i get confused about the price tag. most of my healthcare costs go to paying towards the chance i might have a serious accident that i most likely will never have. i would prefer it if that money could go towards more preventative general care but i can't get that preventative care because i can't risk going without the insurance against catastrophy. i'd be curious to know how much insurance payments go 'unused' to get an idea of costs. like how many people paying a couple hundred bucks a month insurance for years and years never use any benefits? where does that money go? how does the total amount of insurance paid by all people in this country line up with the total cost of healthcare?
That's a really good question. Most people have major medical insurance which pays 80% (or some large percentage) of the bill for doctor visits and such; some people have HMOs which do offer some preventative care and "lifecare" services intended to get you living a healthier lifestyle, but also act like major medical so long as you only see the HMO's doctor and pharmacy; some people have PPOs which are like major medical except you get a price break for using only doctors and pharmacies in their network. I don't know of too many places that offer only catastrophic insurance, which pays off if you have an extended hospital stay but doesn't cover anything else.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-04-14 12:57 am (UTC)That's a really good question. Most people have major medical insurance which pays 80% (or some large percentage) of the bill for doctor visits and such; some people have HMOs which do offer some preventative care and "lifecare" services intended to get you living a healthier lifestyle, but also act like major medical so long as you only see the HMO's doctor and pharmacy; some people have PPOs which are like major medical except you get a price break for using only doctors and pharmacies in their network. I don't know of too many places that offer only catastrophic insurance, which pays off if you have an extended hospital stay but doesn't cover anything else.