Low health insurance caps leave patients stranded »
Posted By ameliog 2 months, 4 weeks ago in StyleInsurers set lifetime limits to keep rates low on some policies, but holders are learning that individual caps that seemed large quickly max out as health care costs soar.
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1-2-Oscar2 months, 4 weeks ago
Rewrite the policies so that the insurer MUST provide benefits for a minimum period of time. For example, "The maximum individual benefit under this policy is $1 million, but the insured's coverage will continue in full force for a minimum of ten years."
Once you do that, the insurance companies will find that truly PERMANENT policies are in their interest.
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TOD3962 months, 4 weeks ago
So, if an insurance company sells a helthcare policy with a 1 million dollar cap, and the patient uses that 1 million up in 2 years, you want the insurance to continue to provide coverage even though they have lived up to thier end of the contract?
If that was YOUR money, would ou do that?
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1-2-Oscar2 months, 4 weeks ago
The contract will be for a minimum number of years. What I propose would essentially force the company to to rewrite its actuarial tables to provide a minimum number of years of coverage.
Will it cause the insurance company to lose money? Don't kid yourself, TOD396. They still know how to do the basic math, and premiums will be adjusted to provide better coverage for all.
And it IS my money. I just want to make sure that I get a fair return for the premiums I pay.
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Skeptic2 months, 4 weeks ago
Most plans that I am familiar with offer five million dollars lifetime coverage per person covered. Compare that to what your auto insurance offers and the premium paid for liability. And if you have a claim against your auto insurance for the maximum amount of coverage you own, you will probably not be renewed (different than cancelled) then try to get auto insurance at a reasonable premium.
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Will13132 months, 4 weeks ago
lets don't stop there...
lets don't cover autistic children...
birth defects of ANY kind..
epileptics...
arthritics..
absolute no mental disorders.. after all that is only in the mind.. you could control that if you wanted..
in fact unless you are the perfect weight and height with the perfect heart rate, lets don't cover you... and then only between the ages of 15-35...
remember when Arnold won all of those body building contests.. by the BMI (body mass index) he was MORBIDLY OBESE... so was Stallone when he played Rocky and Rambo...
after all the strong should survive .. f the rest of you...
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nikkibabe2 months, 4 weeks ago
My father who takes medications for diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol gets all of his 90 day supplies from India. He pays a total of $52.47 with no insurance. These are made by Bristol Myers, Merck & Pfizer in India.
The cost of the same medicines in US without insurance is $422.50 also made Bristol Myers, Merck & Pfizer in US.
The reason being, in India prescription drugs are treated as public health requirement and the prices are fixed by the Government with a 150% markup over cost for the drug companies.
Can US Congress hold a hearing and ask the drug companies what is their markup after cost in US? I guess not. The lobbyists are more powerful.
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1-2-Oscar2 months, 4 weeks ago
Drug pricing is really a separate issue, and deserves its own discussion. There is no doubt that the pharmaceutical companies enjoy, under government-enforced patent protections, the ability to charge virtually ANY price they choose for the medicines that millions of people need to to live. We pay because there is no alternative to paying.
It is no mistake that, prior to the recent spurt in oil prices, Phizer was the most profitable company in the world, and it still ranks at or near the very top if you calculate profits as a percentage of sales.
We are being fleeced, and our government is helping them do it to us.
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nikkibabe2 months, 4 weeks ago
It is really questionable as the markup allowed by the Indian government is actually after adding up manufacturing cost, Duties, Taxes, Distribution.
Rest of the expense to the companies will be in sales & marketing which is really reaching out to the doctors. In India, it is illegal to advertise prescription drugs in public media and restricted to doctor detailing and professional medical journals.
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blksentra22 months, 4 weeks ago
It gets frustrating with health insurance policies these days. I was diagnosed with end renal failure a couple years ago and now being that I have to go through dialysis 3 times a week, it is impossible to work a full-time job to cover the cost that insurance doesn't cover.
I would have never thought it was so difficult just to stay alive when you have such an illness. And me being only 28 years old, it's very very frustrating.
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truthiness2 months, 4 weeks ago
you may be interested in getting an online degree (from a real university) that trains you in work you can do from home.. e.g. web design, IT help, grant writing, freelance indexing, etc
just a thought.
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truthiness2 months, 4 weeks ago
I used to work as an EMT. we spent a week every year training on the details of paperwork (not how to fill the form out, that is easy, but the nuances) b/c the insurance companies AND medicare have depts dedicated to find clerical errors which will justify denying the claim.
how much of your health care costs go to paying for that dept? or the ad dept? or the sales dept? which not only includes personnel, but paper and staples, etc.
then there is the cost of the executive salaries. then the cost of the profit margin to pay the stock dividends. all from your insurance premiums.
how much less would insurance cost if we required all insurance companies to be non-profit orgs?
or how about a single non-profit org for the country, the way utilities are for a city/county/etc. ? (before you mention utility investments those are bonds not stocks which function differently)
there are many better ways to do this. health care is infrastructure.
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