While I appreciate the personal anecdote, what was the cost paid by your insurer? Being covered by private insurance is great for you, but what happens to the people without the means?
The subtext of your post is an insinuation that it isn’t as bad as others make it out to be, but it sounds like it wasn’t bad for you because you have good private insurance, and the means to obtain and manage that insurance. Not everyone is in that situation, and those who don’t have access to good private insurance, or simply make a mistake in managing their insurance, shouldn’t be forced to pay absurd fees out of debt/pocket.
I don’t know what the cost for my insurer was, because we never even got a bill in the mail. I even called the financial office or whatever it’s called for Kaiser and made sure we didn’t owe anything and they said that we were covered and owed nothing out of pocket.
My post was a reflection of my own personal anecdote because I see stuff online all the time that insurance is terrible in the US and that we all pay $20k for a birth when that isn’t the case for everyone. I mean if the average is $18k then someone is definitely paying that amount(or more, because average) but some also pay zero. My post wasn’t meant to diminish. I also think all of this should be free for everyone anyway.
I do also think some people pay more than they have to, as in they are having unprotected sex and can switch to a HMO over a PPO, but they stay on the PPO plan because it’s “cheap” and end up paying $20k for a birth when they could’ve switched to a HMO before hand and paid the $50-$500 a month(depending on employer or if your state has a marketplace) and saved the difference. But they don’t think that far ahead.
While I appreciate the personal anecdote, what was the cost paid by your insurer? Being covered by private insurance is great for you, but what happens to the people without the means?
The subtext of your post is an insinuation that it isn’t as bad as others make it out to be, but it sounds like it wasn’t bad for you because you have good private insurance, and the means to obtain and manage that insurance. Not everyone is in that situation, and those who don’t have access to good private insurance, or simply make a mistake in managing their insurance, shouldn’t be forced to pay absurd fees out of debt/pocket.
I don’t know what the cost for my insurer was, because we never even got a bill in the mail. I even called the financial office or whatever it’s called for Kaiser and made sure we didn’t owe anything and they said that we were covered and owed nothing out of pocket.
My post was a reflection of my own personal anecdote because I see stuff online all the time that insurance is terrible in the US and that we all pay $20k for a birth when that isn’t the case for everyone. I mean if the average is $18k then someone is definitely paying that amount(or more, because average) but some also pay zero. My post wasn’t meant to diminish. I also think all of this should be free for everyone anyway.
I do also think some people pay more than they have to, as in they are having unprotected sex and can switch to a HMO over a PPO, but they stay on the PPO plan because it’s “cheap” and end up paying $20k for a birth when they could’ve switched to a HMO before hand and paid the $50-$500 a month(depending on employer or if your state has a marketplace) and saved the difference. But they don’t think that far ahead.