The Crushing Debt of A Heart Attack

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shouldnthave

shouldnthave

Taze away, Yana...
On Friday afternoon one of my Employees (47 years old) had a massive heart attack whilst at the grocery store. He was rushed to hospital via an ambulance, put into emergency surgery (given a stint), and spent the next three days in the ICU/ cardiac ward at Enlo.

This past November he and I had a very long talk about insurance and signing up for Covered California. He flat out refused on the stance that Obama was forcing him to do it and mainly because he is a stubborn idiot.

Whelp, I don't know exactly what the damage will be, but I'm guessing he will be paying for his decision for the rest of his life. In the interest of maybe changing the mind of one person sitting on the fence about health insurance, you have until January 31st to get covered in California. Doug signed up today in hospital. A bit late, but his follow ups and meds will be covered.

The link is here.
 
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two wheel tramp

two wheel tramp

exploring!
Good PSA. One of my workplaces added the option for folks to get health insurance last year. I am very glad that we are able to offer this benefit.
 
kuksul08

kuksul08

Suh Dude
You can usually get on a payment plan with the hospital and their minimum payment is really low like $75/mo. Forever.
 
M

MysterYvil

Mr. Bad Example
The bill for my stroke was staggering. I opted to take Kaiser coverage through my employer even though I had to pay a chunk. Damn good thing I did.


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UDRider

UDRider

FLCL?
Last time I was at Stanford ER for fractured pelvis the bill was 10k, and all they did was take x-ray and lecture me about stupid shit. That doesn't include ambulance ride which was 1.5k.
I heard medical costs is number one reason people go bankrupt. I can certainly believe it.
 
Blankpage

Blankpage

alien
A buddy of mine who's ultra right continuously bitches about Obama Care and how it has to go. Yet at the same time his mother in law and father in law both have cancer and he admits with OC they'd have no insurance.
He's normal on most topics but I don't bother discussing politics with him, how can you rationalize with that level of blindness.
 
shouldnthave

shouldnthave

Taze away, Yana...
UDRider said:
Last time I was at Stanford ER for fractured pelvis the bill was 10k, and all they did was take x-ray and lecture me about stupid shit. That doesn't include ambulance ride which was 1.5k.
I heard medical costs is number one reason people go bankrupt. I can certainly believe it.
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It's crazy. In 2011 I perforated my ear drum in Mexico. I saw a ENT that specializes in dive injuries in 30 minutes of arrival at the pier. The total bill was $58 cash and a script for pain medication @ $1 a pill. This spring I perforated the same ear because of an inner ear infection. Took two days to get in to the ENT because I had to be referred, and a script for ear drops. Total bill was over $1,500. Luckily my insurance covered most of it.

It's pure madness.
 
m_asim

m_asim

Coitus Infinitum
shouldnthave said:
It's crazy. In 2011 I perforated my ear drum in Mexico. I saw a ENT that specializes in dive injuries in 30 minutes of arrival at the pier. The total bill was $58 cash and a script for pain medication @ $1 a pill. This spring I perforated the same ear because of an inner ear infection. Took two days to get in to the ENT because I had to be referred, and a script for ear drops. Total bill was over $1,500. Luckily my insurance covered most of it.

It's pure madness.
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This is what happens when we let medical companies think of us as fat cows ready to be milked out of our money. The very same drug that we pay $1 in US, can be had for pennies overseas by the very same companies. There is a reason why the industry as a whole spends hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions *cough bribes* to American politicians to look the other way. And Americans are too stupid with their Republican/Democrat infighting to notice the companies paying bribes to both the parties. : |
 
kuksul08

kuksul08

Suh Dude
rsrider said:
They claim the US has the best medical care (doubtful), but it is the most expensive.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/16/why-does-it-cost-32093-just-to-give-birth-in-america

And your friend is an idiot. At least go for the basic one that would save you from financial ruin.
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After what I've seen the magicians at Stanford do to people who have been in car accidents, I wouldn't be surprised if our medical care was the best. Truly life saving stuff.

I know at least 2 people who have come to the US for medical care because the 'free' medical in their country was so slow.
 
K

KnifeySpoony

_______________________
m_asim said:
The very same drug that we pay $1 in US, can be had for pennies overseas by the very same companies. |
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It's cheap there BECAUSE it's expensive here. We are subsidizing the rest of the world's low cost drugs. The reasons for this are complicated of course.
 
Blankpage

Blankpage

alien
KnifeySpoony said:
It's cheap there BECAUSE it's expensive here. We are subsidizing the rest of the world's low cost drugs. The reasons for this are complicated of course.
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That is true and the besides just drugs you have medical machinery and procedures developed in the US to the benefit of the rest of the world.
 
C

CoorsLight

Well-known member
kuksul08 said:
After what I've seen the magicians at Stanford do to people who have been in car accidents, I wouldn't be surprised if our medical care was the best. Truly life saving stuff.

I know at least 2 people who have come to the US for medical care because the 'free' medical in their country was so slow.
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And yet the data tell a different story. We have amomg the worst healthcare of developed nations, even though our care is the most costly.
 
CABilly

CABilly

Splitter
CoorsLight said:
And yet the data tell a different story. We have amomg the worst healthcare of developed nations, even though our care is the most costly.
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What metrics? Outcomes? Processes? Patient satisfaction (don't get me started on that one)?

Our primary care sucks, we don't encourage good lifestyles or habits, and it's so expensive people wait it out until things are way more serious and complicated to fix.

Not being contrarian, I would just like to see your data. I've heard we have bad stats like life expectancy, fetal demise, and such. But I guess I haven't looked into the nitty gritty of it.
 
frozenduc

frozenduc

Well-known member
About ten years ago the wife of a good friend of mine in England needed a hysterectomy fairly pronto. With their nationalized health it was around four months until she could be scheduled in.

We did the scramble and almost had her scheduled for it here whereas she could convalesce at my house for a few weeks. At the last moment they got her in for the procedure in Holland which is a bit closer to home than Wisconsin.

He went on that the Dutch program is better than the British dealio.
 
C

CoorsLight

Well-known member
CABilly said:
What metrics? Outcomes? Processes? Patient satisfaction (don't get me started on that one)?

Our primary care sucks, we don't encourage good lifestyles or habits, and it's so expensive people wait it out until things are way more serious and complicated to fix.

Not being contrarian, I would just like to see your data. I've heard we have bad stats like life expectancy, fetal demise, and such. But I guess I haven't looked into the nitty gritty of it.
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Our life expectancy has not grown nearly as fast as other developed nations. Infant mortality rates are high, if not the highest, compared to other developed nations. Efficiency is ranked the lowest of the 11 wealthiest countries. We're tied with Canada for the worst access to healthcare. Outcomes are ranked last of the wealthiest nations.
 
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