New - The things that really annoy you

[Tredman]

Mad how anything vaguely medical related costs a fortune over there.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

Vets aren't exactly cheap here!

 

[Alan]

Don't even get me started on health insurance... As my income went up, my premiums went down and my coverage got better.

Fucking criminal, all of it.

 

[leedswolf]

Vets aren't exactly cheap here!

Average UK price for a she cat to be spayed is just under £110.

 

[Kenny]

Vets aren't exactly cheap here!

They are not but they are not nearly £1000 to spay a cat

 

[pagey]

They are not but they are not nearly £1000 to spay a cat

Would be worth every penny if it means no more cat shit on the garden!

 

[Stan Hullis]

Not sure that is how spaying works

 

[Tredman]

Trying to imagine what Pages thinks spaying is..

 

[Kenny]

It's the long game he is playing.

 

[pagey]

Reduced population! Infact, can't we sprinkle stuff on their kitty kat that saves them being spayed?

 

[UKYankieWWFC]

Don't even get me started on health insurance... As my income went up, my premiums went down and my coverage got better.

Fucking criminal, all of it.

I spent 8 hours in the emergency room back in July with heat stroke. I'm dreading the medical bill when it comes thru and I've got pretty decent insurance too
I went to my gp, 3 weeks after and he stated the hospital ran a bunch of tests 'just because'
Agreed criminal!!

 

[Alan]

I spent 8 hours in the emergency room back in July with heat stroke. I'm dreading the medical bill when it comes thru and I've got pretty decent insurance too
I went to my gp, 3 weeks after and he stated the hospital ran a bunch of tests 'just because'
Agreed criminal!!

Remember getting the bill for all the shit that they had to do after my first spontaneous pneumothorax... 4 days in the hospital, running up about $11,000/day. After taxes the total cost was over $50k.

I was still a "Dependent" so on my dad's very Bourgeois health insurance. We ended up paying about $4,000, all told. Which is still an amount of money than can absolutely ruin your life (or at least your year) if you owe it someone.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

And we have a government that would love to implement that kind of healthcare system over here. It will come eventually, once the NHS goes then it’s not coming back.

Obviously you don’t have it tell me but, out of interest, roughly how much does health insurance cost per month over there?

 

[Kenny]

Remember getting the bill for all the shit that they had to do after my first spontaneous pneumothorax... 4 days in the hospital, running up about $11,000/day. After taxes the total cost was over $50k.

I was still a "Dependent" so on my dad's very Bourgeois health insurance. We ended up paying about $4,000, all told. Which is still an amount of money than can absolutely ruin your life (or at least your year) if you owe it someone.

Whats the deal if you can't pay?

 

[Tony Towner]

Whats the deal if you can't pay?

You don't get treated

 

[UKYankieWWFC]

And we have a government that would love to implement that kind of healthcare system over here. It will come eventually, once the NHS goes then it’s not coming back.

Obviously you don’t have it tell me but, out of interest, roughly how much does health insurance cost per month over there?

I'm currently paying about $150 (IIRC) per week for a family of 4.
That includes vision and dental. A&E visits and prescriptions
I'm thinking the bill I have to pay (with no diagnosis from the hospital) will be about $2400.
This included blood tests, ekg, CT scan and 4 aspirins!

 

[Kenny]

You don't get treated

Lovely.

So in Alan's case where he had a $4000 bill after insurance...if he couldn't pay that I presume insurance cancelled, credit score destroyed, chased for the debt and hoping he doesn't get ill again?

 

[UKYankieWWFC]

Lovely.

So in Alan's case where he had a $4000 bill after insurance...if he couldn't pay that I presume insurance cancelled, credit score destroyed, chased for the debt and hoping he doesn't get ill again?

I think it goes to collections yes. Which ultimately screws your credit up, however correct me if I am wrong Alan, can you not negotiate the final bill?

 

[Alan]

And we have a government that would love to implement that kind of healthcare system over here. It will come eventually, once the NHS goes then it’s not coming back.

Obviously you don’t have it tell me but, out of interest, roughly how much does health insurance cost per month over there?

I honestly wouldn't know. It's all so fucked. Suffice to say that I currently make nearly 10x as much money annually as I did when working in coffee, but my health insurance is better and 1/3 the price of what it was back then. So whatever seems like it might be a good rule of thumb for estimating, you can forget it. Add in the fact that most insurance doesn't cross state lines and you've got a recipe for a right cornucopia of bullshit.

Whats the deal if you can't pay?

Presumably you get given a line of credit at an absurd interest rate. Like insurance itself, this will probably vary wildly from state to state (maybe even from hospital to hospital).

You won't get denied care up front unless you have no insurance at all AFAIK. I'm sure some places have policies that allow them to work around that sort of thing, but it's not unheard of for the uninsured to simply be refused.

 

[Alan]

I think it goes to collections yes. Which ultimately screws your credit up, however correct me if I am wrong Alan, can you not negotiate the final bill?

You can try, but whether it's worth the effort becomes very tricky. Try to negotiate too hard and you may end up needing to match whatever lawyer the hospital can afford (spoiler: it's probably a better lawyer than Average Joe can afford).