Insured, but Still Owing $109K for a Heart Attack

Re:Insured, but Still Owing $109K for a Heart Attack by mnm1 on Tuesday August 28, 2018 @06:21PM (#17863461)

Your first point is simply not true. There is no plan that covers every ER and every hospital. Even on the top plans, there are in-network and out of network providers. So once again, we're back to making decisions while incapacitated or unconscious. No matter how carefully you chose your plan and how much you pay, you're still fucked. Not to mention that almost everyone is stuck with the plans their employers choose. Even the platinum level ACA plans, however, are like this. That's what I'm talking about above, BTW, as well as equivalent plans provided by corporations. It's simply impossible to get a plan that covers everything and therefore prevents you from going bankrupt in all situations.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Insured, but Still Owing $109K for a Heart Attack by dragonwriter on Tuesday August 28, 2018 @08:01PM (#17864006)

> Your first point is simply not true.

My first point is what the insurance company is saying. It's absolutely true that they are saying that. (It's also a true claim; your argument that all provider networks are limited such that the risk of similar problems exists at some level in all insurance plans is perhaps pedantically true, but not necessarily relevant—e.g., it may be that the only reason the care from the profile provider in this particular case was out of network was that the district's individually negotiated narrow network plan excluded providers that would have been included in standard plans this insurer offered in the area.)

> Not to mention that almost everyone is stuck with the plans their employers choose.

That's factually false; only 49% of Americans are covered by insurance provided by an employer (either their own or as a dependent) health insurance, and not all of them have no other practical option than that plan, so, no “almost everyone” is not stuck with their employer's plan choices.

But, in any case, the employer's plan choice is exactly what the insurance company is highlighting as the issue in this case.

[ Parent | on HN ]