Can Hospitals really do this?

[janet]

Donna, Michigan has that type of health insurance for kids too...which is a fabulous program.

Our adults that are not insured, or underinsured, show have a program too to help them..afterall, I feel an adult has more of a chance of getting seriously ill..and why should a person be allowed to die, because they could not afford treatment...because of money...then on the other hand..people who want to die, but have insurance are being kept alive against their will? I am talking about extreme cases.

What is this all about?

How did our world get so mixed up?

Hugs, Janet

[cau]

I'm under the impression that all hospitals do not pay taxes as they are not suppose to be a $$ making operation. The hospitals by me are doing massive building projects. The hospitaL my husband had his heart surgery in made $40,000. for less tahn a day on his surgery & then hastled us because our part of it was not paid fast enough. I paid the $100. a month & never missed but they turned it over to a collection agency. Not for profit my eye.

[janet]

Cau, some hospitals are Non-profit...and others are profit hospitals..You can ask at any hospital as soon as you hit the door..and usually they all have their mission statements posted on the wall someplace..so that will give you some idea about the hospital you are trying to get service at.

One of my gripes is..if our government supports other countries medical system ....why are our fellow Americans doing without?

We need to get out of debt to these other countries, and stand on our own feet.

Just my 2cents
Hugs, Janet

[suzster]

Originally Posted by Pag36

A little over a week ago had to take my daughter to ER I hate to see the bill. And it is a Catholic Hosp too.

That is awful, I am sorry. Also Janet, thanks for your explanation of why the hospitals are overcharging people, but its just terrible and i think its so unfair to the people who are being overcharged just because they don't have health insurance, especially the catholic hospitals, where did their faith, and generosity go?

[Insurancelady]

Health care is a national crisis and as an agent I see it everyday. Medical debt resulting from illness or injury is one of the leading causes for bankruptcy in this country and that is a fact. However it's not just the uninsured this can happen to, it's also the insured that do not have adequate coverage. There are many different plans out there with so many options that unless a good agent explains the options to the consumer so many people do not know what their coverage is until its too late. Many plans can be purchased online today and consumers do not fully understand the benefits or exclusions as there is no one to explain it to them and the plans can be complicated. I've seen plans out there that I refuse to sell that do not cover chemo, diabetes, etc. when a person is covered by the company. Strict underwriting guidelines today that all insurance companies have excluded many people from qualifying for coverage if they have pre-existing conditions or if they have a weight problem. This leaves these consumers a target for salespeople that push the health/savings discount plans that are often sold to a consumer as health insurance and these plans are NOT health insurance. Many people are getting ripped off by these companies everyday. I volunteer for a rip off site and I help people get their money back from these companies and to report these scam artists. I've seen millions of dollars in claims go thru from doctor's and hospital's but the cost of malpractice insurance the doctor's have to pay is outrageous and hospital's do eat alot of costs and I have seen hospital's reduce bills for people who are not insured but they are a business today plain and simple. Everything is very expensive in the medical industries and new technology and machines for tests can costs the hospitals millions to purchase and you will often see hospital's holding fund raisers to buy a piece of equipment. There is an excellent article in Reader's Digest last month that pertains to this subject of health care in our country. Life or death can depend on if you are insured or not or if you have quality coverage that covers the best treatments available. Premiums are not cheap but the alternative is worse if you lose everything you own to a collection agency or if you lose your life. Most insurance companies do not even insure maternity today because a woman has so many choices how to conceive and how to deliver and some are experimental and insurance companies are afraid they may get sued if they deny one method and approve another so they now simply exclude it altogether. Thankfully communities do pull together to help people who need money to get treatment and I have participated in many events in my area but I know the funds raised are a drop in the bucket to what is really needed. I don't know the answer to the problem but I do know that people should have access to good quality medical care in this country without losing everything they own to get it. New bankruptcy laws are very tight now so people may not even be able to get out of debt by going bankrupt and the debt will follow them for life until it's paid. I have to turn so many people away that want health insurance but I know my companies will not insure then as they have serious pre-existing illnesses and do not meet the guidelines so I can't help them and I always give them information to find another souce that may help them. The only thing I do know for sure is the best time to get health insurance is when you are healthy so you have it when you do get sick or injured some day.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Welcome to FC Insurancelady! I look forward to getting to know you.

[Pag36]

I want to welcome you too Insurancelady and you are soooooo right on all of this.. I thank God for my beloved hubby having been career Army thus I now have Tri-Care 4 Life as well as Medicare

[Insurancelady]

I am happy to have found this great website! I hope I can be of some help to people who may have questions or concerns over health insurance. Thank you for the nice welcome!