This week, I saw 4 separate, but equally disturbing, statistics in our local papers.
1. Texas once again led the nation with the highest percentage of residents without health insurance (5 years in a row).
2. 75% of all bankruptcies, listed a medical bill from an unexpected major illness as the primary cause listed for filing the bankruptcy.
3. The number of people aged 55 and above filing for a bankruptcy, quadrupled in the past year, with debt incurred due to medical needs as the primary cause.
If you have Health Insurance in place, then good for you! But please read on anyway, you may find this informative and helpful and Statistic #4 below, is quite distressing!
As a licensed Health Insurance agent here in Texas, one of my passions is to make sure that everyone has an Insurance Card in their pocket.
But for those that don't have an Insurance Card in their pocket, they need to know that, unfortunately, when a person is met by an ambulance driver or ER personnel, often times the first question asked is not, "Where does it hurt?", but, "Do you have Health Insurance?"
No, that won't prevent the ambulance from taking you to the hospital, but it might impact whether the ambulance takes you to the nearest available ER, or the county hospital miles away.
And when you get to the ER, if it is a life-threatening injury, they are required to treat you, but they will present you with a bill if you do not have insurance. Life-threatening or not, their obligation to treat you ends when you have become stable.
They are not required to hold you for evaluation, nor extend further treatment, nor provide a further diagnosis of your problem without proof of financial responsibility being offered.
As a result, many people are released from the hospital stable, but with an undiagnosed condition which isn't discovered until the patient shows up in the ER at a later date in a worsened condition, due to their heart problem or cancer not being diagnosed and treated when they first were in the hospital. (This is why many hospitals have had to expand their "Fatal Care" units, to work with those people whose illness has gone undiagnosed, or untreated, too long.)
And now, these poor people are caught in the catch-22 of being uninsured, and un-insurable, and without options!
This means you either present an Insurance Card, pay cash, or sign a contract to repay all debt incurred for your treatment (if they offer you that option).
Doctors do not have to see you if you do not have insurance, but if they do, you will notice that all Doctors have posted at the window, "Payment is expected at the time of treatment". Again, this means you either present an Insurance Card, or pay cash.
With sky-rocketing medical costs, Doctors and hospitals have become much more aggressive at trying to collect on un-paid medical bills incurred by the un-insured.
They have become quicker to report a delinquent bill to the Credit Reporting agencies, and turn the bill over to a collection agency.
This, of course, may have a detrimental effect on your credit rating, the interest you pay on your house note, credit cards, and may ultimately affect your employment status as more and more employers are now doing credit checks as a "first line of defense" in the hiring process.
Now, for the good news. When a Doctor or hospital asks for your Insurance Card, it is not to see how much coverage you have, but to verify you have some form of coverage. Although those "discount cards" may help lower the bill, they do not meet the criteria of an Insurance Card. However, some of the discount cards can be very helpful when used in conjunction with a Health Insurance plan.
It doesn't matter to a Doctor or hospital if it is the very best health plan available, or one that covers "stated, or 'limited' benefits". Simply by having an Insurance Card, you allow them to open doors for you to have access to more comprehensive health care. Even if the benefits are exhausted during the course of treatment, this often gives the Doctor or hospital financial options to work with (i.e. funding, grants, etc.).
Again, if you have Health Insurance in place, then good for you!
But you need to know this: Statistic #4. 80% of those who filed bankruptcy citing medical debts, had Health Insurance in place, but were under-insured. As I said previously, the Doctor or hospital may have financial options to work with if you are insured, but there is no guarantee.
Therefore, if you don't have Health Insurance in place, or think you may need to supplement the policy you already have, or even if you just want to make sure you are paying a reasonable price for the coverage you have, then please feel free to call me or send me an e-mail.
You may reach me directly at 972-979-4665. If I am meeting with a client, or on another line, then please leave me a message as I do not take calls while in meetings, nor interrupt one call to take another.
If you would prefer to contact me by e-mail, then you may do so by sending a note to wveach@abbaplans.com. (I promise, you will not end up on some intrusive mailing list and I'd appreciate the same in return.)
I would hope that as I am a licensed Health Insurance professional, you would know that any communication between myself and any another person with regards to their health and/or Health Insurance, is kept in strictest confidence.
Again, please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or comments.
Have a GREAT day, Warren
Phone: 972-979-4665 E-mail: wveach@abbaplans.com
P.S. Should you appear on 2 or more of my contact lists, it is possible that you would receive this message more than once (especially if you have more than 1 screen name). You may even see it as part of my blog, so I apologize for any inconvenience that may cause, but I would rather err on the side of over-informing my friends.
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