Results of vote
30 members voted
26 have health insurance
4. Do not have health insurance
Thanks everyone for your input.
From what I tethered based on all of your answers, there are positives and negatives to each individual case.
Medicaid
Pro....do not have to pay much for treatment and low prescription costs.
Con...do not have a large selection of docs.
Private insurance
This baffles me slightly.
By reading everyone's answers, the rate of out of pocket costs varies greatly depending on here you live in the us.
Some pay a lot for coverage and some have a more economic payment per month.
Self employed....these individuals are hit the hardest with insurance payments.
They practically hve to take out a second mortgage to make their payments, co pays, prescriptions. Yikes!
Medicare/Medicaid recipients.
I think this is a pretty good deal.
Medicare coverage gives you more access to docs than Medicaid.
No insurance.......no comment!!!
Lastly I would ike to thank everyone for answering.
When I posted this question, I was wondering why I shouldn't just pay cash for docs because my Medicaid coverage doesnt give me a lot of options in terms of docs.
Now I am just grateful I have it.
Thanks
Kerri
I'm new here but have had MS for almost 3 years-we have fairly good insurance from what I have read so far. We have 4 children, and before I was diagnosed-we got along ok and the kids didnt want for much-the last 3 years have been a total shocker for them. Hubby and I work at the same place but insurance is in his name-I have the flex spending-which has been a blessing. I guess I can be greatful that we have an employeer that offers this up to us. Of course we could be like Canada and Great Brittian countries, that is a whole other discussion I suppose. Well I hope to get valuble info from everyone!
Angie
My health care is now limited to my PCP and medications (mostly generics). I am on my husbands plan through work.
Ironically my having to cut out my MS treatment is tied to Medicare and Medicaid. Whenever the reimbursements to providers is cut for Medicare and Medicaid the cost is shifted on to me with private insurance by the Hospital. Otherwise these institutions would not see Medicare or Medicaid patients at all. Say a MRI costs $2000 at my Hospital. Medicare pays $1000, I am charged over $3000 for the same test. I pay over $1000 out of pocket to make up what the hospital lost on the Medicare patient. I therefore can no longer afford MRIs. I feel for folks on these programs, I personally can't afford to pay the extra costs. Every cut to Medicare and Medicaid hurts those with insurance as well as those on the programs. My PCP does not take Medicare or Medicaid patients and I do not have extra costs, I could not afford most PCPs who are in the hospitals systems because my bill is inflated for the above reason.
Alex
I have full coverage thru my employer, who does not know I have MS. I am on FMLA right now with work, due to a pathological fracture of my sacrum. Now the doc is telling me I may have spinal osteoporosis, related to the MS? Back to more specialists. I'm a little worried about what I am going to do for coverage if I am not allowed to go back to work. Keeping high hopes that it won't happen.
I am very grateful to have Medicare and then Medicaid as a secondary. It works very well for me.
Red
I have Medicaid. This covers 3 perscriptions a month and MRI's, Spinal Tap, blood work, basically all the things I NEED. So mine is pretty good. Just Traditional Medicaid.
Kelli
I'm a Medicaid queen. There is a 5.00 copay at doctors/specialists office visits and sometimes, depending on what brand of medication Im getting I have to pay at least 5.00 to 8.00 (like provigil).
I have insurance but have an individual out of pocket of 4000.00 with 2500 deductible. Luckily my avonex only cost me 10.00 a month due to the fact the I qualify for patient assistance based on my income.
I only have medicare AB and D......its been great NOT fun with my kidney stone ER visits.....not to mention my neuro
I have health insurance I pay for myself.
Cost for me & hubby is over $15,000 per year; plus, we have $12,000 deductible. Once that is paid, my $3,000 monthly Rebif bill is paid in full (it's injected, so is covered as part of Major Med, not Rx).
We got this while young & healthy -- BEFORE my MS -- we're both self-employed, so pay all of it ourselves.
Needless to say, we are NOT wealthy people-- nearing retirement age, and the costs are killing us. Our hopes were high for the new federal Health Insurance act, but now that's starting to look like a target for elimination...
We live in Florida.
Thanks everyone. I forgot about other countries. I will reword and repost.
I think what I am interested in comparing is the out of pocket costs, whatever they Amy include.
I'll repost.
I'm Canadian so I am covered for basic medical expenses by the govt health plan. I also have extended coverage through my employer which covers prescriptions, etc, for a $25 annual deductable.
We also have 'fair pharmacare' in Canada, which will help pay for some drugs depending on the cost of your drugs and your income.
Mike
I answered, though I'm not sure if you intended to focus on U.S. members only. For Canadians, it's a given as we all have health insurance as per the Canada Health Act. Supplemental insurance for most prescription meds, eye care, dental care is another matter and covered by supplemental health plans. I have that too.
Other interesting questions would include how much do each of us pay for premiums, how much are our co-pays.
I'm curious about how much $$$ is spent in total one year on my health care including physician visits, radiology, ER visits, etc. I've looked into it but can't seem to find this info as those government funded costs are hidden to me.
Another biggie is prescription coverage, which is separate (usually) from health insurance. This can vary wildly too.
ess
Are you including government health insurance, such as medicaid and medicare in your list?
There are so many different types of insurance as well. Policy coverage can range from excellent to minimal. The out-of-pocket expenses might be an intersting poll for you to put together as well.
This is a great question.