Comments on: How To Pay For Surgery Without Health Insurance

By: Tom Baba

Tom Baba — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:18:19 +0000

Great article! My perspective is NO health care insurance at all! What we never hear is what the cost of health care would be if competition was between the providers. Let’s see the physicians, hospitals, labs, dentists etc compete and watch prices of health care come plumeting down. If the costs are too high, make payments. Afterall, what do we think premiums are? At least payments would only be until the bill was paid off. Premiums are paid all of our lives even when we are not needing care. No one
between you and your doctor, no discrimination for pre-existing conditions or age or sickness or too heavy for your weight. Also, what would be eliminated, fraud. Even prevention would be possible. Join a gym, it’s cheaper than health care bills. What you never hear is, why do we have health care insurance? It was created so the providers would get paid! It wasn’t for us. So why are we supporting a billion dollar industry? If some are very poor, give them Medicaid.

By: Affording Healthcare - Update On My Surgery Post | Career Management Alliance Blog

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:13:08 +0000

[...] Blog. Posted under Unsyndicated on August 17th, 2009 A few thoughts since I wrote about paying for surgery when you don’t have health insurance. First, I need to say that while I don’t have health insurance, it isn’t because I don’t want [...]

By: JibberJobber Blog » Blog Archive » Affording Healthcare - Update On My Surgery Post

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:33:26 +0000

[...] A few thoughts since I wrote about paying for surgery when you don’t have health insurance. [...]

By: Linda Law

Linda Law — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:28:20 +0000

No, I disagree, that peace of mind isn’t worth the premium we’re paying for!!! So many peoples stuck in bad jobs just to keep to have health insurance coverage for themselves & most importantly their families, how pathetic is that!??

Thanks, Jason, for reminding, not only shopping around for better prices but also ask for various payment terms! I checked myself into the General hospital ER (didn’t have health insurance), I asked for installment payments as I was unemployed without insurance. Knock-on-wood, I still have no insurance but I don’t lose sleep over it! It makes me vomit just thinking of how expensive these costs have become! I say, REFORM is the way to go, the system needs desperately AN OVERHAUL!

By: Cameron

Cameron — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:47:00 +0000

This is the type of reform needed. Self pay makes prices go down as health care providers compete for your money.

Obviously, some form of catastrophic insurance would be needed in case of large medical bills, but for just about everything else you can pay it yourself. Just take what you’re currently spending on premiums and put it in a savings account to be used when little Tommy goes to the doctor.

I have a Health Savings Account, which works similarly. Unfortunately, I still have to pay fairly high premiums, but they are slightly lower than a conventional plan’s premium. I pocket the savings and put money into an interest bearing savings account with pre-tax dollars. We just had a baby and it worked really well.

By: Helen Clement

Helen Clement — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:46:28 +0000

I guess times have changed in more than one way. I had my third child in 1991 without health insurance. No discounts were available and we had to pay cash up front or they would not see us. The prenatal care, delivery, and only 18 hours in the hospital for mother & child cost 20% of our gross income that year. We paid cash as demanded but many other expenses went on credit cards, beginning the debt that oppressed us until the final part of it was paid off only a few months ago, when our daughter was 17 & 1/2 and 7 & 1/2 years after we divorced….

Jason, I really hope your luck holds, but I don’t know anyone whose luck did hold. In my experience it gives out around the age of 45, if not earlier.

By: pat nichol

pat nichol — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:27:03 +0000

Wow! As a Canadian, I tend to be quite blase about medical expenses. However, I salute you for talking about this. I will give odds that most people would never think that they had the option of looking and price checking or….. even asking for a discount. Thanks for opening my eyes.

By: Marcia R

Marcia R — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:22:14 +0000

We had a 6 month period when we moved from California back to the east coast where we had no health insurance and I know I did not sleep well. If my son climbed a tree, I would tell him to get down, if my daughter ran, I would tell her to walk. I think I was a basket case and just like with car and home sleep better knowing that I can always get the help we need.

We have insurance now through my husband’s employer, but notice that things have slowly crept up even in the last year. Between copays and allergy medicine we spent over $500 last month – so I know that even with insurance costs are rising.

They now have wellness clinics in the CVS in PA where we live and my husband went there a few weeks ago, because he felt an eye infection coming on. The doctor on duty was thorough and called him on Monday to check up on him. That was$65. I agree that insurance should be more about catastrophic illnesses…kinda like car insurance. I should be able to pay for well check or simple visit just as I would an oil change (more money of course).

Something must be done, but my fear is that I hear nothing about an incremental approach which is my preference.

Keep mom and baby well!

Marcie

By: Jen S

Jen S — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:07:03 +0000

While you may be able to negotiate with hospitals and pre-pay to get such deals, you might not have the same luck paying for doctor bills outside a hospital.

My GP charges me $90 per visit!

But I have found 2 significant discounts: buying my meds through Walmart (Walgreens can’t compare, even with their discount card), AND getting blood tests done through a firm that contracts with labs across the nation. So, for what Quest or Tower Diagnostics would charge me for a two blood tests ($300, once!!) I can have done by Private MD Labs for maybe $100 or less.

By: bill

bill — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:42:28 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Jason. Both the baby delivery and your wife’s surgery had some “lead time” — i.e. you’ll have time to comparison-shopping. However, in the case of ER, the patient and family would not be able to compare-shop. For example, one of my little ones was rushed to hospital by ambulance and stayed in ER for a few hours. In the end, he was okay. But, the total stay cost about $30K. Fortunately, I have the whole family covered under my health insurance.

So, I’m curious: why you don’t have health insurance to cover your family?