You don't pay the deductible for many typical services if you're in-network. We have a mid-tier United Healthcare plan, and we only ever pay a $25 copay per doctor visit.
United Healthcare's net profit margin is about half that of Chipotle in a good year: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/UNH/unitedhealth-g... https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/CMG/chipotle-mexic...
I pay around $1100 a month for me and my two children through my employer. Yes; I have a $25 copay for many services, but most are simply not covered under that $25 copay. They refused an age-appropriate colonoscopy last year. It's basically fucking useless and expensive.
So; is it worth it anymore? No. Is it necessary? Yes; unfortunately.
I just took a look at our annual medical contributions and employer's part.
We pay just over 10k for health insurance through our (different) companies. Our different employers cover almost 28k. So around 38k for insurance. This doesn't even include dental or vision which is separate.
It just seems so crazy how much we pay and still have deductibles. I understand we have small copays and get items covered like age-related screenings but this just feels excessive.
Just talk to people in the healthcare industry about what kind of patients they have. We cover a tremendous amount of treatments in the U.S., at an arguably unsustainable level of service.
My aunt had a kidney infection in Canada and my cousin had to pull teeth to get her scheduled for an MRI. My five year old got a black eye from running into a table and they scheduled him for an X-ray and CAT scan (“just in case “) later that same morning. Had the results by lunch. My dad had a non-emergency scan scheduled the next day, and an outpatient procedure for a kidney stent (to treat high blood pressure) within two weeks. Once the surgeon was in there he realized my dad didn’t need a stent after all.
Here in the US, I see wait times for medical care comparable from what I hear from my Canadian friends. I don't think we our system can really tout that as an advantage over theirs.
Where are you located? E.g. the average wait times for CT scans and MRIs in Canada is weeks: https://canjhealthtechnol.ca/index.php/cjht/article/download.... UK NHS is 6-18 weeks. Here in suburban Maryland I’ve never had to wait more than a day or two for anything.
I’ve never had anything that available (outside of urgent care which imo is not very good). None of this had an immediate need.
MRI a few years ago had a month and a half wait (not urgent but recommended).
Pediatrician? At least 3 months and thats IF they take new patients.
Allergist, 6 month waiting list.
My last PCP I had to book out 2 months in advance (the practice I wanted to go to was booked 6 months out).
We are also suburbs of a big city.
It's not about wait times, it's about excessive scanning and endless, marginal-benefit end of life care
The people who opposed socialized medicine by fear-mongering about “death panels” can’t now complain that their preferred system provides limitless, marginal benefit end of life care. That’s the trade off THEY argued for and said THEIR system could do.
What about the people living in the same country who didn't oppose socialized medicine or fear monger about death panels? Can they complain that their non-preferred system sucks every bit as much as they always knew it would, and advocate for improving it, or are they forever bound to suffer karmic justice for what other people did over a decade ago?
[dead]
I pay 8% from my salary for mandatory government health "insurance" which is basically a tax as there are enormous waiting queues for something serious.
Yeah, I think that's a big part of the overall grievance. If we paid these high premiums and got great care, that'd be one thing. But I've almost never walked away from a sizeable medical expense in my family thinking I wasn't being ripped off somehow.
What is a typical service that you only pay $25? This year I had two shoulder injuries. I paid for every single thing (doctor visits, X-Ray, MRI, Physical Therapy).
For my family, annual screenings are around a $40 copay (no other bills after). I think I paid that for some age related screenings.
I only go to the doctor for the kids. So checkups, vaccines, ear infections, minor injuries, etc.
Profit margins are irrelevant if you inflate your costs to reduce them.
Not really... If you want more $s by inflating costs and keeping the margin constant, then you will need more capital for paying these higher costs. This additional capital will either come from equity or from debt. Currently both equity and debt are expensive....
Profit margin is quite relevant...
The capital comes from raising premiums.
Mine went from $3k/month to $3.6k/month this year.
Bonus points if you can steer the increased costs to providers you own. https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/25/unitedhealth-higher-paym...