Medical insurance suggestions?

[terence999]

I have medicare primary and Blue Cross secondary. I don't pay a dime for sleep studies, DME or doctors. I pay a lot because secondary is primary for my wife. For vets the VA will cover cost of cpap and studies if you are at least 50%. For 100% vets spouses get medical coverage under ChampVA which is sort of like Tricare.

We don't have a medical system in USA. We have chaotic blob of independent contractors who spend most of their time trying to get money from insurance companies except for medicare. I have great insurance and yet I still feel very let down by medicare I have gotten for chronic disease. They can sow up your head or cut you open but if you have DMII or some other chronic disease get good life insurance. Good secondary insurance for medicare is expensive I think, but worth it if you can afford it. I am in a bad mood since I got about 3 hours sleep with great new mask last night.

Terence

[Janknitz]

Then why the huge difference in premiums and co-pay?
If they are identical?

What they offer in terms of services and supplies is standard, premiums and co-pays vary by company and location.

For example, CPAP is covered by Medicare. None of the plans can refuse to provide CPAP if you meet the criteria. Except for Advantage plans they all have to do the 13 month rental, etc. The question is how much of the deductible and co-pay the insurer will cover, whether you have to use preferred providers, etc.

[DreamStalker]

South Portland doctor stops accepting insurance, posts prices online

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Dr. Michael Ciampi took a step this spring that many of his fellow physicians would describe as radical.

The family physician stopped accepting all forms of health insurance. In early 2013, Ciampi sent a letter to his patients informing them that he would no longer accept any kind of health coverage, both private and government-sponsored. Given that he was now asking patients to pay for his services out of pocket, he posted his prices on the practice’s website.

The change took effect April 1.

“It’s been almost unanimous that patients have expressed understanding at why I’m doing what I’m doing, although I’ve had many people leave the practice because they want to be covered by insurance, which is understandable,” Ciampi said.

Before the switch, Ciampi had about 2,000 patients. He lost several hundred, he said. Some patients with health coverage, faced with having to seek reimbursement themselves rather than through his office, bristled at the paperwork burden.

But the decision to do away with insurance allows Ciampi to practice medicine the way he sees fit, he said. Insurance companies no longer dictate how much he charges. He can offer discounts to patients struggling with their medical bills. He can make house calls.

“I’m freed up to do what I think is right for the patients,” Ciampi said. “If I’m providing them a service that they value, they can pay me, and we cut the insurance out as the middleman and cut out a lot of the expense.”

Ciampi expects more doctors will follow suit. Some may choose to run “concierge practices” in which patients pay to keep a doctor on retainer, he said.

Gordon Smith, a spokesman for the Maine Medical Association, wasn’t so sure, saying most patients either want to use the insurance they pay for or need to rely on Medicare and Medicaid.

Even with the loss of some patients, Ciampi expects his practice to perform just as well financially, if not better, than before he ditched insurance. The new approach will likely attract new patients who are self-employed, lack insurance or have high-deductible plans, he said, because Ciampi has slashed his prices.

“I’ve been able to cut my prices in half because my overhead will be so much less,” he said.

Before, Ciampi charged $160 for an office visit with an existing patient facing one or more complicated health problems. Now, he charges $75.

Patients with an earache or strep throat can spend $300 at their local hospital emergency room, or promptly get an appointment at his office and pay $50, he said.

Ciampi collects payment at the end of the visit, freeing him of the time and costs associated with sending bills, he said.

That time is crucial to Ciampi. When his patients come to his office, they see him, not a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner, he said.

“If more doctors were able to do this, that would be real health care reform,” he said. “That’s when we’d see the cost of medicine truly go down.”

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/05/27/n ... es-online/

[chunkyfrog]

I had a dentist who did that. He offered a 5% discount if you paid in full the day of treatment.
He had a lot of patients with no insurance, and his rates were very good.
He was one of the most skilled dentists I've known. He was an artist at his craft.