Nearly half of cancer patients have more than $5,000 in medical debt, even though most are insured
Nearly half of cancer patients have more than $5,000 in medical debt, even though most are insured
A survey from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network found that 98% of patients had health insurance when they incurred medical debt.
Half the time I don’t even understand why I pay for insurance. It doesn’t seem to cover anything.
Even when it’s supposed to work, there’s always something. Surprise surprise that one doctor was out of network! Should’ve noticed while you were unconscious.
the proper response to that is a lawsuit. what, you don't have half a million dollars on hand to pay lawyers?
Been on high deductible for 9 years moved to a medium level traditional plan. I feel like I'm spending the same amount of money just less bills to deal with. Only time I can see it being cheaper is if you have something chronic.
Well no shit. Have you seen these insurance policies?
It's like this: anybody who thinks they like their insurance policy isn't using it.
Edit: ITT: people describing the problem as if it's not the problem.
There are good plans out there, but most companies won't offer them, and they're expensive. I pay $1k a month for my SO to be on mine, but the $250 deductible and $1500 OOP max is pretty nice.
I pay copays. I've never paid coinsurance or really know what my deductible is. I think I have one? Not actually sure. I don't recall what adding a spouse is, but it's insanely lower than your 1k. I think a full family plan is less than 400/mo. Might be more now.
I get 10k infusions every two months for $15.
Or they just have a really expensive policy.
My brother had hundred of thousands in medical debt before he finally passed. He had insurance. He was a teacher.
How did he end up with so much medical debt?
Between the ways deductibles and out of pocket maximums actually work, that's probably just a few years of fighting cancer on a Bronze or Silver ACA plan.
This country just wants to bleed us dry and then let us die because we're no longer economically viable.
Hell, I've heard from friends that MedicAid (Medicare?) is a debt, and that old people who die while being cared for by it can have their houses taken as collateral after they die. Leave it to your kids? Nope, go fuck yourself if you didn't plan overly complicated ownership schemes at least five years before they kick the bucket or need to be in a home.
Source: me, with cancer. Fuck this shithole society.
I remember years ago, my parents had to do some sort of trickery with my grandparents transferring their house over so they could get medicare to pay for a nursing home.
medicaid is just poor people care. medicare is specifically for old people
also fuck cancer and good luck
“Underpaid? - Medicaid
Got gray hair? - Medicare”
Im at over $10k and don’t even have cancer.
"even though most are insured" Of course they have debt - insurance is a scam, it's not a solution to a problem, it's a problem you accept to act as a middleman between you and other possibly bigger problems enabled by the incredibly shitty culture we've created which is not worth continuing.
And the prices of american health care are a direct response to that scam, by the way. as far as they're concerned every bill is directed at the insurance industry and is aimed at recouping lost costs due to the bullshit insurance companies pull.
Just because it's always been this way doesn't mean it's not incredibly, incredibly dumb.
Hey, that's me and I'm not even a cancer patient!
And yes, I do have "good" insurance.
It was easy to spot they were insured if it was “only” $5k.
Americans ☕
Wanna know something? I'm Canadian with universal healthcare and I also have medical debt!
They've cut so many essentials out of healthcare here that we now pay out of pocket for injury rehab, foot issues, and hearing loss, etc.
This is how they do it. Cut essential services, then point at the socialized system and say how bad it is.
They're doing the same to public education in America. Their end goal is to push people into private, read mostly religious, education. Evangelical Christians have had a hold on the GOP since Reagan.
If the FDA, FTC, USDA, EPA, Depts of Transportation, and CDC wanted to guarantee and check their work, we'd have universal healthcare. And in fact I think that's exactly the legal argument for why the government should be FORCED to provide us healthcare - how else would we be able to catch (and class action sue for) large community-wide health hazards such as:
-asbestos in baby powder
-lead and heavy metals in vitamins and supplements
-consistency of dosing in medications
-Deaths from auto accidents when we should be having trains
-Deaths from contaminated eggs, meat, milk from bird flu or other pathogens
-Products that are blatant lies/false
-Companies leaking chemicals into water supplies
-Lead in water supply
-Heavy metals in water supply& in crops, from exhaust from cars and bits of tires
-imminent looming climate change
Gee, I wonder why corporations are scared of us getting healthcare?
I had the best insurance my firm offered, and even with that insurance having a cataract removed still cost me over $4000 USD out of pocket here in Miami Florida 2023.
It's cheaper just to die.
Did you purchase a "premium" lens?
You know I had to go back and actually look. I did. I also opted for a $1500 not covered by my insurance. I bought the same type of lens as my other eye done in Seattle in 2017, different script. Still over twice as much as I had paid in Seattle.
Good catch. Thank you.
You know I had to go back and actually look. I did. I also opted for a $1500 not covered by my insurance. I bought the same type of lens as my other eye done in Seattle in 2017, different script. Still over twice as much as I had paid in Seattle.
Good catch. Thank you.