More expensive with insurance? WHAT?!

PoolQ, that won't last!

Yes, Insurance CAN cost more over time, or it can be less. Alot depends on your deductible, whether you have met it, and whether your contract will span 2 deductible periods. Also, your insurance compliance requirements have to be factored in. Will your insurance reimburse you for paying for a machine outright out of network, or do they require you to lease for a time to prove compliance. If your insurance will pay out of network, even if it is only 40%, you could save money every month by buying from an online source and putting it on your credit card. Your payments will likely be less than what you would pay a DME, plus you are in full control of your choices. I just went throught this, and it is confusing as heck, but if you spend some time and do the reasearch, you can find out what the best deal is. Unfortunately, it varies by insurance co and your circumstance, so no one answer from someone else may be right for you. Welcome to the wonderful world of healthcare.

Well I just went ahead with the insurance, since the machine is already ordered and I need this like 3 months ago. I didn't want to delay further, My out of pocket cost is only 90 dollars more total with insurance, so I just decided to continue throuhg with it. I just thought it was a complete rip-off. The supplier bills the insurance for roughly 5k. Though from what other people have posted here, they get billed several grand, but then negotiate it down to near 1k. So in the end it's not 80/20 at all but more like 50/50. I'll see what the my insurance negotiates the price down to, but health insurance is seriously a racket, with doctors/DME/hospitals charging huge amounts knowing the insurance will "negotitate" it down. All it means for the customer is we pay a worse rate than advertised on the plan.

And the biggest FU is the whole "no exchanges". Spend 6 months trying to use this and want an S9 instead? well that 600 dollars you spent is now WASTED, such an utter rip off. I doubt this will happen since most people use the airsense 10 no problem, but it's still horrible practice.

sventory wrote:Well I just went ahead with the insurance, since the machine is already ordered and I need this like 3 months ago. I didn't want to delay further, My out of pocket cost is only 90 dollars more total with insurance, so I just decided to continue throuhg with it. I just thought it was a complete rip-off. The supplier bills the insurance for roughly 5k. Though from what other people have posted here, they get billed several grand, but then negotiate it down to near 1k. So in the end it's not 80/20 at all but more like 50/50. I'll see what the my insurance negotiates the price down to, but health insurance is seriously a racket, with doctors/DME/hospitals charging huge amounts knowing the insurance will "negotitate" it down. All it means for the customer is we pay a worse rate than advertised on the plan.

And the biggest FU is the whole "no exchanges". Spend 6 months trying to use this and want an S9 instead? well that 600 dollars you spent is now WASTED, such an utter rip off. I doubt this will happen since most people use the airsense 10 no problem, but it's still horrible practice.

You want a DME to exchange your machine after 6 months use? Why would this be any different from any other item...could you exchange a lawn mower, a watch, a car....with 6 months use your item is worth about 60% of original price.

Generally speaking, when American health insurance is involved, the price of most things goes up. You pay your premium every month, a deductible (mine is astronomical) and co-pays and by the time you're done, it's not at all unusual to shell out more than you would if you had paid for everything out of pocket. I paid out of pocket for my machine (APAP) and it was $490. Hubby's machine (CPAP, bought 6 years ago thru insurance) cost over $2000.

My theory is that in addition to paying for healthcare, your health insurance premium dollar also has to pay for insurance execs' yachts, hookers and blow. And politicians. Let's not forget politicians. Those suckers are EXPENSIVE!

P.S.: Single payer now!

mariejeanne wrote:Generally speaking, when American health insurance is involved, the price of most things goes up. You pay your premium every month, a deductible (mine is astronomical) and co-pays and by the time you're done, it's not at all unusual to shell out more than you would if you had paid for everything out of pocket. I paid out of pocket for my machine (APAP) and it was $490. Hubby's machine (CPAP, bought 6 years ago thru insurance) cost over $2000.

My theory is that in addition to paying for healthcare, your health insurance premium dollar also has to pay for insurance execs' yachts, hookers and blow. And politicians. Let's not forget politicians. Those suckers are EXPENSIVE!

P.S.: Single payer now!

Yeah, we have the WORST politicians money can buy.

I've thought quite a bit about the "single payer" concept, but many countries who have it are having problems with theirs.
And, in view of the political aspect (as previously mentioned), it would probably be a disaster in this country, too.
Anything "government-run" is bound to fail. We have numerous examples of that already.


Den

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