Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance and medicalinsurance

I'll take Painful Medical Procedures for $4000, Alex!

spacewrench — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:18:31 -0800

What's a typical range of discount negotiated by insurers with ambulance companies? I dislocated my shoulder and had an ambo ride to the local ER. Since I have only high-deductible insurance, I ended up out-of-pocket for all the charges. The insurance company got a reduced rate on the ER fees (they have a negotiated schedule, I guess, and their interest in reducing my charges stems from their desire to keep me below my deductible, so they don't have to pay anything at all). However, they merely declined to pay the ambulance bill (perhaps that doesn't count against my deductible? I'd have to check the policy more carefully.)

Anyway, I would like to ask the ambulance company for a discount, and I would like to propose something in the range that they would already expect to give if an insurance company was paying.

Does anybody know what that range is?

(For anyone who's interested, it costs about US$4,000 to dislocate your shoulder in Portland, Oregon. Unless you want to do something more than get it popped back in.)

Where can I get cheap catastrophic health insurance?

stewiethegreat — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:08:58 -0800

I'm an uninsured young healthy guy looking for affordable catastrophic medical insurance. Does it exist? I'm 28, single, healthy, in California (US), just looking for a catastrophic health care insurance policy- something for if I need serious health care that will cost tens of thousands of dollars or more. Looking for a massive deductible, maybe 10k-15k.

No matter where I search I can't find anything cheaper than $48/month (with Anthem).

It doesn't seem to make sense, I'm looking for something that will cover me in the very unlikely event of something terrible happening, not just annual medical care. Any suggestions on where I could find cheaper catastrophic insurance? thanks.

Should I get travel insurance as a UK citizen in Holland?

Kirn — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:22:01 -0800

Do I need travel insurance if I live in the UK and am travelling to Holland? I'm about to spend 4 days in Holland (flying the day after tomorrow). I completely forgot to look into travel insurance.

I'm a UK citizen (since always) and have a European Health Insurance Card (which is not about to expire). Does this basically cover me for medical issues and emergencies in Holland?

Should I still get travel insurance?

If so, can I still book it at this late stage?

And if the answer to the last two questions is yes: who would the hive mind recommend? I've never heard of any of the companies the comparison sites bring up.

Details: I'm in my mid-20s. I have mild asthma but no other medical conditions. I'm not planning on driving or taking part in any dangerous activities, and I'm not taking anything particularly valuable (passport and wallet are probably the only things I really wouldn't want to lose). I don't have any other kind of insurance other than home insurance.

Other details: I'm an idiot who doesn't know anything about insurance.

Thanks in advance Internet.

With healthcare insurance uncertain, should I get my cholesterol checked?

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:31:07 -0800

I just lost my job. My health insurance ends at the end of this month and then I will have the option to go on my spouse's insurance or COBRA. My question is: I have an appointment to get my cholesterol checked. Should I keep the appointment? My doctor on a recent checkup recommended that I get it checked to establish a baseline as I've never had it checked before. (I'm in my mid-30s if that's relevant.) My fear though is that, even though I am healthy and have no reason to believe that I have high cholesterol that it may affect insurance down the road. If I have high cholesterol perhaps my next insurer will see fit to deny my health needs for a pre-existing condition. Even if it comes up healthy, I can see it as having a negative effect. Just the fact that I got checked may enable a healthcare provider to discriminate. So, I'm tempted to cancel the test just to eliminate the possibility that it'll come back to haunt me. Keeping in mind that I'm a fit, healthy person, what do you think I should do?

Should I keep COBRA or try another health insurance provider if I'm moving to a new state and staying freelance?

waxpancake — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:28:55 -0800

I recently left my job at Yahoo! in Northern California and am relocating to Portland, Oregon to try my hand at self-employment. Extending my existing medical coverage with COBRA will cost me, my wife, and our three-year-old son $1200/month, which seems absolutely insane. Please help me understand the risks or consequences of waiving COBRA and getting new a new insurance plan. Continuing my Aetna PPO option through COBRA will cost me more than double every other quote listed on eHealthInsurance in Oregon for our family, even for those plans that appear to be comparable. (My existing plan has a $750 annual deductible, $2,750 maximum out-of-pocket, and $15 co-pay for office visits and preventive care with no deductible.)

What's so great about COBRA that it costs more than double everything else? Am I going to screwed with some sort of pre-existing condition nonsense by not continuing coverage from my previous employer? What are the risks by giving up COBRA? Plus, will I even be able to use COBRA if I'm moving from California to Oregon? (Aetna doesn't appear to offer individual coverage in Oregon, so is every doctor out-of-network?)

And finally, is there anything I should look out for when buying through eHealthInsurance? If anyone has specific recommendations for Oregon providers, that would be wonderful.

Should I pay, and if so, who?

RikiTikiTavi — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:26:31 -0800

Should I pay the credit agency that has hounded me? It sounds silly that way, but there's always a story... We've got this medical bill from an ambulance company that requires proof that an amublance transfer was "medically necessary" for our insurance to pay it. It was, without question, but for a variety of reasons (mostly due to the massive inconvenience of getting everything together) I haven't been able to get the signed statement out of the provider yet.

It's been over a year now, and the bill has been transfered to a credit agency for some time now, and they kept hounding us for some time, and now they've stopped. But we still haven't paid.

This isn't a huge amount for me (a few hundred) at the moment, though it's not trivial. We're of course accruing heinous interest on the balance right now.

1. I'm assuming I should pay, right? If so, do I pay the credit agency? Or have they somehow "written it off"? I haven't really dealt with this kind of thing before. I'm not under the impression that I should *not* pay, but there's all sorts of odd advice out there.

2. Should I bother getting this paid by insurance after I pay it? If I manage to get proof to the insurance company, will they then send payment to the ambulance company (and not the credit agency), and I'll never see it? If they still manage to send it to the credit agency after I pay them, would I see it?

3. What is the likely effect on my credit? We have had ultra-super amazing credit rating, so it'll be sad to see that get tarnished. If there is negative effect, can I mitigate or eliminate it?

Am I Getting Ripped Off?

gottabefunky — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:38:16 -0800

How can I make sure I'm not being overcharged for surgery and/or ripped off by my health insurance company? I recently had minor outpatient surgery and I'm trying to figure out how to make sure everything is on the up-and-up from both the hospital/doctors and the insurance company.

I don't have any specific reason to suspect getting ripped off, but I've heard so many horror stories about medical overcharging - and had personal experience getting shafted by health insurance companies - that I'd at least like to make sure nothing egregious is going on.

I've gotten itemized bills for the surgery, but a) many of the items might as well be Greek to me, and b) for the few that I've asked about, the response has been simply "That's what we charge for that." What other options are there? (Ideally low- or no-cost.)

With the insurance company, things are even more confusing: certain amounts allowed and other not, for no clear reason, and there are "discounts" they apparent get from, or negotiate out of, the hospital. There is very little effort put into making any of it comprehensible. I hesitate to file a challenge without good reason, so my rates don't go up. What else can I do?

Or should I just let it all go? Is $8,000 for an inguinal hernia repair reasonable?

What level of medical insurance should I get?

lorimer — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:40:31 -0800

MEDICAL INSURANCE: I'm getting some for the first time in 8 years. Clearly I should have at least catastrophic, but help me decide whether having more is worth the cost. Also: any opinions about HealthyNY insurance? This year I'll have a little more money than usual (i.e., I won't be scraping by exactly day-to-day), so it's time to get some (very low-cost) medical insurance. I'm trying to decide whether to have just catastrophic/accident coverage or have basic general coverage. I live in NY and my income is definitely low enough to qualify for HealthyNY (about $180/mo without prescription coverage), but not low enough for Medicare.

I'm female, late 20s, in excellent health except that I'm 30% over my median ideal weight. Low blood pressure, low cholesterol, have never smoked, no drugs & little alcohol, no STDs and very careful about preventing them, very careful/healthy in general. Over my entire life I've had no medical issues, no mental health issues, & virtually no medical expenses (just preventive care plus a few one-time prescriptions for things like chicken pox as a kid). My only risk factor I can think of is that I was exposed to a fair amount of 9/11 dust (but I've shown no signs at all of lung or breathing trouble).

My current preventive-care costs are just an annual gyn exam + pap smear (very cheap at Planned Parenthood) and dental exams. So, under $200 a year.

Also: If I couldn't afford it some months, are you generally allowed to "hop on and off" and just be covered at the times when you did pay that month -- or do you lose your coverage as soon as you can't pay and have to re-apply when you can afford it again?

Thanks for any insights!!

Insurance flawed?

Sinner — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 19:33:15 -0800

If the (small) company I work for goes bankrupt, am I still eligible for COBRA, or is COBRA predicated on the continued existence of the company? I live in California.

Choosing a Plan

Juicylicious — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 09:14:14 -0800

I need help choosing a health insurance plan. Medica? Blue Cross? COBRA? [more] I'm self-employed. Currently I'm COBRAing my Medica plan. I can COBRA for 9 more months. I have a $15 co-pay and pharmacy coverage. In the past I've used this insurance a lot for chiropractic appts, as well as general check ups and treatments. It also covered out-patient surgery for me last Dec. The cost: $312/mo.

I've looked into buying my own health plan through either Blue Cross or Medica. There are so many options. I've spoken to reps from both companies and they haven't been much help. I cannot go without health insurance. I am totally confused and I have no idea what to do.

Options:

BCBS - $500 deductible/$1,400 max out of pocket, 80% after deduct. Cost $243/mo.
$1000 deductible/$1,800 max out of pocket. Cost $183/mo.

Medica - $500 deduct/$1,500 max, 80% after deduct. Cost $257.90/mo. $1000 deduct/$2,000 max, 80% (no mental health). Cost $181.30/mo.

Years ago Medica was the way to go because they had such a big network and didn't require pre-authorizations and referrals. It seems that both companies have now evened out and as far as I can tell neither require pre-approvals or referrals. But, I don't seem to get a definitive answer from the reps on that. Also, I can't figure out what is more cost effective? I used to go to a lot of chiro appts, etc, but now that I don't get paid unless I work, I never go to the Dr.

Any advice?