7 ms·

This is nice and I hope it becomes standard. I have basically not been to the doctor in 7 years because of medical bill fears. I work at a big tech company and

This is nice and I hope it becomes standard. I have basically not been to the doctor in 7 years because of medical bill fears. I work at a big tech company and have theoretically very good insurance, but I have heard stories where the insurance gets declined even though they say they take it… or some lab specialist is using a different insurance network and you have no control over using them. If I don’t have coverage then there is nothing stopping them from billing me like $1m as far as I can tell, after the fact, when I can’t just decline the service. It’s insane that they can’t say what it will cost up front. My company switched insurance name but not network and doctors didn’t understand it and started denying the claims… even though they were technically in the network! That’s when I gave up, after reading other employees’ reports of that.

ImHereToVote 3y ago
[flagged]
- JimtheCoder 3y ago
  HN taught me that checkups aren't really useful...
  - callalex 3y ago
    Then you weren’t reading properly. The articles that make the rounds here every now and then simply posit that the way checkups frequently end up being conducted is not very useful, but there is absolutely no doubt in the value of primary care checkups in scientific consensus.
    - JimtheCoder 3y ago
      "The articles that make the rounds here every now and then simply posit that the way checkups frequently end up being conducted is not very useful, but there is absolutely no doubt in the value of primary care checkups in scientific consensus." So, the way they are conducted aren't very useful in reality. But, in theory, they should work, so we should keep on doing them anyways? Got it.
- dang 3y ago
  Nationalistic flamebait will get you banned here, as will other flamebait, so please make your substantive points without that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - ImHereToVote 3y ago
    Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. This this apply to actual opinions one would hold?
    - dang 3y ago
      I'm not sure I understand your question but most opinions are fine on HN as long as they're expressed in a way that fits the site guidelines, i.e. thoughtfully, respectfully, curiously.
zerkten 3y ago
Did you consider the impact of missing out on preventative care? Have you seen a dentist? The dental coverage from employers feels much more limited (except for preventative cleanings) and you can expect some not so fun problems if you miss so many cleanings.
runako 3y ago
Just coming to add that if it's been 7 years of no checkups, you are possibly getting into the age bracket where routine checks can make meaningful differences in longevity and quality of life. Highly recommend not going through middle adulthood without at least having annual physicals. There are a lot of things that happen to bodies that are easy to treat if you know about them soon enough. It sounds like you may need help using your insurance; call the insurer from the physicals office if the office won't call the insurer. Healthcare in the US is a tremendous administrative burden on us all, but overall it is still necessary.
staticman2 3y ago
"I have basically not been to the doctor in 7 years because of medical bill fears." I mean this kindly, but your concerns are not rational. Every middle class person I know goes to the doctor from time to time and has somehow avoided $1m dollar bills for providers listed as covered by their insurance. While our system is bad, you are greatly overestimating the probability of something very bad happening to you.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
blastbking 3y ago
Good to hear from you. I hope that we can offer you peace of mind on pricing! We want people to not have to worry about surprise bills. We are working on sorting out the in-network/out-of-network lab situation soon as that's been a common complaint we hear from patients.
chrisgd 3y ago
If you get a bill you don’t agree with, just don’t pay it. If you want to spend the time on it, you can ask for full itemized bill and when they send you something, tell them you want more detail. You can let it go to collections and settle for a lesser amount. Or just ignore it, unlikely anyone is going to credit bureau or garnishing wages over less than $5k. Only do above with doctor you don’t plan to see again or anesthesia/lab company. Your insurance company will have a list of doctors in network, print it out and ask for front office staff to verify over email.
- danenania 3y ago
  I've had a delinquency on my credit report for years from Verizon Fios for ~$200. It was a clear error on their part, but I still wasn't able to get it removed. I wouldn't be so sure ignoring a $5k medical bill won't have any consequences.
  - jrockway 3y ago
    I mean, the consequence is that you won't be able to borrow money. On Big Tech salary, you can pay cash for things that a lot of people borrow for. If you already own your primary residence and you bought in 2021, then you're pretty much locked into that home for 30 years. Interest rates will never be 2% again. So, what is your credit even going towards? On the same note, you can just show up at your favorite doctor and say you'll pay cash and not tell them your insurance information. My doctor tends to bill my insurance company $200 for an office visit. This is unlikely to be a significant hardship for a software engineer.
    - danenania 3y ago
      Well sure, if you’re going to construct a scenario where a credit score hit will have no impact on someone because they have no need for credit in the next decade, then they can certainly go ahead and ignore bills. You’re making a lot of assumptions though. What if they don’t own a house yet? A bad credit score will make it harder to get one, increase the interest rate if they can even get approved, and also make it harder to get approved for a rental lease too. Or maybe this person is all set like you describe, but they want to guarantor a loan or a lease for one of their kids? I think credit scores are a borderline scam, but it’s hard to avoid relying on them for one thing or another for most people.
bhelkey 3y ago
If you live in California this practice of out-of-network providers giving surprise bills at in-network facilities was ended in 2017 [1]. Federally, this practice was ended January of 2022 [2]. Go to a Doctor and get a checkup. [1] https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/110-health/60-resources/NoSupriseBills.cfm https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/110-health/60-reso... [2] https://www.help.senate.gov/chair/newsroom/press/senator-murrays-no-surprises-act-goes-into-effect-bans-unexpected-charges-to-patients-for-out-of-network-care- https://www.help.senate.gov/chair/newsroom/press/senator-mur...
Aaronstotle 3y ago
You have healthcare and good insurance and presumably make a good amount of money working for a big tech company. A checkup will not end up with thousands of dollars of bills, schedule a routine health-check, you can also call your insurance first to check what is covered.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  The 2022 No Surprises Act (https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-understand-your-rights-against-surprise-medical-bills https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-unders...) reduces the occurrence of this, but huge bills from a simple checkup have definitely been a thing. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/16/585548181/an-out-of-network-lab-an-elaborate-urine-test-and-then-a-surprise-bill https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/16/5855481... > After Elizabeth Moreno had back surgery in late 2015, her surgeon prescribed an opioid painkiller and a follow-up drug test that seemed routine — until the lab slapped her with a bill for $17,850. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/23/787403509/for-her-head-cold-insurer-coughed-up-25-865 https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/23/7874035... > The visit was quick. Kasdan got her throat swabbed, gave a tube of blood and was sent out the door with a prescription for antibiotics. She soon felt better, and the trip went off without a hitch. Then the bill came. Total bill: $28,395.50 for an out-of-network throat swab. Her insurer cut a check for $25,865.24.

ImHereToVote 3y ago

[flagged]

JimtheCoder 3y ago
HN taught me that checkups aren't really useful...
- callalex 3y ago
  Then you weren’t reading properly. The articles that make the rounds here every now and then simply posit that the way checkups frequently end up being conducted is not very useful, but there is absolutely no doubt in the value of primary care checkups in scientific consensus.
  - JimtheCoder 3y ago
    "The articles that make the rounds here every now and then simply posit that the way checkups frequently end up being conducted is not very useful, but there is absolutely no doubt in the value of primary care checkups in scientific consensus." So, the way they are conducted aren't very useful in reality. But, in theory, they should work, so we should keep on doing them anyways? Got it.
dang 3y ago
Nationalistic flamebait will get you banned here, as will other flamebait, so please make your substantive points without that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- ImHereToVote 3y ago
  Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. This this apply to actual opinions one would hold?
  - dang 3y ago
    I'm not sure I understand your question but most opinions are fine on HN as long as they're expressed in a way that fits the site guidelines, i.e. thoughtfully, respectfully, curiously.

zerkten 3y ago

Did you consider the impact of missing out on preventative care? Have you seen a dentist? The dental coverage from employers feels much more limited (except for preventative cleanings) and you can expect some not so fun problems if you miss so many cleanings.

runako 3y ago

Just coming to add that if it's been 7 years of no checkups, you are possibly getting into the age bracket where routine checks can make meaningful differences in longevity and quality of life. Highly recommend not going through middle adulthood without at least having annual physicals. There are a lot of things that happen to bodies that are easy to treat if you know about them soon enough. It sounds like you may need help using your insurance; call the insurer from the physicals office if the office won't call the insurer. Healthcare in the US is a tremendous administrative burden on us all, but overall it is still necessary.

staticman2 3y ago

"I have basically not been to the doctor in 7 years because of medical bill fears." I mean this kindly, but your concerns are not rational. Every middle class person I know goes to the doctor from time to time and has somehow avoided $1m dollar bills for providers listed as covered by their insurance. While our system is bad, you are greatly overestimating the probability of something very bad happening to you.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

blastbking 3y ago

Good to hear from you. I hope that we can offer you peace of mind on pricing! We want people to not have to worry about surprise bills. We are working on sorting out the in-network/out-of-network lab situation soon as that's been a common complaint we hear from patients.

chrisgd 3y ago

If you get a bill you don’t agree with, just don’t pay it. If you want to spend the time on it, you can ask for full itemized bill and when they send you something, tell them you want more detail. You can let it go to collections and settle for a lesser amount. Or just ignore it, unlikely anyone is going to credit bureau or garnishing wages over less than $5k. Only do above with doctor you don’t plan to see again or anesthesia/lab company. Your insurance company will have a list of doctors in network, print it out and ask for front office staff to verify over email.

danenania 3y ago
I've had a delinquency on my credit report for years from Verizon Fios for ~$200. It was a clear error on their part, but I still wasn't able to get it removed. I wouldn't be so sure ignoring a $5k medical bill won't have any consequences.
- jrockway 3y ago
  I mean, the consequence is that you won't be able to borrow money. On Big Tech salary, you can pay cash for things that a lot of people borrow for. If you already own your primary residence and you bought in 2021, then you're pretty much locked into that home for 30 years. Interest rates will never be 2% again. So, what is your credit even going towards? On the same note, you can just show up at your favorite doctor and say you'll pay cash and not tell them your insurance information. My doctor tends to bill my insurance company $200 for an office visit. This is unlikely to be a significant hardship for a software engineer.
  - danenania 3y ago
    Well sure, if you’re going to construct a scenario where a credit score hit will have no impact on someone because they have no need for credit in the next decade, then they can certainly go ahead and ignore bills. You’re making a lot of assumptions though. What if they don’t own a house yet? A bad credit score will make it harder to get one, increase the interest rate if they can even get approved, and also make it harder to get approved for a rental lease too. Or maybe this person is all set like you describe, but they want to guarantor a loan or a lease for one of their kids? I think credit scores are a borderline scam, but it’s hard to avoid relying on them for one thing or another for most people.

bhelkey 3y ago

If you live in California this practice of out-of-network providers giving surprise bills at in-network facilities was ended in 2017 [1]. Federally, this practice was ended January of 2022 [2]. Go to a Doctor and get a checkup. [1] https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/110-health/60-resources/NoSupriseBills.cfm https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/110-health/60-reso... [2] https://www.help.senate.gov/chair/newsroom/press/senator-murrays-no-surprises-act-goes-into-effect-bans-unexpected-charges-to-patients-for-out-of-network-care- https://www.help.senate.gov/chair/newsroom/press/senator-mur...

Aaronstotle 3y ago

You have healthcare and good insurance and presumably make a good amount of money working for a big tech company. A checkup will not end up with thousands of dollars of bills, schedule a routine health-check, you can also call your insurance first to check what is covered.

ceejayoz 3y ago
The 2022 No Surprises Act (https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-understand-your-rights-against-surprise-medical-bills https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-unders...) reduces the occurrence of this, but huge bills from a simple checkup have definitely been a thing. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/16/585548181/an-out-of-network-lab-an-elaborate-urine-test-and-then-a-surprise-bill https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/16/5855481... > After Elizabeth Moreno had back surgery in late 2015, her surgeon prescribed an opioid painkiller and a follow-up drug test that seemed routine — until the lab slapped her with a bill for $17,850. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/23/787403509/for-her-head-cold-insurer-coughed-up-25-865 https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/23/7874035... > The visit was quick. Kasdan got her throat swabbed, gave a tube of blood and was sent out the door with a prescription for antibiotics. She soon felt better, and the trip went off without a hitch. Then the bill came. Total bill: $28,395.50 for an out-of-network throat swab. Her insurer cut a check for $25,865.24.