Quote:
Originally Posted by chickenfoot
Roll call moves too fast for me 
On the subject of anxiety and hospitalizations, I see what you guys are saying regarding having to pay thousands for hospital stays. It is clear that people who go in for less serious issues can do so if they're not paying or have that kind of money to throw around.
It's really unfortunate that the US system is like that. Do you even have to pay for state hospitals? Or are State hospitals really bad? I know over here public hospitals aren't all that bad and are completely free if you earn under a certain wage. Generally means you'll be on a ward with up to 6 beds and all you have is a curtain to divide you, but it could be worse. |
The whole system of healthcare here in the US is terrible. There is no free. If you're on Medicare and disability you pay a premium out of your disability check. My MIL for example gets $900 a month disability. They take $150 a month for Medicare and $200 for her Perscription coverage. Plus she has co-insurance with her meds. So she pays $40 for seraquil and $70 for her blood pressure and diabetes meds. Combined. How do you afford rent and food and utilities after that? Oh, you don't. Not when 1 bedroom apartment is $780 where I live. It's a 3 year waiting list to get on disability housing here. Then rent is 30% of your gross income, so 30% of $900, which is $300.... And if you have a lot of expensive meds you will fall into a "donut hole" which means for part of the year Medicare won't pay a dime for your prescriptions. But you still have to pay the premium or you get penalized with a heavy fine. Also you can't use any discount cards at the pharmacy if you're on Medicare or Medicaid. It's actually against the law.
So if you ever hear someone complaining about a "free ride" for being on disability, they are ignorant of the reality. Before her psychotic break she was making $20 an hour running the whole home health division of a local hospital. It's sad.
County hospital where I live is a sliding scale. But you still have to pay something. If you end up in long term care through Medicaid, after you die your family has to pay everything back. I researched this because when my dad was sick we were worried he would need long term care and Medicaid. Thank heavens he never did. But basically after you die the State sells all of your property. Any money left becomes the responsibility of your heirs. And, this is insane, but if you're old and you decided to give away property before you die, like to your kids so you can see them enjoy it, that's fraud. Any property given away within 5 years before going into a home is considered fraud, like you were trying to get out of paying. Even if you weren't sick at that time.
I'm on commercial insurance and basically, between what I have to pay out of pocket and what my employer pays in premiums, it costs $23,000 a year before the insurance company will pay will pay 100% for any service. The premium for my plan is $1300 per month and I have a $4000 deductible. Then after that another $4000 catastrophic deductible where I have a 30% co-insurance on everything.
Thankfully, I was able to get my kids on Medicaid. But my husband and I are still screwed.