Hello!
I am studying to become a radiation therapist, but also worry about career advancement opportunities. I thought hospital administration could be a further plan for the future if i get bored in radiation therapy. (i don’t want to go the medical dosimetrist route.)
I already have a business (marketing concentration) degree. I was considering after radiation therapy school to go get my MBA or maybe just a associate degree in business administration. Is this viable plan?
Hi all. I am a US citizen, I am a contract worker and do not get health insurance through my company. My job is fully remote and I am planning to work while doing some traveling. The places I'm currently thinking are Taiwan and Japan, both of which rank in the top 5 of best healthcare in the world. My plan is to get some kind of international healthcare. An example I was looking at would cost me about $45usd/mo and it provides: *$250 deductible, $250,000 max limit.
I'm really lost in navigating this by myself. I've been uninsured for 2022, which was risky. I don't earn a lot, and the cheapest US plan I'm looking at in my area would cost over $200 for a silver plan for 2023.
My travel plans are not certain, but I don't expect to spend much time in the US in 2023. It doesn't make sense for me to pay for healthcare here, but I am wondering if I am not thinking about something I should be thinking about.
I am a student and do not have a full time job, so last year I enrolled for a healthcare plan through the marketplace. My payment was about $230/month, but that plan is now unavailable and the most similar option is almost double the price. Almost every coverage plan available to me according to the healthcare.gov website has premiums that are almost $9000 and if they are within my price range they have incredibly high out of pocket costs and/or don’t cover regular medications I take.
Does anyone have advice on other places I can search or other options available to me? As mentioned I have several medications I take that I could not afford without insurance, as well as some health conditions that require specialist visits (I don’t mind paying a bit more out of pocket for these, but overall I just have to stay on top of regular doctors visits and can’t shell out a large amount on a regular basis). Also while I have not had any ER or hospital visits in the last year, in the past several years I have had to visit the ER or have surgeries several times and worry about being hit with a large bill if these issues come up again.
If anyone has advice it would be MUCH appreciated, this whole process is honestly just very frustrating (as I’m sure many of you can relate to). Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Is there any way to combat this or is it entirely up to the office and doctor? Should I keep searching for an office that can handle my simple procedure in one visit?
I've become more sensitive to this after being asked to schedule a bloodwork follow up only to be told the results had been returned with no issues.
Background - I have a mole I'd like removed. It's a long term mole that has not changed. The offices I've spoken with state that they set a follow up for the actual removal. One office mentioned that they would first perform a biopsy, which makes sense if treatment depends on the results, but in the past I have had moles removed in a single visit.
Would it be a waste of time insisting they consult/perform or decline a procedure in a single visit?
Also is there a term for this practice? For example, the way up-coding describes scenarios in which an office may bill for unprovided services?
For those who are unaware, Ascension has finally been exposed regarding their dangerous low staff:patient ratio, and how this has been done purposely for their own benefit financial wise. Does anyone think, by chance, this will be reported or investigated by HHS? Is there anything that can or will be done? A lawsuit will eventually have to come from this...
www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/business/hospital-staffing-ascension.amp.html
CONTEXT: I recently underwent a a small inguinal hernia repair. Now that I am receiving the bills for the operation, I am seeing that the cost of the surgery has totaled up to a little over $81,000. There are about 12 different “Outpatient Services” charges totaling up to about $50,000. Some of these individual “outpatient services” charges reach up to $16,000 individually.
MY QUESTIONS ARE: Why are there so many of these charges and what the hell could they possibly be from? And why are some of these individual “outpatient services” charges reaching $16,000 alone?
P.s. I looked into the average total cost (before insurance coverage) of this operation in every state and the HIGHEST figure I’ve come across was $28,000. The average is about $7000. As far as I know my operation was a pretty standard outpatient procedure with no complications so why did it cost more than 10x the average cost figures I gathered?
Note: I am only paying a few thousand dollars out of pocket. This is more of a question on where these high medical costs come from.
Highmark approved an MRI I had and only after the claim was processed told me it was out of network when I called to question the bill.
I contacted Highmark and the representative on the phone told me that when it was approved the other representative should have told me it was out of network. Nobody told me this. They tried to pull the call but didn’t have a recording proving that they told me that. So the claim is being processed as out of network still. Even though they never told me it was out of network when they called to tell me it was approved.
Is there anything I can do?
Hi there,
I've recently joined an IB firm, and as an intern, I've been tasked with creating a profile of the HealthTech industry. I've gone through several DRHPs, most of which mention 'Out of Hospitals' as a segment in the 'Industry Overview' part, but nothing that specifically says 'HealthTech'. However, there are several commonalities between the two.
So, I want to know if I can take OOH stats at face value for the same. Thanks!
I am a Federal employee and our medical insurance options are overwhelming. I haven't had too many medical issues but I am approaching 40 and I guess I should get a PCP for regular annual exams. I just really don't like the doctors in my area and I'm hoping to find someone I can travel to that I will want to see. For some reason, I get heavy anxiety going to a doctor's office. I can't figure out why, I just know that if I don't feel like I can talk to the doctor, I will stop going. Is it unrealistic to hope that I can find a doctor that I am comfortable with? Can anyone give me any suggestions or tips finding a better selection? Should I change to a different type of insurance? Maybe try to stick with UW or another Healthcare company? Stick with private practitioners? Any info you have would be very helpful, thank you so much for just reading this.
My 3 year old son went to the hospital with RSV and possible pneumonia, after his older brother got admitted for the same thing. Younger son stays there three days, and does okay for the moment on the day a particular doctor sees him. This particular doctor reverses prior docs' decisions to give my son amoxicillin and, seeing him for the afternoon at 91% O2, discharges him.
By 4 am I am back at the ER with a coughing, lethargic, hypoxic child. I'm livid. He gets diagnosed with severe reactive airway, needs 30 liters/min, and is given amox and Prednisone after we complain about the earlier discharge. The medical director of pediatrics comes to see me in the morning and leaves promising a "granular review" of the discharge decision. I also got the doc in question to be taken off anything having to do with my son. Now he is seen by the same couple of faces, with copious notes taken and nothing left unturned.
I'm still unsure what to do about the arrogant doc and how far to escalate. It just seemed so hasty and indifferent.
https://www.allmyinsurancestuff.com
Hey everyone, my friends and I were fed-up with battling to just see our copays, deductible spend, etc. so we made a tool that fetches your insurance info and will even make a member ID card for you!
check it out and hope it helps. we'll make it better over time. taking spanners to Healthcare :)
I need to ask someone who works in the healthcare field ten questions for school. I would appreciate it if someone could answer them. Thanks.
Why did you want to go into healthcare?
What is a normal day of work like?
How many hours a week do you work?
What is your educational background?
What are the people you work with like?
What is the most challenging part of your job?
What other healthcare professionals do you work with?
What skills are most useful in your field?
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Can you describe your relationship with your patients or clients?
I found a therapist using a tool provided by my PCP. My insurance is copay but I have been seeing the therapist biweekly for over 3 months, both in person and telehealth. In that time, I've only ever had one copay.
My insurance copay for specialist visits is usually $20, but I've checked in online and in person at least 6-7 sessions without pay.
Can I be held responsible for the copay of all these sessions? What would be the reason this is happening? I didn't notice at first but now that I have a clearer head I realized I only ever paid the first time.
Hi, thanks in advance. I work as an independent contractor, and this year was my first time getting health care. I want to know what income do i need to report for the tax credit? I'm not sure if it's before deductibles or after, and that would make a huge difference, since from what I make i need to buy tools, equipment, truck maintenance, gas , work clothes and stuff like that.
Hello r/healthcare,
I recently went in to a new GP for a routine exam/blood work. While there, my doctor was asking my medical history and I told him that years ago I had been diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse and that I had not had my valve checked since then. He recommended that I have an EKG done just to make sure everything was going ok, and I agreed. I asked him if my insurance would cover it, and he said that since I had been previously diagnosed it would. I went in to get my EKG done, all was normal, then I received a statement a month later saying that my insurance had been billed $6,800 and my remaining balance is almost $1,000 due to coinsurance/deductible.
A couple of issues here - I live in a state that has surprise billing protections. I had asked beforehand if my insurance would cover the EKG and due to the verbal confirmation I received, I made a decision to have the EKG done. Would this fall under surprise billing?
Second question - is nearly $7000 for a routine EKG normal? Just by googling I see that the average cost is $1500 in the US and I find it extremely odd that my insurance was billed almost 5x’s the national average.
I'm not sure what else to do. It's been a month of phone calls and sending messages. They prescribed me a medication as a syringe, and i want them to change it to pen form. At first, they thought that a prefilled syringe is a pen. I clarified what i wanted through the message, and i called to clarify. The front desk person sent a message to my doctor. It still hasn't been changed. Why won't they take a moment to change the medication? I don't want to be annoying, but it's a simple request. I've never had an issue like this before. What can i do?
I (26M) just turned 26, and I'm now exploring options for healthcare in the United States. My job does not offer any plans, but instead offers reimbursement for plan costs. My family makes less than $30k per year. Based on that income, I do not qualify for Medicaid, but according to my Healthcare.gov application, I couldn't even afford the lowest monthly premium of the available options. Does anyone have any advice?
I live in NYC and I am diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I have been in trouble trying to pick up my glucose monitoring system (not a drug), which needs a doctor’s prescription, because the pharmacy keep finding issues with the way my doctor send the prescription.
The pharmacy (a big pharmacy chain) receptionist tells me one story: “oh your doctor forgot to write instructions” or “oh the district pharmacist forgot to add the full name of the prescription”.
My doctor’s office says everything is right and I should just wait. They told me the pharmacy would deliver to my home (?) a week later and this was always the plan. - which the pharmacy denied.
Both the pharmacy and my doc office claim that they “will call each other to notify them”, which they never do.
I have been waiting to pay and pickup my prescription for 3 weeks now.
Obviously I got frustrated and started calling both the pharmacy and the doc office more often. Now I get a very bad attitude from my doc office, implying that they are busy and tired of spending extra time on this issue.
My question here:
Clearly there’s a huge lack of communication between doc offices and pharmacies in nyc.
If I cannot get my prescriptions and I am not supposed to micromanage the pharmacy nor the doctors office when they fail to do their job, what am I supposed to do?? How do you live like this?
Please help! Any advice on how to file complaints in NYC (against pharmacy, doc or district pharmacist) is greatly appreciated.
I read an older thread from 7 years ago about an exorbitant bill AFTER I got my exorbitant bill. I guess I didn’t realize just how much these would be. Now seeing people’s advice about using different medical facilities but I guess I didn’t realize that was a possibility.
For what it’s worth, I was diagnosed with IBS, both my parents have it, and my maternal grandfather died from colon cancer. So my physician recommended me to a GI who said he wanted to do a colonoscopy given me and my family’s history. He was the one who performed the procedure.
I was told I owed $558 when I arrived and I’m guessing my increased bill is because of the biopsies.
Anyway I could challenge any of this? It seems gross.
Thanks for your help.
I just got hired recently and have an hsa as my health plan for this company. From what I understand, it's an account I can save on to pay for medical expenses or anything else.
I'm not completely sure how it works either, but if my HSA doesn't have much in it, how can I do things like doctors appts? Would those have to come out of pocket? Also what are deductibles.
thank you
So a month back I go to urgent care for a cyst that is swollen & painful. They cut it, drain it, send it off for lab tests, and prescribe antibiotics (which they had to prescribe again due to some resistance). I have a high deductible plan so all costs are out of pocket.
Urgent care bill was $400 and dropped to $200 after insurance adjustments. Seems reasonable. Then I received a lab bill for $900!! After insurance adjustments… $720. I was floored.
I called the billing number and pretty much just explained that I wasn’t expecting this bill and it was a lot (kinda playing dumb). They asked me something about the urgent care billing, but I deflected and just stated, no one explained I would be charged this much. She almost immediately offers a 50% discount so I’m down to $360. After that I ask if they have payment plans since this is still a lot—she offers a 3 month at $120 per month. I offer my thanks for her help then ask “so there’s nothing else that can be done to lower my price or payment?”. She puts me on hold then after 1 minute comes back and states that if I make a one time payment of $125 over the phone, my bill would be cleared.
Like wtf?? I’m so glad that I got it reduced but this is honestly such bullshit. What if I had a dead day or was stressed with finances and was a bit rude on the phone. The same procedure is $600 more expensive if I get unlucky?
They were so (relatively) quick to provide such massive discounts it makes me think something fishy was going on (aside from the base scam that is US healthcare pricing.
TL;DR: Medical providers can reduce your bill with the waive of their wand. Make sure to ask for reductions / payment plans if you feel you are being overcharged
First things first, with my insurance, I have a $750 deductible that has been met and $3000 out of pocket max of which I am $600 away from meeting at the time this all started. My coinsurance is 20%. My ER copay is $300.
In the last month, I was seen in the ER, diagnosed with gallstones and had laparoscopic gallbladder removal surgery. All of it was done by in-network providers.
Leaving the ER, I was told I had to pay $220. The way I understood it was that it was the coinsurance, 20% of an estimate of the cost of services. A few days later, I got a bill for $600+. I didn’t sweat it because I figured after this, I will have reached my out of pocket max.
A few days later, I met with a surgeon who recommended gallbladder removal.
Arriving to the hospital for surgery, I was told I had to pay $1,300 before surgery could be performed. I assumed it was that 20% coinsurance again. I was confused because I should have hit my out of pocket max but I was also desperate to be able to eat normal food again, so I paid it.
Today, I had a follow up appointment and paid $45 at the beginning of my appointment.
I also got a text from the hospital today that another bill has posted for $630.
What gives? Am I understanding all of this correctly? Insurance is not a language I speak fluently but I’m also not a complete dummy either. Shouldn’t my coinsurance count towards my deductible and out of pocket max? Do I need to submit the receipts to my insurance for reimbursement? It’s all just so overwhelming to me. Please help.
Despite strides in community-based services for people with disabilities, staff shortages and lack of training mean that individuals aren’t getting the services they need.
People with the most complex needs and, particularly, aggressive behaviors, are often isolated from the rest of the world, even when their living situation fits within the law.
Arizona pays over a million dollars a year in care for some individuals, but advocates worry it’s ineffective. “It is clear to anybody with eyes that the way things are being handled right now simply isn’t effective,” said Jon Meyers, executive director of the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
See our full story here: https://publicintegrity.org/health/institution-of-one/find-safe-homes-people-with-disabilities/
My psychiatrist prescribed me Sam-E. He wrote a letter explaining its medical necessity so my insurance would reimburse me for it.
How do co-pays and quantity limits work in situations like this? I’m far past my max out of pocket for 2022 so medical treatment & products are free for the next two weeks. Could I just buy 12 months worth of San-E, submit to my insurance for reimbursement, and get a check for the full amount?
Feels like that couldn’t/shouldn’t work, but these bureaucracies are so complex that logic often doesn’t line up with reality.
(I’m in USA)
Hoping someone can help me out with this. I’ve just had to get mammograms and biopsies because my doctor and the people I spoke to at the hospital believe I “more likely than not” have breast cancer. However, results will not be in until next week, so I have not been officially diagnosed. I am currently covered under my husband‘s insurance (Bcbs) through his employer, but I am not working at this time.
My question is would it be worthwhile to get an insurance plan of my own in addition to having my husband’s insurance? Or is that a waste of money?
I don’t qualify for Medicaid and I’m not sure how other non-employment related insurance companies work or which ones are reputable or what kind of qualifications I would have to meet, if any.
For those who use laptops with small to mid-size screens that are high resolution for Epic, how do y'all make the font sizes on Epic Hyperspace bigger to make it easier to see? Everything looks small when I'm looking up results and charts on my Microsoft Surface Pro 5 (12", 2736x1824, 3:2 aspect ratio) because the resolution on my screen is high. Any tips on how to personalize the Epic screen to make the text and buttons look bigger when using Epic on a laptop with a high-res display? Let me know what you think, thanks!
I was sent an insurance card for my current plan due to auto renew but was told to update information just in case. I love my current plan but now the coverage amount changed despite being the same Plan ID. The amounts shifted slightly but still confused why it doesn't match the values on the card I was already sent for the same plane i was auto renewed for 2023? Is that how coverage actually works? It's not just different plans but the same one just adjusted?
Is it legal for a doctor’s office to charge per form I bring to them to sign? I had surgery and needed a form signed for my employer to take leave. Then after the surgery, I needed another form signed for state benefits. Both forms are to confirm the diagnosis and procedure. Anyone else annoyed or had to deal with form fees?
not sure if this is the best place but i wanted to at least try.
had to go to urgent care in the middle of a shift about a month ago because my mouth/lip was badly swollen and hurting and my manager sent me.
literally a five minute visit from a nurse - not a doctor - that looked at my mouth, told me she suspected an infection, and sent a prescription for an antibiotic to my pharmacy.
paid my copay (i have good insurance - it was still $50). paid for the antibiotics at the pharmacy, done.
got a bill in the mail saying my copay didn’t cover all of it and that i owe $35. not a big deal.
BUT - the cost that my insurance was billed for was $590. it was a five minute (at MOST) visit, barely a conversation with the nurse. it was a very quick in and out visit.
is there a good way to phrase a request to at least see the breakdown of the costs? i was told my copay was all that i owed when i checked out after my visit, the $35 isn’t going to break me but i’m baffled about what they billed my insurance.
even if i end up paying the $35, i still at least want to see what they charged my insurance for that meant that i owe an additional $35 on top of the $50 i was told would cover the out of pocket portion.
US healthcare baffles me
Hello!
I do social work in an LGBT health center in Florida that is doing away with sliding scale HRT due to budget cuts. Looking for other resources on how to pay for HRT for folks who can't afford Marketplace insurance. Medicaid in Florida has banned HRT.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
My nose is really stuffed I have a lot of mucus build up and it's been killing me for days now and I want to know If there's like a better brand to get that would help for this
I have been helping a family member try to get resolution--even just acknowledgment--for some terrible things that happened in connection with a hospital stay last year. Not talking about medical care, which was adequate (but could have been better), but does have to do with a group of nurses (night shift) involved in verbal and emotional abuse and a couple of doctors whose chart notes included false derogatory statements, including statements which indicate that other verbal conversations or written records were playing a part, records which are not part of the medical record. This also led to some mistreatment by hospital security staff.
The hospital has consistently refused to acknowledge the existence of any of this (via written communications), even though a couple of issues were actually established via complaints to outside agencies.
I am really wondering about the degree to which patient reps are even kept int he loop when there are serious conflicts with a hospital. One of the complaints we filed was with the nurse licensing board. We only had a first name and a time of day (night), and my family member was not even her patient. So the BoN had to get her information from the hospital, yet patient reps seem to not know anything about it.
I'm a 26F and I was wondering what would be the best Healthcare for me. Are medical, Medicare or horizons the best ones? Or is there any others ones that I'm not sure about please let me know. I'm not sure if it goes by state but I live in NJ if that helps.
I got a new FT job and their health insurance benefits are limited to opening an HSA, then choosing between a bronze, silver etc plan connected to that HSA account. My dental plan is also a savings account?
I have been on my state’s insurance for low income individuals up until this point and don’t have a lot of familiarity with high deductible plans. My parents had a PPO/HMO plan with their work so this is the first time I’ve only seen an HSA offered.
It's time to renew and I intended to select the Florida Blue 1443C plan as always, but on Healthcare.gov my closest option is 1443B. Logging in at FloridaBlue's website it suggests that I'm already enrolled for the 1443C plan for 2023 unless I change it. I can't actually navigate the insurer's webpage as the web code is screwed up and most of the pages are unreadable.
The website just displaying things like new_header.messages instead of displaying messages, or dashboard-floridablue.linkText in some weird popunder banner. All I want to know is if there is a difference between 1443B and 1443C so I can make a decision before the Thursday deadline.
Can anyone help?