Too fat for medical insurance!

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Replies

  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    Health insurance is why many companies are doing internal biggest loser competitions. The hope is that people will lose weight and cut the company's health insurance costs.
  • sek92
    sek92 Posts: 43 Member
    maybe go down to the ACAP office or tricare on your nearest post and see if they have any suggestions, i always thought that when you got out there was insurance to cover until you got new one, even though you are not in the Army,maybe someone can help you out,
  • CCJ13
    CCJ13 Posts: 165 Member
    BCBS denied me last year at 270lbs. I lost 40lbs & tried again. I can't have anymore kids & have no health problems & I'm still losing weight. My husband's insurance is $127 per month with BCBS. Mine was going to be $380. We told them no thanks & are going with United Health. It is only going to be $388 per month for both of us.
  • mayburcm
    mayburcm Posts: 24
    That tax figure is just not right at all (the one 70 - 80%)
    True that, my tax rate is in the 30% range (marginal rate is higher though on each new dollar earned) in Canada, in the second highest taxed province and we have universal health care. Dental, prescriptions, physio are some other services are not covered here though, unless you are low income, or your employer's plan covers them.

    So those with low income get close to 100% coverage and their tax rate is less than 20%.

    Health care in Canada is well worth any of the taxes we pay. Between my parents work drug coverage/dental and the provincial health care I don't have to worry about the cost of prescriptions/dental/physio/massage therapy or ever having to pay any deductibles. I remember once my provincial health coverage was expired (just because I hadn't ordered a new card) and I got a bill from the emergency room for $230. I laughed. There was no way I was going to be paying it, it was just a glitch in the system. I called and got my card renewed and I didn't have to pay anything. I am considered low income because I have been in university and working mostly minimum wage jobs, and the income taxes I pay in, all come straight back to me at tax time. I don't end up paying a cent for any of it and I'm never afraid to go to the doctor if there's something wrong because of financial reasons.

    The direction Obama is trying to go in would do a lot for the people. People should start supporting his efforts again.
  • Hardworker481
    Hardworker481 Posts: 1
    Even in countries with socialized medicine, the taxes to support those programs are sometimes up to 70%-80% of people's incomes.

    This is simply not accurate.

    Oh its close. That person is not off by much with those numbers. Not to mention the quality of care in countries with socialized medicine. Basically the govt. says "well, you've spent 200k to get yourself through medical school, but we will limit you to 40-50k per year...and you have to work whenever we tell you and treat whoever we tell you to" Not to mention the emergency room waiting hours under socialized medicine...it is sometimes days.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    They probably consider obesity a "pre-existing condition." My guess is that they'd deny you if you had anorexia as well. Eventually, with Obama's health care plan, insurance companies won't be able to penalize anyone this way =)

    Won’t be able to penalize anyone??????? How about Obama penalizing the insurance companies by making them take on people of higher risk without being compensated for it? It’s not the insurance companies fault you are over weight,,, is it? Oh wait, I forgot it’s President Bush’s fault.
  • sconns21
    sconns21 Posts: 92 Member
    Move to the UK the NHS is a beautiful thing!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Even in countries with socialized medicine, the taxes to support those programs are sometimes up to 70%-80% of people's incomes.

    This is simply not accurate.

    Oh its close. That person is not off by much with those numbers. Not to mention the quality of care in countries with socialized medicine. Basically the govt. says "well, you've spent 200k to get yourself through medical school, but we will limit you to 40-50k per year...and you have to work whenever we tell you and treat whoever we tell you to" Not to mention the emergency room waiting hours under socialized medicine...it is sometimes days.

    Just an FYI, but when looking at quality of care you may want to look at life expectancies and Canada's life expectancy is 2-4 years longer than the US.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Even in countries with socialized medicine, the taxes to support those programs are sometimes up to 70%-80% of people's incomes.

    This is simply not accurate.

    Oh its close. That person is not off by much with those numbers. Not to mention the quality of care in countries with socialized medicine. Basically the govt. says "well, you've spent 200k to get yourself through medical school, but we will limit you to 40-50k per year...and you have to work whenever we tell you and treat whoever we tell you to" Not to mention the emergency room waiting hours under socialized medicine...it is sometimes days.

    Once you finish your residency, doctors in Canada make over 100K and usually only sped about 100K or so in education.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
    Same boat. Boo.
  • sconns21
    sconns21 Posts: 92 Member
    Even in countries with socialized medicine, the taxes to support those programs are sometimes up to 70%-80% of people's incomes.

    This is simply not accurate.

    Oh its close. That person is not off by much with those numbers. Not to mention the quality of care in countries with socialized medicine. Basically the govt. says "well, you've spent 200k to get yourself through medical school, but we will limit you to 40-50k per year...and you have to work whenever we tell you and treat whoever we tell you to" Not to mention the emergency room waiting hours under socialized medicine...it is sometimes days.

    Quality of care may be not as good as the US (although after seeing some reports and Michael Moore's sicko I'm not sure that it's better) but it does what it says on the tin. It keeps you alive, it keeps you healthy, it gives you the medicine that you need. Everything else is just sales and trimmings. Quality of care on the NHS is brilliant, you may not have a room to yourself but you get what you need. After all it's not a hotel it's a place to receive treatment when you're ill.

    Also I do believe that doctors in the UK earn £100k and more and that's pounds not dollars and they only pay about £10k maximum for their training.

    "treating whoever they tell you" - is that not what a doctors job is? Who are these people you would refuse treatment to?

    Waiting times in the UK also have targets of being treated within 4 hours (which the conservatives have now scrapped because they want us to be more like America).

    As to the 70% of income in tax that's hilarious! At most we pay 30% but not all of that is for the NHS. National insurance that counts towards pensions, welfare and the health service is only 11% and that is only on a proportion of your earnings of £750 per month after that it is only 1%. We also don't have to pay the expensive health insurance premiums. What proportion of your monthly earnings do they take up?
  • Cheryllion
    Cheryllion Posts: 4 Member
    The same thing just happened to me through Kaiser Permanente -- I'm probably about 60 lbs overweight. I know, it's not good. Most of it gained out of depression and stress. We haven't been able to afford health insurance for several years, but finally my husband's office remedied the situation with us and we signed up. Only to receive the damning letter.

    Isn't that what doctors are FOR?? To help people like me get and stay healthy??

    And I am sorry, but I understand what people say: that fat people will cost more in insurance. Yet I have several fit friends who run and I can't tell you how many surgeries they have had for their feet, knees -- not to mention things like mountain-biking accidents! my fit and healthy cousin had three surgeries just last year! So it's a load of **** and I think there is an element of discrimination.

    So I guess I'm on my own for a while. Wish me luck.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
    I can't imagine how frustrating that must be, no one should be denied access to health insurance!!!! Makes me very happy to be Canadian.

    Same here! Our taxes are higher, but we don't have to worry about this kind of stuff.
  • ValerieAwaits
    ValerieAwaits Posts: 2
    Actually, my insurance doesn't cover my anorexia. Most insurance companies consider eating disorders as a lifestyle and a choice.
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
    That's screwed up. Sorry.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    They probably consider obesity a "pre-existing condition." My guess is that they'd deny you if you had anorexia as well. Eventually, with Obama's health care plan, insurance companies won't be able to penalize anyone this way =)

    The problem is, it is taking too long for these changes to be made and so the insurance companies deny, deny, deny until they won't be able to do it anymore, then the rates are going to skyrocket.
  • calliope_music
    calliope_music Posts: 1,242 Member
    that's never happened to me. however, when i switched jobs, i need a certificate of previous coverage stating i had a pre-existing condition so my insurance would begin covering medications immediately. i would look into that as well.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    i'm too broke to afford insurance, so i just go to the doctor and pay. maybe that is an option cheaper than paying 'at risk' insurance rates?
  • SMarie10
    SMarie10 Posts: 956 Member
    Insurance is a business, like any other company - they expect to make a profit. Health Care costs have dramatically risen every year without check - Is it really the fault of the Health Insurance Industry when they underwrite health risks and try to mitigate expenses, or should the hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and health care professionals have a hand in controling the costs of medical care. Like it or not, there are actuarial tables for a reason - they are based on known, proven risks caused by factors such as age, medical history and weight. Americans were very upset about the Health Care Laws passed last year which requires people to carry insurance - like anything else (car insurance, home owners), it's not a benevelont expectation for insurance companies - it's a business.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    See, this is why President Obama passed that health care bill everyone hates. It's a pretty lousy bill, but it will eventually solve problems like these. And a while back, I added up what I pay in federal, local and payroll taxes plus what I and my employer pay in health insurance and co-pays. It was 50% of my middle class income.
  • gg24
    gg24 Posts: 58
    I don't understand how it can infuriate you that a health insurance company would refuse to ensure someone who is a statistical risk or would charge them a higher premium? That's the way insurance works. There is a pool of money that is created in two ways: 1. from the premiums that the participants pay and 2: from investing those premiums. If claims exceed the pool of money then the company goes bankrupt and everyone loses. For this reason, insurance companies determine who can participate and how much they will charge based on statistical data. If you are overweight/obese there is a strong statistical probability that you will cost the company more than it will be able to collect. So either, you get denied coverage or you pay a higher premium to represent a higher risk. The alternative would be for lower risk participants to pay the higher premiums to fund the higher risk member and in a competitive environment, they would simply go to another company that would charge lower premiums.

    If you think about it this is the real risk right now in our country. The governement has decided that everyone has to be insured. Well, were is the money going to come from to pay for all the claims when you consider that more than half the population in the country is overweight/obese and that related diseases continue to increase? There is only one possibility right now and that is through increased taxes. Someone has to pay for health services, they don't come free. Even in countries with socialized medicine, the taxes to support those programs are sometimes up to 70%-80% of people's incomes.

    That, in my opinion, is why you see so many people on this site trying to get their health, and consequently their weight, under control. You'd better get healthy, because very few of us can afford getting sick.

    No the program will be paid for by all of us sharing the risk by insisting everyone has health insurance. Right now those of us who have insurance are subsidizing those that don't through our own insurance premiums and through our taxes. By insisting that no one can be denied and that everyone has to pay for insurance then it becomes more affordable for all.

    So far we have our kids being covered until 26 and most of us with insurance not being denied care for preexisting conditions and also no ceiling. Every year it gets closer to all of us getting covered.

    However, to help everyone, we should all try and get healthy.
  • wannabehealthy1980
    wannabehealthy1980 Posts: 55
    I have health insurance through my employer, but this year since I have 3 kids I wanted to get a life insurance policy and they cut me down to only 50,000 dollars because of "My Build" as they so kindly put it. Then sent this pamphlet on why "My Build" effects risk and what I can expect to pay. I mean just say it..... Your to fat and we won't insure you! But that letter started me down this road so I guess I am glad it happened anyway. It's almost 40 dollars a month for my insurance policy outside my employer because of my weight, but this is the last year for that!
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
    ive never felt so lucky to work for whole foods market. we vote on our insurance plans every year, and pre-existing conditions aren't even a factor, which is lucky, because before here, i paid 350 a month just for insurance because of my epilepsy, but it was either that and meds or basically risk killing myself or others having a seizure. thank goodness our insurance pays for preventitive things so they wont have to pay more in the long run, everything to do with my pregnancy was free, which was also great because i was a high risk pregnancy. im sure theres something out there. hubby went without insurance for his car and was so super lucky he didnt get caught and he was super healthy for another year as well. i wish you great luck, and thank your hubby for me, from one ex-military wife, any person that risks their life for their country deserves a lot better than this.
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