My fellow DUers. Do you have health care and are you satisfied?

[babylonsister]

If so, have your costs been going up? Do you think this is a bad thing, or OK because everything goes up.

If you don't, are you pretty jazzed that something might be done to make it more available?

[Forkboy]

1. Actually, I am.

I'm on Masshealth and it's covered everything, including all my cancer related costs, surgery, etc, and all mental health services (and I need a lot lol). My prescriptions are $2 for a generic and $4 for regular ones. I have no copays at all. It also covers dental, vision, etc.

[RandySF]

9. But but

Glenn Beck said it's a disaster!!!! You must be lying!!!!

[Forkboy]

23. LOL...outed by Beck again! Curses!

:)

[sandnsea]

16. Is that the Medicaid plan?

People keep saying FEHB is the "gold standard". I say no way, Medicaid is. Don't you think so?

[Forkboy]

22. It's literally saved my life.

But I have to admit I really don't even know much about health care overall in this country, other than it needs fixing. I don't even know all the details of my own coverage. I just go to the doctor and hand them the card and that's that. I know a lot of people say this is Romneycare, but I don't care who created it. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the way Mass handles health care (pictures a bunch of DUers hating Masshealth all of a sudden).

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I have health care:

Medicare. So I'm lucky. I've only had it since last November, so I'm not really aware if my costs are rising.

So far, I'm happy with it.

I think it should be available to everyone.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. We've got excellent coverage, and

I am ashamed to say that I have no idea what it costs. That's taken care of by others, so I don't know.

But, we're not at issue here. I want everyone to have what we have. So, yeah, I'm jazzed, and I've contacted my Congressman - who used to be our mayor and is a pal - and our Senators - one of whom is a neighbor - and yelled at them about how they HAVE to vote.

One of my Senators, our neighbor, is cozying up with Evan Bayh and those other fuckers. I told him if I wanted a Republican to represent me, I'd have voted for a Republican, and if he keeps this up, I just might end up voting for a Republican.

I lied, but he won't have our support if he doesn't snap out of it ........................

[BlooInBloo]

4. I have good health care, but I'm not satisfied, because others don't.

[lonestarnot]

5. Quadrupled and fuck no I'm not satisfied!

:hi:

[tularetom]

6. Yes yes yes yes and n/a

It's Medicare and the costs are going up because we got means tested into paying almost $400 per month premiums for Part B.

[RandySF]

7. We have good care BUT

Sometimes I turn cold when I think of what might happen if we somehow lose it and have to make sure our son is covered.

[MercutioATC]

8. I have health insurance and I'm satisfied with it.

It's not great, but it's comprehensive and it's reasonable.

...and the costs rise every year.

[Ron Green]

10. I have just about the best health insurance and it still sucks

because it's a goddamned shell game: Co-pays, out-of-network fees, formularies, and all the other bait-and-switch tricks designed not to pay for reasonable care for me and my family, but to maximize the return on the investors' shares.

I will gladly pay higher taxes for a single-payer system. I also want real health education, an end to subsidies for corporate food and a national discussion about the acceptance of death as a natural process.

[babylonsister]

13. "a national discussion about the acceptance of death as a natural process."

That's crucial. Anyone who is old enough has seen the healthcare system misused. 2.5 years for my mom, a lot of it so fruitless. And the tests! :puke:

[PSzymeczek]

11. No, I do not.

Lost my healthcare when I lost my Federal service job under bogus circumstances.
Can't get anything else due to pre-existing conditions.

[Ishoutandscream2]

12. Yes, United Health Care. And no, not satisfied at all

[mike_c]

14. I have PERS-Choice PPO provided by the state of California...

...my employer. I am NOT very satisfied. I used to have much better coverage through an HMO-- it had its own issues, but the coverage was better-- but it withdrew from all the rural California counties because providing insurance here was not profitable enough. That's sort of the ultimate subscriber rejection-- they rejected us all.

Anyway, PERS is the minimum coverage that all CA employees can get if they can't get anything better or don't want to pay for a (much) more expensive plan. It's pretty basic in most respects. The covered expenses look pretty good on their face, but the way it works is that the insurance company-- Blue Cross, I think-- pays like 80 percent of most covered expenses up to what they consider the appropriate cost of that service. Customers get stuck with the rest. Pretty much everything but routine doctors office visits charge more than 100 percent of the insurance company "appropriate cost" so we're CONSTANTLY being hit with additional costs for damned nearly everything. Every time I get a blood test or x-rays I get a bill for a couple of hundred dollars from the provider to cover what the insurance company declined to pay.

It sucks.

[LiberalAndProud]

15. No and no.

As a small family business, I find that we are aging out of the desirable insurance pool. We've been wihout insurance for 1-1/2 years now. We've been paying our own medical bills. I have foregone any medical care, but we have been paying for opthalmologists for my husband. So far it has been more affordable than buying insurance.

I know this good luck will not hold. I am praying that there will be an affordable option soon.

[stuball111]

17. Coming from Canada..

no... I am not satisfied. When I work, ( I am Union and currently on Cobra) I have $8.00 per hour taken off just for health and welfare. That's about $29,000 per year if I work a full year 52 weeks. As for Cobra, I pay $4300 per year, and I don't think Cobra is as good coverage, but the full coverage is still not 100%. There are co-pays, deductible, and other hidden costs.I get dental, but it it is only about 50% coverage. Back in Canada, I had $5.00/hr taken off for health and welfare, 100% dental, 100% medical, life insurance, and death benefits. The Cobra payments were about $30.00 per month. I am very jazzed that the Dems will pull of universal health care. It would literally change this country over night! Look, the reason that Canadians, and other countries with full health live longer is not because it's better, it's the same. The fact is that early care for kids through to adulthood makes for a healthier society, and thus longer life. Go up to Canada, to say, Vancouver and stand on a street corner and just look at the people, I did that on my last trip up there, and was amazed at how much healthier and fit people are! Far less obesity and even though they pay more in taxes, you don't see the sharp division in classes like there is here. It's sad really, I think the world of the USA, but it could be so much better, and most people don't even realize it.

[mike_c]

28. don't get your hopes up....

What they're pushing is nowhere near "universal health care." I've seen estimates that no more than about 10 million people will actually be insured by the "public option," which will be limited in extent so as not to compete "unfairly" with private insurance companies.

[stuball111]

33. I know...

There's no way it can be brought in over night.... didn't happen in Canada either, and Tommy Douglas knew that, he brought it in in stages, slowly..I just hope public can get a foot in the door. When people see how great it is, they'll want more for sure..:-(

[sandnsea]

18. Taxpayer sponsored subsidized insurance

The only thing I'm really annoyed with is that I'm in a pre-existing condition pool which is horrifically expensive (to the taxpayer, not me), and if I weren't in that I'd be able to get a plan with dental.

Othewise, Oregon has an insurance exchange type system, with generous subsidies, and I think it's working pretty good here. If everybody had it, with caps on out of pocket expenses, it would be a long way to resolving the lack of health care. If there were an even cheaper public option, like Medicaid, wowie zow, awesome!!

[babylonsister]

30. Hmmm. I have government-run

Tricare. That's all we have, but it takes care of us. Not everyone will accept this, but so far, so good. We had a disaster a month after we signed on and they took care of it.

Not too shabby. Why couldn't this be a way to work it?

[Hello_Kitty]

19. I am now but I was unemployed all last year.

And uninsured. That was scary and I was damn lucky I never needed any medical treatment. If I lose this job I don't want to be in that position again.

[noamnety]

20. I have care through my spouse

who is a federal employee - so it's awesome.

My daughter's insurance through us runs out in a couple weeks, she's just started a job and I don't know yet what her coverage will be or if there's a waiting period before she can get it. It's been the source of worried conversations, I think even though she's an adult we might end up paying for private insurance for her if it's not covered. If she had a crisis we would to ensure she gets care - and the insurance would be for us as much as her so we don't end up bankrupt.

My sister is uninsured and if she had a crisis it could wipe out the rest of the family's savings. Same for my husband's sister.

At my own job, even though I don't get insurance through there, the increase in insurance costs created a budget crisis which led to me getting a pay cut to help fund other employees' insurance.

-----------
So. Yes I personally have great insurance.

All the same the health care crisis is putting my family at risk (both health risk and financial risk), it will potentially cost us extra money to insure an adult daughter, and the burden of tying it to employment has had a direct impact on my salary.

[givemebackmycountry]

21. I am a simple guy, so this is a simple explanation...

NO JOB?
NO HEALTH CARE.

Yeah, maybe I can hang on for a little while.

Having health care while you are working is GREAT until it comes time to go "all in" when you get cancer or a brain tumor.
Then you will learn that they will treat you just like you were uninsured.

Health insurance is like car insurance.
No tickets?
No accidents?
No claims?
WE LOVE YOU!
YOUR A GREAT CUSTOMER!

Get a ticket or two?
Get in an accident?
Someone rear ends you while you are parked on a street in your home asleep?

EFF YOU!
Your dropped!

Nah, we don't need reform.
This way, is the American way.

[babylonsister]

26. Then the prez is working for you, and so am I.

Despite what you hear, that's how this is going down. You WILL get help.

[givemebackmycountry]

41. Thank You, BSis-

I'm working for you too, because I get it.
Thankfully, I have a good job and good (I think) health insurance.

But like the rope (my job), that I am holding on to, on the side of a cliff... I ain't tested it yet.

And unlike most of America, I kind of understand what will happen when I do that.
Or more importantly, when I have no other choice but to do so.

[Puzzler]

24. I'm satisfied!

Guess why?

[stuball111]

35. Right on!Rub it in!

Sooner or later, they MIGHT get the drift down here!... How's Shona Holmes doin? Fat fuckin cow... I hope she dies of fatness...It ain't covered, even in Canada!:toast:

[abumbyanyothername]

25. I have a plan with Anthem

I am scared to death.

My law practice has collapsed (my revenue line has been consistent since April, $0). If I can't keep up my payments to Anthem, I will be uninsureable (having a line in your medical chart that reads "sudden cardiac death syndrome" will do that to you).

So essentially if this bill doesn't pass I am toast on the health insurance front.

But I got other problems also.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

27. This is probably no comfort to you at all,

and you probably don't even care, but, for what it's worth, the law business in Washington, DC - you know, that recession-proof place - has gone to hell. Firms are getting rid of partners, buying out their shares with a couple of weeks' notice. It's unreal.

An old colleague, Yale Law grad, incredible appellate practitioner, a lawyer's lawyer, the most impeccable credentials, was informed by the firm he'd been with for twenty years or so, that he was being let go.

He was fifty-six years old.

Self-inflicted gunshot wound. In his office. He never did get around to packing up his stuff.

So, it's not just where you are. I do hope, though, that it picks up for you..........................

[abumbyanyothername]

34. I know that it's horrible all over

I was among the elite, until I opted for a solo shop serving a single client (securitizing non-prime home equity loans with Bear Stearns, no less). Everyone in my rolodex is out of work. The whole finance sector is collapsed like a neutron star.

It's a little harder for me because I am being hit with a mid-life crisis about now anyway. As in, I only got into law to support a child. That child is now grown (and a parent himself) and the other kids that came along, well the youngest of them is 16+. Meanwhile, I have enough equity in the house to enjoy a comfortable decade or so back where I am from. Of course, my wife is not yet convinced that we will have to give up the house, and she definitely isn't leaving here.

I understand your friend/colleague's choice. I really do.

[sandnsea]

39. You have options

You have a degree. You can follow about 90% of the paths that are out there. Sure, maybe you'll never be a rock star, but you can be a lawyer for a non-profit that teaches kids rock opera. You can start a national nonprofit law service, like consumer credit except law. You can quit law and use your people or critical thinking skills in some other field. Lots of options. You are so lucky. You hit the jackpot in life.

[abumbyanyothername]

46. Right now

there doesn't seem to be an appropriate path.

I get energized thinking about advocating for single payer . . . .

I get energized fantasizing about a "post-finance" (post-money) economy.

When it comes to doing anything that might produce a paycheck this month . . . meh.

I feel like I have options in the form of several years expenses worth of equity in the house I paid for for 11 years.

[sandnsea]

53. You'll figure it out

Look around for a single payer group that needs a lawyer. Some of them do have some money. Or talk to some people about moving into some kind of political consulting. The sky is really the limit for you, you've got to think of it that way. Don't worry about the money. That will work itself out, it always does. Midlife crisis is really kind of getting to a place where you like yourself just the way you are. I think most people come out of it exactly the way they went in, only happy.

Do you have grandkids yet?

[abumbyanyothername]

78. One graddaughter. nt

[stuball111]

38. No...

It's sad when anybody ends like that... this whole fuckin country is running around with an Elephant in the room on a rampage, and they are all screaming to find the mousetrap. NOBODY should have to go like that...terrible... and tragic...

[sandnsea]

42. Best visual description I've heard

Somebody should do a cartoon, elephants loose all over the country, tax cuts, war lies, privatization, - with Democrats busy worrying about a few donkey droppings.

[stuball111]

51. Yours is good!

It's so true isn't it" Almost surreal... it's so stupid!

[Elwood P Dowd]

29. I am 62 and have no health care at this time.

In May I filled out the forms to get back in the VA system but haven't heard anything from them.

[stuball111]

31. A visit to freeperland

I "joined" it a few days ago, and went in for a look to see what the other side was yapping about, and some guy said that United Health lost money last year, and that their profit was only 4%! Well, when companies post a "loss" its really saying that they just didn't MAKE as much. This dumbass crunched his numbers and STILL came up with a profit of $800 million even with last years "loss" now, how does that amount to 4%? And another thing, my short time infiltrating Freeperland came to a crashing halt when I posted I was for a public option! After trying to post something, I got a message saying my "privilages" had been suspended! So much for freedom of speech eh? If that's what's waiting down the road for this country, I'm scared! Fuckin assholes!

[Quantess]

36. That makes sense, because to FReeps, public option = socialism

FR blows anyway, so why would you want to hang out there? Be proud that you got escorted out of the Devil's toejam.
DU likewise bans people who seem too right wing, BTW. Free Speech does not apply on these political message boards.

[stuball111]

47. Keep your friends close...

well, you know what they say about enemies... I don't "hang out" there...I saw it on TV and went for a look, and it scared the shit outta me with their RW revolution crap, gunning for liberals? I have learned as a "socialist" demon, ex-pat Canuck, that watching the other side to see what they're up to makes sense, and keeps one informed. Yeah, I am proud that I only lasted one post, but I don't think they are that facist over here, thank God. And yes... FR blows big time!

[Quantess]

32. No, I do not have insurance.

I posted my situation earlier:

I injured my knee badly 3 months ago (sports injury), but I have no insurance. So, I just got out the crutches, and iced, elevated, and rested my knee. It took about 3 weeks before I could walk without crutches, and if I had insurance, I would have taken everyone's advice and gotten a CT scan or an MRI to see if I needed surgery. But obviously that would all add up to a lot of money that I don't have. I figured I would take the chance that my knee would recover on its own. Months later, I can finally jog short distances and take long walks without knee pain, but I still don't know whether I'll need surgery in the future to fix whatever soft tissue was injured.

A lot of people without insurance have it worse than I do, I know. But I would love to have health insurance in case anything else happens.

[babylonsister]

43. Thanks for your honest assessment, from someone who could

use it/needs it.

[Quantess]

54. Sounds like you could use some health care...

:hug: Sorry to hear it.

[berni_mccoy]

37. Yes and No

I have insurance for my family, but I pay the full amount of the premium and it's a large percentage of what I make. But we need it as I have two boys with type-1. Insulin alone is over 600/month for them uninsured. And that's just one thing they need. If we ever had a lapse in coverage, it would bankrupt us.

[TorchTheWitch]

40. no insurance and no extra money to pay for any n/t

[handmade34]

44. I dropped my BCBS last year

I was paying almost $15,000/ year (employer kicked in another $3600.) and still ended up with too many co-pays and refusals. I refuse to pay an insurance company ever again. I will gladly pay the government run program(when it exists) half of my wages if everyone is covered. I am just hopin' nutin happens to me until them.

[babylonsister]

45. Bay Buchanan is advocating everyone go home for recess. Gives me pause. nt

[Liquorice]

48. Yes I do now, and I'm pretty satisfied. But I didn't always have insurance, and

it was VERY scary. I'm anxiously anticipating that everyone will soon have access to health care. I hope it happens this time, but I fear republicans/others with a vested interest will stop it again. I don't know how they can live with themselves.

[babylonsister]

50. If it's any consolation, I don't either, Liquorice. nt

[FrenchieCat]

49. I have "Do it yourself" Kaiser.....

and pay your $75.00 co-pay while you are at it.

They are just OK...but the cost is killing us!
$1,200 per month! That's like $14,000 per year!
and yet, when we want to go, we still have to fork over
that $75.00!
I could do a lot with $75.00, that after paying $14,000,
I don't think I should have to pay.

I remember when Kaiser cost us like $400 a month, with a $5.00 copay!
I want that back!

[Dumak]

52. My policy has that phrase "pre-existing condition",

making it a non-starter. Private insurers are evil.

[provis99]

55. Impossible for me to get health care

Pre-existing condition: bipolar disorder. You can't get health insurance if you need it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

56. I do. I pay for an individual policy, and I am.

I spent the majority of my life not needing medical care of any kind. Then I ruptured an ACL in the Navy, and had it reconstructed. The active duty orthopod who "fixed it" totally fucked it up.

Five years later, I had what's known as a "sympathetic" injury that required reconstruction of the other ACL. Blue Cross/Blue Shield paid for it to be reconstructed, as well as paying for the 6 months of physical therapy it took to get back to anything approximating 100 percent. Not a penny out of my own pocket.

Two years ago, I went to see the doctor after having an episode of numbness in one of my legs. Totally different problem, and by this time I was paying for my healthcare out of my own pocket because I was selling real estate. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, borderline diabetes... those problems necessitated monthly visits, as well as meds meds meds. I've been seeing my doctor monthly ever since. In that time, my insurance premium hasn't changed. My co-pay went from $10 dollars per visit to $40 dollars per visit. The cost of my meds, four prescriptions in total, hasn't changed.

I pay for myself, and my 17 year old daughter.

No problems here.

[madmax]

57. NO

I've hardly used my health insurance until now at age 59. When I need it the most the sons of bitches are refusing or giving my Doctor a hard time about tests I need to have. Geez, I hardly thought 59 was expendable!!!

I'm scared, and I want Public Option. We have Aetna through my husband's job. He's in sales, works on a commission only basis. With this economy going down the tubes we could be in for it. :grr:

[pnwmom]

58. I'd be satisfied if I wasn't afraid of losing it and if the plan was available

to anyone, no matter where they worked and what their pre-existing conditions.

The plan is a good one, but we could lose it anytime.

[madrchsod]

59. yes and it sucks....

3500 for two people , 1000 deductible, and 20% pay. because my wife`s company has a pool of "high risk" employees this is the best they can purchase..well it`s the only insurance company that will sell them insurance coverage. the company does not provide short term -longterm disability insurance. many people who have surgery are "forced" to go back to work before they should. we are filing bankruptcy over my medical bills the 20% did`t pay.

[mr blur]

60. I have excellent health care. Costs me nothing. I'm in the UK.

I paid my contributions to it when I could work and pay taxes. Like everyone else. Now I'm disabled the state takes care of my health needs. Free prescriptions, free operations, free nursing, free equipment etc. I have no income, no insurance - but I'm alive. So I'm a Socialist, always have been - lucky me, actually.

[quaker bill]

61. Yes

but costs are up and coverage is down.

[stray cat]

62. yes - but changes in regulations need to be made and caps on out of pocket expenses

[Vinca]

63. No - after we reached a certain age with a couple of pre-existing

conditions, they jacked the premium into the stratosphere for a policy that barely covered anything to begin with so we had to give it up. In the interim, there have been a few small problems we've paid for out of pocket, but when I was recently told my hip pain would not go away without joint replacement, it was like being hit with a tractor-trailer truck. Now that I see hope of relief on the horizon, I'm more than pretty jazzed up. After googling around looking for inexpensive hip replacements, I've seen enough posts by other people to know I'm not alone. I read one post from a woman who described her hip as having "bone on bone" pain . . . she was beyond desperate. I'm a little disheartened that in the current debate, the suffering of the people has taken a back seat to M-O-N-E-Y.

[Ohio Joe]

64. No health care here

I've been unemployed for a year now, I simply do not have the money for it. I hurt my elbow three months ago, nothing that will kill me but I get sharp pains when lifting or turning it too much. I have also developed an odd bulge (small, less then a golf ball) in my abdomen that does not really hurt... but feels like my insides are trying to squeeze out when the muscles there flex too much, so I try not to aggravate it. Hopefully I get a job soon and coverage so I can "suddenly" notice these things and get them taken care of.

[madokie]

65. I personally have the VA for healthcare

and I'm pleased with it. Mind you I never had a health issue until my 54th year. I was reluctant to go there to begin with because of all the horror stories I'd heard but I had a leg that was swelling and looked like it was about to bust. I had to do something so I checked into the VA hospital. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how I was treated and the cost of it all. I wish that they would pattern the delivery of healthcare on the VA's model for all of our citizens and non-citizens.

[harun]

66. I do and am not satisfied. It is too expensive and even though I have it

if I lost my job I could not afford to keep it. Which is unacceptable.

[JohnnyLib2]

67. My family is pretty well covered.

BUT I work with clients of all income levels and hear their stories. The need for more availability and "taking the reins" on health care is so obvious that I'm years past discussing it. Advocacy and sometimes defense is my interest.

[W_HAMILTON]

68. I have healthcare insurance.

And I suppose I'm satisfied with my plan.

However, I would happily pay more in taxes to get a public option, and I would most likely switch to a public option.

While I haven't had problems with my healthcare insurance, I hate my job, and since my healthcare insurance is provided through my job, I feel like I'm stuck.

[Mari333]

69. just catastrophic care thru state farm

10,000 deductible. only covers catastrophic care, no doctor coverage, no med coverage, no other coverage.
almost 300 month. goes up as i age.
just have it to save my retirement funds from being used in case of an emergency.

[kjackson227]

70. I have healthcare through my employer, but premiums keep going up...

for the employer, and the employer has to continually cut benefits to keep up. So, no I'm not satisfied with my healthcare because I have to pay more for my prescriptions, and my out-of-pocket expenses keep rising.

[Stinky The Clown]

71. I have Kaiser. The quality and access are great. The cost is OUTRAGEOUS

We pay $22,000 a tear for Sparkly and me.

I really like my doc. She's just a few years younger than me, very calm, and very wiling to spend the time with me that I want.

I really like the idea of going to one place to get all my medical needs met.

The cost for all this just plain sucks. And gets suckier by the year. Ours is their high option plan. e can stay with Kaiser and pay a $5 copay or we can go to a private doc and pay 20% We've never, ever felt the need to go out of plan.

Ten years ago, our cost was about $6,000 for this same plan.

[H2O Man]

72. Yes and

no. Our dental plan is not very good.

Also, both of my sons are uninsured. They are in their 20s, and college students. They have no coverage. This spring, the older one had a sty in his eye, and the old "over-the-counter" medication is now Rx. The pharmacist told him to just go to the local walk-in clinic, to get an Rx. My son explained he had no insurance, and the pharmacist (a friend of mine) said it would likely be $60.

Long story short, the bill came, and it was for %775. For a two-minute exam in a walk-in clinic, not an ER. No tests, no x-rays, nothing but a quick look and a prescription.

It took him and I six months, but we were able to get the bill reduced to $40. But not everyone can do that.

I have other extended family members who have adequate coverage, and also many -- both young and old -- who do not. It's a big problem.

[raccoon]

73. I have an individual policy that is basically catastrophic insurance.

IOW, they don't pay for anything unless something catastrophic happens to me. $5000 deductible and pre-existing conditions aren't covered. One advantage, often I pay a "negotiated" (reduced) price for services.

Yes, they jack up the premiums occasionally.

I would love to have Medicare expanded to cover me and millions of others.

[AngryAmish]

74. yes and yes

Mrs. AA is having a baby in a few months. It will cost, out of pocket, $350. It includes two nights at the finest maternity hospital in the US (Prentice at Northwestern).

Full dental, too.

But if my wife gets fired or the business goes belly up (which it might) then???

[paparush]

75. Yes. And very satisfied.

County employee with excellent BC/BS medical, dental, eye.

We are in the last year of a 3 year contract so I expect costs to rise next year.

[blueamy66]

76. My fiance and I both have BCBS thru our separate employers.

But my plan is a much better one that his. I pay $240 a month for mine and he pays $1. I have a $500 deductible and he has a $2500 deductible. We both have the same co-pays but he pays a bit more for scripts.

I posted about his ER experience in another thread. I just re-read his EOB. The first bullet stated: You may be missing out on savings that you would receive if services had been performed by a BCBS participating provider. The last bullet stated: To find a BlueCard contracting health-care provider call 1-800 blah blah blah.

So, you kids that are covered by BCBS....make sure that you call BCBS while your sig other is vomiting blood to find out if the ER doc accepts your insurance. :wtf: Even thought he hospital that you are in and that doc is practicing in is an approved hospital.

GRRRRR...

If we don't get good answers from BCBS, I am calling Mr. McCain. :) I'm sure that he will be happy to help.

[dembotoz]

77. yes and it is expensive and it is sucky but it is somewhat better than the last plan

last plan company had was with unitied health care and what a disaster that was....
Currently with Hummana
perscription plan ok
office visits co pay ok
deductiables are huge--family is 10k

so for sniffles and checkups good coverage

for something more serious--guess i am bankrupt.

oh and my contribution is over 12 k / year.