I am from Europe and know nothing about this. But someone once told me that this would sound like a bigger issue than it actually is. Because you would just need a good job at one of the top companies and then you would get insurance that covers basically all and everything without any extra expenses.
So since I am a programmer I should not worry about these things.
Edit: Since it was not clear, I don’t really believe that.
European too here, but I can make a safe assumption.
Depending on how bad it can get, unless you are a top percentage you will have financial medical issues. Maybe a good paying job can help when its something more minor, but everything can happen in life and if you have quite the nasty emergency you will regardless end up in dept.
To put it into perspective, one of the leading causes of death in the US is preventable diseases. Many Americans can’t afford to see a doctor to get stuff checked out, nor do they get sick days or could afford to take the time off if they do, so they just keep working and hope it goes away.
Their advice basically boils down to “just have a senior level position in a well-paying field, and you’ll be fine.” As a programmer, you might be screwed right now with the massive layoffs currently ripping through the tech sector.
If someone told you to just use Windows on your computer, b/c it will take care of you, would you listen?
There is some truth to both statements, but in any capitalist society it behooves one to be aware, since many people and especially corporations will try to take advantage of ignorance.
As a highly paid professional this is bullshit. Most insurance plans in the u.s. are costing more and covering less every year. They have introduced all sorts of fun things make it more brutal. Evaluating a companies insurance plan has become a critical exercise in evaluating any job offer. Some major companies offer shit benefits packages.
Things they have done:
Raised deductables: The insurance basically pays nothing until the deductible is met. In many plans, this is $4,000+. I have seen them as high as $10,000.
Increased out-of-pocket maximums. This is the maximum amount a person can pay in a year. These are important for chronic illnesses or serious accidents etc. it used to be $4000 in a year for a family. Now I see plans that have $8,000. as the maximum.
Decreases the percentage they pay. When I started working a most “good” insurance plans would pay 90% of the bill. Now 80% is the standard with many “bad” plans only offering to pay 50 or 60%.
Limit medical networks that they do business with. You want to see a Dr or specialist who is not in your network. You are fucked.
What has the government done? Introduced the HSA plan. Basically you can save money out of you paycheck tax free to pay for all these ballooning costs. The plan just happens to be an investment plan in the stock market with high fees and lots of money for Wall Street.
I am from Europe and know nothing about this. But someone once told me that this would sound like a bigger issue than it actually is. Because you would just need a good job at one of the top companies and then you would get insurance that covers basically all and everything without any extra expenses. So since I am a programmer I should not worry about these things.
Edit: Since it was not clear, I don’t really believe that.
Up until recently it was absolutely possible to have good health insurance and still go bankrupt because of costs not covered 100% by insurance.
Affordable care act set limits on what is called the “Out of pocket maximum”
Per plan year that legally allowed maximum will be something like $20,000, which is still enough to knock out most people. To make matters worse, those legal limits are going up for some bullshit reason, but wages are not going up enough to match. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/aca-maximum-out-of-pocket-limit-is-growing-faster-than-wages/
insurance has a profit motive here in the united states. insurance companies only make money when they cause human suffering by denying claims.
we in the US have decided businesses are allowed to hurt people for profit.
European too here, but I can make a safe assumption.
Depending on how bad it can get, unless you are a top percentage you will have financial medical issues. Maybe a good paying job can help when its something more minor, but everything can happen in life and if you have quite the nasty emergency you will regardless end up in dept.
To put it into perspective, one of the leading causes of death in the US is preventable diseases. Many Americans can’t afford to see a doctor to get stuff checked out, nor do they get sick days or could afford to take the time off if they do, so they just keep working and hope it goes away.
Their advice basically boils down to “just have a senior level position in a well-paying field, and you’ll be fine.” As a programmer, you might be screwed right now with the massive layoffs currently ripping through the tech sector.
If someone told you to just use Windows on your computer, b/c it will take care of you, would you listen?
There is some truth to both statements, but in any capitalist society it behooves one to be aware, since many people and especially corporations will try to take advantage of ignorance.
As a highly paid professional this is bullshit. Most insurance plans in the u.s. are costing more and covering less every year. They have introduced all sorts of fun things make it more brutal. Evaluating a companies insurance plan has become a critical exercise in evaluating any job offer. Some major companies offer shit benefits packages.
Things they have done:
Raised deductables: The insurance basically pays nothing until the deductible is met. In many plans, this is $4,000+. I have seen them as high as $10,000.
Increased out-of-pocket maximums. This is the maximum amount a person can pay in a year. These are important for chronic illnesses or serious accidents etc. it used to be $4000 in a year for a family. Now I see plans that have $8,000. as the maximum.
Decreases the percentage they pay. When I started working a most “good” insurance plans would pay 90% of the bill. Now 80% is the standard with many “bad” plans only offering to pay 50 or 60%.
Limit medical networks that they do business with. You want to see a Dr or specialist who is not in your network. You are fucked.
What has the government done? Introduced the HSA plan. Basically you can save money out of you paycheck tax free to pay for all these ballooning costs. The plan just happens to be an investment plan in the stock market with high fees and lots of money for Wall Street.
This was, what this person told me, when I said that I would not want to live in the USA because of the health insurance
Very uneducated comment.