Curious Canadian looking for Americans input:)

[MrsKChicago]

Obamacare has turned out to be better than nothing for me (it's the only reason we can afford insurance and finally have a baby right now), but I agree it's nowhere near a real solution, especially in red states where the local government has worked so hard to make sure it fails. I'm glad something is being tried, and I know there's no way universal healthcare would get approved right now, but I wish we'd get with the rest of the civilized world already. It's shameful that people are going bankrupt or avoiding treatment because they can't afford basic healthcare.

 

[misspriss]

Obamacare has turned out to be better than nothing for me (it's the only reason we can afford insurance and finally have a baby right now), but I agree it's nowhere near a real solution, especially in red states where the local government has worked so hard to make sure it fails. I'm glad something is being tried, and I know there's no way universal healthcare would get approved right now, but I wish we'd get with the rest of the civilized world already. It's shameful that people are going bankrupt or avoiding treatment because they can't afford basic healthcare.

I'm in a red state, I still buy from the federal marketplace. I do have to say that, I wouldn't have any insurance if it not for obamacare right now. And on my last insurance, it did ensure I received a hospital grade pump for my NICU child. Actually, I probably would have insurance, my husband would probably still be working at a job he hates with no room for advancement because it offered healthcare for me and our child(ren) (he is still on his parent's, of course, thanks to obamacare).

 

[zorak]

I'm a Brit currently living in the US. We are moving back to the UK in March and health care is one of the reasons why. We have great insurance here but I simply don't want our children growing up somewhere where if something happened to us they may not have access to basics like decent medical care.

 

[Zephram]

Like Minties said, in New Zealand all maternity care is free. We do not pay a cent directly (indirectly through tax payers dollars) for any healthcare we require during pregnancy or birth or related to the birth afterwards. I cannot imagine having to worry about paying a massive bill as well as prepare for a baby. It's unthinkable really.

 

[MissEyre]

I do think that healthcare here in the states sucks. We currently pay $400/month for DH and myself. Our out of pocket maximum is $1000/year for the whole family. When the LO is born our monthly cost will go up to $800/month, but luckily the out of pocket maximum for the family will stay at $1,000/year. Luckily, all prenatal and postnatal visits are 100% covered and insurance does cover things like a double electric breast pump and birthing classes, but $800/month is so ridiculous. Sadly, it's not uncommon. It's just something that we budget for.

 

[MeaganMackenz]

800 a month!? That's an entire weekly pay for my husband! We'd never be able to afford that. My grievances, however small or silly they are, are fading away hearing how much money you gals pay to get your babies or just to have health care and not bankrupt yourselves.

 

[misspriss]

I have no idea how we will pay the up to $7,000 we have to if I have another preemie....payment plan I guess?

 

[MommyJogger]

I have no idea how we will pay the up to $7,000 we have to if I have another preemie....payment plan I guess?

Are you sure your $3500 oop max doesn't include deductibles and copays? Most do, so you shouldn't have to pay more than the oop max, unless I've missed something...

PS if you haven't seen the Roy Zimmerman "sing out for single payer" video on youtube, he's a hoot.

 

[misspriss]

I have no idea how we will pay the up to $7,000 we have to if I have another preemie....payment plan I guess?

Are you sure your $3500 oop max doesn't include deductibles and copays? Most do, so you shouldn't have to pay more than the oop max, unless I've missed something...

PS if you haven't seen the Roy Zimmerman "sing out for single payer" video on youtube, he's a hoot.

Copay no, deductible yes. So I pay up to $2,000 straight up for each (that's $4,000) and then 20% of the rest of the bill up to $7,000 out of pocket max. Considering DS's and my bill last time were around $113K (we paid $2,000)....

So even after you hit your OOPM, you still have to pay co-pays, because they aren't counted...

 

[Mommy2missR]

I pay just under $300/mo for my coverage and we pay just over $200/mo for my husbands tri-care. Once I leave my job, we will only have the tri-care, so we will be responsible for deductibles and the like again, but now, whatever Blue Cross doesn't pay, Tri-Care does.

 

[Menelly]

While our deductibles are annoyingly high, I'm glad for my husband's coverage, cause it's only about $140/month for family coverage, and his company puts $167/month into an HSA account for us to cover part of the deductible. So it's not that bad.

 

[MeaganMackenz]

I just did the math on what my husband pays for his union benefits. Roughly $325 a month. It's not the same every month as what he pays is based on his hours worked. He pays 1.85 per hour worked and then $35 a month union fee. Ends up being about $4,000 a year, so for the most part we over pay because we're young and don't utilize a lot of what his benefits offer. But at least whatever we do need is always covered. Keep in mind this is for things like prescriptions, dental, eye glasses, life insurance etc. I have no idea what he'd have to pay if we had to pay for hospitals and doctors etc.

 

[Amythyst]

The thing that pisses me off with our healthcare here... is that, the larger the company you work for, the on average cheaper their coverage is. Cause they get a "bulk" discount. So, people who love working for small-medium sized companies get stuck with these big monthly payments while others will have similar coverage but pay a lot less for it just because of volume discounts. I'm paying roughly 700 a month for family coverage (pre tax) but some Joe down the block who works for Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin probably pays a lot less than I do. Then you have the government healthcare (tri-care) which is pretty good insurance and doesn't cost people much. Its like, why does the government get the sole monopoly on this lower cost healthcare? I fricken work for the Army (contractor) but I of course do not have access to tri-care.

The other thing that burns my britches is we cannot provide for our parents. So, my mom has horrible medicare coverage, is disabled and doesn't get the care she needs. But I cannot add her to my insurance UNLESS she is a complete dependent of mine and even then I think there are restrictions. And even if we signed up for Obama care for her, its so outrageously expensive that it isn't a benefit to switch her. She only makes 600 a month and I think her premium would be more than that for shitty coverage that only pays for like 50-60% of the bills.

 

[minties]

$700 a month?!?!

 

[petitpas]

I think the big problem in the US is not just the insurance companies themselves but that health care is so luxurious it is ridiculously expensive.
If I went to a top London private hospital to give birth paying everything myself it would still be a fraction of the cost charged in the States.
For example, here are the costs of giving birth in the Lindo Wing at St Mary's: https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/privatehealthcare/hospitals/lindo-wing/lindo-wing-prices/index.htm
Most other private hospitals charge less than that.


Or, a more simple example. I was unfortunate enough to need to go to A&E and then have a D&C in the US. My travel insurance had to pay more than $20,000 for the pleasure. Yes, the room was nice and I had a remote control for the blinds but did I really need such luxury? The en suite was the size of a small apartment!

In comparison, I have private insurance in the UK (costs about $170/month), which covered the same procedure in a private hospital here (still luxurious but without the remote control and my en suite was smaller). The hospital charged my insurance the equivalent of about $3,500. I had my own room and the food was better, too.

Had I had a D&C on the NHS it would have cost even less (nothing for me to pay, of course). The only downside would have been sharing a room, which I have done often enough and it really isn't the end of the world.

No wonder insurance in the US costs so much. It has to pay the hospital's extortionate bills!

 

[MommyJogger]

I think the big problem in the US is not just the insurance companies themselves but that health care is so luxurious it is ridiculously expensive.
If I went to a top London private hospital to give birth paying everything myself it would still be a fraction of the cost charged in the States.
For example, here are the costs of giving birth in the Lindo Wing at St Mary's: https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/privatehealthcare/hospitals/lindo-wing/lindo-wing-prices/index.htm
Most other private hospitals charge less than that.


Or, a more simple example. I was unfortunate enough to need to go to A&E and then have a D&C in the US. My travel insurance had to pay more than $20,000 for the pleasure. Yes, the room was nice and I had a remote control for the blinds but did I really need such luxury? The en suite was the size of a small apartment!

In comparison, I have private insurance in the UK (costs about $170/month), which covered the same procedure in a private hospital here (still luxurious but without the remote control and my en suite was smaller). The hospital charged my insurance the equivalent of about $3,500. I had my own room and the food was better, too.

Had I had a D&C on the NHS it would have cost even less (nothing for me to pay, of course). The only downside would have been sharing a room, which I have done often enough and it really isn't the end of the world.

No wonder insurance in the US costs so much. It has to pay the hospital's extortionate bills!

It not just luxuries-- medical supply companies also have a litigation-based and legal monopoly that allow them to charge extortionate prices for the most simple and routine things (advil, saline, alcohol).

 

[misspriss]

I think the big problem in the US is not just the insurance companies themselves but that health care is so luxurious it is ridiculously expensive.
If I went to a top London private hospital to give birth paying everything myself it would still be a fraction of the cost charged in the States.
For example, here are the costs of giving birth in the Lindo Wing at St Mary's: https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/privatehealthcare/hospitals/lindo-wing/lindo-wing-prices/index.htm
Most other private hospitals charge less than that.


Or, a more simple example. I was unfortunate enough to need to go to A&E and then have a D&C in the US. My travel insurance had to pay more than $20,000 for the pleasure. Yes, the room was nice and I had a remote control for the blinds but did I really need such luxury? The en suite was the size of a small apartment!

In comparison, I have private insurance in the UK (costs about $170/month), which covered the same procedure in a private hospital here (still luxurious but without the remote control and my en suite was smaller). The hospital charged my insurance the equivalent of about $3,500. I had my own room and the food was better, too.

Had I had a D&C on the NHS it would have cost even less (nothing for me to pay, of course). The only downside would have been sharing a room, which I have done often enough and it really isn't the end of the world.

No wonder insurance in the US costs so much. It has to pay the hospital's extortionate bills!

No, it's not really. There is something wrong with the healthcare system.

That is why a $0.88 pregnancy test, done in the ER to rule out pregnancy before radiology, costs $13 (for the test) and anywhere from $100 - $300 for the luxury of having someone use it with your urine, depending on the hospital

The reason my hospital bills were in the $113 range was because DS was in the NICU though, $78K of that was his 18 day stay. The insurance paid less than $50K on the $113 bill, that's how it works really they beef up the prices but then "negotiate" prices with the insurance companies, so no one is actually paying those prices except unlucky people who don't have insurance, but then they also discount for self-pay people...so why the outrageous prices to start out with?!?

And I'm not sure where you were, the nicest hospital I've stayed at had a remote control for the standard definition TV with basic cable that only worked half the time, the blinds were controlled by you or if you get lucky you could get the nurses to adjust them. The rooms were big enough to fit a stretcher in if need be but that was about it, I think that depends on the area. The Laboring room WAS huge, but it was in case they needed to do crash work in there. The recovery/regular rooms is where I spent most of my time.

 

[Catmat]

This is kinda off topic, and thank you ladies for adding your information, it's been very interesting to read. Do you have to pay hospital parking fees? We have to in Canada, more specifically Alberta and they are so expensive. I go every six months to the children's hospital and pay roughly 10$ in parking to get to our appointment. I just think it's terrible, especially when some people are there for very serious reasons, day after day and they have to pay these outrageous fees to be with their child....

 

[MrsKChicago]

It depends on the hospital. My brother and SIL paid a fortune in parking when my nephew was in the NICU - well over $500 over the course of a couple months, I'd guess. But their hospital was in downtown Chicago (a stupid place to put the really good high level NICU and childrens hospital, IMO). I'm giving birth in a near suburb, and parking is free.

 

[misspriss]

Parking is free for us.