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Part of the issue with healthcare costs in the US is that many people never pay. That means those with insurance have to cover them via higher prices.
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Healthcare in the US generally screws the middle, not the poor, even then it's the lower middle. The poor qualify for Medicaid which generally pays for anything major and basic healthcare, though options may be limited. The old get Medicare which covers pretty much everything outside a nursing home for fairly little out of pocket. The middle and upper class generally has decent insurance that isn't crazy expensive to have and doesn't have a ton of out of pocket costs provided by an employer.
It's the people with high deductible plans that can't or won't contribute to an hsa, and those that don't have employer provided healthcare that really get screwed.
Idk where your coming from but as someone who had $12k in an HSA and employer medical that’s bs.
I went to the eye doctor and needed glasses. Tried using my HSA. Nope. Not an approved medical expense. Tried paying a copay at the er. Nope not an approved medical expense. Wife got a kidney stone removed via surgery. Wanted to pay coinsurance. Nope not an approved medical expense. I needed a cpap for my sleep apnea. Nope not an approved medical expense. Year rolled over and all that money disappeared. I asked where it went and was told I either used it or lost it. So I got rid of it. Fucking garbage.
As for the employer coverage, we had a zero dollar deductible plan. My wife gave birth last year. Ambulance ride from her work? Nope, not necessary. All the gyno visits? Nope, not necessary. The ER visit when she slipped and fell at 6 months? Nope, not necessary. The 2 week hospital stay when she went preeclamptic? Nope, not necessary. The delivery? Nope, not necessary. The NICU stay for our premature daughter? Nope, not necessary.
I payed $1700 per PAY for my health insurance and they didn’t cover a cent from our entire family last year. We racked up over $70k in medical debt. Our MOOP was $5k/$10k and they said none of it applied.
Hospital sent it to collections because we couldn’t fit their minimum payment of $9k/mth (fuck duke lifepoint but this is an insurance rant). We complained to the pa board of health insurance and were advised to get a lawyer but no lawyer would take it. They said it would be years to get anything back, let alone the full amount.
We ended up proving that my employer doesn’t offer comprehensive insurance. The main component is covering pre and post natal care which they claim to, but they deny every time. So now we have insurance through penni for $60/mth with government help. Oh and we went through bankruptcy to get rid of the collections debt.
Fuck Cigna, fuck duke lifepoint, fuck insurance, fuck for profit healthcare, fuck the American healthcare system.
I mean yeah fuck insurance but everyone of those things you listed is definitely covered by HSA. I use my HSA every year for glasses, hospital bills and doctors appointments. also it sounds like you had an FSA since you lost what you didn't spend. HSA has rollover. But all those expenses you listed are also eligible for FSA.
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You generally don't pay for hospital visits 95+% of people have some form of insurance that would cover the vast majority of the cost for going to hospitals for giving birth.
95% of people have insurance? Does not caring about medical debt you'll never pay count as insurance now, because thats the only way that number makes sense. Unless i missed your point, which im known to do.
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One thing others haven’t mentioned: most states accepted the ACA Medicaid expansion, which means most poor people qualify for Medicaid (at least in 80%ish of states). Medicaid is pretty cheap out of pocket. It can get complicated around who accepts the insurance, but almost any hospital where you go to give birth will.
I left one job and went to another. There was a 3 month gap where I had no health insurance, didn’t qualify right away at the new job. Got an infection that required a two week round of antibiotics.
The cost without insurance was a little over $2000. My COBRA coverage was $600+ and a couple dollars with insurance for the anti biotics. I felt lucky to only have to spend the $600+ to enact COBRA coverage and that it happened in the first month so I could only pay once and drop it.
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The number one reason for bankruptcy in the USA is due to medical debt.
We just go into debt, is your answer.
Honestly, in Arizona surprisingly, the state paid for it because we were poor and eligible for their healthcare programs. I know its bad everywhere here, but we got lucky.
Here you go. This might answer some questions you have https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-im-pregnant-or-plan-to-get-pregnant
this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2023
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