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Healthcare costs are by far the #1 reason why I want to move out of the U.S. as soon as possible. I am well off, but due to recent experience I have a major an

Healthcare costs are by far the #1 reason why I want to move out of the U.S. as soon as possible. I am well off, but due to recent experience I have a major anxiety about going bankrupt from another unexpected health issue. I had emergency spine surgery last year and despite coordinating everything I could to stay in network prior to entering the hospital - surgeon was in network, hospital in network, etc... - the monitoring group that was in the surgery room was NOT in network and neither was the assisting physician. Their fees were so high, that insurance refused to negotiate with them and so I was responsible for the charges despite meeting my out of pocket maximum for out of network charges. Basically out of network maximums are worthless! If it's set at 10k and the bill comes back 100k, insurance can pay up to the 10k (if even that) and you will be responsible for 90k afterwards. It's a mess. I did some reading on this and it turns out to be a huge problem across the US, especially in states like Texas where finding in-network providers and facilities is less likely. I remember when I started working in the early 2000s at a gas station. I was getting 100% paid medical benefits through Aetna and coverage was 90% through the insurance. As time went on and I got better jobs (in IT), that turned into a small monthly premium. Then the premiums just kept growing every year until it became a significant chunk of my monthly take-home check. Starting a few years ago, they've introduced reduced coverage all the way down to 70% as premiums continue to climb and with huge deductibles and higher out of pocket maximums. How long can they continue doing this before the whole system collapses?

linuxftw 8y ago
> How long can they continue doing this before the whole system collapses? The system is working as designed. Regulation ensures the corporations are getting rich and you're going broke. When the government decided to make insurance a mandatory product, what did you really think the outcome was going to be? Insurance companies acted in their own interest: lowered payments to providers which forced providers out of their 'networks.' I know, I know. The insurance companies (that formed 'non-profit' entities) are 'losing' money. But, thankfully, the laws provided for subsidies in case of 'losses.' It's all smoke and mirrors.
ta1234567890 8y ago
So sorry for what happened to you. Can relate a bit. A few months ago, when we learned that my wife would have to get a C-section, we tried getting an estimate for how much it would cost - asked doctors, nurses, hospital staff, insurance company, etc. No one could or would tell us, not even give us a range. Our best guess was to read online articles, which don't really help very much (unless you are into stressing yourself out). It's been 5 months after the C-section now and we still haven't gotten the bill. Our insurance agent told us it looks like it's going to be $85k total before coverage, and we have no idea how much we'll have to pay out of that. Btw, this was in SF which apparently is the most expensive city in the US where to give birth :(
- y-c-o-m-b 8y ago
  That's really frustrating, sorry. I would think a c-section is such a relatively routine procedure that estimating the costs would be a trivial matter, but I guess that just shows how seriously complicated the healthcare system is overall.
jcadam 8y ago
> Healthcare costs are by far the #1 reason why I want to move out of the U.S. as soon as possible. Hope you and your family are in perfect health if you plan to immigrate to a country with socialized healthcare. Most such countries will reject families with an autistic child, for example, based on the notion that said child will be heavily dependent on govt/health services.
- y-c-o-m-b 8y ago
  Good to know, I did not consider that. It doesn't necessarily have to be socialized healthcare for me as long as private healthcare prices and treatments are reasonable.
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  What is your source for this? I know people in Canada and France with autistic kids who have never had any such issues.
  - improbable22 8y ago
    Did they move there with an already-diagnosed kid? There was a professor in the news for leaving New Zealand (I think) recently for exactly this reason. Because his kid was autistic (or something) the authorities were highly reluctant to grant him residency & hence lifelong care. Edit: here's the story, 13-year-old stepson in fact: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/prestigious-academic-to-quit-new-zealand-after-autistic-son-refused-residency https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/prestigious-ac...

linuxftw 8y ago

> How long can they continue doing this before the whole system collapses? The system is working as designed. Regulation ensures the corporations are getting rich and you're going broke. When the government decided to make insurance a mandatory product, what did you really think the outcome was going to be? Insurance companies acted in their own interest: lowered payments to providers which forced providers out of their 'networks.' I know, I know. The insurance companies (that formed 'non-profit' entities) are 'losing' money. But, thankfully, the laws provided for subsidies in case of 'losses.' It's all smoke and mirrors.

ta1234567890 8y ago

So sorry for what happened to you. Can relate a bit. A few months ago, when we learned that my wife would have to get a C-section, we tried getting an estimate for how much it would cost - asked doctors, nurses, hospital staff, insurance company, etc. No one could or would tell us, not even give us a range. Our best guess was to read online articles, which don't really help very much (unless you are into stressing yourself out). It's been 5 months after the C-section now and we still haven't gotten the bill. Our insurance agent told us it looks like it's going to be $85k total before coverage, and we have no idea how much we'll have to pay out of that. Btw, this was in SF which apparently is the most expensive city in the US where to give birth :(

y-c-o-m-b 8y ago
That's really frustrating, sorry. I would think a c-section is such a relatively routine procedure that estimating the costs would be a trivial matter, but I guess that just shows how seriously complicated the healthcare system is overall.

jcadam 8y ago

> Healthcare costs are by far the #1 reason why I want to move out of the U.S. as soon as possible. Hope you and your family are in perfect health if you plan to immigrate to a country with socialized healthcare. Most such countries will reject families with an autistic child, for example, based on the notion that said child will be heavily dependent on govt/health services.

y-c-o-m-b 8y ago
Good to know, I did not consider that. It doesn't necessarily have to be socialized healthcare for me as long as private healthcare prices and treatments are reasonable.
gremlinsinc 8y ago
What is your source for this? I know people in Canada and France with autistic kids who have never had any such issues.
- improbable22 8y ago
  Did they move there with an already-diagnosed kid? There was a professor in the news for leaving New Zealand (I think) recently for exactly this reason. Because his kid was autistic (or something) the authorities were highly reluctant to grant him residency & hence lifelong care. Edit: here's the story, 13-year-old stepson in fact: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/prestigious-academic-to-quit-new-zealand-after-autistic-son-refused-residency https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/prestigious-ac...