Between the cost of medical insurance and the outrageous deductible who can afford to be sick or have tests done?? I had to have a simple quick ultrasound done and just got the bill for over $500, insurance paid a whopping $11......then I haven't even gotten the bill yet for the radiologist who read it.....I need to cancel seeing the specialist for now as I just can't afford her charges...I know unemployed people sitting at home doing nothing and using state insurance and getting whatever they want done......what is wrong with this country that the working middle class are constantly getting screwed!!!!
With the size of Xerox why is our insurance SO expensive??
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" similar almost anywhere you go unless it's government, education, most health care companies, or the big tech companies like apple, Google, amazon."
You literally named the only good places to work; good meaning salary and benefits. and they are getting larger by the day. advise is to go work for then
" xerox over charges on premiums"
Check your monthly costs compared to your state's insurance exchange (without subsidies.) You'll find the coverage and cost are very similar.
Then check what your subsidies would be with your income, and the exchange might very well be much better.
You would think they could give you something better than what you can get on your own.
You haven’t gotten the rest of the bills yet? Stay tuned. For the morale of the company let’s hope that you have put some of the very last pennies of your life in that wonderful HSA that the company told you is awesome
IMO xerox over charges on premiums. You can get better insurance for cheaper prices elsewhere. Don't understand why people stay at xerox.
It sucks and is expensive because the subsidy is low. You need to contribute to an HSA and basically self insure.
Why don't you call your insurance company to find out why you have to pay so much?
The main Xerox (not sure about agents, and other mom pops Xerox bought) is they are SELF insured. Xerox contracts with places like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anthem, etc using them as administrators. Xerox also contracts with a group of doctors (used to be 3 of them in the group) that set the rules as to what is covered etc. This doctor group is also used if you have pre-determinations or questions about what is covered in the grey area. Keep in mind these doctors are paid by Xerox to save them money so good luck with them being your side.
In the good days Xerox use to have regular bought medical insurance policies like HMO's etc and they took care of everything. Some where some how someone convinced them that being self insured would save them a ton of money (can anyone say Black Belt??)
And another reason you see older more likely to get sick employees being shown the door....all about the bottom dollar!!!!
Oh really single Payer huh? Of course the cost per person is so low - the medial services they provide are rationed and restricted to the general population. Don't believe me? Check out this Canadian gov't website that tracks wait times for specific procedures at every hospital:
https://www.hqontario.ca/System-Performance/utm_medium/Referral?utm_source=Ontario.ca&utm_campaign=WT%20Referral
I just randomly chose the first entry which was Pediatric Surgery - 70-120 days to "see" a surgical doctor for diagnosis and another 54-104 days 'till you receive the actual surgery.
This is not the exception, it is the standard that most Canadians live with. Don't even start with how the elderly are viewed/treated up here. If you are wealthy Canadian citizen, you have access to Private Health Care clinics which you must pay for out of pocket but receive immediate and superior care (this concept is foreign to most Canadians as their income taxes are primarily what fund the health care system). What I found the most revealing was that many Canadian Politicians that promote the virtues of Single Payer in Canada are they themselves crossing the US border to receive medical care down there. In addition, patients are separated into "classes". If you need an MRI but are otherwise healthy, you are the lowest Priority (#4) and must wait 65 days for the procedure. Surprisingly, Children and Elderly are considered "lower priority patients". Young and middle-aged working adults are the privileged class with a slight 10-20 day advantage off of wait times. As I said, these are gov't stats that may be shocking to most Americans but commonplace and accepted in Canada.
Finally, if you happen to have a relative in the Medical profession up here (typically a Doctor, Nurse or Hospital Admin staff) they are able to circumvent the built in bottlenecks and population controls and thrust their associates closer to the top of the waiting list. This is the most regulated, corrupt and inept Single Payer Medical system that we Canadians must contend with every day. Single Payer. Yeah sure. You go ahead. We'll just venture down to Mexico or South America for our care next.
Xerox on the Cheap!
Don't blame Xerox, too much. Most companies have moved to high deductible plans, and you'll see something similar almost anywhere you go unless it's government, education, most health care companies, or the big tech companies like apple, Google, amazon.
The solution is single payer, and if you look at Canada and most of Europe, their total cost per person (including the higher taxes required) is about half of the US.
Just remember, no country with single payer developed a COVID vaccine. We developed 3. China developed 1, but it was less than 50% effective.
Single payer. Not my choice.
The ruling class decides if you are worthy to be saved or if you are not cost effective.
I hate insurance companies with a passion. Let that be known.
There has to be a 3rd alternative somewhere, not tied to employment directly.
Thats what our wondrous politicians are supposed to be doing and working out.
@rzh+1dJV6LJr This. Healthcare should never be tied to employment. I never understood why corporations don't lobby for a single payer system. It would save them so much in administration costs
Too bad there isn't something that works in every other modern country in the world.
Why don't you call your insurance company to find out why you have to pay so much? It could be that you have to meet a deductible. Or maybe you need to see a doctor in your network. Or maybe the medical biller did not bill properly and miscoded the expense. At least find out what your options are (if any). Maybe you need to call in advance to get a treatment approved?
Keep in mind insurance companies in general are pretty unscrupulous. They will pay as little as they can get away with. That's how they make their money.
Easy...Xerox is self insured and they only have to follow the minimum Affordable Health Care Act (aka Obama care) Meaning 70/30, HSA, etc It's basically the cheapest way Xerox can do it and still be within the laws. Is it right? Probably not. What it does in the end is keep people who really need to go to the doctor from going. The people who make the decisions can afford it (high 5 low 6 figures assuming they don't have their own special coverage!) The rest of us just hope nothing bad happens to us medically...The old days are gone!!!