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My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

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Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#81

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

rayiner wrote: post #23
goda90 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Randy needed immediate psychiatric care, and as an emergency physician I knew the options. We put our trust in the mental health team at a local crisis receiving unit, and they kept Randy overnight in temporary safe housing where he could be observed. By morning they had devised a plan to transfer Randy to a retreat-like inpatient psychiatric facility that was in-network with our insurance. The psychiatrist felt Ran…

> This is definitely a case where the insurance company holds the majority of the blame. What facts are the basis of your conclusion? There is no health system in the developed world where a doctor's recommendation will guarantee expensive inpatient treatment without a layer of bureaucratic review.

There are many health systems in the developed world, though, where the system doesn't make this the patient's problem. It shouldn't be possible to have a scenario where the provider believes eight weeks of treatment will be covered, the patient moves to an inpatient facility based on this understanding, and then the bureaucratic review layer decides six days layer that the provider was wrong.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#82

Post by goda90 »

rayiner wrote: post #60
goda90 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The goal should be to provide every human being with the best care possible. If a system can't handle that, then we need to assess why and make changes.

Show me a country where that's the goal. Every other developed country has a goal that's something like: "provide the best outcomes for the population as a whole, at a cost the public is willing to pay."

We should make it the goal as a species. We have the resources and technology. We decide to be limited by economics.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#83

Post by tracker1 »

recursive wrote: post #14

This is a far cry from the gravity of the post, but here's my personal anecdote about trying to navigate health care and insurance. A month or two ago, I was trying to set up a pediatric dentist visit for my son. Not a medical emergency, but a matter of some urgency. I spent about three hours on a total of a dozen phone calls or so. Some to the insurer, and some to various dentist offices in the region to inquire abo…

Fortunately, out of pocket for relatively normal dental care isn't too bad... probably because Dental insurance doesn't really help much and often easier to just pay out of pocket.. though do shop around if you do so.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#84

Post by socalgal2 »

plagiarist wrote: post #76
foco_tubi wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, the condition experienced by the author's spouse is direct evidence of a problem with the author's insurance provider, which in kind happens to be a widespread practice in the industry. US health insurance providers have pivoted from denying claims based on pre-existing conditions to denying claims based on lack of history of pre-existing conditions. Your links do not support the point you are trying…

Well that one is the classic far-right talking point that overpaying to be denied healthcare is preferable to the bogeyman of "wait times." Their other popular talking point is that with private insurance you can choose which doctor explains that your coverage was denied.

Claiming something is far-right is the most common "bla bla bla I'm not listening to your valid factual point because I don't like it" comment on the internet.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#85

Post by foco_tubi »

socalgal2 wrote: post #79
foco_tubi wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, the condition experienced by the author's spouse is direct evidence of a problem with the author's insurance provider, which in kind happens to be a widespread practice in the industry. US health insurance providers have pivoted from denying claims based on pre-existing conditions to denying claims based on lack of history of pre-existing conditions. Your links do not support the point you are trying…

They are evidence. you need care now. you don't get it. Regardless of the system. She's trying to claim there is some system where this wouldn't happen. There isn't. There is infinite need for healthcare and limited supply so some people will always be left out / denied.

> She's trying to claim there is some system where this wouldn't happen

Please point to the passage in the article where you see this claim being made.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#86

Post by readthenotes1 »

ceejayoz wrote: post #65
anonymousiam wrote: post #57

This article makes a good case for the abolition of health insurance. If everybody had to pay for medical care, medical care would need to be affordable to survive. It's hard for me to believe that a doctor couldn't afford medical care for her husband. She just couldn't get outside of the box and consider that the treatment was more important than the cost.

> This article makes a good case for the abolition of health insurance. Yes. > If everybody had to pay for medical care, medical care would need to be affordable to survive. How would people with zero income afford it?

The way they used to before medical insurance took over that industry: charity

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#87

Post by tracker1 »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #22
all2 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seriously considered opting out of health insurance altogether and stuffing away the obscenely priced monthly expense into an interest yielding account. Insurance is nightmarish, and I don't really want to deal with it much anymore. I know this might appear foolish, but fighting with a corporation whose incentives are adverse to my own (both on the medical side and the insurance side) makes me a little sick to m…

If you have enough money for that gamble to pay off over the long haul the cost of health insurance would be immaterial to you anyway. You might get away with it in your youth, or you might have a catastrophic loss and have your finances wrecked. You're often able to negotiate discounts for cash payment from providers, but back when I had insurance that excluded a pre-existing condition I ran into providers who stead…

The collection laws also vary from state to state on this... in some states, medical collections are all but toothless, short of actually filing a lawsuit, which isn't likely, except some facilities actually have staff lawyers willing to harass and sue.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#88

Post by ceejayoz »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #86
ceejayoz wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This article makes a good case for the abolition of health insurance. Yes. > If everybody had to pay for medical care, medical care would need to be affordable to survive. How would people with zero income afford it?

The way they used to before medical insurance took over that industry: charity

So everyone had their healthcare needs addressed in the 1800s?

Which charities have the funding to cover a $1M NICU stay?

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#89

Post by foco_tubi »

socalgal2 wrote: post #84
plagiarist wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that one is the classic far-right talking point that overpaying to be denied healthcare is preferable to the bogeyman of "wait times." Their other popular talking point is that with private insurance you can choose which doctor explains that your coverage was denied.

Claiming something is far-right is the most common "bla bla bla I'm not listening to your valid factual point because I don't like it" comment on the internet.

The claim that this is a far-right talking point IS a factual point. Not only are you seemingly injecting your personal bias into the article and putting words in the author's mouth, but you are simultaneously negating the fact this is a far-right talking point because "you don't like it." Sheesh.

Re: My husbands suicide shows theres something very wrong with US insurance industry

#90

Post by az226 »

pyuser583 wrote: post #48

I’ve been through this situation with family members. I understand the frustration and agony. I also understand the hesitancy to pay for two months at a “retreat-like inpatient psychiatric facility.” In publicly funded system, it’s likely facilities like this would not exist or would be strictly private pay. I’m not aware of any country that makes such a thing available on short notice like this. I also understand th…

What gets me is that they probably could afford it out of pocket but didn’t want to deplete savings.

For a clear case like this, an insurance denial shouldn’t even be shared with the suicidal patient, their spouse should shield them from that and just pay from their checking account. The life of your spouse is worth more than a few more dollars in retirement.

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