Health Insurance for the middle class in the US sucks. From my personal experience, there is no other way for me to put it. Read below for more details on my US experience vs. Canada.
Here is a comparison so far:
United States in 2015
Amount of I have paid for insurance coverage out of pocket: $1,200 (COBRA and California Covered)
Amount of medical coverage it has provided: $0
Amount of medical expenses I will pay out of pocket: ~$1,500
Did I mention I also paid my taxes for 2014 on time?
Did I mention that if I did not pay insurance $1,200 I would be fined, thanks to new health laws?
Now I have employer provided coverage - but my deductible is so high I will pay another $1,500 for regular physical rehabilitation visits.
Canada in 2015
Amount of I have paid for insurance coverage out of pocket: $332
Amount of medical coverage it has provided: >$25,000 (hospital bills, surgery, prescriptions)
Amount of medical expenses I will pay out of pocket: ~$200 (for an air cast and some pain meds, which I will be reimbursed for).
This is not a political rant by any means. I don't blame Obama, Republicans, or Liberal Democrats. I blame the American people for letting banks and insurance companies enable lower income citizens to remain in a cycle of dependency, crushing the middle-class under taxes and out-of-pocket expenses, and making the rich even more rich. I blame the American people for letting both political parties scare us with divisive words like 'Communism', 'Free Healthcare for All', and 'Welfare-State'. We have stood by for the past 30 years watching this happen, all the while watching the opportunity to have a health care system founded on common sense disappear.
I blame myself too - health insurance is something I took for granted when it worked well because I was injury free. Now my well-being depends on seeking medical care.
Over the next few weeks I will be doing more research on the topic. Apparently I have a Health Savings Account that I can leverage for 2016. This just sounds like another scheme for health insurance agencies to make more money by manipulating common people and their poor ability to assess risk. How do I know how much to put in? How do I make sense of the piles of paper work? Let me guess - I should hire an attorney to help me figure it out?
Anyone have any free advice? Move to Canada?
United States in 2015
Amount of I have paid for insurance coverage out of pocket: $1,200 (COBRA and California Covered)
Amount of medical coverage it has provided: $0
Amount of medical expenses I will pay out of pocket: ~$1,500
Did I mention I also paid my taxes for 2014 on time?
Did I mention that if I did not pay insurance $1,200 I would be fined, thanks to new health laws?
Now I have employer provided coverage - but my deductible is so high I will pay another $1,500 for regular physical rehabilitation visits.
Canada in 2015
Amount of I have paid for insurance coverage out of pocket: $332
Amount of medical coverage it has provided: >$25,000 (hospital bills, surgery, prescriptions)
Amount of medical expenses I will pay out of pocket: ~$200 (for an air cast and some pain meds, which I will be reimbursed for).
This is not a political rant by any means. I don't blame Obama, Republicans, or Liberal Democrats. I blame the American people for letting banks and insurance companies enable lower income citizens to remain in a cycle of dependency, crushing the middle-class under taxes and out-of-pocket expenses, and making the rich even more rich. I blame the American people for letting both political parties scare us with divisive words like 'Communism', 'Free Healthcare for All', and 'Welfare-State'. We have stood by for the past 30 years watching this happen, all the while watching the opportunity to have a health care system founded on common sense disappear.
I blame myself too - health insurance is something I took for granted when it worked well because I was injury free. Now my well-being depends on seeking medical care.
Over the next few weeks I will be doing more research on the topic. Apparently I have a Health Savings Account that I can leverage for 2016. This just sounds like another scheme for health insurance agencies to make more money by manipulating common people and their poor ability to assess risk. How do I know how much to put in? How do I make sense of the piles of paper work? Let me guess - I should hire an attorney to help me figure it out?
Anyone have any free advice? Move to Canada?
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