I recently had a wonderful experience at my Doctors office that I thought I would share. I was low on a prescription for an inhaler that I need on rare occasions (either the poison they release when heat & air ducts are re-opened or dust). I hardly ever need it now but sometimes I do & I'm going away on vacation so I thought better safe then sorry. I called my Doctors office for a renewal & was informed I has to come in. So, I figured fine at least he can see me on short notice...I'll jump on the subway, pay the co-pay for not even having to see him & pick it up at the DR across the street from me(since there is a DR, Chase, & Starbucks on every other street in NYC good luck figuring out where I live). I show up at the Doc's office & I'm asked if I want to pay the $100 at once or spread out? I'm like what, a $100...my copay is like $10?!? I don't even need to see him, I just need a refill on an existing prescription . I am informed that there is a $100 minimum off a $400 of this, that etc... Luckily my Doc is very good & agreed that this was insane & was able to fill my request. As it turns out that while my 1yr annual is still covered I have to meet a $100 deductible until healthcare kicks in. What the hell is the point of my company & I paying thousands of dollars a year if I'm going to have to pay a $100 just to walk in his office to meet a deductible!
Now this isn't the first time I have heard of a like change in one's healthcare plan this year. It seems many plans have. Now one of my good friends did point out that ObamaCare has not passed yet so it's not Obamacare but the horrible American Healthcare system (he lives in Canada....shout out Bro!) Well I have a feeling the Healhcare companies factored in O-care that has driven up all these charges vs. Obama seeing these changes coming but trying to get out in front of it. Sorry but I think....NOT. Especially since I have asked my Docs what my visits would be if I just paid them direct...hint only about a few hundred a years vs thousands...
Now don't me wrong...while I think ObamaCare is a disaster (yes with 2 or 3 very good provisions out of 2000 pages) & has to be repealed...the Healthcare companies are criminal institutions that charge exorbitant fee's due to the fact that Litigation in this country has become a national pastime & of course no Interstate trade...HELLO...free market economy anybody?!?
What sets me off is that if this is where things are going I don't want a Healthcare plan...I'll pay as I go...but ObamaCare is based on everyone pays or is fined. Again I don't care what your politics is but why pays thousands of dollars for hundreds of dollars of service & get hit for $100 a visit when you go to see a Doctor that is supposed to be covered by Healthcare!?!
PS...There is a silver lining to he story...along with not getting hit for the visit...my prescription cost under my Healthcare plan was....$0.00...let's repeal this thing before it goes to a $100 bucks a .03 cent pill:)
Well, it's insurance. With a lot of insurance, i.e. property insurance, you pay the premiums and never get anything in turn for your money, unless something is missing or damaged. That's what insurance is. But, get sick, and you'll see the benefits of health insurance. My granddad is ill and his bills - if he didn't have health insurance - were $175K for the month of January and now it's March and he's still in a skilled nursing facility. My grandparents would be completely broke if he didn't have insurance. So, be careful about going without health insurance.
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