# Seriously considering dropping medical coverage, opinions needed. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284 "2010-03-12T19:29:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/41 "2010-03-13T18:29:40Z")
Another vote for at least having catastrophic coverage. People think that if they get in a horrible car accident or come down with cancer that they can always go on disability. Don’t count on this. Even if you’re eligible for Social Security disability, not only can it take years to get get approved, most people don’t realize that being approved for disability doesn’t mean you’ll have medical coverage. If you get regular disability (as opposed to SSI), under current regulations you’ll wait 2 years for Medicare to kick in. The only exception is if you are diagnosed with ALS - Medicare kicks in immediately for that. Any other disease, you’re waiting. Just some food for thought. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/42 "2010-03-13T18:45:17Z")
When my daughter got too old to be covered by my insurance and before she graduated and got a job, I got a catastrophic coverage policy for her. It was something like $200 (I think) for a year. It offered no routine visit coverage, and the deductible was something like $5K, but had she had something really bad happen, we’d have managed the $5K, and the rest would be taken care of. Luckily, she didn’t need it, but the peace of mind alone was worth the premium cost. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/43 "2010-03-13T20:05:38Z")
Well that is a tough one. My son was thinking of dropping his work insurance for the same reason you are but I talked him into keeping it. A couple of weeks ago he got a staph infection in his hand and it was a weekend and had to go to the ER. It was close to a thousand bucks for the drain, medications, etc. I recently had day surgery and it was 70,000 dollars. I could not believe it. I was very glad to have insurance. You never know what can happen and one medical problem and you could be bankrupt. Even young people get cancer? I hope you never do… ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/44 "2010-03-13T21:02:58Z")
If you lack insurance but need major surgery _and can wait a few days for it_, a lot of money can be saved by flying to another country, e.g. Thailand. (Some U.S. employers already [do](http://www.bridgehealthinternational.com/corporate/coverage/the-self-insurer-us-employers-turning-to-medical-travel.html) [this](http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jul/30/business/fi-outsource30).) Several years ago I got a coronary stent at one of Bangkok’s best hospitals for $8500. (It would have been much less but I splurged and got the top-of-the line coated stent. I’ve never gotten a clear answer about what the U.S. cost estimate would be.) Even with airfare your savings will be huge. (And, after recovery, you have an Asian holiday!) > [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > As long as your appendix doesn’t burst while you’re sleeping,… Obviously you won’t have time to fly to Asia if your appendix bursts! (How would that work? My Mother had an appendectomy once: they operated, confiscated her bank account, but forgave the remaining balance, not even confiscating her automobile.) ---
**Author:** ![DivineComedienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c67d28/32.png) [@DivineComedienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DivineComedienne)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/45 "2010-03-13T21:58:46Z")
Just my personal experience here. I am a healthy, normal, 48-year-old woman, not overweight, non-smoker, non-drinker, I run 5ks, I look great, if I do say so myself. In December I had a heart attack. Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection. Very rare, they tell me, mostly occurs in women and they think it’s stress-related. I was in the hospital for a week. I had two cardiac catheterizations, an angioplasty, and four stents inserted. Luckily, I have health coverage through my employer. My hospital stay was 100% covered by my isnurance I saw a statement for the hospital stay, it was: ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS. I say, God Bless My Health Insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/46 "2010-03-14T00:25:23Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > snip. Wait, _What_ Really? Why? Yep. I recently had to make an appointment with a specialist, and was turned down by TWO because I’m self-pay. I was finally referred to a clinic. I was told I’d have to pay up front, but I’m willing to do so. It’s extremely frustrating. (“Free market” my ass.) As someone without insurance, I’d say you’re crazy to give it up. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/47 "2010-03-14T03:12:04Z")
I actually sat down and did the math for my so-called ‘health plan’ at work one day. It would cost me $200 per paycheck (out of a $600 bi-weekly paycheck after taxes) to get covered under our company plan. This put me in the red financially. So basically I could chance going broke by not having insurance, or definitely go broke by attempting to pay for health insurance. The choice seemed obvious, so until a better deal comes along, I’m uninsured. Yay America! Seriously though, I hope someone comes along and tells me there is a better way that me and the OP are not seeing. I’d love to kick in a reasonable amount to not have to worry about getting hurt or sick, but so far there just aren’t any better options. ---
**Author:** ![Picard\_Kills\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Picard\_Kills\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Picard_Kills_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/48 "2010-03-14T03:29:25Z")
I would keep your insurance. I had my tonsils taken out a few years ago, and the bill was somewhere around 8000 dollars. Getting tonsils removed isn’t even a major operation! When I had private health insurance, my payment was about 80-90 dollars a month. If you consider how long it would take to bank that much money for a minor operation based on my premium, it would take almost the rest of my life, and that is only if I never have another problem again. I’m interested in what your plan would be if you dropped your insurance and then got cancer, or had a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/49 "2010-03-14T06:25:05Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > I recently had day surgery and it was 70,000 dollars. I could not believe it. I was very glad to have insurance. :eek: I thought my wife’s was bad - and that was spread over several operations. What the hell did they do to you for that much money for one operation. You should have walked out with a new 12 inch whizzer as a premium! ETA: Make that 15 inch! ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/50 "2010-03-14T06:57:35Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > :eek: I thought my wife’s was bad - and that was spread over several operations. What the hell did they do to you for that much money for one operation. You should have walked out with a new 12 inch whizzer as a premium! > > ETA: Make that 15 inch! Whats a 15 inch whizzer? If it is what I think it is I’m all set being a woman w/o one…😉 I had an Occipital Neuromodulation implant. I’m Bionic. I can even charge myself from any wall outlet. Kind of like a hybrid car. I think it was the electronics that were the expensive part because the surgery was in and out. I have not needed to charge the battery at all because it is something off the space shuttle and is rechargeable for 200 years. Long after I’m gone. I was back to work in two days. I’m not a surgeon but what they did was block the nerve pain signals from the Occipital Lobe of my brain before they travel down my spinal cord. They shaved the back of my head and inserted two sets of neuro transmitters then they looped some excess in my neck and then ran it under my skin to my mid back. They put in a very small but long lasting battery and connected it to the line going to my brain. I control the levels of stimulation by a hand held unit. I go in monthly and get hooked up to a laptop to have my programming checked. It has cut my fibro pain down about 50 percent and I don’t get headaches anymore. I only have a couple scars so they must have fished the wire under my skin. I have a scar on my neck and my lower back where the battery is and on my head but you can’t see it with my hair. I can’t feel it at all which is great. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/51 "2010-03-14T15:28:28Z")
Remember medical expenses are tax deductible. If what you pay is straining your finances, you have every incentive to file away every bill/expense for tax day. Many employers also let you set aside money from your paycheck for anticipated medical expenses that comes out pre-tax. Keep the insurance. When I was self-insured and working two part-time jobs, I needed two sigmoidoscopies and months of medication to treat Ulcerative Colitis, which conveniently flared into existence when I was off my mom’s primo Kaiser coverage. Now that I have good insurance through my job, I make the most out of it. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/52 "2010-03-16T03:58:09Z")
If you do drop the insurance, please go to a CVS Minute Clinic, Walgreens Take Care Clinic, or any roadside urgent care clinic BEFOREHAND, so you can get a $75(ish) physical, just to be sure you’re roughly all right. And if you do drop the insurance, PLEASE get catastrophic insurance, even if the deductible is like 10k. I graduated, and just before I did, my parents were offered a deal to pay some $150/month for my health insurance (the same I had while in college; they are both self-employed so they purchase their own coverage). I encouraged them not to do so, that I’d just get a catastrophic plan for myself. My mom refused, and offered to pay for my coverage on their own. I filed it away as “mom being mom”, and off I went. Last month I got killer patellar tendinitis in my right knee from spinning and weight lifting (gotta keep healthy!) at the gym. Now, sans health insurance, I would have hobbled around for awhile, iced it, and not known what was going on, probably having the problem for the rest of my life. With insurance, I had a $15 copay on physical therapy visits (god knows their real cost, probably $300 apiece) for a month, a PT assistant helping me (literally) every step of the way, an athletic trainer explaining how I’d get back to my old self and even exact recommendations on what brands and types of patellar braces to use in the future. I was set up with a program of weight training on my right leg and hip stretches (poor flexibility being the root cause of the tendinitis). You never know when you need it…and if you have it, you’re eternally grateful. Please, please…keep some form of insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/53 "2010-03-16T05:01:49Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > If you lack insurance but need major surgery _and can wait a few days for it_, a lot of money can be saved by flying to another country, e.g. Thailand. (Some U.S. employers already [do](http://www.bridgehealthinternational.com/corporate/coverage/the-self-insurer-us-employers-turning-to-medical-travel.html) [this](http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jul/30/business/fi-outsource30).) Thailand is not nearly the good deal it once was, as prices have risen dramatically in the past several years. These days, I always recommend India. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/54 "2010-03-16T12:01:57Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I get that to you once the debt hits a certian point it doesn’t matter because you don’t have that much to give. That makes not having coverage pretty tempting. However as a health insurance agent I have spent many hours on the phone with doctors, hospitals, and other service providers who have a patient in their office and turn them away without service _even if they can pay in cash_ because their insurance has terminated. ^ This As soon as you are uninsured you will start to have trouble accessing ANY part of the health system. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=477572) I detail the frustrations of trying to obtain a single medical test as an uninsured person. _I had to travel to a different state to get it!_ On another board, as part of a much much longer thread, I ranted about the _two months it took me to get a frakkin’ TETANUS BOOSTER!_. Here is a quote of a relevant post (edited to remove some swearing): > [@](#): > > I hadn’t had a tetanus booster for, oh, 20 years. Well, this year I’m gardening (dirt, tools) and painting houses (dirt, tools, nails, etc.). MAYBE it’s a good idea to get a tetanus booster, right? In fact, my boss didn’t want me doing certain jobs because of his concern about the tools, dirt, and inevitable dings. > > Well, I’m not going to relate EVERY Bad Experience, so this is an amalgamation or two: > > ME: “Hi, I haven’t had a tetanus booster in awhile and I work outside - can I get one?” > CLINIC/DOCTOR’S OFFICE: “Sure - are you a patient here?” > ME: “No.” > C/D’sO: “Well, we’ll need a referral from your primary health provider.” > ME: “Um… I haven’t been to a doctor for awhile.” > C/D’sO: “Oh, dear, well, you’ll have to come in for a complete physical then before we can do anything of that sort. In fact, you should speak with the doctor to see if you even need a tetanus shot.” > ME: “It’s been 20 years!” > C/D’sO: “Ma’am, you need to get one every 10 years.” > ME: “Yes, I know that - that’s why I’m calling you - to get one.” > C/D’sO: “Ma’am, you need to take better care of yourself.” > ME: “Yes, I know - what do I have to do to get a tetanus booster?” > C/D’sO: "Does your insurance cover tetanus boosters? > ME: “I can pay for it myself.” > C/D’sO: “What sort of insurance do you have?” > ME: “I don’t have medical insurance.” > C/D’sO: “Ma’am - that’s irresponsible, you need health insurance.” > ME: "I got laid off in November, that’s why I don’t have insurance - but I’m working part time outside so I need a tetanus booster - " > C/D’sO: “Ma’am - if you’ve injured yourself you need to go to the ER.” > ME: “I’m not hurt - I want the shot BEFORE anything happens.” > C/D’sO: “If you haven’t got insurance how do you intend to pay for this?” > ME: “Tell me how much it is and I’ll borrow the money from my family if I have to.” > C/D’sO: “Ma’am - we do not provide payment plans - you must pay in full at the time of service.” > ME: “I understand that - that’s why I asked how much it will be.” > C/D’sO: “Well, that depends if the doctor thinks you’ll need any other tests or anything since you aren’t taking care of yourself. We’ll have to do a full medical history -” > ME: “Lady, I just want a tetanus booster.” > C/D’sO: “Ma’am, if you were the sort of person who sees a doctor occasionally we might be able to do that but with you being uninsured there’s just no way for us to know what’s going on with you.” > > …and so on. Basically, the system is so rigged that even IF you have the money to pay for care upfront you’re almost forced to go the Very Expensive ER unless you have SOME kind of insurance. > > I did get a tetanus booster, by the way. $20. Paid in full at time of service. Holy \*\*\*\*, that was difficult! I don’t care how much money you have - if you don’t have insurance that’s what you’re setting yourself up for. You will be assumed to be a deadbeat. You will have a hell of a time just getting in to see a doctor for something as routine as a tetanus shot _even if you can pay in full at the time of the visit_. You will _never_ get a straight answer on prices for anything, you will have to negotiate each and every charge. The system is entirely geared for the assumption you have insurance of SOME sort - I lost track of how many calls I got from billing departments during the eight months I was uninsured insisting that, first of all, they can’t process my payment without my insurance information and second, I MUST have SOME sort of coverage - if not “real insurance” then something like Medicaid or Medicare. So… go “bare” if you want to, just be aware that there is a very real downside to the matter, even if all you need is rather routine stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/55 "2010-03-16T12:57:02Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You will _never_ get a straight answer on prices for anything, you will have to negotiate each and every charge. For the record, it’s next to impossible to get a price on something even WITH insurance. Having a high-deductible plan, I sometimes want to know beforehand what a lab test or appointment will cost. I’m just looking for “rack rates”, not what it will be after my insurance gets it. You ever try to call a hospital and ask how much something will cost? You’d think you were asking for the formula to turn water into gold. I’ve never been through such a runaround before. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/56 "2010-03-16T16:07:19Z")
Everyone in this thread has given very good arguments. I will give my own (very sad) anecdote that tells me, as if I didn’t already know, that one should never go without health insurance. My brother-in-law’s mother died in her 40s of cancer because she did not have health insurance and so did not go to any doctors until the cancer had spread and become incurable. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/57 "2010-03-16T18:39:19Z")
Our system is ridiculous. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/58 "2010-03-16T19:00:46Z")
I’m terrified. ☹ I come into threads like these and see how expensive stuff is. I can’t afford insurance at all, I don’t really have the option to choose to not have it. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/59 "2010-03-16T20:59:21Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > The concept is that they have no idea what your final bill will actually be when you are done. Let’s say you come into the hospital with $25,000 in a suitcase for a minor surgery of some kind and they take your money and treat you. Then they find you have developed an infection from the surgery and now you need an additional $8,000 for medication and other services. Your suitcase is now empty and they have no guarantee they will see that money but it is an urgent care case at that point and they are forced to treat you. Rather than take that chance most places just won’t see you. I hate this country. My husband was hit by a car last year. What looked like a minor accident turned out to be three fractured bones and (at last count) 25k in medical bills. Thank god we have medical insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284/60 "2010-03-17T06:28:20Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Our system is ridiculous. > > That is all. But it’s the best in the world, remember? Anything else would be _gasp_ socialism!!! :rolleyes: (For all the people declaring the US health care system the “best” in the world, I’d hate to see what they consider to be the worst.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-considering-dropping-medical-coverage-opinions-needed/532284.md?page=4)