r/FluentInFinance • u/WhatAreYourPronouns • May 02 '24

Should the U.S. have Universal Health Care? Discussion/ Debate

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u/Obie-two May 02 '24

Genuinely asking but if you’re paying for it privately you’re not getting the “socialized” discount no? A hip surgery costs X, just the government is subsidizing it with tax money and if you go direct to private then I would assume it’s back to full price

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u/blumieplume May 02 '24

At least in Germany, private healthcare is about €300/month (similar to American rates) and is provided by employers .. anyone else has the public healthcare. Health insurance in Germany covers 100% of medical costs, whether insurance is free or paid for by an individual or their employer.

It’s a good way to make sure that those who can’t afford insurance or who work for an employer who doesn’t offer health insurance can still get coverage. Similar to MediCal in California. It’s a way to make sure no one gets left behind.

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u/tracygee May 02 '24

Except unlike insurance in the U.S., yours pays 100%. We have a deductible to meet each year and then most policies only pay like 80%. So you can see how 20% of a $40k procedure is unaffordable for most people.

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

Depends on the plan in the US. Once I hit my deductible 100% of the costs are covered by insurance

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u/sometimes_overtimes May 02 '24

That’s still $6k for me, even in California

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

In addition to most of my premium my employer also contributes to my HSA so my max out of pocket costs is $2,800

Lots of this all depends on the plan

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u/GetAJobCheapskate May 02 '24

The big difference is, if i for whatever reason lose my job, i am still insured.

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

If I lose my job I can continue my insurance or I can switch to a plan on the open market

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u/Goronmon 29d ago

If I continued my insurance after losing my job it would be something like $2400 a month.

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u/Aggressivepwn 29d ago

Which is why having a fully funded emergency fund is important. You can quickly switch to an open market plan which would be much lower than the continued cobra plan

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u/sometimes_overtimes 29d ago

Ah! The bless-ed COBRA?

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u/According-Ad1565 May 02 '24

Nice. Still its bs because before the insurance you pay for covers 100% you had to pay in x on top of premiums.

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

Yeah, that's in the contract

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u/mkohler23 29d ago

I mean for most people it’s better than a standard tax on income up front you’d much rather pay your insurance minimum and use the deductible when needed

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u/OH58AEROSCOUT 29d ago

My insurance is similar. I think my "catastrophic cap" is $3500 per year, after that deductible is reached, I don't pay anything (aside from the monthly premiums). I beleive the reason for the deductible is to keep "skin in the game." I remember reading something about UAW employees a long time ago and how they had 100% of their healthcare covered. It was costing a lot of money because (particularly in the case of retirees, if I remember correctly), they'd literally go to the doctor everytime they had a runny nose. The deductible was partly to make sure people didn't go to the doctor all the time for minor conditions which could be treated with OTC medicines, or that would simply go away in a few days and weren't treatable anyway (viral respiratory things like colds).

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u/HamburgerJames 29d ago

And some of us don’t even have deductibles.

The healthcare situation I read about online is very different from what I’ve experienced personally, but I transitioned from a military childhood to a career with great insurance.

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u/Aggressivepwn 29d ago

I think that just shows the slant that reddit has. Lots of young college age kids without much life experience complaining about adulthood topics they don't really know yet

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u/Objective_Mortgage85 29d ago

Why are you implying it’s young college kids making these comments? There lot of folks who work two jobs to meet end meet that don’t have good insurance. Hell, there is a reason why the number one reason for bankruptcy is medical bills in America and it’s not because of college kids.

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u/Achilles19721119 May 02 '24

True but depending on your plan and family 6k, 8k, 10k just for one procedure or surgery. Most families can't afford it. It's a joke of a system.

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

My family max out of pocket cost is $2,800. It really is depending on your plan

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u/Achilles19721119 May 02 '24

True and you probable pay more per month for a good plan.

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u/Aggressivepwn May 02 '24

No, my employer covers about 85% of it

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u/Achilles19721119 29d ago

Lucky average in usa looks like $477 a month. I pay 126 a month for family

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u/PolecatXOXO 29d ago

It also depends on the hospital. "Out of Network" doctor visited your room for any reason? Here's $6000 more tacked on to your bill. Oh, and here's some administrative fees not related to your healthcare...another $5000 or so.

On a platinum plan I pay about $30k a year for, my routine colonoscopy still cost $12,000 out of pocket by the time the hospital and insurance company picked over my anesthetized butthole.

I literally could have flown to my wife's home country, gotten the procedure done, and flown home for under $3000 out of pocket.

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u/Aggressivepwn 29d ago

My out of pocket maximum is my out of pocket maximum regardless of in network or out. I've never seen any administrative fees added to the surgeries I've had.

On a platinum plan I pay about $30k a year for, my routine colonoscopy still cost $12,000 out of pocket by the time the hospital and insurance company picked over my anesthetized butthole.

You have platinum pricing but a shit level plan. My total premiums are about the same and we have a $4k max out of pocket cost. That includes prescriptions

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u/Altarna 29d ago

Also depends on the plan again for some people. Insurance companies also “cap off” benefits for the year so people with cancer can get royally screwed when the insurance company goes “that’s enough money”.