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Including the US, for now. Under Obamacare, there is a $6,350 annual out-of-pocket maximum. There is also cost-sharing for people with low incomes. However,

Including the US, for now. Under Obamacare, there is a $6,350 annual out-of-pocket maximum. There is also cost-sharing for people with low incomes. However, Obamacare is guaranteed to remain in effect only so long as the Democrats retain control of the Senate and the Presidency. If the Democrats lose one of them, then it will depend on whether certain vacancies open up on the Supreme Court. If they lose both, then that's the end of Obamacare.

gambiting 12y ago
It's in Poland. There is no out-of-pocket maximum - my dad pays literally nothing for the drug. He also had to have two operations to remove parts of his stomach,and then stay at hospital for a month at a time - also paid nothing. He also doesn't have to pay national insurance because due to his illness he qualifies for an exemption. Even if he didn't, he would pay less than $1000 a year for national insurance.
- tanzam75 12y ago
  I didn't say that your father lived in the US. I was pointing out that "pays for the treatment" does not exclude the US, as Florin_Andrei seems to think. I understand you're having a visceral reaction to the out-of-pocket maximum. But for the patient who has to take Gleevec for the rest of his life, it does not matter if he pays $1 for the premium and $10,000 for the medication, or $10,000 for the premium and $1 for the medication. It's the same $10,001 either way. It's just a matter of what you call it. I think it's great that Poland reduced the premium to $0 for your father. But patients in many other countries still have to pay the premium even after they get sick. And nobody would say that their insurance refused to "pay for the treatment" just because it did not waive the premium. It becomes a matter of degree, not of principles. The US still has the most expensive healthcare even after Obamacare. But at least it is now on the extreme end of the spectrum of universal health insurance. It is no longer off the charts.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
Florin_Andrei 12y ago
> Including the US, for now. Under Obamacare, there is a $6,350 annual out-of-pocket maximum. There is also cost-sharing for people with low incomes. For someone like the OP's dad, US is still not included. The $6k would cover, what, a month or two?
- wan23 12y ago
  The out-of-pocket maximum is the maximum amount that the patient will pay before the insurer takes on the rest of the costs. Even if someone needs $100k/yr medication, he should only have to pay $6,350 per year for it.

gambiting 12y ago

It's in Poland. There is no out-of-pocket maximum - my dad pays literally nothing for the drug. He also had to have two operations to remove parts of his stomach,and then stay at hospital for a month at a time - also paid nothing. He also doesn't have to pay national insurance because due to his illness he qualifies for an exemption. Even if he didn't, he would pay less than $1000 a year for national insurance.

tanzam75 12y ago
I didn't say that your father lived in the US. I was pointing out that "pays for the treatment" does not exclude the US, as Florin_Andrei seems to think. I understand you're having a visceral reaction to the out-of-pocket maximum. But for the patient who has to take Gleevec for the rest of his life, it does not matter if he pays $1 for the premium and $10,000 for the medication, or $10,000 for the premium and $1 for the medication. It's the same $10,001 either way. It's just a matter of what you call it. I think it's great that Poland reduced the premium to $0 for your father. But patients in many other countries still have to pay the premium even after they get sick. And nobody would say that their insurance refused to "pay for the treatment" just because it did not waive the premium. It becomes a matter of degree, not of principles. The US still has the most expensive healthcare even after Obamacare. But at least it is now on the extreme end of the spectrum of universal health insurance. It is no longer off the charts.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

Florin_Andrei 12y ago

> Including the US, for now. Under Obamacare, there is a $6,350 annual out-of-pocket maximum. There is also cost-sharing for people with low incomes. For someone like the OP's dad, US is still not included. The $6k would cover, what, a month or two?

wan23 12y ago
The out-of-pocket maximum is the maximum amount that the patient will pay before the insurer takes on the rest of the costs. Even if someone needs $100k/yr medication, he should only have to pay $6,350 per year for it.