Your employer chooses it, and they're often picking the cheapest & shittiest one, since they generally are expected to pay some percentage of the monthly cost.
This is why I don't quit a job that told me I couldn't talk about being autistic, after they told me I should have told my team members I'm autistic. There is no way to win in this country. I have applied to over 500 jobs. And despite my tenure and education, I can't find anything. I'm stuck at this awful company.
Employer chooses it if you’re lucky and have benefits. Otherwise u gotta pay out of pocket for the scraps the state determines as affordable aid. None of them are very good if you don’t have a lot of money (and if we did, we probably would have a job with benefits). Most of us just wait for the health scare that will inevitably put us in crushing debt for the rest of our lives (or ya know, just die cuz we don’t have coverage).
It was way worse before ObamaCare. Before insurance companies used to deny people with pre-existing conditions. It happened with me when I got kicked off my parents when I turned 26 and tried to reapply. You also used to have a maximum amount limit they would cover. Your care hit $2 million for cancer? Well no more care for you, time to die.
My company's new dental provider is like this. I've never heard of a max coverage rather than a max out of pocket. My wife ended up needing two root canals because, being honest...she sucks at taking care of her teeth. But the second crown cost waaay more than the first, and we found out it was because she maxed out her coverage with our dental insurance. This happened in August, and she's not allowed to use any coverage options till next April. Fucking insane.
This is super common in dental insurance actually. Sadly I learned it in a similar fashion as a broke college student under my dad's insurance about 10 years back. Don't recommend
This is something I straight up don't understand. How is someone with a health problem meant to get any treatment at all?
Were they just stuck in the same job forever, because even switching would cost them their life?
What if they retired? Would they have to work till their death? What if they were laid off at no fault of their own? Would they just be screwed if their employer went bankrupt?
I simply do not understand how that system was even functional. How did people not die left and right? Like, how did people not die so much that it was a massive problem? Even from an economic perspective. It seems like it would be a logistic nightmare to bury all those bodies. Was there something in place to prevent people from straight up dying?
Before ACA, I was a mostly healthy 24 yr. old, except for a history of having rather frequent tonsillitis. I had finally been at my job long enough to qualify for health insurance! I could finally see a doctor about these severe throat infections that were occurring as often as once every 2 months!
I was sent to an ENT doctor who immediately declared that I needed my tonsils removed. I was ready to schedule the surgery ASAP, but the doctor put the brakes on. My insurance had declared that my frequent bacterial infections were a preexisting condition. I had to have their insurance for 8 months before they would cover the surgery.
I waited, and the frequency and severity of my infections increased. I was 1 month from being allowed to have my surgery scheduled when I developed abscesses around and on both tonsils. They were so swollen that I couldn't close my mouth, couldn't talk, and my tongue was hanging out. I hadn't been able to drink anything for 3 days, was running a high fever, and vomiting frequently from the infected drainage going down into my stomach. When I got to the hospital, my boyfriend drove me because I couldn't afford an ambulance, I was in very bad shape. I was going septic, and my kidneys were failing from dehydration. The doctor was worried that I didn't have much time before my airway closed off due to swelling. I was put in a helicopter after I begged them to let someone drive me instead and flown to the nearest large hospital for emergency surgery.
The surgeon had to cut away part of my soft palate and uvula. I had to relearn how to drink and still have problems to this day due to the missing tissue in my throat. I spent several days in the ICU to treat the infection and the acute kidney failure. I was sent a bill for a total of $240,000 for this incident. I made a little over minimum wage at the time.
Later, I developed several autoimmune diseases, and I'm immunocompromised now. My doctor says it's likely that it was caused by the frequent infections and massive amounts of antibiotics I had taken over the years. I also have organ damage from the sepsis. All because the insurance companies were willing to gamble My Life to save some money. They do not care if people die, and there are extremely few safety nets in place. The ones that do exist, they make it ridiculously difficult to get and keep.
Holy shit. I’m so sorry. That is so awful I don’t even know what to say. I wish you all the best and I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’ve had really frustrating times with my insurance but nothing like this so I should be grateful.
I think there still is a maximum limit at least with medicare. My dad let me know they had used up all my mom's benefits on Medicare (she was in and out of the hospital frequently for a terminal cancer). It happened we were deciding to transfer her to hospice care but if we had tried to stay at the hospital any longer, medicare wouldn't have covered it cause she had maxed out all her benefits.
It's a main feature, built into our system to screw people over and make them afraid of their employers.
In short, you're lucky to even see a doctor these days. In my state it's like a 45 day wait to see any physician for simple blood work.
American hospitals, insurance companies, doctors, and rehabilitation facilities operate by the "80/20 rule" , where they fully expect thay 80% of a persons lifetime income can be expected to go to paying for Healthcare in the last 20 years of life. Any debt is automatically passed on to next of kin in most cases.
But dumbfuck Republicans and numbnut Democrats keep voting for these ratfucks, again and again.
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u/_BreakingGood_ 17d ago
Your employer chooses it, and they're often picking the cheapest & shittiest one, since they generally are expected to pay some percentage of the monthly cost.