I know it's 'past the deadline' for 'Obamacare' (or whatever they call the AHA-plan), but--whenever I would see a commercial for that--I would think 'Why buy into that? Why not just HAVE MONEY?' Not very-curious about it, I didn'tLog In. But I imagine you buy it so that a) you have a card-or-something that says you can pay for the services required & b) you get cheaper costs since 1) the insurance-companies get bulk-discounts with certain care-providers & 2) fellow members help to ease the payments. I'm sure insurance gets far more-complicated than that, but it's good to keep those central aims in mind (if those ARE the right ones ... are they?)
Not having insurance is a nightmare. A hospital or doctor can charge absolutely any fee they want. Really. But when they partner with an insurance agency, the agency will say - well, you are only allowed to charge x amount of dollars for this procedure. We will cover x, and the patient must pay the remainder (or, they will cover it all, and charge the patient only a co-pay). So, say you get a surgery, and they hospital charges you 20,000 (which they can and would). The insurance company will say, no, you can only charge 5,000, and we will cover 90%. So you are left with a 500 dollar bill, instead of $20,000. You really have to have insurance in this country.
I guess I trust doctors a little more than I should. I can't imagine they would refuse to give me any needed treatment
Oh no, they won't refuse you at all. A hospital will absolutely treat you if needed. But then the medical billing office will send you the bill. Try and fight it all you want and you will never win. It will just go to a collections agency and it will ruin your life. Personally I feel this is somewhat criminal. A hospital will perform any sort of procedure on you, regardless of cost and without asking or telling you of the cost. Then the bill will come and you are responsible, period. It's impossible to fight. It's not particularly the doctor's fault, it is just the whole system.
Yeah, insurance basically works out that you don't need to spend the money if you don't ever need to spend the money, but there's no way to know that. If you decide not to have insurance, it's taking the gamble into your own hands with it. In the event that you never have a medical disaster, fantastic. You've saved yourself a few thousand dollars here and there. In the event that you ever have a medical disaster and don't have it, you've lost yourself anywhere between thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. I live in an area with a lot of poverty, so I've known a few families who have lost loved ones because of it. Not because they were refused treatment, but because the uninsured person decided that their life wasn't worth the crushing debt. Obamacare at least curbs that effect, but the whole system is screwy, no doubt. It's pretty sad stuff.
Some hospitals with wayward staff go against the standards set by the insurance agencies by agreeing to take in the patient on the agreed terms and saves of payment by initiating medical procedures that should not be there in the first place in order to compensate for the opportunity cost of not inflating the bill. They conduct totally unnecessary medical procedures endangering the lives of the patient and some of these operations have proved fatal.
I don't know about you but insurance is basically security. Whatever happens in the future, depending on your plan, you and your family can actually benefit from the money you invested. If you bought accident and health insurance, you'll be covered for different types of medical issues and emergencies. If you bought car insurance, and your car got into an accident, the insurance will cover for its repair costs.
I am lucky to be employed by a big company that provides free health insurance. When I get sick, needing a doctor or hospitalization, my health card takes care of the expenses in its entirety. I also have life insurance but that's on my pocket. For me the main purpose of insurance is to have peace of mind. It's really a nice feeling if you are not worrying that if something happens and where you will get the money for expenses. That's why I am willing to pay the insurance premium as long as I have peace of mind.
