4 ms·

Speaking from personal experience, it is the norm. In the US you are completely on your own, and your insurance company is not your friend; no matter how dutif

by olefoo 17y ago

Speaking from personal experience, it is the norm. In the US you are completely on your own, and your insurance company is not your friend; no matter how dutiful you were in paying your premiums. If you have a chronic, treatable condition, expect to fight it out with your insurance company 2 to 3 times a year over whether or not they will live up to their contractual obligations. It is my considered opinion that if Obama wanted to lever the healthcare debate around to actual change, the only tool he would need are the RICO statutes. And I don't think his prosecutors would find it difficult to bring cases.

ErrantX 17y ago
Ouch, I cant believe such a basic right is being so abused in your country! Well I did because I was over there a few weeks ago visiting my cousin and she ranted about it - but she is a super-hardline liberal so I obviously took her comments with care (bit of truth, bit of OTT). Sounds like she might have been spot on!
- youngian 17y ago
  No, haven't you heard? Health insurance in America is the best in the world! Obama only wants to change it because he's a Commie! </sarcasm>
yummyfajitas 17y ago
Perhaps a solution to the problem of chronic, treatable conditions is to make health insurance not pay for them. In short, turn insurance back into insurance (protection against low probability, high cost events).
- sachinag 17y ago
  Wait, WTF? Isn't getting bitten by SuperTick exactly the sort of low probability, high cost event insurance is for? Just because something is chronic doesn't make it low cost.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    and also - who else would pay for it?
  - yummyfajitas 17y ago
    I'm not seeing how getting bitten by a supertick is chronic. I was responding to the meta-problem (insurance not paying for chronic conditions), not the OP's specific problem.
    - joeyo 17y ago
      The problem isn't the acute supertick bite, but the chronic, expensive condition that arises from it.
    - Confusion 17y ago
      It sounds like you work for an insurance company. If you start along this path, they will find an incidental causation for every chronic affliction.
- rsheridan6 17y ago
  The intersection of chronic, treatable conditions and low probability, high cost events is not empty. You could find a condition with any combination of being chronic, acute, low probability, high probability, low cost, or high cost. What you're really looking for is getting insurance out of covering expected medical expenses, but the problem is that doctors and hospital charge higher prices to the uninsured. I had a medical bill once that was denied by insurance, and the hospital wanted something like $12,000. Later we got the insurance to pay, and the hospital only charged them $2,000 or so. A related problem is that the tax code favors insurance companies by providing a tax break to employers, which is why most Americans get insurance through their employer.

by olefoo 17y ago

ErrantX 17y ago

Ouch, I cant believe such a basic right is being so abused in your country! Well I did because I was over there a few weeks ago visiting my cousin and she ranted about it - but she is a super-hardline liberal so I obviously took her comments with care (bit of truth, bit of OTT). Sounds like she might have been spot on!

youngian 17y ago
No, haven't you heard? Health insurance in America is the best in the world! Obama only wants to change it because he's a Commie! </sarcasm>

yummyfajitas 17y ago

Perhaps a solution to the problem of chronic, treatable conditions is to make health insurance not pay for them. In short, turn insurance back into insurance (protection against low probability, high cost events).

sachinag 17y ago
Wait, WTF? Isn't getting bitten by SuperTick exactly the sort of low probability, high cost event insurance is for? Just because something is chronic doesn't make it low cost.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  and also - who else would pay for it?
- yummyfajitas 17y ago
  I'm not seeing how getting bitten by a supertick is chronic. I was responding to the meta-problem (insurance not paying for chronic conditions), not the OP's specific problem.
  - joeyo 17y ago
    The problem isn't the acute supertick bite, but the chronic, expensive condition that arises from it.
  - Confusion 17y ago
    It sounds like you work for an insurance company. If you start along this path, they will find an incidental causation for every chronic affliction.
rsheridan6 17y ago
The intersection of chronic, treatable conditions and low probability, high cost events is not empty. You could find a condition with any combination of being chronic, acute, low probability, high probability, low cost, or high cost. What you're really looking for is getting insurance out of covering expected medical expenses, but the problem is that doctors and hospital charge higher prices to the uninsured. I had a medical bill once that was denied by insurance, and the hospital wanted something like $12,000. Later we got the insurance to pay, and the hospital only charged them $2,000 or so. A related problem is that the tax code favors insurance companies by providing a tax break to employers, which is why most Americans get insurance through their employer.