I'm self employed and I have a very basic health care plan that covers my local primary care physician in MA, but not much else. It is only a couple hundred month as long as I stay in a very local network.
I also travel to another state twice a year for medical imaging and consulting with a specialist for recurring kidney tumors (3 so far-2 benign, one not so benign) which have all been taken care of surgically. For this imaging I've been paying out of pocket for the last 7 years, because it ends up being less expensive than getting a more substantial plan.
For example, the yearly cost of the imaging is about $7500 a year out of pocket. A plan to cover this without a cap would be about $7000 a year plus deductible plus restrictions on the doctor, plus the doctor would end up charging more (because believe it or not, I find that the doctors bill for less if they know in advance that you are paying out of pocket.)
But now because of Obamacare, I'm finding this hospital is less willing to allow you to write a check in the billing office, and wants everything to go through insurance first.
If I need another surgery, I've already decided that I'm having it done out of the country where they will give me a flat rate before I go in and have no problem accepting my cash. My experience ahs been that I have been completely unable to predict what an insurance company will cover in the United States, and what they will try to wiggle out of. I'd rather just know what the bill will be.
So now I find I'm forced to try to get everything under a more comprehensive insurance plan. Assuming that I need coverage across states, and want maximum flexibility in selecting a doctor, and want as few charges rejected as possible, what is the best plan to select? Also, is there any private insurance or options that will cover a procedure or surgery done out of the country? Can I apply the cost of a surgery done outside of the country to the deducible of a health plan in the US?
Thanks in advance for advice.
I also travel to another state twice a year for medical imaging and consulting with a specialist for recurring kidney tumors (3 so far-2 benign, one not so benign) which have all been taken care of surgically. For this imaging I've been paying out of pocket for the last 7 years, because it ends up being less expensive than getting a more substantial plan.
For example, the yearly cost of the imaging is about $7500 a year out of pocket. A plan to cover this without a cap would be about $7000 a year plus deductible plus restrictions on the doctor, plus the doctor would end up charging more (because believe it or not, I find that the doctors bill for less if they know in advance that you are paying out of pocket.)
But now because of Obamacare, I'm finding this hospital is less willing to allow you to write a check in the billing office, and wants everything to go through insurance first.
If I need another surgery, I've already decided that I'm having it done out of the country where they will give me a flat rate before I go in and have no problem accepting my cash. My experience ahs been that I have been completely unable to predict what an insurance company will cover in the United States, and what they will try to wiggle out of. I'd rather just know what the bill will be.
So now I find I'm forced to try to get everything under a more comprehensive insurance plan. Assuming that I need coverage across states, and want maximum flexibility in selecting a doctor, and want as few charges rejected as possible, what is the best plan to select? Also, is there any private insurance or options that will cover a procedure or surgery done out of the country? Can I apply the cost of a surgery done outside of the country to the deducible of a health plan in the US?
Thanks in advance for advice.
