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HEALTH INSURANCE!........How I loathe you!

visual800

visual800

Active Member
As I'm sure many of you that are on the Blue Cross or other major Provider have yet, more increases with crappy coverage. My BCBS jumped from $430 per month to $535 in Jan 17....I have had enuff.

SO I was introduced to Christian Healthcare Ministries

Christian Healthcare Ministries: Home

I did my homework, check out all reviews, weighed the options and like what I saw. It a little different than your normal healthcare but their method makes a lot of sense. I was accepted and will join their Gold Plan.

Do your own homework and come up with your own conclusion. IF I knew BCBS would eventually lower rates and cover stuff as they once did, I would not bother with going elsewhere. I just dont see that happening.

Just in case some of you are looking for alternative companies or if you are stuck with Obamacare.
 
bob

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
Do you have to pray or make sacrifices to their gods or are heathens able to participate as well?
 
P

player

New Member
In Canada everything is free. You join a ministry to pray for an appointment. I recently got my GP to get me an appointment with a rheumatologist and the date is in 10 months.
 
R

rossmosh

New Member
player said:
In Canada everything is free. You join a ministry to pray for an appointment. I recently got my GP to get me an appointment with a rheumatologist and the date is in 10 months.
Click to expand...

I thought this kind of thing was a thing of the past in Canada. Is it still that big of a problem?
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
player said:
In Canada everything is free. You join a ministry to pray for an appointment. I recently got my GP to get me an appointment with a rheumatologist and the date is in 10 months.
Click to expand...

Look on the bright side, your GP doesn't think you are going to die in the next 10 months.
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
rossmosh said:
I thought this kind of thing was a thing of the past in Canada. Is it still that big of a problem?
Click to expand...

Life threatening issues are delta with quickly for the most part. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she had an appointment with an oncologist in less than a week, and treatment began pretty much right away.

Are there issues with our system, sure there are, but I wouldn't trade it for an American type system.
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
watsons signs said:
Life threatening issues are delta with quickly for the most part. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she had an appointment with an oncologist in less than a week, and treatment began pretty much right away.

Are there issues with our system, sure there are, but I wouldn't trade it for an American type system.
Click to expand...
Don't worry, come January ours is getting upgraded - its going to be Huge!

wayne k
guam usa
 
Bly

Bly

New Member
Sounds a bit like ours here in Oz.
If you need urgent life saving treatment you get it in the public system - I had a bad motorbike crash 6 years ago and had a chopper flight, 3 weeks in intensive care and endless physio without a bill.
On the other hand we have to keep up private insurance for those non life threatening conditions which could take years to be treated in public.

watsons signs said:
Life threatening issues are delta with quickly for the most part. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she had an appointment with an oncologist in less than a week, and treatment began pretty much right away.

Are there issues with our system, sure there are, but I wouldn't trade it for an American type system.
Click to expand...
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
Bly said:
Sounds a bit like ours here in Oz.
If you need urgent life saving treatment you get it in the public system - I had a bad motorbike crash 6 years ago and had a chopper flight, 3 weeks in intensive care and endless physio without a bill.
On the other hand we have to keep up private insurance for those non life threatening conditions which could take years to be treated in public.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar, except it's actually illegal to run a private healthcare clinic here, anything that is covered under the provincial system can not be offered privately. We still have private plastic surgeons, chiropractors, dentists etc.

People here complain about long waits in the emergency room, but to be honest it's mostly because the ER is full of people who don't need to be there, if you go to ER and are made to wait 10 hours it's because your symptoms don't warrant you being there.
 
Bly

Bly

New Member
Same here. Last time I had to go to emergency at night I waited 10 hours because it was full of the mentally ill and people with colds who were too cheap to go to a GP.
 
P

player

New Member
Lots of things that are put on the long wait list should not be. Auto immune disorders don't seem to be a priority but psoratic arthritis can ruin someone in a very short time, but it takes a year to see a specialist. In 3-6 months you can go from healthy to a wheelchair. Waiting a year is neglect.
 
R

rossmosh

New Member
shadowgrapher said:
I'm paying $ 1680 per month for a family of 4 with a $6900 per person deductible. Something has to give!!
Click to expand...

Talk to your accountant. Potentially by shifting some money around you could take advantage of the gov't subsidies. For example, a family of 4, you should get a subsidy if you make under $97k as a family. You can also effect that number by contributing to a traditional IRA. If you make $100k a year (for example) you and your wife could contribute $5000k to a traditional IRA, your gross income will show up as $95k and you'll qualify for the subsidy.
 
sign girl

sign girl

New Member
That is exactly what my family of 4 is doing. We just couldn't afford the affordable insurance anymore. Our monthly cost was $1200 with a $15,000 deductible per person. It was worth looking in to and hopefully works for us.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yes, they are insane and only go up. It's a part of your overhead, cause it's not like 20 or 30 years ago rates, which I thought were high back then.

It's business and it's BIG business. They have every angle and possibility figured out way in advance. There is no way around it, regardless if in your country or this one.

It's a cost that many down here, who are hobbyists or part timers don't understand or have included in their pricing. One of the many pieces of the puzzle which makes hacks a pain to bid against.
 
T

TimToad

Active Member
sign girl said:
That is exactly what my family of 4 is doing. We just couldn't afford the affordable insurance anymore. Our monthly cost was $1200 with a $15,000 deductible per person. It was worth looking in to and hopefully works for us.
Click to expand...

Were those prices for private, individual plans not purchased through the exchange in your state?

Every time I see someone quoting some astronomical or unbelievable premium and/or deductible, I go to their state's exchange and do some shopping as if I'm buying healthcare. I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER been able to find a policy that matched the stated premiums or deductible.

I'm just trying to fully understand the discrepancy and all the details in why my experience is so radically different.

I'll share some general details to show me sincerity on the issue. We are a mid 50's couple with no dependents making between $60-80k net per year from our business and we have some other rental income but not enough to kick us over the limit to receive the subsidy.

We buy the lowest tier Bronze plan through our state's our exchange because we are both in excellent health and the price difference to jump up to plans with substantially lower deductibles/copays is really large. Our premium is $1,100.59 per month and our deductibles are $4,500 each, but our subsidy is $1,081.48 per month. We thought about jumping up to a plan with lower deductibles and co-pays but it just didn't pencil out for our personal needs, so we added dental and optical because we both need vision correction and everybody needs regular dental care to stay healthy overall.

I don't care if its all a shell game and we pay plenty of taxes overall, so I'm completely comfortable getting the subsidy, let the Pentagon figure out how to have a bake sale for then ext generation of overpriced fighter jets we don't need.

For decades the private insurance industry has had a captive market and they've gouged us all with impunity. I am a firm supporter of a single payer, cradle to grave, not for profit system that replaces this mess and lets providers focus on providing care, not dealing with insurers, billing, collections, etc. Its a huge drain on our GDP.
 
royster13

royster13

New Member
player said:
In Canada everything is free. You join a ministry to pray for an appointment. I recently got my GP to get me an appointment with a rheumatologist and the date is in 10 months.
Click to expand...

Taken in isolation this post is very misleading....Generally wait times to see specialists in Canada are getting better....But for this specialty it is tough...Rheumatologists are in very short supply in Canada....Only about 380 in Canada....As the population and doctors age, the need rises and the shortage get worse....
 
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