What does it feel like to live in the United States without health insurance?
Some uninsured people barely notice that they do not have health insurance. They do not worry about needing medical care, or they figure that some government program, or a payment plan with the doctor or hospital will work out. Uninsured people who regularly need medical care feel their lack of insurance more acutely. They may have applied for government programs and been turned down; they may qualify for free or sliding-scale clinics, and for charity care programs at hospitals. Unless they qualify for a government program (Medicare or Medicaid), they would still have the possibility of needing care that they could not afford; that is, they could be turned away by a hospital or doctor. Some uninsured people who do not regularly need care still worry about if and when they will need care. They might feel more confident about their future if they applied for all of the various programs and found out what supports were available to them. Last, some uninsured people refuse to buy health insurance or to apply for government programs. They are uninsured by choice, and they may be well aware of the consequences, which they are willing to risk. Anyone who does not have health insurance would be wise to investigate his options -- subsidized health insurance, government programs, or charity programs. Being armed with the information is better than not knowing.
Can you live in USA without any health insurance? What will you do then when you are sick?
Sure you can live in the U.S. without health insurance. Many do. When you get sick you will pay for everything yourself, and if you can afford it you will get the same excellent care as someone with insurance. You might even save money without insurance unless / until you get really sick, need surgery, hospitalization, or expensive diagnostic tests. Unless you are a multi-millionaire you won’t be able to afford these things. But then if you are a multi-millionaire why don’t you just buy insurance?Anyway, if you get really sick, then hospitals in the U.S. are required by law to treat you, but only enough to make sure you are not going to die or be disabled basically. So it’s not great care. And they will still bill you for the cost, which if you can’t pay then it will ruin your credit rating and you will not be able to get loans for cars, houses, credit cards, and many rental apartments will not accept you with bad credit.There are many people that buy insurance just for high cost “catastrophic” coverage and pay for everything else themselves, often from a tax-free health savings account. If you are fairly healthy this is a good approach, it’s like not having insurance unless you get really really sick. Another advantage is that even with this sort of insurance you pay only the reduced price that the insurance ompany has negotiated with the doctors and pharmacies.Bottom line: you can live in the U.S. without insurance but why would you?
What is it like to live in America without health insurance?
It’s like hanging on by a thread to know you could lose everything you’ve worked for with one good illness or accident. You don’t see doctors, you wait until you’re nearly out of your mind with pain, you keep praying it goes away. I’ve heard people say that universal coverage would cause people to wait to see a doctor, when you haven’t got insurance you don’t even call for an appointment.You don’t go get that mammogram, because you can’t afford any of the treatments, you do a lot of ‘waiting it out’. But even having insurance before the ACA was no guarantee. Insurance companies often didn’t want to pay for things and you had to fight them for coverage, I had a friend who was sitting in her hospital bed, fighting a second round of breast cancer, when she was told her insurance company was cancelling her coverage, she sold her house, gave her kids to her ex husband because she had no home now, sold her business to cover her new costs.There is no way you can tell me that no insurance is an option for people, she was only 35.
Married couple health insurance living in two different states?
It is possible if you have the right plan. You don't want an HMO because you cannot go outside the doctor network. These networks are specific to your area. A PPO would work because you can go outside the network. However, your costs will be higher and with most plans the out of network deductible and co-insurance is separate and higher. An indemnity plan does not have networks so you can go to any doctor. However, the premium is usually 30% - 50% higher than a PPO. The biggest problem is very few PPO or indemnity plans have maternity coverage. Those that do - if you do the math you'll find the extra premium in most cases is more than if you paid cash for the delivery. Almost all individual plans cover complications of pregnance, such as a C-section, even if they don't cover maternity.
Can you get braces free if you have health insurance?
My dental HMO covered a good chunk of it and I am way over 18. I think it depends on your dental plan. You still end up paying a couple thousand though.
I dont have health insurance and they told me i might have lung cancer. where to go to find help?
You can look at the information available at the American Cancer Society about how to locate financial aide: Financial and Legal Matters http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MIT/mit_3.... You can also contact Cancer Care for free online advice: http://www.cancercare.org/ And, you should be aware that over 300 hospitals in the US were built with federal funds and that most are obligated to provide low cost or free healthcare. US Department of Health: Hill-Burton Free and Reduced Cost Health Care http://www.hrsa.gov/hillburton/default.h... Hill Burton Hotline 1-800-638-0742
If a person goes to a hospital in the USA without health insurance and racks up a high bill that they can't pay, does the taxpayer pay for it instead?
According to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), any person who goes to an emergency room must be stabilized and treated for life-threatening illness or injury, regardless of their ability to pay. Hospitals are required to provide "emergency medical treatment" which is lifesaving treatment and/or stabilization, and provide treatment for women in "active labor" (water has broken).(Note that ERs do not have to provide non-lifesaving treatment to persons who cannot pay.)Once that treatment is done, someone still has to pay the bill. So several things will happen:The hospital will try to collect from the individual.If the individual cannot pay any of the bill (i.e. no income at all):The hospital will try to determine whether or not the person qualifies for Medicare or Medicaid, and try to collect the money from them.The hospital may try to write off the debt:If the hospital is non-profit, it might write off the cost as "charity." In order to maintain non-profit status, the hospital has to do a certain amount of "charity" work.If the hospital is for-profit, it may write the debt off as "bad debt" which is then used to calculate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates, allowing the hospital to command higher reimbursement from the governmentThe hospital can then use the "bad debt" or "charity" numbers to attempt to ply more from paying customers' insurance plans, making it more expensive for everyone else to get care.If the person is employed but underinsured, or if they do have some form of income, the hospital will send the remainder of the bill to collections, which can bankrupt the individual.One way or another, the hospital will get paid. The hospital will also get paid at the expense of the other, paying, customers, in one way or another.
Can illegal immigrants get a driver's license, health insurance, credit cards, etc..?
License: You can get in Hawaii, New Mexico, Washington and Utah. In Utah it's a driver's privelege card, it valid for driving but it's not an ID. You just need to prove that you live in Utah and show 2 proofs from the list and pass the driving test. The 2 proofs you can show in Utah is : 1) A lease on your name (rent an apartment for a week) . 2 ) a bank account - open one with your foreign passport it's ok don't worry. In Utah it's the easiest. Health insurance: How old are you? maybe your parents can put your health insurance under theirs? You can't have an health insurance without a SSN, an ITIN is not enough for that. Credit card: You can get a credit card using your ITIN, I know for sure that it's possible. You came legally and overstay so once your get married you will get your Green Card without having to leave the country, so maybe get married and get it over with?