Do you still have healthcare?

[gordo]

In the US, if you lose your job because of Covid19 do you continue to have healthcare coverage? I.e. I’m assuming that coverage was through your employer. How does that work?

 

[AP90]

In the US, if you lose your job because of Covid19 do you continue to have healthcare coverage? I.e. I’m assuming that coverage was through your employer. How does that work?

it depends on each employer. Some who laid people off kept their benefits for a certain amount of time. generally, if your laid off or terminated, benefits go with it.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Coverage can sometimes extend after termination. You can also probably pay to continue the coverage out of pocket after the fact. Some employers may immediately eject you out of the program. It will vary between different companies.

There are government programs like Medicaid that help those with low income afford certain things.

There is no straight answer.

 

[gordo]

it depends on each employer. Some who laid people off kept their benefits for a certain amount of time. generally, if your laid off or terminated, benefits go with it.

Ouch :-/

 

[gordo]

Coverage can sometimes extend after termination. You can also probably pay to continue the coverage out of pocket after the fact. Some employers may immediately eject you out of the program. It will vary between different companies.

There are government programs like Medicaid that help those with low income afford certain things.

There is no straight answer.

Yikes. And I’m guessing if you pay it yourself it would be more expensive than through your employer?

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Yikes. And I’m guessing if you pay it yourself it would be more expensive than through your employer?

Honestly most people in the US that have health insurance through their employee literally lose money versus a normal plan. They don't understand the simple math so their money just goes right out the window.

But I'm getting tired of you constantly playing down everything the US is involved in. We get it, you think Canada is perfect. I think this quarantine is messing with your head.

 

[gordo]

But I'm getting tired of you constantly playing down everything the US is involved in. We get it, you think Canada is perfect. I think this quarantine is messing with your head.

1 I don’t think that Canada is perfect. I don’t recall ever saying that.
2 I don’t think I have ever played down everything the US is involved in.
3 The video links that I’ve posted are Americans speaking about their experience. We here are under the same restrictions however I’m not aware of any Canadians who post videos on the subject with the same intensity as US folks. That’s why I quote them.
4 There are many similarities between the US and Canaduh - “children of a common mother” after all. So, for me, it’s fascinating to see in what ways we are different.

I ask these questions because I don’t know. I compare what info I receive with my experience here and try to imagine how I would react if my situation was the same. I also look at how other countries and how they have responded and the messages their governments put out. My background is in marketing so it’s in my DNA to try and understand people and cultures.

The quarantine has had a big impact on my life and my family. And on the lives of many people. I think that the response is unwarranted and has and will cause much damage to the economy, businesses, and people. I also think there’s value in sharing personal experience so that we individuals gain a better understanding of the differences in response and impact we experience.

If you have a problem with my postings I suggest you either ignore them or lodge a complaint with the admin.

 

[kdw75]

Everyone is covered for Covid 19 related medical costs.

 

[AP90]

Honestly most people in the US that have health insurance through their employee literally lose money versus a normal plan. They don't understand the simple math so their money just goes right out the window.

I’d like for you to elaborate on that statement.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

I’d like for you to elaborate on that statement.

One of my close friends works at a national franchise and has health insurance, dental and optical. I've analyzed the number that he "saves" on both optical and dental as we were comparing our plans and coverage. The amount of money he pays back to his company to enroll in their plan doesn't balance out in his favor for both dental and optical. His teeth are incredibly bad, and his maximum out of pocket is an insanely large number, so much so that it doesn't make any sense for him to use their plan. He argues that being paid minimum wage is worth it because he gets access to optical and dental plans. He could be saving money by pursuing the plans on his own instead of through his company. I do not know anything about his health insurance situation with them, but he is healthy like me so I'd say it isn't relevant. My point is some people are too lazy and buy into the "don't work for x place because they don't offer benefits, it's better to make less per hour and get great benefits". Taking a higher hourly rate or salary can sometimes be a much better investment. However, Joe Schmoe isn't very intelligent so this point is largely escapes him.

Of course, there are going to be people that work for x company and use their benefits to great effect. The point I am trying to make is that there are a lot of people across the US that are not capable of rationalizing this balance. They do not understand that they are losing in the long run.

I have a silver plan through healthcare.gov and am relatively pleased with it. I do not have any health issues that warrant medications, but do have sleep apnea. It covers the cost of my equipment and supplies pretty well, but I still have to fork over $600+ on my own each year. I exercise 6-8 times per week, so I'm in pretty good shape. With that being said I did get a dental plan this year. It's a silver plan. I get my teeth cleaned twice per year, and of course have x-rays done once per year. This is the most common set of yearly procedures for Americans, and I weighed the cost/benefit ratio of all the plans and literally the only plan that made sense was the plan that covered only these two procedures at 100%. It costs EXACTLY 2 cleanings + 1 X-Ray, per year for the plan. It's a wash. It kind of covers other stuff, but then again I take very good care of my teeth, so I have 0 use for it.

 

[Slammer]

I am wondering if the US will still keep the same (non) healthcare system in place when this is over.

If you remember your history lessons then you know that Harry S Truman tried to implement a Euopean style universal healthcare system right after the war, the US could have had a working healthcare a long time ago. And now I think that too many people in the US see how other countries handle healthcare and are now asking why they don´t have something similar.
Or as one (European) journalist put it:
"The Americans have capitalismd so hard they have discovered socialism."

 

[Ulrich]

Dear Slammer, your astonishment seems far too optimistic to share for me...

Also regarding the assumption that this pandemic will come to an (early) end. The whole world is waiting for a vaccine and various experts do not seriously expect it three quarters of a year, but no one can know whether there will ever be one "in time", just think of AIDS ...

(In addition, another, even more dangerous virus may well be in the making and the possibility of a parallel second pandemic, which will be much more severe, cannot ultimately be ruled out, however, probably not necessarily ...)

"The Americans have capitalismd so hard they have discovered socialism."

Nope, the truth is and will be, i guess: Some (!) Americans (around Bernie Sanders?), but the most of them are prisoners of their specific culture, which is indeed formed by capitalism (with all his pros and cons that means for the individuals and the organization of a community and their influence to other countries) and a very pragmatic way to think and react.

Unfortunately for the rest of the world, they also display this pragmatism when it comes to dealing with historical collective experiences only very briefly, in order to arrive at a result more quickly. For example, it seems to me that even 60 years after McCarthy, social democratic (not socialistic!) Ideas and practices that have proven themselves in other countries still equate with communism such as deprivation of liberty and expropriation, and although I personally have problems with patriotism as such (which does not matter here because, as a German, I am not only burdened with the "cultural" legacy of National Socialism, but also with questionable peculiarities such as a pronounced authority or an sometimes exaggerated notion of romanticism), they shrink the little positive potential of motivation nurtured by patriotism alone, which even skeptics like me can recognize in it (such as the mobilization of extraordinary efforts in the face of extraordinary threats or challenges such as the moon landing as an example), "officially" to the simple formula: Who is not for / with us is against us. At least that's my impression. A little less "America first", "eat or die" and a little bit more "how can we identify and serve common interests or threats" I would prefer not only as an European citizen ;-)

I apologize for this "runaway" of my thoughts at this place on this subject, nobody asked me for that, but I myself sometimes think it is helpful, looking into the mirror and check how others see me.

This (and other) thread(s) here on PRintPlanet also shows me how "thin-skinned" some (US) participants here react and read them as an "attack" and insult when it comes down to simply collecting facts and comparing systems. Sovereignty is something else and constructive (in the sense of gaining knowledge as the basis for future decisions) it is not exactly the same.

How the United States, or rather its population, organizes its health system or whether it installs it at all is, of course, up to them.

Best Ulrich

 

[OffsetStorefront]

We have the option of enrolling in the plan negotiated by and offered by our employer. If they don't offer one (or you're not eligible for it), you can then enroll in an plan through the "Marketplace" required to exist and established by the ACA law. You're either not eligible for those plans if you are eligible for your employer's but refuse it, or they end up priced about the same but with worse benefits. I don't remember which - but both are meant to discourage you to use these plans and encourage you to use your employer's.

This year I become ineligible for my employer's insurance and immediately lost it - no grace period. I knew this was coming, but if I had been fired or laid off instead I'd be suddenly uninsured. I was thus eligible for a plan through my state's marketplace. Because it wasn't during the "open enrollment" period, I had like 8 to choose from. They cost about half of what I paid for my employer's and all had deductibles (what you have to pay out-of-pocket before the benefits kick in) 4-5x what I was used to. I think "better" plans will be available during the "open enrollment" period come November but it's voluntary for an insurance company to offer a plan in the marketplace so I'm stuck with a plan that will only really help me pay for a serious, serious medical event (after forking over around $5k). It does make my wife's medically-necessary medication cost $15 instead of $1,400 though (what a joke).

As far as I know, most insurance companies here promised to pay 100% for COVID testing but not treatment. Makes them look good and is the cheaper of the two to cover obviously.

If you don't have insurance at all, normally, hospitals will either send you the full, pumped-up bill they would have sent to an insurance company and see if you'll pay it, or apply an "uninsured" discount which can be up to 70% or more and then bill you that and see if you'll pay it. Many will reduce the bill more if you call and ask them to, or even if you just ask for it to be itemized. It's awkward because they price all their services super high to leech as much $$ from the insurance companies as possible but when the insurance company is taken out of the equation, it's way too high of a price for most individuals. I've heard some talk of the fed. gov reimbursing hospitals for treating uninsured COVID patients so maybe in that particular illness' case, an uninsured person could get "free" treatment.

 

[Joe]

Yikes. And I’m guessing if you pay it yourself it would be more expensive than through your employer?

You can continue your current coverage through Cobra insurance at the same cost your employer and you were paying plus 2%. But if your employer was paying part or all of your premium then you have to pay the entire amount plus the 2%.

 

[gordo]

You can continue your current coverage through Cobra insurance at the same cost your employer and you were paying plus 2%. But if your employer was paying part or all of your premium then you have to pay the entire amount plus the 2%.

As far as I can see, the average monthly health insurance premium for an individual in the US is about $500 (Average Cost of Health Insurance (2020)). For a family it would be much higher of course. I’m assuming that if you lose your job because of the covid virus that unemployment insurance kicks in? So you do have some income coming in. Still, does it mean that many people will stop paying premiums and lose health insurance because they can no longer afford it if their only income becomes unemployment cheques?

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

I pay about $300 per month for a silver plan.

 

[gordo]

I pay about $300 per month for a silver plan.

I was quoting an average. This site appears to explain what a “silver” plan is: What Is a Silver Health Care Plan Under the Affordable Care Act?
I assume that if you have to pay the $300 from your unemployment benefit then that would make it proportionally a very large monthly expense. Do you think that many people in that situation will just drop their insurance in order to use the money they save for other more immediate expenses (food, shelter, etc.)

 

[Joe]

As far as I can see, the average monthly health insurance premium for an individual in the US is about $500 (Average Cost of Health Insurance (2020)). For a family it would be much higher of course. I’m assuming that if you lose your job because of the covid virus that unemployment insurance kicks in? So you do have some income coming in. Still, does it mean that many people will stop paying premiums and lose health insurance because they can no longer afford it if their only income becomes unemployment cheques?

Not sure where in the USA anyone can get Health insurance for $500 per month. I am paying over $800 per month for my wife on my work health insurance. Your link said the average monthly cost in my state is $537. I'd do backflips down the street if I could get health insurance for that price for just my wife. My company pays mine but I have to pay my wife's. I checked outside for a plan for her, she has no major health issues, and it would run over $1000 per month. You get penalized if you have insurance available through the workplace and you try to buy a plan on the open market no matter how bad it is. And ours is bad with a $5,000 deductible per person. And they don't cover any of the preventative stuff anymore like they used to. Our insurance pays nothing until that deductible is met.

And yes....I'm pretty sure most people would have to give up health insurance if all they had to live on was unemployment.

 

[gordo]

Do you at least get a discount on your health insurance premiums if you haven’t made a claim in the past year? I think that’s what auto insurers do. Heck, I even heard that Allstate and at least one other auto insurer is sending checks to their customers because pepeople are driving so much less due to the lockdowns.

 

[AP90]

Not sure where in the USA anyone can get Health insurance for $500 per month. I am paying over $800 per month for my wife on my work health insurance. Your link said the average monthly cost in my state is $537. I'd do backflips down the street if I could get health insurance for that price for just my wife. My company pays mine but I have to pay my wife's. I checked outside for a plan for her, she has no major health issues, and it would run over $1000 per month. You get penalized if you have insurance available through the workplace and you try to buy a plan on the open market no matter how bad it is. And ours is bad with a $5,000 deductible per person. And they don't cover any of the preventative stuff anymore like they used to. Our insurance pays nothing until that deductible is met.

And yes....I'm pretty sure most people would have to give up health insurance if all they had to live on was unemployment.

Wow, totally different experience. And I know this isn't indicative of what everyone else's is, but Ill throw mine out there. Im self employed, so we get insurance from my wife's company. She work in management at a large multinational privately held company. We have what I would consider a Cadillac plan.

We don't yet have any children, but go ahead and pay for the family plan as its not much more and it would be easier than adding a child when born. We pay right around $320/month for our family plan. Our deductible is $600 for the year and insurance will pay out on stuff even though the deductible isn't met yet. Our max out of pocket for the year is $6000. After we meet our deductible, we pay 10% of medical bills until we have paid out $6000. So if something happened and I had hospital bills in the 100's of thousands, max of $6000 out of pocket.

Also, my wife and I went ahead and purchased $100k cancer policies for each of us. Covers experimental procedures and things along that nature that our normal insurance wouldn't cover, along with being able to use that money for travel expenses, etc. at our place of choosing. We were able to get this through her fathers union.