this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2023
2030 points (98.4% liked)
Comic Strips
12453 readers
3533 users here now
Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.
The rules are simple:
- The post can be a single image, an image gallery, or a link to a specific comic hosted on another site (the author's website, for instance).
- The comic must be a complete story.
- If it is an external link, it must be to a specific story, not to the root of the site.
- You may post comics from others or your own.
- If you are posting a comic of your own, a maximum of one per week is allowed (I know, your comics are great, but this rule helps avoid spam).
- The comic can be in any language, but if it's not in English, OP must include an English translation in the post's 'body' field (note: you don't need to select a specific language when posting a comic).
- Politeness.
- Adult content is not allowed. This community aims to be fun for people of all ages.
Web of links
- [email protected]: "I use Arch btw"
- [email protected]: memes (you don't say!)
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Nah, a lot of hospitals do that.
Hospital margins are razor thin because of the constant battling with insurance companies (and the high payscale for doctors and surgeons, high cost of equipment, etc, obviously). They will often negotiate reasonable rates for uninsured people.
I was recently in the ER. Insured. I received a $2000 bill, "negotiated down" from $2,500. $1,800 of it was for 5 minutes with a doctor.
I had a friend recently (regularly... she's a hypochondriac) in the ER. Uninsured. $500. Same ER. Same complaints. Same tests. Same treatment.
so is it better not to have insurance?
i just got a job with insurance for the first time in my life, now covering myself and two kids - pay is just enough to take them off state insurance. the high deductable plan still REALLY hurts to pay the premiums. but not having had insurance in my adult life, i can't tell if it's worth it or not - i have never gone to doctors i couldn't pay for out of pocket at the time of service (so almost never).
I didn't say that. Ignoring tax benefits, it's better not to have insurance "9 years out of 10". The tax benefits (employer insurance is paid is pre-tax) changes the equation a lot.
Admittedly, it also matters about what your doctors charge, and what your medical conditions are.
Heaven forbid, if you have a major critical event that puts you in the hospital for a month or two (happened to a friend this year), then insurance is the only way to maybe not be bankrupt, assuming they even treat you at all (past keeping you from coding) knowing you won't pay.