What ever happened to wampum?
You know how they say that money is the root of all evil? Following that belief, if we did away with money, wouldn't the world be a better place? Especially for those of us who do not have a ton of money?
Here's my dilemma. We are expecting our second babe. I do not have health insurance because the insurance through my job is outrageously expensive at the moment and when it came time to enroll in it, I didn't because of 1.) the cost and 2.) without the certainty of a contract next fall, it would probably be canceled on me before the birth. What is the point?
Hubby does not have insurance because he operates under his own business and is an independent contractor, a popular way people get employed down here because the employers do not have the expense of providing benefits.
Don't qualify for Medicaid. Make way too much money.
So that leaves me in the self-pay bracket. Surprisingly, I am ok with that. I am doing a homebirth so the cost starts out pretty low. When researching the option of using my crotch doctor at the hospital, the minimum was $13,500. That is without providing me with after care essentials or my baby with diapers or a tshirt. Screw that. I'd rather take my chances at home and file for bankruptcy later should I have to transport.
Anyway, back to wampum. My situation makes me realize just how nasty money can be. I used to work in the medical field, the business side, and I know just how inflated the cost gets when a doctor bills and insurance company. They start with an acceptable minimum. They generally increase that by 150% for services and the sky is the limit for products. I have personally seen a $10 item get billed to my insurance for $185. I know exactly how much the item cost because the physical therapist bought their products from the company I used to work for!
Insurance companies will determine a reasonable and customary amount allowed, making the biller write off the overage. Then, the insurance pays a percentage and the patient is bill the remainder. In the end, the doctor usually gets at least his acceptable minimum. Of course, sometimes a patient will skip out or an insurance company will not pay and the provider takes a loss, but do not think for a second that the poor provider is in the red. They still make a killing or else they would not be in the business.
It is a total racket. Health insurance sucks. The last year hubby and I had health coverage, our total cost between copays, uncovered services, premiums and other crap was close to $16,000. If we would have paid for each product and each procedure with cast, our total out of pocket expense would have been around $7,000.
Yeah, I know.
Insurance is good for catastrophes unless you are fortunate enough to have a kick-ass plan and a kick-ass employer who values employee health. And if that is the case, I am going to kick your ass. Pregnant belly and all, I will leap like a lemur and crush you.
Why can't we just use wampum? Or chocolate? Or roast beef sandwiches?
Here's my dilemma. We are expecting our second babe. I do not have health insurance because the insurance through my job is outrageously expensive at the moment and when it came time to enroll in it, I didn't because of 1.) the cost and 2.) without the certainty of a contract next fall, it would probably be canceled on me before the birth. What is the point?
Hubby does not have insurance because he operates under his own business and is an independent contractor, a popular way people get employed down here because the employers do not have the expense of providing benefits.
Don't qualify for Medicaid. Make way too much money.
So that leaves me in the self-pay bracket. Surprisingly, I am ok with that. I am doing a homebirth so the cost starts out pretty low. When researching the option of using my crotch doctor at the hospital, the minimum was $13,500. That is without providing me with after care essentials or my baby with diapers or a tshirt. Screw that. I'd rather take my chances at home and file for bankruptcy later should I have to transport.
Anyway, back to wampum. My situation makes me realize just how nasty money can be. I used to work in the medical field, the business side, and I know just how inflated the cost gets when a doctor bills and insurance company. They start with an acceptable minimum. They generally increase that by 150% for services and the sky is the limit for products. I have personally seen a $10 item get billed to my insurance for $185. I know exactly how much the item cost because the physical therapist bought their products from the company I used to work for!
Insurance companies will determine a reasonable and customary amount allowed, making the biller write off the overage. Then, the insurance pays a percentage and the patient is bill the remainder. In the end, the doctor usually gets at least his acceptable minimum. Of course, sometimes a patient will skip out or an insurance company will not pay and the provider takes a loss, but do not think for a second that the poor provider is in the red. They still make a killing or else they would not be in the business.
It is a total racket. Health insurance sucks. The last year hubby and I had health coverage, our total cost between copays, uncovered services, premiums and other crap was close to $16,000. If we would have paid for each product and each procedure with cast, our total out of pocket expense would have been around $7,000.
Yeah, I know.
Insurance is good for catastrophes unless you are fortunate enough to have a kick-ass plan and a kick-ass employer who values employee health. And if that is the case, I am going to kick your ass. Pregnant belly and all, I will leap like a lemur and crush you.
Why can't we just use wampum? Or chocolate? Or roast beef sandwiches?
Labels: chocolate, money, roast beef, wampum
posted by Lucy Lime @ 1:31 PM
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