Insured U.S. Residents Face Medical Debt

[rpannier]

Insured U.S. Residents Face Medical Debt As Insurance Plan Caps Are Slow To Rise, Hospitals Pad Bills With Inflated Charges

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined how the "number of Americans burdened with massive medical bills has soared" and how hospital bills that exceed $1 million, "while still unusual, are becoming more common as insurance policies once thought to provide catastrophic coverage prove inadequate when it comes to high-cost illnesses." According to a recent survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, 34% of U.S. adults ages 19 to 64 face problems with medical bills or have medical debt, although 62% of those individuals have health insurance.

"Part of the problem" is that, "as medical progress and new technologies raise health care costs, health plans have been slow to raise their" lifetime caps on coverage, the Journal reports. In addition, the "widespread practice of bill padding by hospitals and other health providers" has led to increased health care costs for patients, according to the Journal. Hospitals "say bill padding is their only defense against the aggressive cost-reduction efforts of insurers and government programs," but the "end result is that individuals can, with little warning, be left stuck with wildly inflated medical bills," the Journal reports.

The Journal profiled Jim Dawson, who developed a bacterial skin infection that required five months of hospitalization. During that time, Dawson, who had health insurance, accrued a $1.2 million hospital bill after he exceeded his $1.5 million lifetime cap on coverage (Carreyrou, Wall Street Journal, 11/29).

link:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/90322.php

[OhioChick]

1. I Have Health Insurance....

And my out-of-pocket expenses by year's end are between 10-20K due to having a chronically ill child. I guess I'm "under-insured?"

[Ilsa]

2. A family of four I know just added a severely disabled baby to

their family. The parents are in their mid-twenties and they have no idea how difficult it is going to be when some of the diagnoses turn "developmental" on their child and their insurance starts declining to pay. Or they reach the cap on what the insurance will pay over the life of the child.

[raccoon]

3. K&R. Health care in the US just gets to be more and more of a disaster. nt

[Summer93]

4. Yes, A disaster

The insurance companies appear to be fighting the same battle that manufacturing industry fought and lost and then sent their business overseas.

It appears that they have to keep eliminating costs more and more and unfortunately they can't elminate the workers so they have to eliminate their product. I recently found that my insurance does not cover office visits (around $300 each) and now they will not cover PPO or HMO..

I think that people across this country are reaey to "find" a new system as the current "insurance" system is more and more obviously a failure.

[superkia]

5. Its too bad enough people wont support the one candidate...

that wants to stand up to the insurance industry and give all Americans free non profit health care. The system will never get better if we elect career politicians that wont stand up to the industry but will stand with them. I get confused with understanding the reasons people support some of their candidates, I have always based my own vote on where the candidate stood on the issues compared to me. Now I see the media talking allot about words like "electable" as a voting issue, the scary part is that I now see an overwhelming amount of DUers using all of the MSM's talking points like they believe what they are saying? I wish America would go back to voting on the issues that affect Americans, instead of all of this other shit the media shoves in our faces.

If we continue to vote the same way, we will continue to get the same result, we need to change our brainwashed ways of thinking and step back outside of the box. Hopefully enough Americans will think about the people affected by the war, the horrible health care situation for most, the attack on our rights and the constitution and so on. Now is the time to step up to the plate as individual adults and think about that vote we get and do the right thing for our country.

[Greyhound]

6. So true, I would make one comment, however. We should not refer to his

plan as "free health care", it is simply that we will get the health care we are already paying for.

BTW, I saw the "Wall Street Week" show covering the Democratic candidates stands on this issue and the spin is already well under way.

[Popol Vuh]

10. I agree.. n/t

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHGWu1DTr5w

[Prefer]

7. Health Extortion Industry

That's all is it. Making as much money as possible by hoarding cures.

[sentelle]

8. At the same time...

Hospitals charge more for those with insurance than those who do not (even if the insurance only pays a pittance of the cost)
True Story....
Went in for Hernia Surgery. Was told beforehand that it would probably cost $5000. Bottom line, my bills were double that.

Why can't Hospitals and doctors just tell the truth about the cost of things beforehand? Sure, I know, estimates are just that, but double? and BTW, the surgery was routine, nothing unusual, nothing that should have cost extra.

Of course they charged for two anesthesiologists (why they needed two, I don't know).

200% of estimate? I asked them... they said "if you were uninsured, we would have charged you the amount we quoted you"... So I am not sure who is more effed up, Big insurance, Big Med, or the AMA?

[superkia]

9. The American people need to start supporting candidates that...

are willing to stand for the people, like they are supposed to do. For some reason, we look at the negatives of some candidates and say they would be a horrible choice but then we look at other candidates negatives and we give them free passes? We need to find the ability to select candidates that are with us, not with the insurance companies.