Insurance

[Guest guest]

Hey Ann- it is terribly complicated here in the states. Here's my gig-

I have insurance from my company; my premium is $400 a month for my

entire family. I have an HMO (health maintenance organization) which

means that I have a primary care provider that takes care of my basic

needs and writes me referrals to specialists I need. So, I basically

only see her about 1x a year ($20 copay) to get my referral for my GI

doc. Then my insurance pays for the specialist visit ($25 copay) - as

long as the doctor takes my insurance. It works most of the time but

if you don't do things right, it's a major hassle.

My hospital copays are $100 but then again, you have the usual and

customary thing so sometimes you pay a bit more.

My Lap gall bladder surgery last summer was over $13,000 and it was

outpatient!! I paid $25 for my GI visit to get the referral to the

surgeon, $25 for each of 3 visits to the surgeon and $125 for the

surgery. That's not counting meds and pre-op tests including an

ultrasound to check for gall stones.

It's not cheap and it's not like we can go without. The advantage

over what I know about your system is that we don't have waiting

lists. It sometimes takes me a month or so to get an appointment

because they're busy but not months or years like I've heard in

Canada or the UK.

Hope that helps a bit.

Happy Swallowing!

- in Va.