[ryanSrich]

Or. It's more like this

- $90k bill - you pay your annual $10k deductible - the remaining $80k is only covered 80% because emergency visits only have 80% co insurance - you now owe $16k, after you've already paid $10k out of pocket for the deductible

This is a real thing that happened to me recently. Not to mention I pay $1500/month for a family of 4.

Nothing, absolutely nothing about the U.S. healthcare pricing structure is good for patients.

It seems to have worked out for you because you appear to have very good insurance. Most people are like me, and have the type of insurance that should be illegal.

[nradov]

I don't know your personal situation but most consumers who obtain medical insurance through their employer or a state exchange can pick between bronze/silver/gold plans that trade off monthly premiums versus deductible/co-pay/co-insurance amounts. High deductible plans can be a great option for many consumers, especially those who are willing to take on more risk and actively shop around for non-emergency care.

[hibikir]

The trick of the current plans, which wasn't the same back in the day, is that hospital and ER costs after the fact are nor covered 100% after deductible: Most plans say 90%. So yes, we might be better off with the plan that covers less, but ultimately the problem is that we are risking far more than the deductible, as a truly catastrophic problem will go way, way past the deductible... and out of pocket maximums can be far higher than deductibles.

Most of us now have very few employer-based options, which happen to be almost always better because the employer subsidizes some. So it's not unlikely to see that the options you'd prefer are not available. High deductible, but OOP maximum very close to the deductible? Sorry, not available, go look at the secondary market for more insurance. It's a very difficult environment to make decisions on, and most people are just not all that well equipped financially to deal with it. The products have gotten way too complicated for the vast majority of people.

[vuln]

I just had ~250k$ billed to me for a surgery and a 4 day hospital stay. I walked out with only paying 2500$. Just a touch over 1% of the total cost billed. I pay ~400$ a month. I’m in the US.

[megaman821]

What is your max out of pocket that you paid $16k in a year?

[ryanSrich]

I'd have to look again, but it's right around $18k. It's like $17,950 or something like that. It's an odd number.