re: Even with good health insurance, a CT scan is costing me $2,000 out of pocket

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I actually had someone come to my office and say that last year. So... did you do it?

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No. He was insistent on it until I explained that if I didn’t have a legit reason to order it then his insurance would deny it and he would be on the hook for the bill. He changed his tune real quick fast and in a hurry after that.

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Insurance and the medical industry in the country is a complete scam. It’s sad to see.

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What be your proposed changes to the medical industry?

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Check in with Europe on that... 6month wait for head CT to rule out glioblastoma. They are declining covering for elderly patients and recommending hospice instead. But hey, our insurance should be more like Europe & Canada where it's "free for everyone"

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The concept behind the ACA and Romneycare before it was bases on the German and Dutch models. Where everyone was required to have health insurance or you pay a fine. The German system works because if you don’t have health insurance then the fine is up to 650 euros per month which is 7800 euros per year. That means it is cheaper to buy health insurance than not having it. The German and Dutch systems also require a visit with a PCP once or twice a year to keep your insurance. That helps tremendously with catching and controlling things like diabetes and high blood pressure early and preventing the costs associated with them.

However like everything else the US government touches they f**ked it up. Not only did the US government not realize that the individual mandate was unconstitutional as a penalty but was legal as a tax. The Obama administration set the penalty tax fee at a very low rate like $150 per year IIRC. The Trump administration got rid of the tax altogether. So in the USA, it’s cheaper to not have health insurance in this country. The USA also doesn’t require an annual or biannual pcp visit so diabetes and high blood pressure, etc are caught later on when they are more difficult to control and the risk for complications from them is higher.

If the USA passed a $7000/yr/individual healthcare tax which would be waived if you provide proof of insurance for at least 9 out of 12 months per year then the ACA might work as planned. Under that scenario it becomes cheaper to have health insurance and the number of uninsured would come down. For the people with health insurance it would not cost anything except for the time it took to send a copy of their health insurance card in with their tax returns. Also requiring a once a year visit with a pcp would help lower costs from the main diseases that are driving up medical costs in the USA.

the same people that complain about having to pay for proper medical care are the same ones with $1,000 monthly notes on their 90k SUVs

Seriously OP go to mdsave.com and save yourself about $1500 before you have that CT.

I have UHC through my SO's employment. Everything gets heavily discounted without regard to whether part or all of it is my responsibility.

I had never had surgery or been in a hospital until November 2022. I had a giant kidney stone that had to be surgically removed in November 2002, and last year I had two rounds of heart stents, a rabies treatment due to a rabid bat attack, and a umbilical hernia repair. I hit my full out of pocket, but I never had to pay one huge bill due to the discounts.

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Before I hit 50, I was seeing a small amount of blood in my stool. The gastro doctors ordered a colonoscopy, which was a great idea. I had one done, and luckily my issue was just a couple of benign polyps which they removed. No problem.

About a month later, the bills started rolling in. Confused, I called the insurance people. I was told that since my procedure was "diagnostic" and not "wellness", it was not free to me and by the time all was said and done, I was out of pocket about $3500.

Fast forward 5 years later (a few months ago) and it is time for me to have another colonoscopy. I was told that this one also would not be "wellness" but would be "diagnostic" since last time they found polyps.

Figuring that I was paying out of pocket again, I had a serious debate with myself about whether I should have it done again or not. I ultimately decided to get it, and everything was clear.

And somehow, I ended up not paying a penny this time. I don't know what changed with my insurance, but I thought for sure I was going to have to go back into my pocket again.

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that's more or less the same that happened to me. at 50 I had the free one. found a polyp (asymptomatic) and Dr. said see ya in 5 yrs. I found out that BCbS wouldn't pay because of the "diagnostic" clause so I put off until 7 yrs. then I asked around, got all the cash payment amounts and scheduled another. All clear. didn't owe anything except the co-pay. go figure.

I also got a abdominal CT scan in 2021 for a suspected kidney stone.(negative) I don't recall that costing me much at all, and I have pretty crappy BCBS insurance.

64-slice CT machine goes for about $250-350k.

Most hospitals have 16 or 32 slice. They're $90-150k.

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The concept behind the ACA and Romneycare before it was bases on the German and Dutch models

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Wonder how it's working in Germany with their new population surge of migrants?

Wonder what the long term effects of those migrants will be on their Healthcare system?