NOT in a good mood. Not gonna' share bad vibes via the details, though.
Saw this just now: http://www.quickmeme.com/p/3vs0p9
So, hip replacement, average cost, US: $40,364. Is that the "gross" dollars before my insurance mandates their rates, the "net" insurance-define rate, or the actual cost back to me in form of average copay + average deductible? Unclear.
- Chances are my insurance would reduce this to ~$25k.
- Under my current plan, I would pay max of $500 deductible + 10% of remainder ($2450) = $2950.
- Under next year's plan, I would pay max of $2500 deductible + 10% of remainder ($2250) = $4750
-- Actually, anything over $4500 out-of-pocket is paid in full (with either plan).
(And the $4500 would be partly covered by lower premiums, company match on a Health Savings Account, and waived income tax on HSA contributions, so it's supposed to be "cheaper" than this year's system.)
Either way, having good insurance ROCKS. Having NO insurance SUCKS. And that's true no matter what your race/gender/income level are. And it's still true whether we all have gov't single-payer insurance or private insurance or both. If you can't be covered, or can't pay for coverage, basically the US social-economic powers have said "go away and die; its better for everyone else". |
