Just was thinking about this the other day while looking at my insurance. How do people in the U.S. accumulate huge bills without hitting their max out of pockets? Are cancer treatments not usually covered by insurance? Are the doctors that provide the treatment just happening to be out of network?
I guess I’m wondering if there is anyway I can plan to not be in a situation of me or my husband rejecting treatment and dying or having huge medical bills cripple us. We’re relatively healthy now, but the future is near.
I’d like to understand better how it seems to be so *common* for people to not be covered by their out of pocket max.
Thanks.
In: 4623
I work in health insurance and it’s not unusual to see out of pocket maxes that are $15,000 -$20,000. Not everyone has twenty grand just laying around to cover an unexpected car wreck or cancer. Throw in costs like late fees, interest and the fact that serious health issues tend to keep people from working for long periods of time and you have a perfect storm for financial hardship.
Also, the authorization process is incredibly complicated. It’s very easy to forget to cross a t or dot an i and those mistakes can result in thousands of dollars in medical costs that aren’t covered by insurance.
Lastly, there can be a lot of unrelated costs associated with health issues. Like, a car wreck means you need a new car, equipping your house to accommodate someone who can’t use their legs, specific foods to accommodate special dietary requirements….. those can all cost more and more money.
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