Health Care Without Health Insurance

[alan1]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

 

[Bern80]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

I think many on here would call you a liar or living in fantasy land. No insurance to some seems to be considered a death sentence. They act as if hospitals won't work with people to cover their medical expenses. Even with insurance I have received bills that I simply couldn't afford to pay all at once. I have contacted the hospital's business office and they have always been willing to break the bill up into multiple payments over time. Why do people think hospitals wouldn't allow people to do that for the entire cost of a service? And there's also community support. I don't not what it's like in the big city, but typically in smaller towns if someone or someone's kid has a major illness there will some type of community dinner or fundraiser to raise money for their expenses. The point is, insurance is not the only way one has to deal with healthcare costs.

 

[Douger]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

A friend of mine wound up with peritonitis .14 daze in intensive care and one surgery. $640,000. Noop. No insurance. Think you could swing that ?
He tosses them a bone or two a few times a year to keep the Jew lawyers away..The Un-Knighted States of M-pyre and it's Jew owned health care and insurance cartel is a mother fucking joke.
I hope you took your foreign language studies seriously while in school. You'll need them.

 

[RDD_1210]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

How old are you now?

 

[alan1]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

I think many on here would call you a liar or living in fantasy land. No insurance to some seems to be considered a death sentence. They act as if hospitals won't work with people to cover their medical expenses. Even with insurance I have received bills that I simply couldn't afford to pay all at once. I have contacted the hospital's business office and they have always been willing to break the bill up into multiple payments over time. Why do people think hospitals wouldn't allow people to do that for the entire cost of a service? And there's also community support. I don't not what it's like in the big city, but typically in smaller towns if someone or someone's kid has a major illness there will some type of community dinner or fundraiser to raise money for their expenses. The point is, insurance is not the only way one has to deal with healthcare costs.

That was my point.

 

[alan1]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

A friend of mine wound up with peritonitis .14 daze in intensive care and one surgery. $640,000. Noop. No insurance. Think you could swing that ?
He tosses them a bone or two a few times a year to keep the Jew lawyers away..The Un-Knighted States of M-pyre and it's Jew owned health care and insurance cartel is a mother fucking joke.
I hope you took your foreign language studies seriously while in school. You'll need them.

That's a bit different than having a child.
Nowadays I carry insurance for a reason.

 

[alan1]

Back in my early 20's I was working full time and putting myself through college. Whilst doing so, I met a young lady also working her way through college. We fell in love and got married.
Now, we were both young healthy and still in college. We opted to not add my new bride to my employer sponsored medical insurance. (her employer didn't offer health insurance)
Since life tends to throw people challenges some times, she ended up pregnant.

So, it was too late to add her to my insurance as the pregnancy was now a "pre-existing condition". What was a young couple to do?
We decided to both stay in school, both keep working, have the baby and pay for the medical care ourselves. Trust me, that was not an easy task to accomplish. But we did it.

In today's world, it seems that some think that it would be impossible to financially accomplish having a child without having insurance pay for the associated medical costs of pre-natal care and birth. It wasn't then, and I don't think it is today. It's more a matter of being responsible for the decisions you make and paying for those decisions. And that can include making financial sacrifices in other areas of your life.

Who else here has opted out of medical insurance at some point in their life and still managed to pay their medical bills when the time came for medical need?
I'll bet it's quite a few.

How old are you now?

40's.
How old are you?

 

[Granny]

I've been covered except for one year I think ... so I was very careful. I'm fortunate that I've never had really big medical bills other than for neck surgery. Basically it's been regular doctor's check-ups and prescription claims.

Today, with ObamaCare springing forth, I'm afraid to go to any doctor, because I don't know how much information will be given to people who I don't want to have the info. Also, I want to keep premium increases as low as possible. I'm not a spring chicken anymore and I don't want to be euthanized because I happen to have wrinkles or gray hair.

The federal government should not have any decision-making power over anybody when it comes to healthcare. Period. And MountainMan is right - there are those who think they're ENTITLED to have their every whim granted ... and do not think they should bear any RESPONSIBILITY for anything.

 

[Sunshine]

Health insurance was not heard of in my parents' day. Once my mother was cleaning out some things and found the cancelled check they had written to the hospital when I was born. My husband and I had insurance, but the OBGYN made sure we had our 'copay' paid off by the time the baby arrived. We paid on it every month.

I think people lack understanding of the true purpose of health insurance. The purpose of insurance of any kind is to spread the risk around over a large group so that no one person will bear a tremendous loss with a catastrophe. Unfortunately, with health insurance doctors and hospitals have come to see it as their own private gold mine. Working people have come to think of their employer provided insurance and 'private' insurance, and it is not. Chances are those same people couldn't even buy 'private' insurance. I know of one woman who in 25 years only had one claim on her 'private' insurance, and they cancelled her.

In the last 40+ years, I have only been without insurance for a 3 month waiting period. During that time, I had an orthopedic injury and waited for the insurance to kick in before getting the surgery. Fortunately, I could do that.

Now, I have an illness that costs upward of $20K/month. My insurance pays. It is a lot, I know. There will, however, be others on this same plan who never have a claim, or who only have small claims. But they have enrolled in order to reduce their financial risk in the health care market should anything catastrophic occur.

I daresay, MountainMan, if you or your wife had an illness like mine, and not just a childbirth claim, you would think differently about covering yourselves. Your assets would be gone in a flash. You would be begging the drug company to assist you, which they would certainly do, but in reality, it was YOUR choice not to cover yourself in case of a catastrophic illness. So why should they? Why should you be a charity case when you chose not to be responsible?

 

[alan1]

Health insurance was not heard of in my parents' day. Once my mother was cleaning out some things and found the cancelled check they had written to the hospital when I was born. My husband and I had insurance, but the OBGYN made sure we had our 'copay' paid off by the time the baby arrived. We paid on it every month.

I think people lack understanding of the true purpose of health insurance. The purpose of insurance of any kind is to spread the risk around over a large group so that no one person will bear a tremendous loss with a catastrophe. Unfortunately, with health insurance doctors and hospitals have come to see it as their own private gold mine. Working people have come to think of their employer provided insurance and 'private' insurance, and it is not. Chances are those same people couldn't even buy 'private' insurance. I know of one woman who in 25 years only had one claim on her 'private' insurance, and they cancelled her.

In the last 40+ years, I have only been without insurance for a 3 month waiting period. During that time, I had an orthopedic injury and waited for the insurance to kick in before getting the surgery. Fortunately, I could do that.

Now, I have an illness that costs upward of $20K/month. My insurance pays. It is a lot, I know. There will, however, be others on this same plan who never have a claim, or who only have small claims. But they have enrolled in order to reduce their financial risk in the health care market should anything catastrophic occur.

I daresay, MountainMan, if you or your wife had an illness like mine, and not just a childbirth claim, you would think differently about covering yourselves. Your assets would be gone in a flash. You would be begging the drug company to assist you, which they would certainly do, but in reality, it was YOUR choice not to cover yourself in case of a catastrophic illness. So why should they? Why should you be a charity case when you chose not to be responsible?

Ms Sunshine,
I do have health insurance. We opted out of health insurance for her back when we were young and healthy and we paid the bill.
I'm still healthy, just not young anymore.

I agree with you, medical insurance is for catastrophic occurrences. Unfortunately, most medical insurance these days is used for health maintenance also, which is not insurance in and of itself.

 

[Sunshine]

Health insurance was not heard of in my parents' day. Once my mother was cleaning out some things and found the cancelled check they had written to the hospital when I was born. My husband and I had insurance, but the OBGYN made sure we had our 'copay' paid off by the time the baby arrived. We paid on it every month.

I think people lack understanding of the true purpose of health insurance. The purpose of insurance of any kind is to spread the risk around over a large group so that no one person will bear a tremendous loss with a catastrophe. Unfortunately, with health insurance doctors and hospitals have come to see it as their own private gold mine. Working people have come to think of their employer provided insurance and 'private' insurance, and it is not. Chances are those same people couldn't even buy 'private' insurance. I know of one woman who in 25 years only had one claim on her 'private' insurance, and they cancelled her.

In the last 40+ years, I have only been without insurance for a 3 month waiting period. During that time, I had an orthopedic injury and waited for the insurance to kick in before getting the surgery. Fortunately, I could do that.

Now, I have an illness that costs upward of $20K/month. My insurance pays. It is a lot, I know. There will, however, be others on this same plan who never have a claim, or who only have small claims. But they have enrolled in order to reduce their financial risk in the health care market should anything catastrophic occur.

I daresay, MountainMan, if you or your wife had an illness like mine, and not just a childbirth claim, you would think differently about covering yourselves. Your assets would be gone in a flash. You would be begging the drug company to assist you, which they would certainly do, but in reality, it was YOUR choice not to cover yourself in case of a catastrophic illness. So why should they? Why should you be a charity case when you chose not to be responsible?

Ms Sunshine,
I do have health insurance. We opted out of health insurance for her back when we were young and healthy and we paid the bill.
I'm still healthy, just not young anymore.

I agree with you, medical insurance is for catastrophic occurrences. Unfortunately, most medical insurance these days is used for health maintenance also, which is not insurance in and of itself.

Actually insurance pays for health maintenance so it will not have to pay for sicknesses that would otherwise occur. I am in complete agreement with paying for health maintenance. It results in saving BIG bucks. Episodic sick care is what costs so much.

 

[alan1]

Health insurance was not heard of in my parents' day. Once my mother was cleaning out some things and found the cancelled check they had written to the hospital when I was born. My husband and I had insurance, but the OBGYN made sure we had our 'copay' paid off by the time the baby arrived. We paid on it every month.

I think people lack understanding of the true purpose of health insurance. The purpose of insurance of any kind is to spread the risk around over a large group so that no one person will bear a tremendous loss with a catastrophe. Unfortunately, with health insurance doctors and hospitals have come to see it as their own private gold mine. Working people have come to think of their employer provided insurance and 'private' insurance, and it is not. Chances are those same people couldn't even buy 'private' insurance. I know of one woman who in 25 years only had one claim on her 'private' insurance, and they cancelled her.

In the last 40+ years, I have only been without insurance for a 3 month waiting period. During that time, I had an orthopedic injury and waited for the insurance to kick in before getting the surgery. Fortunately, I could do that.

Now, I have an illness that costs upward of $20K/month. My insurance pays. It is a lot, I know. There will, however, be others on this same plan who never have a claim, or who only have small claims. But they have enrolled in order to reduce their financial risk in the health care market should anything catastrophic occur.

I daresay, MountainMan, if you or your wife had an illness like mine, and not just a childbirth claim, you would think differently about covering yourselves. Your assets would be gone in a flash. You would be begging the drug company to assist you, which they would certainly do, but in reality, it was YOUR choice not to cover yourself in case of a catastrophic illness. So why should they? Why should you be a charity case when you chose not to be responsible?

Ms Sunshine,
I do have health insurance. We opted out of health insurance for her back when we were young and healthy and we paid the bill.
I'm still healthy, just not young anymore.

I agree with you, medical insurance is for catastrophic occurrences. Unfortunately, most medical insurance these days is used for health maintenance also, which is not insurance in and of itself.

Actually insurance pays for health maintenance so it will not have to pay for sicknesses that would otherwise occur. I am in complete agreement with paying for health maintenance. It results in saving BIG bucks. Episodic sick care is what costs so much.

Obviously, my auto insurance should pay for brake jobs (maintenance) in order to prevent accidents caused by brake failure. Oh wait, that would be ridiculous.
As you said, insurance is to protect against catastrophic loss. Life insurance doesn't prevent death nor reduce the possibility of dying.

 

[Sunshine]

Ms Sunshine,
I do have health insurance. We opted out of health insurance for her back when we were young and healthy and we paid the bill.
I'm still healthy, just not young anymore.

I agree with you, medical insurance is for catastrophic occurrences. Unfortunately, most medical insurance these days is used for health maintenance also, which is not insurance in and of itself.

Actually insurance pays for health maintenance so it will not have to pay for sicknesses that would otherwise occur. I am in complete agreement with paying for health maintenance. It results in saving BIG bucks. Episodic sick care is what costs so much.

Obviously, my auto insurance should pay for brake jobs (maintenance) in order to prevent accidents caused by brake failure. Oh wait, that would be ridiculous.
As you said, insurance is to protect against catastrophic loss. Life insurance doesn't prevent death nor reduce the possibility of dying.

If your brakes failed, you could simply stop driving the car. A person with heart failure, which is an ongoing problem and requires maintenance, can't simply sto using their heart.

Of course life insurance doesn't prevent death nor reduce the possibiliy of dying. But not having it certainly increases the possibility of death due to lack of adequate health maintenance.

Had I not gotten admitted to Vanderbilt when I did, I am positive I would not have lived another week. And you know the hell of it. My insurance covers this expensive and rare illness I have. But my cardiologist said and I quote: 'We get two or three like you every year and we never know what to do with them. Generally, their insurance won't pay for Vanderbilt or for the meds.' Isn't that lovely. I wasn't referred because the MD assumed my insurance was no good for this illness. I will live a little longer, not long enough to see my grandson grown, but maybe to see him graduate from kindergarten. But I have to wonder how many there have been who were just getting blood pressure medicine and waiting to die! Like I was.