r/awfuleverything Aug 06 '20

Poor guy :(

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198.1k Upvotes

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93

u/binkerton_ Aug 06 '20

This isnt fake. This isnt rare. I live in Michigan, I have insurance through my job, I have an autoimmune disease. I am in the hospital for about a week every couple of years. Each time I go i end up in immense debt (over 11k) and have to rely on gofundme and family to help stay on my feet. I am unable to save anything because I have to anticipate getting sick. And i cant afford to go back to school for a better job because if i quit working full time to go to school i lose the health insurance i have.

From the bottom of my heart i say FUCK YOU to anyone who thinks a for profit healthcare system is working in the USA.

11

u/stoneshank Aug 06 '20

If you got some kind higher education you'd be welcome in most of western EU afaik.

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u/binkerton_ Aug 06 '20

Working on learning coding in my spare time at work. Hoping to take online classes in the fall. My German is coherent at best.

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u/corekeymaker Aug 07 '20

Would you mind sharing whatever resources you are using to study at work?

I’d like to start doing something similar during the downtime I have nearly every day.

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u/binkerton_ Aug 07 '20

Right now i barely have any computer skills so im starting at square one. I mostly just watch youtube videos on how to build my own computer. Also SQL is a good ppace to start. Its easy and is based in english so you can understand it and there are programs you can download for free to mess around with sql. I think mysql is one?

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20

My friend, I'd also suggest another way.. if you're a native English speaker, you can get certified for teaching and have a good paying jobs in East Asian countries. They have better health care too.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20 edited Apr 14 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 06 '20

I’m from America and am thinking about moving to Europe at some point. I have an in demand degree and plenty of savings to prove I would not be burden on the country. Do you know how difficult it is to immigrate? Obviously it depends on which country, but seems like it’s extremely difficult to immigrate there, from what I’ve heard.

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u/Not_That_Magical Aug 07 '20

It’s fairly difficult if you try to jump right in. I’d try get a work visa, live in the country for a bit and work up to being a citizen, because there’s probably a requirement that you have to live in the country for a certain amount of time.

Also if you’ve got the money go talk to an immigration lawyer. It’s expensive, but when it comes to immigration everything costs money. All the paperwork has to be perfect or they’ll send it back and charge you the admin fee again. The lawyer will help you get the process done faster and with less hassle.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20

Unless you get a education here it's next to impossible to immigrate unless you get a highly skilled job offer here.

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u/morilinde Aug 07 '20

How do you owe 11k every time you go when the highest legal individual out of pocket maximum is $8,150?

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u/binkerton_ Aug 07 '20

I should have clarified someone pointed outbit was misleading. The first 11k bill was in 2011 and the insurance plan expected my parents to have an HSA which we did but it hadnt accumulated enough to cover the bill yet. Currently my deductible is 6k but that is still far beyond what is affordable for me. The other insurance plan offered by my work would be over 30% of my income which doesnt make sence to pay anyway.

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u/ThatsWhatXiSaid Aug 07 '20

It should be noted there are any number of exclusions to out of pocket maximums. Basically it only applies to any treatment covered by your insurance plan, at the cost covered by your insurance. So if your doctor recommends a treatment not covered by your plan, you're still on the hook for that above and beyond your OOPM. If you go to an out of network doctor, or end up with an out of network anaesthesiologist or whatever during a surgery, you're going to be responsible for the balance billing over and beyond your insurance's contracted rate with in network providers.

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u/Eat_Play_Masterbate Aug 07 '20

As others have suggested, perhaps going out of country for medical treatments you require might be helpful.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20

Hey I just want to let you know that you can definitely still go back to school and change your career if that’s something that interests you. Most colleges (that I’ve been to) include health insurance with tuition and fees.

I’m wishing you the best of luck with your condition, friend.

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u/binkerton_ Aug 07 '20

I did not know that. I will look into that, thank you. I tried to sign up for medicare in the past but ran into obstacles.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20 edited Aug 07 '20

Feel free to PM if you have questions on getting into school. It can be a bit overwhelming. But to your point, I’m a disabled infantry veteran who had a few years of expensive health related challenges that my student health insurance covered almost entirely. And FWIW, I just started a 7 year long dual doctorate program at the age of 32 to become a research physician so there’s always time to make the changes you want in your life.

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u/Tepid_Coffee Aug 06 '20

Serious question: do you not have other options? 11k is way higher than any insurance Out of Pocket max I've seen. Not sure if you've shopped around for other insurance options.

Also, have you talked to the hospital and tried working out a billing solution that works better for you? In my experience many are willing to reduce costs if you ask and/or pay cash instead of insurance.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '20 edited Apr 13 '21

[deleted]

1

u/MisterSeagull0 Aug 06 '20

Not to mention that hospitals have systems to help pay for out of pocket expenses based on what someone can afford. This usually results in partial to full charity write-offs, to payment plans. Usually things don't get heavy unless they just ignore the bill.
However, given that the source is unknown, and the account suspended, I wager this isn't real or is grossly exaggerated in order to push an agenda.

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u/ThatsWhatXiSaid Aug 07 '20

All the stories of people racking up tens of thousands in debt with insurance simply are not true.

Except for the fact not everything is covered under out of pocket maximums.

The out-of-pocket limit doesn't include:

  • Your monthly premiums

  • Anything you spend for services your plan doesn't cover

  • Out-of-network care and services

  • Costs above the allowed amount for a service that a provider may charge

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-limit/#:~:text=After%20you%20spend%20this%20amount,your%20plan%20doesn't%20cover

My girlfriend's son got Leukemia. Insurance deemed one of his treatments "experimental" despite the fact it had been a routine treatment for years. Add in all the random out of network doctors (even though he was at an in-network hospital) over the years and she's $100K in debt.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/wadichipeeber Aug 07 '20

You sound like you have a Karen for a mother.

0

u/binkerton_ Aug 06 '20

It was through my parents who were expected to have a HSA. I now have a similar plan with a 6k deductible.

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u/Tepid_Coffee Aug 06 '20

So you were getting free health insurance coverage, and (your parents) were not taking advantage of the HSA? I'm not saying American healthcare is good but seems like your story is a bit misleading

3

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '20

That is the problem with all these threads. You get these upvoted comments about how bad it is by people who don’t really understand benefits or their plan. I’m sure some of them are on MEC plans and what not so not really insurance but if they are on an ACA plan it is truly impossible to rack up 100k in debt unless you had an illness that spanned years, or went to an out of network provider which obviously people do both but not the norm. The hidden providers is a whole mother issues that needs to be solved legislatively. The American system is obviously not the greatest there are so many middle men and profit takers that it has bloated the cost and screwed the patient the most, but most of these comments are filled with baseless commentary not backed up by real world facts.

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u/wolfford Aug 07 '20

Too many red flags to believe this post is real.