Underinsured

The expense and financial burden of living with a chronic illness can be a crushing weight. Unlike an acute illness or injury, where there's a pretty definitive time frame of healing and resuming life as you lived it, chronic illness as defined by name- does not extend that luxury.

Chronic illnes hits different. A flare could show up anytime, anywhere and almost always without warning. Thewhen  is unknown, often times the cause unknown and the severity of the flare is like a game of clue.

Complicating matters even further is the twisted road of insurance coverage. Sick or well, the first question upon entering any medical facility is usually how will you be paying? There are signs posted thorughout the hospital and my doctors office reminding you of payment expected upon services rendered. 

A healthier, more able bodied person may not be able to grasp what those moments of terror actually feel like, The panic attack you have on top of the flare up, while trying to decide if a late night, sit for hours trip to the ER is worth it. Is it worth the gaslighting, repeated Q & A, and the aftermath if fighting with your insurance company over which part of the visit they will not be covering. 

As frustrating and overwhelming as this scenario can be--been there, done that and got the T shirt--there are some avenues and resources that may provide a bit of relief. In my case, one of my most memorable hospital visits, resulted in a bill( my portion to pay) for only about $8k . That 8K was for an X-Ray. Three images to be exact. Read that again--$8,000 for a chest X-Ray. Absolutely insane. There was also a separate fee charged for the processing of the images themselves--absolute absurdity!

 It was during  this time of phone tag that I was enlightened to the assistance that is available but if you don't know to inquire, it's unlikely anyone from the medical community will inform you.

One of the most helpful resources I learned about thus far is the Uninsured Patient discount. This discount also applies if you are underinsured as well. You may not always know which services your plan/policy will or will not cover but if you find yourself in need of help, know that this discount--especially at a Non-Profit Healthcare organization such as Cedars Sinai--is always an option.

If planning an office visit, wellness visit or hospital stay, you'll want to  check with your insurance provider beforehand. Make themm aware of what services you plan on having to better determine what percentage you will be repsonsible for. Your next call will be to the facility you're planning on visiting. You will reach out to their business office, usually the billing department. The paperwork you will need to complete-depending on need-can be forwraded to you by snail mail or you will be directed to complete the form(s) off the internet and send back electronically.

If you have no insurance at all--the uninsured discount offers patients a discount between 70-75 % off automatically. Emergencies are just that and the last thing you want is to try and ask for a discount in those already stressful moments. If you're uninsured as of this reading, begin the process now. Doing so will put your information in the database and your billing will reflect that discount without further questioning.

For those that are in the under-insured category, your discount will likely be at the 50% rate but that does vary from one healthcare system to another, so you will need to sctually speak with a representative from the financial services division or customer care for details. Til next time. 💝

#insurance #money #discount