Need to buy health insurance for two months in the USA.

[fuzzybabybunny]

There is a benefit to high deductible health plans even before you reach the deductible. Insurance companies negotiate lower rates for their customers, so they don't reach the deductible as soon as they would paying full price. This means high deductible health plans provide you a discount on health care.

OK, good. That's what I thought.

While on insurance and in-network, paying out of pocket for the stuff before you've reached your deductible is still cheaper than paying for the exact same things if you didn't have insurance.

My problem now is I'm outside of the open enrollment period and I don't know if "traveling for a long period outside of the US" is a valid reason for qualifying for a special enrollment period. And even if I qualify, my state of residence is California on paper, but I would need in-network coverage for Ohio while visiting my parents.

If I don't qualify for a special enrollment period, then I have no idea what I would do to get an ACA-compliant plan for my two months here that will let me avoid the penalty.

 

[MrSquished]

I got an obamacare plan in NJ for $350 a month. The deductible was $300. One of my meds is $1100 a month, I pay $7 for it now. I like my plan

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I got an obamacare plan in NJ for $350 a month. The deductible was $300. One of my meds is $1100 a month, I pay $7 for it now. I like my plan

Which medication is it? I'm curious to compare what the US pays for this med versus the rest of the world.

 

[MrSquished]

Which medication is it? I'm curious to compare what the US pays for this med versus the rest of the world.

Seroquel XR, 600mg a day. It's a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder. It's between 1000-1100 a month without insurance. Let me know what you find out

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Seroquel XR, 600mg a day. It's a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder. It's between 1000-1100 a month without insurance. Let me know what you find out

Here in Australia:

http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/56566/Seroquel-XR-50mg-Tablet-60

Chemist Warehouse is everywhere in Australia.

The price in the link is $23 AUD for 3000mg.

So 600mg a day would be $4.60 AUD a day, or $138 AUD a month, or $105 USD a month.

That's normal pricing.

The cheap "concession" pricing you see is for people who are elderly, have a pension, students, new parents, and unemployed, to name a few.

 

[MrSquished]

Here in Australia:

http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/56566/Seroquel-XR-50mg-Tablet-60

Chemist Warehouse is everywhere in Australia.

The price in the link is $23 AUD for 3000mg.

So 600mg a day would be $4.60 AUD a day, or $138 AUD a month, or $105 USD a month.

That's normal pricing.

The cheap "concession" pricing you see is for people who are elderly, have a pension, students, new parents, and unemployed, to name a few.

Wow that's crazy. My ex girlfriend had an ulcer so she got some medicine, I forget the name, and it was around $500. We went to Turkey and her ulcer flared up so we went to a pharmacy. In other countries it turns out pharmacists can dispense medicine without the need to see a doctor. Same exact medicine was like less than $50 there.

I can't live without my meds. It's still a work in progress to find the right cocktail but they definitely help. I am exaggerating a bit, I would be fine. I went through 38 of my 41 years without meds. And being manic can be really fun. I went through most of college manic as hell and the energy helped me kick ass at school. I took 21 credits a semester for 2 semesters and worked every weekend all day and night doing wedding photography and tutored kids at the writing center on weekdays and the mania made me excel at it. I graduated with a 3.75 GPA. I'mm generally a lazy person so the mania is what saved me. The depression is what really sucks.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Wow that's crazy. My ex girlfriend had an ulcer so she got some medicine, I forget the name, and it was around $500. We went to Turkey and her ulcer flared up so we went to a pharmacy. In other countries it turns out pharmacists can dispense medicine without the need to see a doctor. Same exact medicine was like less than $50 there.

Yeah, the US definitely gets screwed hard on a lot of prescription meds compared to other countries, and healthcare in general. My Aussie buddies never have to worry about doctors visits or anything and they get free preventative checkups and screenings often from their single payer healthcare.

I recently did my USA taxes and my effective rate was MORE than if I was an Australian citizen make the same amount converted into Australian dollars. And they get full health coverage from their taxes while we still have to pay premiums and heavy deductibles and high out of pocket maximums on top of our taxes.

 

[MrSquished]

Yeah, the US definitely gets screwed hard on a lot of prescription meds compared to other countries, and healthcare in general. My Aussie buddies never have to worry about doctors visits or anything and they get free preventative checkups and screenings often from their single payer healthcare.

I recently did my USA taxes and my effective rate was MORE than if I was an Australian citizen make the same amount converted into Australian dollars. And they get full health coverage from their taxes while we still have to pay premiums and heavy deductibles and high out of pocket maximums on top of our taxes.

I am of the school of thought that healthcare is indeed a human right and there should be some form of single payer insurance. I don't want the healthcare system to be socialized, just the insurance. Though I do feel that fee for service should go the way of the dodo.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I am of the school of thought that healthcare is indeed a human right and there should be some form of single payer insurance. I don't want the healthcare system to be socialized, just the insurance. Though I do feel that fee for service should go the way of the dodo.

Lots of other countries have already figured this out. The US is just dumb.

In Australia the citizens get amazing bang for their buck because the single payer (the government) has amazing bargaining power against the healthcare providers, certainly more than a bunch of individual private health insurance companies would have on their own.

The healthcare system is not socialized either. The providers can still compete against each other for patients, and thus government dollars, with better facilities, service, and even pricing (providers who advertise that they "bulk bill" mean they accept whatever the government pays them as full payment, so the patient pays nothing out of pocket). If you're a doctor and you don't bulk bill it means you want something extra from the patient on top of what the government pays you, so you risk being less competitive compared to the ones who bulk bill.

Oh, and you can still buy private health insurance if you want. It's not like single payer made them disappear.

 

[Slew Foot]

Funny thing about Australia is that the doctors get paid more there than they do in the US. Over here, the insurance/pharm/hospital lobbies make sure they get their fat cut of the pie before any healthcare takes place.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Funny thing about Australia is that the doctors get paid more there than they do in the US. Over here, the insurance/pharm/hospital lobbies make sure they get their fat cut of the pie before any healthcare takes place.

Yeah, doctors certainly aren't going hungry here in Australia. And they don't have the bullshit of dealing with a bunch of different insurance companies.

 

[MrSquished]

Lots of other countries have already figured this out. The US is just dumb.

In Australia the citizens get amazing bang for their buck because the single payer (the government) has amazing bargaining power against the healthcare providers, certainly more than a bunch of individual private health insurance companies would have on their own.

The healthcare system is not socialized either. The providers can still compete against each other for patients, and thus government dollars, with better facilities, service, and even pricing (providers who advertise that they "bulk bill" mean they accept whatever the government pays them as full payment, so the patient pays nothing out of pocket). If you're a doctor and you don't bulk bill it means you want something extra from the patient on top of what the government pays you, so you risk being less competitive compared to the ones who bulk bill.

Oh, and you can still buy private health insurance if you want. It's not like single payer made them disappear.

Agreed. Single payer health insurance is the proper path with a private healthcare system. Just fee for service has to go. It makes no sense to reward doctors for ordering procedures. It's an incentive to do the wrong thing. The primary goal should be preventative medicine, not ordering procedures.

 

[Slew Foot]

Most single payer is still largely FFS. You do stuff, you send a bill, it gets paid. There's just one entity doing the paying. Or you charge cash.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

There is a benefit to high deductible health plans even before you reach the deductible. Insurance companies negotiate lower rates for their customers, so they don't reach the deductible as soon as they would paying full price. This means high deductible health plans provide you a discount on health care.

Right, because when the hospital bills you for $200k, that's entirely reasonable based on being uninsured. OH, you have insurance, well let's just get that down a more reasonable $1,500.

It's like car sticker pricing gone mad.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Agreed. Single payer health insurance is the proper path with a private healthcare system. Just fee for service has to go. It makes no sense to reward doctors for ordering procedures. It's an incentive to do the wrong thing. The primary goal should be preventative medicine, not ordering procedures.

To preface - I agree, and it makes sense to enact a single payer system as the best results for keeping everyone healthy in the US.

That said, my overall question remains of what drives the innovation to find the next big relief... such as new surgeries, new drugs, new procedures, and new possible cures for things like cancer, etc..?

The answer is money, and it will always stay that way. No question about that. And I REALLY don't want to hinder the chances of finding a cure for cancer when I eventually get that in my prime ages. The truth is, the majority of healthcare innovations have occurred here in the United States. That is a fact. There is a reason why people fly halfway across the world just to see doctors here in the states.

So if we went Single payer, I would want some kind of program that keeps the drive to find new cures... be it additional taxes that go towards that or something...

 

[RLGL]

Your best bet is to talk to several different companies agents to get the coverage you want. It is different all over the US

 

[MrSquished]

To preface - I agree, and it makes sense to enact a single payer system as the best results for keeping everyone healthy in the US.

That said, my overall question remains of what drives the innovation to find the next big relief... such as new surgeries, new drugs, new procedures, and new possible cures for things like cancer, etc..?

The answer is money, and it will always stay that way. No question about that. And I REALLY don't want to hinder the chances of finding a cure for cancer when I eventually get that in my prime ages. The truth is, the majority of healthcare innovations have occurred here in the United States. That is a fact. There is a reason why people fly halfway across the world just to see doctors here in the states.

So if we went Single payer, I would want some kind of program that keeps the drive to find new cures... be it additional taxes that go towards that or something...

That's fine. We could set aside a sum of money to go to research. But at the end of the day, everyone should have health insurance.

 

[Ns1]

If you just want screenings and physicals go somewhere and pay cash, it'll cost you way less than $2500 deductible + 2 months of premiums.

Of course you're fucked if you get in an accident, but that doesn't seem to be what you're looking for.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Unless you have some known medical issues, suck it up and roll the dice for 60 days. Chances are that wherever you're returning after those two months has better medical care, or much cheaper care, so worrying about the cost of physicals or screenings during those two months doesn't make much sense.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah, I wouldn't waste my time getting health insurance for just a two month visit. Even if you did get very unlucky and ran into health problems that went over your deductible, good luck getting the insurance company to pay for them once you go back overseas.

 

[JTsyo]

I've used Seven Corners before. Luckily I didn't have to use it but the coverage seems better than what you listed.