re: Main Reason for Having Health Insurance

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I had a medical issue when I was 11 that totaled over a million dollars in 1989. Maybe it was a half million, but it was a staggering amount of money for the time. It would have bankrupted my parents without insurance.

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It may have bankrupted them. The amount your family’s insurance company actually paid was significantly lower than what was billed.

I changed jobs while Little Füt #1 was on the way in 1988. I dutifully paid COBRA to my former employer. The delivery went off without a problem. My former employer merely pocketed my COBRA premiums and the bill was not covered. I ended up successfully suing my former employer and won payment and attorneys fees. My attorney told me the entire bill could have been discharged for ~$650 immediately after the delivery. The hospital got over $8,000 for it six months later as a result of the suit and delay.

So your $500k bill may have been actually less than $100k, using that same discount.