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I got a second credit card about a month back. My credit score dropped 8 points, and it seems like the account is showing up as opened, closed and then opened again on my credit report. Is that typical or could it be an error I have to fix?
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Apr 10, 2024 18:05
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Both my wife and I have health insurance through work, shes on a regular FSA plan and Im on an HDHP. Were both fairly new to the US. Its always been my understanding that healthcare is a nightmare but that generally speaking as long as you have enough to cover your maximum out of pocket, you will never have to worry about insurance not covering your treatment with the exception of pre existing conditions. Is this generally accurate or am I missing some obvious pitfalls that could result in us getting hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees? Fortunately this is just a hypothetical currently.
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Apr 12, 2024 04:12
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It's my understanding that pre-existing conditions are covered now, thanks Obama. In exchange, seems like we spend a lot more time fighting insurance for certain drugs or treatments. I've spent an insane amount of time on the phone for the migraine medication that works for me. Nominally though, you're correct about being ok after you hit your out of pocket maximums. They do love to pay for quackery like chiropractor "adjustments" if you want to get your spine "aligned" every week or something. Grifting is a-ok.
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Apr 12, 2024 04:28
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Can confirm that you are set once you hit deductible and/or out of pocket maximum. I just had a surprise medical issue come up two days ago that would have cost me a whole lot more than ~$3k if I had not had excellent health insurance through my job. I did have to fight with the insurance to get them to cover the CT scans. They wanted to know if/why they were medically necessary (they *absolutely* are in my case). My doctor was able to clear that up with a phone call to the insurance company but it was still an annoyance that had to be dealt with. Also, keep an efund kids. Mine just increased my odds of being able to see my kids grow up by allowing me to not delay the procedure just I had earlier today.
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Apr 12, 2024 04:43
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dpkg chopra posted:Both my wife and I have health insurance through work, shes on a regular FSA plan and Im on an HDHP. There are some pitfalls. For example, if you go to an out-of-network hospital for instance (one that didn't come to an agreement with your insurer) your insurance will only pay a "reasonable and customary" amount towards the bill and the hospital can "balance bill" you for the difference, which is basically just whatever exorbitant amount the hospital decides to charge you. Mostly, the big thing is to visit your insurer's website and/or call the provider in advance to make sure you are using in-network providers. There are laws protecting you if you go to an out-of-network hospital in an emergency, but those have their own issues.
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Apr 12, 2024 05:29
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Ambulances are also subject to balance billing and are exempt from most state laws that protect patients from hospital balance billing.
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Apr 12, 2024 08:06
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dpkg chopra posted:Is this generally accurate or am I missing some obvious pitfalls that could result in us getting hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees? The biggest pitfall here is getting billed for out-of-network services. Your insurance will cover in-network but moves to an entirely different coverage structure for out-of-network. Figuring out what is and is not in-network is purposefully difficult to impossible depending on the circumstances. You go to a hospital that is in-network for a procedure, so you're good, right? Nope - turns out one of the docs at the hospital who provided services is out-of-network, so you get hit with a huge bill when insurance balance-bills you. Can you find out who is going to be providing services for the procedure ahead of time and have them vetted by your insurance? Also no. It's a poo poo system.
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Apr 12, 2024 16:38
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I am a little surprised that it makes sense for both you and your wife to have separate employer sponsored health insurance. Usually one spouse's options are better and it generally makes sense to participate in that spouse's plan as a family. I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage?
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Apr 12, 2024 16:53
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage? If there are, I've never heard of one Not offering a family plan seems illegal, or at least not offering coverage of minors seems like, even in the US, it would be illegal
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Apr 12, 2024 17:41
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Serious_Cyclone posted:You go to a hospital that is in-network for a procedure, so you're good, right? Nope - turns out one of the docs at the hospital who provided services is out-of-network, so you get hit with a huge bill when insurance balance-bills you.
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Apr 12, 2024 17:45
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i like nice words
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I am a little surprised that it makes sense for both you and your wife to have separate employer sponsored health insurance. Usually one spouse's options are better and it generally makes sense to participate in that spouse's plan as a family. I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage? I actually posted our options for both plans here and the threads conclusion was that it did actually make sense for us to be in our separate plans (except for dental and vision where my wifes was better). I should probably look into it again before the next enrollment period as I believe both of our plans have changed slightly since then.
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Apr 12, 2024 17:52
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I am a little surprised that it makes sense for both you and your wife to have separate employer sponsored health insurance. Usually one spouse's options are better and it generally makes sense to participate in that spouse's plan as a family. I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage? We both have our own. I have the "better" insurance but to add her would go from $40/mo to $160/mo + $100/mo surcharge since she can get insurance. the coverage is pretty similar overall (same max OOP, mostly the same % paid pas deductible, I have more doctors though) but she only pays $75/mo for her own coverage. I also have found it not too bad to confirm insurance beforehand but in an actual emergency... who knows.
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Apr 12, 2024 18:24
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DildenAnders posted:I got a second credit card about a month back. My credit score dropped 8 points, and it seems like the account is showing up as opened, closed and then opened again on my credit report. Is that typical or could it be an error I have to fix? 8 points on a credit score is basically just noise, dont worry about it. Unless you are applying for a large loan (car, house, comedy option boat), two scores 8 points apart are going to have the same outcome in pretty much any credit scenario. Your score probably dropped because your average account age went down with the new account.
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Apr 12, 2024 18:28
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Anne Whateley posted:This should no longer be the case due to the No Surprises Act of 2022 Nice! That happened to me at an in-network hospital. The surgeon on call at the ER actually had two practices setup. One in network for regular visits, and one out of network (not in network with *anyone*) for his ER shifts. Such a slime ball. I told him to gently caress off, and that if he sent me to collections I would sue him. I'm sure most people probably paid him though. Every time I see a GoFundMe for tens of thousands in medical expenses I wonder if people realize that poo poo is extremely negotiable. I did raise it up to all my representatives, but mostly just got "oh sorry that sucks" responses. I'm very glad something finally got done!
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Apr 12, 2024 18:40
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I am a little surprised that it makes sense for both you and your wife to have separate employer sponsored health insurance. Usually one spouse's options are better and it generally makes sense to participate in that spouse's plan as a family. I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage? FWIW my spouse and I have this kind of arrangement. My employer-sponsored insurance is not as good as hers, but the employer will pay 100% of the premium for single-plans and currently I only see my doc 1-2 times per year so the premium is the biggest cost. They won't cover a +1 at zero-premium and the premium cost is loopy at that point, but her employer-sponsored single-plan is cheaper and has some better options for her. Serious_Cyclone fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Apr 12, 2024 |
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Apr 12, 2024 19:23
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Anne Whateley posted:This should no longer be the case due to the No Surprises Act of 2022 I have a few relatives who work in health insurance, and they have said No Surprises Act is not currently stopping their companies from balance-billing and OON games.
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Apr 12, 2024 19:25
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Serious_Cyclone posted:I have a few relatives who work in health insurance, and they have said No Surprises Act is not currently stopping their companies from balance-billing and OON games. Yup, because people who can't afford the time or effort to fight them wind up paying them. And of course normal people who fear their credit/collections/lawsuits bend quickly. I tried to file a complaint about it to literally anyone and because it was a doctors office doing it there was seemingly not avenue to complain. The insurance company did their part correctly.
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Apr 13, 2024 19:52
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H110Hawk posted:Yup, because people who can't afford the time or effort to fight them wind up paying them. And of course normal people who fear their credit/collections/lawsuits bend quickly. I tried to file a complaint about it to literally anyone and because it was a doctors office doing it there was seemingly not avenue to complain. The insurance company did their part correctly. It's possible that enforcement of the law hasn't caught up with new regulation or lobbyists managed to punch enough strategic holes in it at some point that they can continue the same game with a few extra steps. I remember discussing No Surprises with my spouse who works in insurance and her first reaction was 'pffffffff I'll believe it when I see it'. Still waiting to see it.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:30
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The last time I was in the hospital they provided us a flyer at check in about the No Surprises Act, and even eventually my insurance company/the state told an out of network imaging provider to kick rocks after whatever insurance paid. So it is getting traction, thank god. Its still a mess that they are even allowed to try to bill like that but at least theyre getting told to gently caress off now.
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Apr 15, 2024 16:38
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Serious_Cyclone posted:It's possible that enforcement of the law hasn't caught up with new regulation or lobbyists managed to punch enough strategic holes in it at some point that they can continue the same game with a few extra steps. I remember discussing No Surprises with my spouse who works in insurance and her first reaction was 'pffffffff I'll believe it when I see it'. Still waiting to see it. I think there's only enforcement on the insurance companies, not the sleezeballs who build their whole debt collection practice around billing anesthetized patients. I called federal hhs, California something something, and one other agency. They all said there wasn't a path for them to do anything.
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Apr 15, 2024 21:29
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H110Hawk posted:I think there's only enforcement on the insurance companies, not the sleezeballs who build their whole debt collection practice around billing anesthetized patients. I called federal hhs, California something something, and one other agency. They all said there wasn't a path for them to do anything. Man, that's loving weird, that doesn't really solve much then! The whole problem situation is when the insurance company says they have paid, and it's between you and the doctor. And the doctor threatens to send you to collections. Maybe going to the hospital would work? When I called their billing department they seemed a little shocked about what one of their surgeons was doing. But I didn't pursue that angle because the guy backed off.
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Apr 15, 2024 21:39
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One of my favorite stupid medical things was after my wife had hip surgery back in Pennsylvania, when a doctor we hadn't seen before showed up and checked her pulse and then left. He billed $550 to our insurance, who refused to cover it because it wasn't medically necessary and hadn't had pre-authorization anyway. Who was he? Nobody knows. Some doctor just walking around checking people's pulse and then racking up bills, while it's somehow up to the patient to know that he's not part of their post-surgical monitoring routine.
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Apr 15, 2024 21:45
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I had my gallbladder out a few years back and my insurance refused to cover a portion of it because I did the "elective" version where they removed it laproscopically. Apparently the "Correct" way to do it was have a standard surgery where I stay at the hospital for a few days, so they'd pay the hospital room bills but not the few hundred it cost to get the laproscopic.
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Apr 15, 2024 21:47
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Medullah posted:I had my gallbladder out a few years back and my insurance refused to cover a portion of it because I did the "elective" version where they removed it laproscopically. Apparently the "Correct" way to do it was have a standard surgery where I stay at the hospital for a few days, so they'd pay the hospital room bills but not the few hundred it cost to get the laproscopic. poo poo, insurance paid for my dad to stay in a hospital on a machine while they fought over not letting him go home with that exact same machine. The cost of the machine was the same, they were just cool having to pay for a room and all the nurses that checked on him and the food he got.
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Apr 15, 2024 21:55
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Sundae posted:One of my favorite stupid medical things was after my wife had hip surgery back in Pennsylvania, when a doctor we hadn't seen before showed up and checked her pulse and then left. He billed $550 to our insurance, who refused to cover it because it wasn't medically necessary and hadn't had pre-authorization anyway. Who was he? Nobody knows. Some doctor just walking around checking people's pulse and then racking up bills, while it's somehow up to the patient to know that he's not part of their post-surgical monitoring routine. Man, after they pretty much tossed in the towel on my dad, I swear all of a sudden a large number of doctors started rounding on him every day. Just popping in to look at his chart, shake their heads, and walk out. Such bullshit. Once people have been through this it just sours you on the whole system. This one isn't insurance, or the hospitals - doctors should do a little more self policing too. At the time, what are you gonna say.... "where the gently caress were you a week ago?" Bah.
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Apr 15, 2024 22:02
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I am a little surprised that it makes sense for both you and your wife to have separate employer sponsored health insurance. Usually one spouse's options are better and it generally makes sense to participate in that spouse's plan as a family. I guess there are probably some plans that don't offer family coverage? It's not that weird. Mrs Jackson's and my insurance both offer family plans, but it's always been more economical for us to maintain separate insurance. Even once we had kids, they went on her plan, and I stayed on my own.
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Apr 15, 2024 23:55
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SlapActionJackson posted:It's not that weird. Mrs Jackson's and my insurance both offer family plans, but it's always been more economical for us to maintain separate insurance. Even once we had kids, they went on her plan, and I stayed on my own. Same here. In our case the employee-only plans are subsidized so heavily that it's way, way cheaper to have separate plans than not.
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Apr 16, 2024 00:04
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Weird, both of our employers have been basically 2x for a spouse and 4x for a family unit. There's not much point in staying separate for similar cost because it creates so much more administrative nonsense.
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Apr 16, 2024 01:33
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:There's not much point in staying separate for similar cost because it creates so much more administrative nonsense. My wife hits her deductible every year and I barely use my health insurance, so being on separate employer single-plans means her deductible is halved. One of a few dimensions to this issue.
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Apr 16, 2024 16:02
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We're separate, too. My job basically pays me to be on their insurance (no employee premium plus HSA money). It'd be a couple hundred bucks a month for me to be on the spouse's plan along with the kiddo, and vice versa.
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Apr 16, 2024 16:59
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My partner and I work for the same entity and we both have our own insurance. Employer only offers individual and family plans, and the family plan is more expensive than two individual plans.
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Apr 16, 2024 17:26
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this is all wild to me, thanks for sharing everyone!
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Apr 16, 2024 17:27
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On topic, what is the breakdown of spouses being in independent plans when one has an HSA and the other a PPO? My understanding is that I can contribute to my HSA freely still, and actually still use those contributions on anyone in the household at a later point. We're family planning and felt it made sense for her to remain in her PPO plan at least until the child is born and reconsider who gets the dependent or whether a family HSA makes sense. It seems wonky, somewhere between tax law and healthcare legislation
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Apr 16, 2024 17:49
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I was under the impression that most people's work insurance charges extra for covering a spouse, and a lot of them require signing something that says the spouse doesn't have their own employer-provided insurance option; is that not the case?
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Apr 16, 2024 20:57
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root of all eval posted:My understanding is that I can contribute to my HSA freely still, and actually still use those contributions on anyone in the household at a later point. This is right. If you're on an HDHP and she's on a regular PPO, you can contribute up to the individual max and still spend your HSA dollars on her care. Whether or not you want to do that vs treat the HSA as another IRA is a tax planning question.
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Apr 16, 2024 21:08
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Ham Equity posted:I was under the impression that most people's work insurance charges extra for covering a spouse, and a lot of them require signing something that says the spouse doesn't have their own employer-provided insurance option; is that not the case? Adding a spouses typically costs around 1.5x the employee, varying significantly depending on plan. About 20-30% of large group healthplans have some sort of working spouse provision (where you provide an affidavit that says the spouse doesn't qualify for their own coverage, or you get charged additional or are ineligible altogether)
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Apr 16, 2024 21:08
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Ham Equity posted:I was under the impression that most people's work insurance charges extra for covering a spouse, and a lot of them require signing something that says the spouse doesn't have their own employer-provided insurance option; is that not the case? Definitely always charged extra for a family plan in my experience, but it was always less than each getting our own. And didn't have to sign anything that the other wasn't offered. Things are getting kinda weird out there huh. Sounds like family plans just aren't getting subsidized anymore . I guess that reduces the angst over "if we're both working, one of us isn't using our employer's health benefits, but we aren't getting paid more for declining that coverage". But that's just because the benefit got trimmed! Feels kinda like ensconcing the "every goddamn person in america has to work till they die system" even further. Can we please stop tying our health care to our employment, like glorified indentured servitude.
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Apr 16, 2024 21:16
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SlapActionJackson posted:This is right. If you're on an HDHP and she's on a regular PPO, you can contribute up to the individual max and still spend your HSA dollars on her care. Yeah and from what I understand there's no time limit on HSA reimbursement, so people can save receipts and then cash them in years later after their HSA interest has grown.
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Apr 16, 2024 21:17
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Medullah posted:Yeah and from what I understand there's no time limit on HSA reimbursement, so people can save receipts and then cash them in years later after their HSA interest has grown. Also correct
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Apr 16, 2024 21:23
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Ham Equity posted:I was under the impression that most people's work insurance charges extra for covering a spouse, and a lot of them require signing something that says the spouse doesn't have their own employer-provided insurance option; is that not the case? Yep. My last two places have both had a $600 "spouse surcharge" in addition to premiums if you sign up a spouse who would otherwise have their own employer insurance. We have to sign a statement every year that she is not eligible for insurance through anyone else. Spouse premium costs 2X what I cost, and family is 3X cost. ($53 for myself, $159 with spouse, $210ish with family. Per pay period.) Sundae fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 22:43
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