318 dollars after insurance. For everything! Tests, labwork, ER visit, DR and meds. The entire bill was all in one for all of these line items and it was under 2K
He has had to major tests since we got home plus 4 doctor visits including specialists. He has worn an event monitor, had an MRI (brain) MRA (brain) ekgs and labwork. They have prescribed two different medications, one which he has not started due to concerns of very serious side effects. We also question the prescribing of the medication.
He still has spells of dizziness to the point of having to squat down. His BP though lower is still high in my opinion. The found a small aneurysm in his frontal lobe which we are now in a watch mode for. We are having follow up visits and scans scheduled.
Even with what I consider our great insurance.....why are these fees in our state so high?
The event monitor was 300 to put on, 300 to drop back off (we took off ourselves) and 280 to be read.
The MRI and MRA both required us to pay our 30% of the bill up front. We were told when the MRA was scheduled that it was much cheaper than the MRI. Yes it was, but I don't consider 80 cents cheaper. Cheap maybe, but not much cheaper.
So far even with the great insurance (IMO based on what we have had in the last 15 years) why are things so expensive in CT? EKG in Maine was 71 dollars. Here it's 170 (because we had to have another one when we were doing follow up at his Doctor)
I am grateful that we are able to afford this. We have had to make some major adjustments financially, and I know we are blessed to be able to do so. But with our HSA almost drained, I am growing concerned.
How can we fight these rising costs?
What is wrong with our state? How can we change this?
I am new to your blog; but wanted to say that there have been many articles done about the variable costs of identical tests within even the same town, county, etc. The exact same test can vary by many hundreds of dollars, not sure why. Sometimes different groups have negotiated different reimbursement fees, etc with the insurance co, other times it may be geographic area, higher cost of living, etc. It pays to ask if it is not an emergency situation.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, my son has crohn's disease, diagnosed at the age of 10. He has been mostly in remission for the past 20 years, and on and off with the medications. He has not had eye trouble yet, may I ask what type of eye issues you have experienced- On the same subject of variation in prices, here in our hometown in Western NY, a colonoscopy is a few hundred after our insurance pays their share. In Los Angeles, and under his insurance (which is not as good as ours, but still) the procedure is about $12,000 before insurance. When all is paid, he will probably owe about $2,500. Take care, and wishing you both good health from here on out. Ellie
I had what they labeled as an ischemic event caused by inflammation. My gastroenterologist got quite excited as I was his first patient to have this happen. I actually lost control of my left eye. If I looked up or to the right my left Eye would not work in sync with my right eye, and everything was double. I also could not walk in a straight line without closing my left eye. . Brain MRI showed no damage. After about three months it resolved itself and my eyes started to work in sync with each other again. That’s the music teacher who needs to read music for hours at a time it was quite disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteI almost never come to blogger now that I've shut down my blog. I recently did a few posts on medical insurance. It's frightening.Like you, I consider myself blessed to be able to afford to absorb the increase of over $300/month in premiums, effective Jan 2019 NOt having ins is not an option for me. ACA in CT is something like $1000-$2000/month, depending upon plans, for which I would not receive any subsidies. Welcome to middle class, although I'd be considered pretty destitute in my now former, marital town where plenty of folks were pulling in $500,000/year. Can't wait to be eligible for Medicare. Whenever folks gripe about the increase in those premiums, I remind them of what folks not on Medicare have to pay. Sickening. Be well.
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