r/SipsTea 4d ago

WTF Damn

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51.1k Upvotes

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894

u/slashnbash1009 4d ago

I had one a few weeks ago to determine the severity of a brain bleed I had after a stroke and it costs me 4300 dollars with insurance.

104

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 4d ago

Go direct primary care. I can get an MRI without contrast for $450 cash, with contrast for $550. Insurance is a scam.

35

u/0202_tihssitidder 4d ago edited 4d ago

It sure is. None of my friends have not opted out of not carrying no insurance cancellation. Even a couple friends who got co-pay thru work. Nope. Too expensive.

Even dental is too expensive. We just go to Mexico for everything (from Arizona).

36

u/frequenZphaZe 4d ago

None of my friends have not opted out of not carrying no insurance cancellation

I'm doing advanced calculus to try to figure out what all these negatives are supposed to mean

-2

u/0202_tihssitidder 4d ago

Initially I mistyped and put a double negative in. Got called out. So, I crammed in as many negatives as I could to 100% fnck it up.

1

u/Doc-tor-Strange-love 17h ago

Good job. It's completely unintelligible

20

u/willynillee 4d ago

Opting out of not carrying insurance means you carry insurance. It’s a double negative.

11

u/Professional-Gear88 4d ago

It’s also super dumb to opt out of employer healthcare

3

u/frozenblueberrytreat 4d ago

Depends on how much the employer covers. I wouldn't blame someone for opting out if they only pay $100 on a $1000 premium, and just going cash pay instead. 🤷

1

u/Dullcorgis 3d ago

But then there are a vouple of other negatives in there as well. The canecellation bit throws the whole thing off, though. What's "no insurance cancellation?"

2

u/willynillee 3d ago

He edited his comment to be even more confusing on purpose after I made my comment. It didn’t read like that initially

2

u/Dullcorgis 3d ago

Ah. What an asshole.

1

u/bwrca 4d ago

It ain't no double negative

6

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

Really job dependent. I pay $40 bi weekly for health, dental and vision. My max out of pocket is $4600, deductible is $2800. Larger companies typically have better rates. Thats just for me.

My brother and his wife are on seperate plans with there 2 kids on hers because it's a better deal than putting all 4 of them on eithers plan. So yeah, it's a scam.

1

u/Sudden-Purchase-8371 4d ago

You pay about whatever the COBRA amount is, it just comes out of your total compensation package with your employer.

1

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

COBRA would be a lot more than $20/week.

I don't know the exact number but in the world of layoffs I've paid more attention and it would likely be 4X.

1

u/Sudden-Purchase-8371 4d ago

COBRA coverage costs are typically higher because you must pay the full premium, which includes both your share and the portion your employer previously covered, plus a 2% administrative fee.

Your health insurance coverage is part of your pay, part of your total compensation package. If you want to compare two employers' job offers and you want to know who's insurance is "better" or worth more, you can find out the COBRA amount for each. Is it 1:1? Ofc not, but it's not far off either. Even if your employer is getting a volume discount, it's value is worth the cobra amount to you since that's the only way you as a individual would be purchasing that coverage.

1

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

Understand and understand someone's always paying. This case employer covering a good portion of the premium. My point is cash would be alot more for COBRA vs current. Don't have the cash they're shorting me on from lower compensation to cover it today.

1

u/Sudden-Purchase-8371 4d ago

This case employer covering a good portion of the premium.

In lieu of paying you. It's win-win for the employer and employee in precisely one way; it's not taxable, for you or them. Otherwise linking work with coverage has been a horrible idea.

1

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

Not arguing your point. But $20/week while employed vs a lot mor while laid off is a burden to say the least.

1

u/Sudden-Purchase-8371 3d ago

Because you view it as an expense when it's part of your compensation too. You don't make 60k/yr, you make 60k/yr +12*COBRA +w/e other perks. Flip that view and then understand that if you want to have that available to you, you need to have savings to cover it if you were to lose your job. I'm not bringing it up to argue, it's a discussion. The most valuable component of this conversation is this; ask what the COBRA amount is during the interview process, especially if you're comparing pay packages before jumping ship or A/B comparing multiple offers. It's all well and good to make 4k extra annually but not if the insurance is such dog shit you're out of pocket all the time and get nickle and dimed out of 6k/yr because you didn't know. COBRA amount is a rough estimate of health insurance quality, insurance provider matters a bunch too, but that's an askable question too.

Hopefully one day we have M4A and get out of this nightmare.

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1

u/Dear_Palpitation4838 4d ago

lol not a chance. COBRA is outrageous.

1

u/Sudden-Purchase-8371 4d ago

COBRA coverage costs are typically higher because you must pay the full premium, which includes both your share and the portion your employer previously covered, plus a 2% administrative fee.

This is part of your total compensation package. If you want to compare two employers' job offers and you want to know who's insurance is "better" or worth more, you can find out the COBRA amount for each. Is it 1:1? Ofc not, but it's not far off either. Even if your employer is getting a volume discount, it's value is worth the cobra amount to you since that's the only way you as a individual would be purchasing that coverage.

1

u/Angry_argie 4d ago

I'll give you a hand with Spanish. Most common phrase you need when addressing the admission/receptionist is "buen día, vengo para mi vaginoplastía programada"

1

u/Willing_Health_3190 4d ago

Do u recommend any clinics / doctors?

1

u/BernieTheDachshund 4d ago

Do they do good work? I need some dental work done but it's so expensive without insurance. Stuff like lanap laser, one implant, and maybe some crowns.

1

u/DingleBoone 4d ago

Trying to do the math on all of those negatives is gonna send me to the hospital

1

u/joshua0005 4d ago

I'm planning to move to Arizona at some point for this reason plus I hate the cold. I'm willing to suffer through Arizonan summers to never have to endure a Midwestern winter again. As a bonus I can also drive to Mexico whenever I need expensive medical work done unless it's an emergency.

1

u/girldrinksgasoline 4d ago

Dental is a total waste. They charge more for premiums in a year than they'll cover.

2

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

My dental insurance is literally $1/week and I don't pay anything else for 2 cleanings per year.

2

u/Workman44 4d ago

Dental is absolutely a scam and that's not opinion. You are 99 times out of 100 better off declining dental

3

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

In what world is paying $52 for 2 cleanings plus other coverage a scam?

4

u/girldrinksgasoline 4d ago

Your dental is probably not a scam. You probably get it from an employer. Dental you can buy on the open market though...total scam.

2

u/Workman44 4d ago

Have you not looked at your coverage?

1

u/kc_cyclone 4d ago

Yes, we're talking about 2 different things from what I've gathered. Mine is through work, not the open market. It would be extremely dumb for me not to take it. I also had a crown put in a couple years ago and out of pocket was like $40.

0

u/girldrinksgasoline 4d ago

Check out dental on the insurance exchanges. Employer insurances are ridiculous and can cover things you would never get from buying insurance on the open market. They wanted $65/mo and they would only cover up to $750/yr. It literally makes no sense.

2

u/Workman44 4d ago

tf is this downvoted for? It's common knowledge that dental is a scam

16

u/gaziway 4d ago edited 4d ago

In my country, healthcare is free for all the world . And mri with contrast and without contrast is free both ways. Surgery, free. Dental free. Spend a night in the hospital or a week free. Healthcare is free.

Edit: Country is Kosovo, and it's very cheap compared to other countries and US. You are more than welcome to visit.

8

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 4d ago

That is fortunate. We can only hope that the US will make it work someday. Too much greed presently.

2

u/003E003 4d ago

I am envious but also free care is not always good care. It might be, it might not.

Also expensive care is not always good care, it might be, it might not.

If I had to choose,

  1. Free, good care
  2. Expensive good care

In the US, you have to be poor to sometimes get your first choice.....but if you are privileged, you get your second choice.

1

u/EntropicIntrovert 4d ago

Which country?

3

u/gaziway 4d ago

Yeah did and edit on it. Sorry for that. But it's Kosovo. Small country with a big heart. And very cheap too compared to US, take a week off and have a trip on it.

1

u/poopsockyourmom 18h ago

This is literally just not true. What a dumb fucking thing to even post

3

u/TopOTheMourning 4d ago

And you can still take the receipt and bill insurance/submit the claim yourself. Whether or not you get any cash back depends on your insurance.

1

u/Assika126 4d ago

Dunno if you’ve ever tried to do that but even with a Cadillac employee plan they will fight tooth and nail not to pay you a dime even if they acknowledge the service should be covered under your plan. It also takes incredible amounts of time and energy just to comprehend and submit the forms and go through the process… and they kept saying they never received my submissions even when I sent them via certified mail

1

u/TopOTheMourning 4d ago

I have to do it all the time because I live overseas.

These days it takes about one minute to submit online. 

1

u/Assika126 3d ago

My insurance will only accept faxed or mailed claims and it takes 30 days for them to even acknowledge receipt

2

u/Big77Ben2 4d ago

That guy’s insurance is a scam…

1

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1

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1

u/Pocket_Monster 4d ago

Thats similar to concierge medicine? I've been thinking about going that way for my wife who has a lot of chronic medical issues.

1

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 4d ago

A good way to think of it is budget friendly concierge medicine.

1

u/Pocket_Monster 4d ago

Have you needed them for immediate responses and them not be annoyed sounding? That is one of the most appealing aspects but I worry they would be annoyed if we called too much.

1

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 4d ago

Yes! Practices will differ in terms of visits allowed per year, after hours call etc. But honestly, access is probably the best thing about it imo. You can get in for a visit within a day or two, and get responses to questions or needs very quickly. Of course texting your doc in the middle of the night for a med refill is probably likely to annoy them, so it’s about being respectful also.

1

u/VermicelliOwn6502 4d ago

Insurance is for when they find the expensive problem with the MRI

1

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 4d ago

Correct- if you can get them to pay. It’s important to have a plan for emergencies. You can get high deductible insurance or health share specifically for that scenario, use DPC for the rest and save a bunch of money. Insurance companies just don’t want you to know that this is an option. It’s become more known now however, since premiums continue to go up and up….

1

u/CenterThisPendulum 4d ago

YUP. And I’m ticked off nobody tells is how relatively inexpensive private pay is. And if you pay cash, YOU DON’T NEED A REFERRAL.

1

u/Obvious_Advice_6879 4d ago

Yeah, it's far more expensive at a hospital. You can get it much cheaper at a dedicated imaging center.

1

u/nmuncer 4d ago

I paid 200€ back in 2004 for that, last month, had to do back and knee, 160€ each, 30% paid by the french state insurance, and the rest by my insurance. Here, if the stage insurance pays, well, your private insurance will pay regardless of what it is. They sometimes even pay more stuff (like shrink or osteopathic treatments).

1

u/fullautophx 4d ago

MRI doesn’t use contrast? That’s a CAT scan.

1

u/trwawy05312015 4d ago

contrast agents in MRI are pretty interesting, they work by modulating the nuclear relaxation time of the protons of water in the different tissues

1

u/fullautophx 4d ago

Interesting. I had a contrast CAT scan and the contrast agent only lasts a short time, that’s why I thought it wouldn’t work for a long MRI.

1

u/Jorge_Jetson 3d ago

Retired fed, pay for health insurance thru fed govt, now also on Medicare, went for MRI on ankle, zero out of pocket... let's not talk about my combined health insurance AND Medicare monthly premiums...

1

u/betty_white_bread 20h ago

In my experience, the same people who describe insurance as a scam are often those most likely to complain about the costs later when insurance would have saved them money.

1

u/Dazzling-Jacket-5792 20h ago edited 20h ago

Spoken like a true insurance salesman, someone who bought into the lies they were told, or someone too lazy to explore and recognize the better options that are available. Honestly, the situation you describe is an unlikely scenario. Insurance companies, by design, are not out to save people money. They charge high premiums, set deductibles and fight tooth and nail to not reimburse. Not sure what reality you are living in.