Plastic Surgery (excess skin)

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Replies

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    Yeah our health care systems are very different. I think the best way to explain it is, everyone here is treated equally in regards to health care, rich or poor.

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    No health care is "free" anywhere - it's just a question of how and when it gets paid for.

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  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    maxit wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    No health care is "free" anywhere - it's just a question of how and when it gets paid for.

    True... It comes out of the tax payers pockets. But my point is, there is no outlay of cash if you need a procedure done. Other than cosmetic type surgery and the like

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    Yeah our health care systems are very different. I think the best way to explain it is, everyone here is treated equally in regards to health care, rich or poor.
    For some reason, some Americans really, really, really hate the idea of equal health care for all. :/
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    Yeah our health care systems are very different. I think the best way to explain it is, everyone here is treated equally in regards to health care, rich or poor.
    For some reason, some Americans really, really, really hate the idea of equal health care for all. :/

    why? I feel so blessed to live in Australia.

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    Yeah our health care systems are very different. I think the best way to explain it is, everyone here is treated equally in regards to health care, rich or poor.
    For some reason, some Americans really, really, really hate the idea of equal health care for all. :/

    Some Americans hate the idea of equal anything really. *shrug*
  • jenniferinfl
    jenniferinfl Posts: 456 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    maxit wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    In the US, Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.
    Yup, I wrote my statement wrong.
    Medicare covers both people who work and people who do not work..

    Here Medicare is for those 65 and over or if you are younger if you are disabled.
    Medicaid is what us workers that pay for, free health care.

    No health care is "free" anywhere - it's just a question of how and when it gets paid for.

    There are plenty of people here that don't pay for health care. And then there are others that pay for what they get for free through premiums.

    There really aren't that many. There are few categories that qualify: elderly, disabled, low income pregnant women and children under the age of 4.

    As someone who had to rely on it when pregnant with an 'oopsie' pregnancy, I was very grateful it existed. It was the only health insurance I've been able to have in the last 7 years. My employer still has a grandfathered in 'micro' health plan that doesn't cover hospital visits, specialists, a primary care physician other than one appointment per year or any kind of outpatient. Basically, there isn't a scenario where the micro health plan actually pays for anything. Fortunately, that plan is illegal this upcoming January. My husband's employer separated out into subsidiaries so that each of their companies has under 50 workers, so they don't provide insurance either. Because of my employer having the micro health plan, we cannot get the subsidy for healthcare.gov even though we qualify for it based on income. We paid the penalty this year because there simply wasn't a choice.

    Before 2008 when my husband and I both had good jobs, I happily paid taxes knowing that most of that money goes to defense and a small portion goes to helping those in need.

    This was the first year in a long time that we didn't qualify for the Earned Income Tax credit. I was perfectly fine not getting that and paying my share. I know even at the lower end of middle class we are still doing a lot better than most people out there.

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited April 2015
    seska422 wrote: »
    For some reason, some Americans really, really, really hate the idea of equal health care for all. :/
    why? I feel so blessed to live in Australia.
    Anything that might raise taxes gets an automatic "no" from some people. Some don't want the government any more involved in their lives. Even the option of government "single payer" that might hold down costs for consumers got voted down because the health insurance companies didn't want to lose their cut of the profits so they lobbied and convinced people that it would be bad.

    The thing that really irks me is the argument that we shouldn't have universal health care because there aren't enough doctors to cover everyone if the non-insured get added as patients. Basically, I have mine and you don't matter.

    What we've ended up with is a hodge-podge. Everyone over 65 gets Medicare, but they keep messing with that so that medical care isn't fully covered even with Medigap insurance to try to fill in the rest. Low- and no-income people can get Medicaid in some States but only a handful of doctors will accept it so you have long waits and a lot of doctor-hunting. Everyone else has to pay through the nose not only with employment taxes but with health insurance premiums and co-pays and extra costs on top of that.

    It's a mess.
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  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »

    You can't automatically say there aren't that many, the US is pretty big. Yes there are situations where I understand people having medicaid but I know that I'm handed a medicaid card often by able bodied people that can work that aren't willing.

    How do you know that they cannot work due to mental health reasons?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited April 2015
    seska422 wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    For some reason, some Americans really, really, really hate the idea of equal health care for all. :/
    why? I feel so blessed to live in Australia.
    Anything that might raise taxes gets an automatic "no" from some people. Some don't want the government any more involved in their lives. Even the option of government "single payer" that might hold down costs for consumers got voted down because the health insurance companies didn't want to lose their cut of the profits so they lobbied and convinced people that it would be bad.

    The thing that really irks me is the argument that we shouldn't have universal health care because there aren't enough doctors to cover everyone if the non-insured get added as patients. Basically, I have mine and you don't matter.

    What we've ended up with is a hodge-podge. Everyone over 65 gets Medicare, but they keep messing with that so that medical care isn't fully covered even with Medigap insurance to try to fill in the rest. Low- and no-income people can get Medicaid in some States but only a handful of doctors will accept it so you have long waits and a lot of doctor-hunting. Everyone else has to pay through the nose not only with employment taxes but with health insurance premiums and co-pays and extra costs on top of that.

    It's a mess.

    Yikes that does sound like a mess :disappointed:

    Our population is only around 23 Million which may make it easier to keep things in track??

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  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »

    You can't automatically say there aren't that many, the US is pretty big. Yes there are situations where I understand people having medicaid but I know that I'm handed a medicaid card often by able bodied people that can work that aren't willing.

    How do you know that they cannot work due to mental health reasons?

    Because I get to sit and talk to them for a while and also go through their medical histories.

    Oh yeah I forgot your profession hehe... yeah there is definitely a lot of abuse of public health. But those same people will just go to the ER and clog up the place there. :P
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  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »

    You can't automatically say there aren't that many, the US is pretty big. Yes there are situations where I understand people having medicaid but I know that I'm handed a medicaid card often by able bodied people that can work that aren't willing.

    How do you know that they cannot work due to mental health reasons?

    Because I get to sit and talk to them for a while and also go through their medical histories.

    Oh yeah I forgot your profession hehe... yeah there is definitely a lot of abuse of public health. But those same people will just go to the ER and clog up the place there. :P

    Yup. I worked in your neighborhood for 5 years but now I primarily cover Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Jamaica and South Jamaica, I get to see and experience a lot day in and day out. I always smile and nod when someone calls for a headache or a tooth ache.

    Yeah I moved to Fresh Meadows. No longer in Coronaville. :P
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »

    You can't automatically say there aren't that many, the US is pretty big. Yes there are situations where I understand people having medicaid but I know that I'm handed a medicaid card often by able bodied people that can work that aren't willing.

    How do you know that they cannot work due to mental health reasons?

    Because I get to sit and talk to them for a while and also go through their medical histories.
    The thing about the Medicaid expansion is that it means that the hospitals can get their money when they treat indigent patients in emergency situations. As an EMT, you would be transporting these people whether they had the ability to pay or not because emergency treatment cannot be refused. The patient wasn't going to pay anyway because they simply couldn't for whatever underlying reasons. The two choices for medical emergency care providers are to get paid through Medicaid or just write off the losses.

    Non-emergency situations are completely different. There is no requirement to treat.

    Not all health insurance policies are equal and, even with health insurance, plastic surgery for extra skin removal may or may not be a covered expense.
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  • jeanine89
    jeanine89 Posts: 95 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    jeanine89 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    I would go for it 100%, but it is either buy a house or buy a new body. House wins.

    Well done on the huge loss!

    Lucky for my my insurance covered both the surgeries and my hospital stays. However, I loose the insurance when I turn 26 in June. You can get it covered if u get a few doctors to say it is medically needed. My first surgery was approved with in days of submitting my paperwork. The second was flat out denied in less then 24hrs and I filed an appeal which went through to my knowledge this is rare for arms/thighs but I had new evidence as in I went to even more doctors for even


    That is amazing! Wow. People don't tend to have health insurance in New Zealand as we have a public health system. I think there is a possibility of a modified tummy tuck (apronectomy) on our health system but I am not too sure. I looked at regular tummy tucks and they were in the $15,000-$20,000 range. I'd also need legs, arms and boobs done.

    Same in Australia. i cant say i know even one person with health insurance..

    A friend of mine had a huge nose, she got it covered by medicare because it was causing her "psychological issues". She also had a good doctor who knew all the ins and outs and also knew exactly what to say and what not to say in the paperwork... ;)

    And hopefully in the US we never get to the point where every surgery is covered by medicare. Medicare is free for those people that need it but Medicare is paid for, by people that work and pay into the Medicaid system.

    I hope some surgery is covered by Medicare tbh. I know someone who has had a oozing sore on his excess skin on stomach for over a year. He has to wrap it every single day and he is disabled n has to rely on the government insurance. I hope it would cover people like this who's life would change if they could get the plastic surgery they need.
  • jeanine89
    jeanine89 Posts: 95 Member
    Merkavar wrote: »

    but now shes pregnant again so I'm actually really curious to see what he stomach will look like after.

    If that was me I would not have surgery until after I was done having kids. That's like ironing your clothes before you put them in the washing machine.

    Unless it was a surprise baby.

    Any do people normally wait a year or two before getting surgery so they give their body as much a chance to fix itself as possible?

    I have maintained my weight for 2years and I think when u get surgery depends on if they are having issues with the skin. Some people have to even have before they lose all the weight if they are having some complications
  • jeanine89
    jeanine89 Posts: 95 Member
    I know the issues of insurance are a big deal for people. Please don't judge people for the type of insurance they get. How many of us have been judged in our lives for our weight or anything. I personally don't have government insurance. I would feel horrible for anyone reading this tread that does I didn't mean for it to be a judgment of insurance or who deserves it. And certainly not of if someone deserves plastic surgery. I know that isn't what any one meant but I got some personal messages from people scared to post their experiences because they felt they would be judged due to how some of the treads sounded to them personally.

    Great discussions everyone. :-)

    If any one else has a question for me they don't feel comfortable posting here please feel free to message me. You will never get judgement from me :-) love u all and congrats on ur progress with ur weight loss n getting healthy
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    What collective health care does is find economies of scale through bulk purchases. The escalating costs in the US is a crying shame. I blame a fragmented health care system.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSjGouBmo0M

    You'd be surprised how much is alike in the two systems (Canadian, American). The same codes are used to classify and bill various procedures for instance. What would shock Americans more than anything I think is our wait times for elective surgeries. Canadians are shocked at the cost of hospital stays.
    Average cost of a hospital stay in Canada ($7,000) for a stay of seven days.
    Average hospital stay in US is 4.5 days, at a cost of $10,000. That's over twice the cost of staying in a Canadian hospital ($2,300 per day).

    On my satellite radio is a show dedicated to helping American patients disentangle their health care insurance and bills. Something I never have to think about here.

    Under the Canadian health care system, plastic surgery for health reasons will be considered, and elective won't be covered under public health. For instance, if a breast reduction would be needed to relieve a bad back it might be covered. The same for a panniculectomy (often covered) versus a "tummy tuck" (not covered).
  • alfonsinarosinsky
    alfonsinarosinsky Posts: 198 Member
    edited November 2015
    I don't mean to resurrect this thread but wondering if you are pleased with your results some months later? How did you do with your complications? I hope you are doing well after all that.
  • ArmyGirl1314
    ArmyGirl1314 Posts: 9 Member
    minties82 wrote: »
    jeanine89 wrote: »
    minties82 wrote: »
    I would go for it 100%, but it is either buy a house or buy a new body. House wins.

    Well done on the huge loss!

    Lucky for my my insurance covered both the surgeries and my hospital stays. However, I loose the insurance when I turn 26 in June. You can get it covered if u get a few doctors to say it is medically needed. My first surgery was approved with in days of submitting my paperwork. The second was flat out denied in less then 24hrs and I filed an appeal which went through to my knowledge this is rare for arms/thighs but I had new evidence as in I went to even more doctors for even


    That is amazing! Wow. People don't tend to have health insurance in New Zealand as we have a public health system. I think there is a possibility of a modified tummy tuck (apronectomy) on our health system but I am not too sure. I looked at regular tummy tucks and they were in the $15,000-$20,000 range. I'd also need legs, arms and boobs done.

    Same in Australia. i cant say i know even one person with health insurance..

    A friend of mine had a huge nose, she got it covered by medicare because it was causing her "psychological issues". She also had a good doctor who knew all the ins and outs and also knew exactly what to say and what not to say in the paperwork... ;)

    OP. I`m sorry to hear about your complications, and thank you for your post... I live in Canada, and I don`t have insurance either other than OHIP that won`t cover it, I will have to pay close to $ 9.000 . I booked a tummy tuck surgery for May 2016 to give me some time to lose my last 10-lbs by then. When i`m dressed, my tummy looks flat, but without clothes it has that lose extra skin that really bothering me. After reading your post I am very concerned about the risks and complications.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2015
    A quick tutorial on health insurance in the US:

    Medicare is for those over 65 or those on disability as determined by the Social Security Administration (a very rigorous process and less than half who apply get it). It is not free. You qualify for it if you pay into the system through payroll taxes throughout your working life. When you start to receive benefits, you pay a monthly premium (currently $104.94 USD). Deductibles and co-pays still apply. There are plans that can help supplement what basic Medicare provides for additional monthly premiums. basic Medicare does not cover things like prescription medications so those are out-of-pocket unless you get a supplement plan.

    Medicaid is for the poor who have no access to other insurance through their employer. For the states who did not expand the eligibility, a single person has to make less than $984 per month and the amount goes up depending on how many dependents there are. For states that did expand eligibility, the monthly income for a single person is something like $1400. There are no premiums and prescriptions are covered. There may be a co-pay or co-insurance, depending on the service.

    Obamacare (officially called The Affordable Care Act or ACA) is not an insurance. It is a law requiring every citizen to have some type of insurance and provides government assistance for those who cannot pay the full premium. The amount of assistance is on a sliding scale based on income and number of dependents starting at (about) $1400 per month income for an individual. The Affordable Care Act also sets minimum standards of care which every health insurance policy must include.

    Donut hole is the gap in states which did not expand their medicaid coverage. A single person who makes more than $984 per month but less than ~ $1400 per month does not qualify for either Medicaid or assistance so they are in the gap.

    Many employers provide insurance for their employees. Group insurance premiums are generally less than individual insurance and the employee is usually asked to pay a portion of the premium (usually somewhere between 0% and 50%). Some employers do not want to pay for things that are now mandatory coverage, like birth control, so they chose to no longer offer insurance to their employees, so each family must find their own individual insurance and pay full premium.
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