Yesterday we received E-Roc's highly dreaded anticipated hospital bill. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But let's just say a 3 night hospital stay costs waaaaay more than the nicest of hotels I've had the luxury to enjoy.
And since I have insurance through my place of employment (which I gratefully added him to after we wed and just mere weeks before his health scare took place) we only have to pay a very small fraction of the total cost of the bill. And as for that total amount, may I just add, it was about 2/3 of the cost of our home.
Now let's consider that for a second.
E-Roc and I very much lower middle class. Working class. Whatever, you'd like to call it. Imagine if we didn't have that insurance coverage. We just got a bill that is only slightly less than what we owe on our house. How would anyone ever be expected to manage that?
And here's something else regarding the cost of procedures. As for the labs and expertise that it took to look at/fix/diagnose his heart and lungs, 2 extremely precious organs by any person's standards, those numbers made a lot of sense. Hey, the experts cost money, right? I'm all for it. But c'mon. $8 for a single dose medication? $100 for an injection? Next to his procedure costs, his pharmacology total was the highest on the statement.
Do I smell a big business conspiracy here?
The fact is, medicine and insurance make a lot of money for a lot of people. Have you ever known an executive retired from an insurance company? They have pensions to die for. And I'm guessing that many, in fact, are dying from it.
The one thing I learned from this whole experience was how uneven, unfair and just plain wrong the whole system is. What if E-Roc and I were a less fortunate couple? What if neither of our companies offered health care and we couldn't afford private policies? What if we lost our jobs and our coverage? What happens to those people? Do they not deserve to receive medical care? Do they not deserve to live?
And don't tell me they would get the same care. You and I both know that's a lie. And even if they could get it, they will be in debt for the remainder of their lives to pay for it and face fear of foreclosure, liens and the like. (I keep getting conflicting views on whether or not a person can essentially lose everything they have and get bad credit from unpaid medical expenses. Does anyone have a true life experience and not some friend-of-a-friend they've heard about?)
My feelings are as strong as ever about the need our country has to fix this problem. All I ever hear is people bitching about their insurance premiums or people wailing about having no coverage. How many signs do we need? This current system does not work. It doesn't work for the people that have it and it really doesn't work for the people that don't.
Even though a bill like that hits working people like us hard, I was glad to get it. Glad to only be expected to pay less than 10% of the total of my husband's hospital stay. Imagine how you would handle that. Would it be a breeze? Or would you have to file bankruptcy? Your answer is the whole reason this healthcare debate continues.
I also appreciate this piece here about....well.....a piece of pie!
And since I have insurance through my place of employment (which I gratefully added him to after we wed and just mere weeks before his health scare took place) we only have to pay a very small fraction of the total cost of the bill. And as for that total amount, may I just add, it was about 2/3 of the cost of our home.
Now let's consider that for a second.
E-Roc and I very much lower middle class. Working class. Whatever, you'd like to call it. Imagine if we didn't have that insurance coverage. We just got a bill that is only slightly less than what we owe on our house. How would anyone ever be expected to manage that?
And here's something else regarding the cost of procedures. As for the labs and expertise that it took to look at/fix/diagnose his heart and lungs, 2 extremely precious organs by any person's standards, those numbers made a lot of sense. Hey, the experts cost money, right? I'm all for it. But c'mon. $8 for a single dose medication? $100 for an injection? Next to his procedure costs, his pharmacology total was the highest on the statement.
Do I smell a big business conspiracy here?
The fact is, medicine and insurance make a lot of money for a lot of people. Have you ever known an executive retired from an insurance company? They have pensions to die for. And I'm guessing that many, in fact, are dying from it.
The one thing I learned from this whole experience was how uneven, unfair and just plain wrong the whole system is. What if E-Roc and I were a less fortunate couple? What if neither of our companies offered health care and we couldn't afford private policies? What if we lost our jobs and our coverage? What happens to those people? Do they not deserve to receive medical care? Do they not deserve to live?
And don't tell me they would get the same care. You and I both know that's a lie. And even if they could get it, they will be in debt for the remainder of their lives to pay for it and face fear of foreclosure, liens and the like. (I keep getting conflicting views on whether or not a person can essentially lose everything they have and get bad credit from unpaid medical expenses. Does anyone have a true life experience and not some friend-of-a-friend they've heard about?)
My feelings are as strong as ever about the need our country has to fix this problem. All I ever hear is people bitching about their insurance premiums or people wailing about having no coverage. How many signs do we need? This current system does not work. It doesn't work for the people that have it and it really doesn't work for the people that don't.
Even though a bill like that hits working people like us hard, I was glad to get it. Glad to only be expected to pay less than 10% of the total of my husband's hospital stay. Imagine how you would handle that. Would it be a breeze? Or would you have to file bankruptcy? Your answer is the whole reason this healthcare debate continues.
I also appreciate this piece here about....well.....a piece of pie!