Quote:
Originally Posted by TylerH860
My graph would look worse than that as far as coverage. The company insurance costs more and pays out less, and the insurance company blames Obamacare. I always thought they used ACA as an excuse to make these cuts to fuel their own greed/agenda, but who knows. All I know is I'm worse off.
I had a tempurature nearing 105 about a month ago, regular doc told me to hit the ER right away. I was there less than 2 hours, billed $1600 for testing, IV fluids I didn't need, pain medication I didn't need, and some over the counter fever reducer. Testing came back with no answers, no flu or strep, just a virus. Doctor suggested I might be overdoing it/overstressed. Insurance paid a little over $600 of it, I'm billed the rest. Seems like a ridiculous bill... enough for me to avoid hospitals in the future, which could be a bad decision if its something that turns out serious.
5 years ago I went in for really nasty food poisoning, so dehydrated from vomiting my body was curling up, don't remember how much I had to pay, but it wasn't much.
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fwiw you did yourself a huge favor by going to the ER. A 105 degree temp can become lethal or lead to permanent brain damage. I would not jump to the conclusion about what was needed in the circumstance unless you have a medical license.
You might want to look into a slightly more inclusive plan as the coverage may cover things like ER trips, more kinds of tests, meds, etc. I used to use a preferred provider plan and the amount of what included eroded steadily over time. I switched to a more spendy plan with a different provider and while it costs a little more, it more than pays for itself every time I need a doc or related facilities/testing. Many plans now are based around not ever really using medical facilities and other plans are designed to lower or eliminate costs when you accept you'll be using the resources.
I look at the choice as similar to that offered for a used car warranty. I've got a lot of miles on my odo and it is unavoidable that i'll have to visit from time to time; due to that it costs me less to buy a more inclusive service...