During that 3 month period our out of pocket medical expenses were $322.03. The great state of Massachusetts requires all residents have health insurance, but honestly we could not afford it. Do the math, folks. To stay "legal" we were being asked to pay just over $3000 to cover $322.03 worth of medical expenses. That makes no freakin' sense.
For those wondering, Cobra is pro-rated so we had up to 3 months to apply. The unpaid time off was only 3 months, so we decided to wait until the final day to decided whether to pay for Cobra coverage or not. If our total medical expenses during the 3 month period were more then $3000 we would apply, otherwise we would pay the expenses ourselves. Since our total medical expenses were during that time were far less we opted to not enroll into Cobra. But wait. There's more.
As I said Massachusetts requires every resident to have health insurance. According to the official document from our insurance company that must be included with our state income tax return, we did not have health insurance for 3 months during 2008. This means we violated state law for 3 months. I'm just waiting to see what penalties we will have to pay to the state because I refused to pay $3000 to cover $322.03 worth of medical expenses.
Back to the math. So $322.03 of the $2634.20 was because of the Cobra slash unpaid time off issue. I'm okay with paying $322.02 to save $2677.97. This still leaves $2312.17 worth of medical expenses not covered by our health insurance provider during the time when we did have full coverage. What were these expenses, you ask? More than half of the expenses were related to my wife's pregnancy and the delivery of our first child. We had to pay an additional $1577.55 out of our own pocket just to have a baby.
This leaves $734.62, which is the amount I paid to get 4 stitches near my eye from an accident. Had the accident happened a couple of hours earlier the amount would paid have been around $291.28 but the medical clinic near our house was closed at the time of the accident leaving me no choice but to go to the emergency room. And no, I couldn't wait until the next day. I had a deep cut less than a quarter of an inch away from my eye with lots of blood coming out. Waiting was not an option.
Let's recap the out of pocket expenses:
* $1577.55 to have a baby
* $734.62 to stitch a cut near my eye
* $322.03 pediatric visit during the unpaid time off
Grand total: $2634.20
There is a serious problem in the United States regarding healthcare. And while the government powers that be are focused on stimulus packages, corporate bail outs, and trying to improve the economy, it seems to me healthcare reform is something the U.S. government ignored for years. Don't believe me? Watch Michael Moore's documentary Sicko and see for yourself.
I know my situation is minor compare to the many, many others who have major medical issues. However the point I'm trying to make here is that even with health insurance a typical American family may still have to pay out of pocket medical expenses that can be a struggle to afford. Not only that, but in my own situation if the U.S. had a better healthcare system like the ones found in other countries such as Canada and France I would have been able to put the $2634.20 into the pockets of local retailers or maybe a contractor to do some work on the house thus doing my part to help stimulate the economy.
As a side note and since I did mention Canada, I have to say from personal experience that the Canadian healthcare system is awesome, really awesome. A few years back I fractured my leg on a snowboarding trip in Canada. The total cost to see the doctor, get x-rays, etc, $86 Canadian which at that time came out to about $60 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., 4 stitches and an ER visit costed me $734.62. Something is seriously wrong with our healthcare system!
Update: My wife found 2 more invoices totaling $190 bringing our out of pocket medical expenses for 2008 to a total of $2824.20. posted by Kirby | 24-Feb-2009 8:10 AM | comments (10)
And you didn't even mention the fact that I am having so much trouble with my short term disability!
This was a good post though.
I was saving that for another post, but ran out of time today.
posted by Kirby Turner | February 24 07:21 PMGet better health care coverage, not the bottom and cheapest
posted by Otto | March 3 06:35 PMOur health care provider is one of the better ones offered in corporate America. It's not the bottom nor the cheapest. But like all other insurance companies it is for profit. Just got another bill yesterday for the kid's lead test. This test is required by law in my state and yet it is not covered by our insurance. Luckily this particular bill is small, but it goes to further provide there is a serious problem in our health care system. The type of test should have been fully covered by insurance in my opinion.
posted by Kirby Turner | March 4 05:05 AMThis is a test
posted by Tester | March 18 09:06 AMActually, I'm Canadian, and the Canadian system is failing. Canadians are often forced to wait too long for care and this leads to deaths. These probems in fact are worsening. Int he 1990s the provincial goverments decided that healthcrae reform was a good idea. Now this "idea" has come back to haunt us and will only get worse as the babyboomers get older, more physicans, nurses, and other healthcare workers retire, etc.
Here is a prime example of what happens when someone gets sick with a serious illness no less in Canada:
ICU bottleneck delays patient’s tumour removal
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9011502.html
As far as Michael Moore goes, he makes me sick. He was dishonest about the Canadian system. he did not tell Americans the truth. Please do not go by Michael Moore, but do your own research. Trust me the Canadian system is not the Heaven that Moore presents nor is the Cuban system that great. He took Americans to a tourist hospital that Cubans cannot access. I send left over medications with a Charity group (from Canada) to Cuba every year, because Cubans lack access to basic Tylenol, inhalers, many other meds, basic supplies, and so on that so many North Americans take for granted.
Lastly, given the many problems associated with Canadian healthcare, I would not recommend our system nor is the American system without problems. What would be better is some sort of hybrid system, look towards what many European countries are getting it right, but please, do not assume that Canada has it right. We do not and in fact, too many Canadians are suffering the consequences of a system that cannot properly meet their medical needs. Some Canadians also are going bankrupt due to their medical conditions, bills still happen, etc.
Cuba can't be that bad, they are ranked 39th, only two behind the U.S. which is ranked 37th. Previous poster seems honest and forthright, Canada is 30th.
What can we say, it's not about people, it's about the money.
Stitches above the eye $800? That is an outrage; you should have sacked up and stitched them yourself. This is why healthcare is so jacked, they can get away with charges like this, primarily because we assume insurance is covering it, and we don't negotiate costs.
posted by | August 6 11:34 AMOMG you actually had expenses....you actually had to pay for services....OMG....Shouldnt someone else have to pay for it....WHAT AN OUTRAGE!!!I had to pay for a car wash the other day....HOW DARE THEY!!! Doctors, nurses and hospitals should be paid for by the rich or work for free so I can go about my life without this capitalist payment system. Burden those who are self controlled and disciplined, people who become rich should be burdened with paying for my medical costs. They are the real villans here. Oh yea about your cheap healthcare visit to Canada. My family who still lives there expects a thank you because it was their tax money that paid for your 'snowboarding' accident.
posted by formercanadian | September 2 12:44 PMI have no problem paying for services, but what is the point of paying thousands of dollars per year for insurance and still have to pay more when you are at the doctor's office or hospital. My complaint isn't with paying for services. It's with not having affordable healthcare.
As far as my healthcare visits while in Canada, I did pay. I did not receive free services. The price I paid was affordable, which is my point. Actually I would have happily paid more but I did pay what was asked. Still, thanks to your family and all of Canada for having affordable healthcare for all including those who are just visiting.
Again, I'm not opposed to paying for a service if the price of the service is fair. I'm not looking for a free ride, but I'm very annoyed that my family spends thousands of dollars per year on health insurance and still have to pay more out of pocket for healthcare, and we are a healthy family, rarely sick, and other then routine doctor visits we rarely need to medical care. So when an emergency does come up, why must it cost us even more money?
Before I was married and had a family, I didn't have any health insurance. Not the smartest thing to do but when you are young you do stupid things. In all those years I spend around $700 total in healthcare. It was an out of pocket expense for a short ER visit. Now if I had insurance during that time I would have spend thousands of dollars just to cover $700 worth of medical expenses. That just seems wrong to me.
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