A little ago I mentioned that due to the excessive stress at work, at some point I passed out and someone called 911 to take me to a hospital (Aspie World 23 – Stress). Well, yesterday I received a detailed statement from my medical insurance company, showing the total billed by the hospital, and how much I have to pay.
For me, the little incident will cost me $2,678.69, but the total bill from the hospital is $12,636.16!! And that is for one (1) hour at the hospital!! Sure they took blood and run some tests, and even put me in a machine to do a Cat Scan (I never saw the cat!!), but after one hour they let me go without telling me anything or giving me any paper, and I had to walk out of the hospital and take a taxi like if I went inside by myself by mistake!
For one hour with no results (and not even a cup of tea!) I believe it is a little high the bill passed by the hospital, which makes me think and doubt how the medical system is working nowadays.
Clearly the new laws passed about medical insurance benefit the medical industry rather than protect the health of the people, which makes for a great business for such industry, but my doubts are in the long run. Will this create a sicker country (its people) by forcing the people to avoid medical attention when needed due to the high costs involved?
As a simple example: I have medical insurance for my wife and me through my job, and that cost me $400 a month, with a $3,000 deductible, which means I pay like if having no insurance until I spend $3,000, and then the medical insurance will cover 80 percent of the bills. Last year we completed the deductible only in December, and that because of all the expenses with doctors and pills due to the Fibromyalgia; but in a “regular” year it is doubtful we would spend more than $1,000 in medical issues between the two of us.
This means I will pay the medical insurance company a total of around $4,800 a year and receive no benefits at all!! And still have to spend the $1,000 in a year like if I didn’t have medical insurance! Then what’s the point of having medical insurance!! Sure in case of a broken leg the cost will escalate when surgeries are involved, but does it have to cost $4,800 a year “just in case”?
But most important; when someone has a $10 an hour job, can that person afford to “loose” $400 every month “just in case” of a big medical expense?
So it seems to me the trend will go in the direction of finding ways to avoid having medical insurance, and also avoiding going to the doctors and maintaining long series of medications, due to the high expenses involved.
Even more, with the internet today it is possible to buy any medicine that requires a prescription, without a prescription! All you have to do is order from India and voila! No need for a doctor’s appointment, medical insurance, and not even a diagnosis!
All these elements seem to me can create in the near future a country where people not only will have no access to medicine, but could even have too easy access to the wrong medicine, which would create a country with unhealthy people living in it.
Just a thought
Raul
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