a little socialized medicine couldn't hurt that much.

[gfrancie]

So. our health premiums are going up again soon. I hate Aetna with the sort of passion that I usually reserve for bigotry, injustices in the world and the latter-day work of KISS. Now I suppose the CEO of Aetna (Ron Williams) gets a few points for saying in a recent Senate hearing that there needs to be healthcare reform all and Americans should be covered regardless of their health conditions and so on. But those sentiments don't mean dick when you are nickel and diming people to pieces. We pay these premiums and the co-pay (which they just upped); yet I still end up getting bills for stuff Aetna refuses to pay for. DON'T LIE TO ME. STOP LYING TO ME! Just for having this baby, there is a 1,000 dollar deductible for pre-natal care.
(loved getting the bill for nearly 500 bucks for the ultra-sound. That was fab.) Then? when it comes to labor/birth they will pay up to 80 percent of the costs for all of that. And it is a situation where you go hope to God that you have a straight-forward vaginal birth with no complications. I remember seeing what the insurance company (different insurance -the fun stuff) paid for when I had Senor Onion, it was amazing what the costs were. I was in the joint just barely over 24 hours. I did have an epidural, the OB only showed up for like...an hour at most. Showed up for like 20 minutes before Senor Onion actually graced us with his presence, made sure I was present and accounted for post-partum and then she was off. Were the nurses wearing solid gold outfits? I dunno. I didn't need anything extra. I was feeding the baby, recovering nicely and so on. I think of people who end up with emergency situations and what that might cost. Good lord... And imagine if you have no health insurance? It makes you scared. I know back in the bad old scary days, my Mother who had no health insurance when she had me. She was paying off the hospital bill (again barely a 24 hour stay) until I was like 12. Lucky her that I turned out to be a fairly decent kid. I told Mr. Jenner, "If we decide to be insane and have another after this one, we are having it in England, because this is too expensive."

I wonder about elderly people who often have chronic health issues at that point in their life and need regular medical care. What do they do? My husband's Grandfather who has some chronic health issues and seems to end up in hospital once a month for something. (usually pretty minor) It is a lucky situation that he lives in England, where there isn't the fear/anxiety about the hospitals bills. Or being forced to cut his pills in half to make them stretch because he can't afford the cost of his prescriptions. (because he has quite a few to take at this point in his life.)

Seriously... I would put up with the wait to see a GP or to get non-essential surgery if it meant that people in this country didn't have to decide between paying the electric bill or going to the doctor. Or fear losing their home because they became too sick, or try and figure out how to pay for their medications. My suspicions are that if we had some kind of nationalized healthcare system, that covered everyone regardless of their previous health conditions, that the collective stress of this nation would reduce so much. Maybe productivity would go through the roof (since we are known for being some of the hardest working people around) and everyone's general health would improve. Just a wild-ass theory.

But back to my original point, Aetna for once in your effin' life could you just answer a question straight about what you will bill us? Or is that too hard.
STAB STAB STAB

I... I am going to go and eat some baklava to calm me down.

Comments

[zepharum.livejournal.com]

No no, just come up to Canada to have the next one! Much closer! Heck, I'll even give you my room to sleep in.

Seriously though, when I had Evan midwifery wasn't covered. The costs there would have been $3000 to do it completely out of pocket. Ultrasounds are covered by our health plan, but if you want to go get one of the fancy 4D ones done it's only $250 at a private clinic. Why on earth was it $500 there?

Personally, I don't really understand how people can afford to have babies in the US. If you don't have health coverage you end up paying for years (like you said) AND you guys don't get government paid maternity leave. I feel bad for US moms who have to rush back to work at 6 weeks because that's all their job will allow. Here, as long as you worked a certain amount of hours before you have the baby, you get 55% of your previous wage for the next year paid by employment insurance. To a maximum of course. But still, though I wasn't rolling in dough I made enough that I got to stay home with my son and I just think it's the crappiest thing in the world that you guys don't get that option the way we do.

Hmm, I seem to have gone off topic, but that's my rant in for the day now too!

[jawnbc]

This is actually a good point. You might want to investigate what these things cost out of pocket up here in Soviet Canuckistan. Non-residents can pay for services directly and the fees are still government set (though probably a bit higher than what is billed for our visits).

With your deductible, you might still come out ahead.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Now if Canada wasn't only three hours away. It would look darn tempting.

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

You know for sure that your insurance won't cover a midwife, even a nurse midwife? Because it's much, much cheaper, usually... and you can still do a hospital birth if you like.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

The ones that are covered aren't very close. It would involve a drive across the city and that can take awhile when traffic is wack-a-doo and so on. I thought about it, but the logistics weren't terribly good.
But I do see why people have babies at home.

There is a part of me that also really really likes my OB/GYN. She totally trusts my instincts, is very calm and chill and darn it she has good taste in books. I wish sometimes she was a midwife. She doesn't push anything on me.

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

She sounds good. :) I think that's the most important thing, to have someone you like and trust to work with.
Our midwife will be 35 minutes/miles away, but I'm cool with that (hopefully!). Larry's sister says 50 minutes is the recommended max distance/time. (She's a nurse and used to work in a neonatal ward.)

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I could rant for days about the lipservice paid toward "family values" in this country when it comes to maternity/paternity leave. Pretty much it is laughable. Even in freaking Russia, they offer new parents something that is reasonable.

[cogshiftingman.livejournal.com]

That Aetna company sounds disgusting. I suppose you can't easily change?

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

It is what Mr. Jenner's work offers. But I am thinking maybe... it might be worth looking into researching some other company and going a different route. I am not asking for ponies and unicorns that vomit solid gold boobs.
I think I could almost handle aetna if they were completely upfront about costs.

[cogshiftingman.livejournal.com]

We get a choice here between Kaiser and two types of Blue Cross. I'm not clear if one can opt out completely and arrange something privately oneself.

I think gold boobs would look good. Of course in the James Bond film the gold plated lady was face down, so we didn't get to appreciate the full effect.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I suppose because Mr. Jenner works for a small company the options are a little more limited. But I may research something after Biscuit is born. (Because I KNOW most companies wouldn't cover the pregnancy stuff, it being a "pre-existing condition")

Obviously Goldfinger doesn't quite get 10 points for awesome due to lack of full frontal gold boobs.

[rochelle.livejournal.com]

If I remember correctly, there's a law in WA state saying that pregnancy cannot be called a pre-existing condition by insurance companies like other medical conditions are.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I just envision the insurance company going, "yes...but we like to charge you a huge amount because we are great big jerks."

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

My new insurance company (BCBS) does not consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition, fyi.

[akathorne.livejournal.com]

Aetna sucks it. I used to have them through work and it was costing me more than most families pay for health insurance, and I'm a single healthy 35 year old with no serious medical conditions. I switched to another company and started paying out of pocket and saved myself $300 a month. And I get the same or better coverage than with Aetna. Haaaaaate.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

That may be the best approach. Short of hunting down the CEO and leaving him a pile of burning poop on his door step. Along with a bill for the poop.

[akathorne.livejournal.com]

And a bill for the bag. And the delivery of the bag. And a Door Ringing Fee.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Plus expenses for travel.

[rochelle.livejournal.com]

As for what old people do, many spend their last bits of savings on the parts of medical care that are not covered by Medicare (and there is a lot of stuff that isn't covered or is covered only at a percentage). When they have not much left, they qualify for Medicaid.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

So bleed the old people of their life-savings. I love it!

[needlediva.livejournal.com]

in a truly ironical aside--
since the hew hess govmint has decided i am too fabulously wealthy to get guvmint health anymore, i am now without insurance. i went to get some of that diabetes medicine, you know, the stuff that keeps a body alive, and found out it cost maybe not an arm and a leg, but at least most of a foot (ha!). so now i can shell out bucks i aint got for medicine, or i can take half of what i am supposed to, to make the pills last longer. 9 years til i'm old enough for medicare, and even then it aint all that much help.
dont even ask how much my healthcare adventures of last summer came to.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I know that some pharm. companies are doing programs where they hand out various drugs to people who have no insurance. Maybe that is a possibility?
Of course the real fun is are any of these available as generics?

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

For those plans, you need your doctor to fill out a form. The free meds are usually limited to about 9 months worth, but almost every drug company has such a plan, so it's good to check...

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

On the topic of LYING LIES AND THE LIARS WHO TELL THEM, I would just like to share that my insurance company told me straight-up that my in-office endoscopy would cost $40...then refused to pay for any of it, and I got stuck with a $300+ bill (and that was only because of all the discounts I got for having insurance at all, or it would have been over $1,000). What the hell, folks??? The health insurance companies are as bad as credit card companies these days.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I just signed up my health insurance for next year, and you'd better believe I signed up for the most expensive plan with the best coverage, dammit. Now, time to get myself some Clomid so I can make sure to deliver while I'm still covered!!!! (I could do Cobra after next June, but it would be $400+/month.)

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I would love to kidnap one of these insurance people and have them at my disposal, "how much will this cost? No really? Can I have it in writing? well then you will lose an ear."

[la-sherazade.livejournal.com]

I think that sounds like a plan!!

[rockgeisha.livejournal.com]

Old people sign over their houses. That's what we were encouraged to do when my grandmother first went into the nursing home (cost: $4000/month).

Oh, and let's not forget that delightful time after I almost died when they charged me $50+ for telling me that I shouldn't smoke.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

That....that truly horrifies me.

[quodlibetic.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit embarrassed at how little Alice's birth cost us - truly an atypically tiny amount. I believe that my c-section delivery cost us $50 out-of-pocket for $19,000 worth of expenses. (UnitedHealthcare POS)

Jeremy and I haven't decided if we're going to have another baby. Yet we know that I could only have another one if I was still at my current job with my current health insurance because DANG that was stupid cheap. (Of course, just ask me what we pay each month for daycare, and I might sob. We certainly made up for our hospital savings with daycare expenses.)