Co-Payments to Soar

My son has asthma and typically he vists the doctor on average 2/winter season we live in Chicago....co-pays are $20 and depending on what type of additional prescriptions he needs for a cold or something...his prescription costs have us choosing between milk and food..It's ridiculous. I currently pay $98/pay check for medical insurance...plus co-pays...it's absoultely ridiculous.

This is worse than awful. I have a child with a chronic health condition who's meds are more than my mortgage. The copays as they are now are killing us. We're middle class working people with insurance and this is going to be the straw that breaks us. Why won't somebody help us??

Unbelieveable! If we don't vote in a democrat in the upcoming election, preferably Hillary, we're all going down the toilet. Things are a mess and I wonder if they can be repaired.

I find it simply disgusting that this has been allowed to happen in our country. Someone's getting rich -- the drug companies, maybe? Duh! It's time for major reform.

My husband and I are both in our 20's and healthy and pay over 200 a month for health insurance and pay 35 dollar co pays and then a co pay of 35 for medication. With the rising gas prices and grocery prices and a new baby who has to go to the doctor for all kinds of shots and check ups both of us have had to skip going to the denist and I especially have had to skip going to the doctor for my IBS, even though I really need to go. On top of that it is costing me hundreds of dollars just for the birth of my son. I'll probably be owing 2,000 dollars.We are the only country that pays to have a baby

I'm a high risk pregnancy (natural...no fertility stuff). Paying the $500 deductible was bad enough. Then I found out I'll be paying 20% of all visits until our $1025 co-pay limit is met. At this point, I have to choose which appts/tests to keep. Thank God I'm due before my ins. year ends or I'd start over with deductible and copay.

I'm a high risk pregnancy (natural...no fertility stuff). Paying the $500 deductible was bad enough. Then I found out I'll be paying 20% of all visits until our $1025 co-pay limit is met. At this point, I have to choose which appts/tests to keep. Thank God I'm due before my ins. year ends or I'd start over with deductible and copay.

I already suffer from anxiety and depression which means trips to the psychiatrist at $60 a visit. The company I work for is already doing the percentage scripts rather than the traditional $10, $20 and so on. I am a newlywed and my husband has a chronic condition who's meds are about $200/mo. However there is hope that the bible provides and that is what gets us through. In Rev 21:3,4 it shows God's promise in the near future to govern mankind and cure all of us of our sicknesses. We don't put our trust in the government.

The pharmaceutical companies decide how much to charge for these drugs and they are among THE MOST PROFITABLE companies in the world. Point the finger and your ire at them! These costs get passed onto to you. Whether its the insurance company or the government (in the form of taxes to fund so-called "national healthcare), you ultimately will pay one way or another. The only solution to controlling health care costs are 1) controlling the charges and/or rationing care and deciding who deserves/needs treatment and medication as happens in countries with national healthcare. You decide. Ultimately living as healthy as possible is the best way to mitigate your costs. For everything else, prepare to pay one way or another.

Nikki - Voting in a Democrat, even Hillary will not solve anything - Whatever you save on medical care, you ans the rest of us will pay in taxes. We'll just create another huge, inefficient government bureaucracy - Ask any Canadian or UK citizen.

Do you really want to wait for 6-12 months or more for mon-critical surgery?

The system is a mess but no politician will ever solve it. When last did ANY politician ever solve ANY problem?

This is just insane. There are so many people out there that can't afford their medication as it is now. With this increase there is no way they are going to be able to pay for it! This is going to cause an increase in pregnancies (can't afford birth control) and hospital visits for both young and old. I used to say this as a joke, but it's getting more and more real with the way this country is going...I'm moving to Canada! :)

although i was born in the US, i lived in Canada my whole life. in Canada we're blessed with provincial health insurance plans. we're covered for just about everything. they say u dont know what u've got until u've lost it. i moved back to the US in august and i got a Urinary Tract Infection and had to go to the emergency room here in chicago. an examination and prescription cost me $550!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was in shock!!!!! what if i need some kind of treatment? what if i break a leg or something? how much will that possible cost??? my husband had a brain tumor removed before we got married, in 2005. thank God it was benign. at the time he had insurance thru his work so it covered most of the cost. he recently started his own business and as a new business owner, he doesnt exactly have a high income. hes supposed to be having check ups and follow ups and its just too much money! $4000 for an xray???? we're currently looking for health insurance, any suggestions on something affordable??
im considering sponsoring my husband and moving back to canada. the health insurance is well worth it.

are you people insane??? the only reason we have to pay to have a baby is because we don't have them in huts.. we get the luxury of doctors taking care of us and our children, and the LUXURY of preventing all sorts of diseases. of coarse your going to pay for your health!! your not complaining about your ded for your car insurance do you? tell me how much that costs you a month! ungreatful!! why don't you look into your facts before you run your mouths?

The problem with this article is:

1: The employer is the choosing the benefit, not the health insurance company. We all have 100's of benefits and employers pick the one they feel they can afford.

2: If the member is paying $100 a month for insurance that covers $2,000 a month in drugs, how can they complain that they are paying $300 a month to cover $2,000 in drugs. Someone who is not ill and not taking drugs is paying for them.

3: The reason employers use coinsurance instead of copays is so that the insured members know what drugs costs. That way, they can look for cheaper alternatives instead of just taking the drug that their doctor (who was just given a trip by the drug company) prescribed for them.

4: If the insurance is such a bad deal, they could save the $100 a month a pay for their medicines on their own

5: None of the Presidential candidates can fix the problem because the only solution is to ration care and access to care and Americans won't do that.

I am writing to give a different perspective on health care coverage. To start off, any deductibles, copays, coinsurance, or maximum out of pockets are all stated clearly and openly on the form that your employer offers you when you opt to apply for coverage. Insurance companies do not come up with these random charges to bill you for that are hidden. A typical plan would have for example, a deductible of 500 that the patient needs to meet and then the insurance will cover at say, 80% until you reach a maximun of 2000 per year. I read another entry stating that America is the only country where we have to pay to have a baby. I think you will find that once you receive all of the information on those countries that DON'T pay, you may be more blessed than you thought. Either those countries are third world and have their baby in a hut, or the government pays for health care and health care systems work just like any government system, which is bad. There would be no competition for who could provide the best service, or keeping the waiting room times down. You would stand in a line and wait for hours for an MRI because the hospital doesn't care as long as they are getting their cut from the FEDS. Additionally, the employer is the one choosing the benefit, not the health insurance company. The insurance companies all have 100's of benefits and employers pick the one they feel they can afford. I hope this sheds a different light on "the health plan coverage crisis in America."

I just delivered and I had to pay $1000 out of pocket in deductible before anything was covered and then I had to pay 20% of everything after that. This pregnancy cost me around $4000 WITH insurance! And on top of that, my kids have to meet $1000 deductible before they will be covered for the 80% and my husband has to meet $1000 deductible before he gets to pay 20%! This is with a plan that costs us 300/monthly! Why are we paying? Insurance companies are a joke these days! How can they expect people to pay for this stuff? I can't even imagine how bad it is for those that need meds and doctor visits and hospital visits regularly. Ridiculous!

breast cancer treatment, nobody cant imagine only people who walked in the ,,same shoe''follow up twice yearly scans, lab tests, medications , comes above several thousand dollarts out of pocket, yeh-- whats the point of insurance? hope help is on the way--- such a shame--

you know its a sad day when the health care insurance can RAPE the american people. from the high cost of coverage to meds that people really need to stay alive. with folks losing their jobs and the basic cost of living rising faster then a nasa rocket-there will be no room to get ill. this is not the middle ages where people just deal with their illness and pray that it goes away or heals itself. do you ever wonder if the people, CEO, CFO's running this worry about co-payments, RX-payments for their families??....i dont think so i think that since they rise OUR co-pays so high, it must cover their families too. you know on our dime/

Some days it does feel like it will never get better. I have numerous health issues and I forego seeing my specialistts as I can't pay my portion of the copay.

My daughter has become ill w/ a rare disorder, and I'm finding specialists aren't taking some, if any insurance, because they don't have too. If you're only one of a few people who treat it, you don't need to deal w/ insurance. Some are kind enough to do her treatments in the hospital as then insurance is taken, etc. Her last medication was a 50% split, and I really don't have a choice - it was $150.00. I wanted to cry.

I do feel it's gotten to the point for many doctor groups that they are spending an inodinate amount of time explaining their charges, etc. Most tell me they spend at least 1/2 to 1 full day per week justifying their charges to insurance companies.

I agree about "Why pay health coverage." I have started adding up what I pay (my share) versus what the insurance company pays. Then if you're one who isn't able to itemize, are participate in a work plan for flex spending, you feel it goes all down the drain as far as getting a tax benefit - and what a big one.

I say let the politicians live off the median salary of an American of their "family" (whether they are single/married, how many kids, etc.). Then tell them they have to pay for their health insurance premium, have money taken out of their paycheck for flex spending, pay their own retirement. Oh, and find a place to live, decent daycare/after school care, etc. for their children. Oh, and work 12 months a year with maybe two weeks off, and no raises (or a pittance) for the last 8 or so years. Not sure if it'd raise awareness - one would like to think so.

How much will be enough? This issue transcends party lines and effects almost every American. Everyone, including myself, seems to have a deeply personal story about the abject failure of our current healthcare system. I don't care who is elected as long as they can change the "business" of healthcare. Our security and prosperity as a nation depends on the fundamental expectation of good healthcare for every citizen. It is more important than corporate healthcare/pharmaceutical profits. In my opinion, my family will likely suffer much greater harm at the hands of the current healthcare system than any threat from any extreme terrorist group. The billions spent each day in Iraq would go a long way to meeting the needs of (working and non-working) Americans suffering with inadequate insurance coverage. Imagine the increase in personal productivity in each community and household if the government could effectively provide a user-friendly safety net for all. I hope that one day, businesses large and small will see the benefit in sharing provision of healthcare with the government and force a positive change. That's our last hope...no one seems to be listening to us.

Why are drugs, gas, food and housing some of the most expensive items on the planet. These are not "luxury" items. For most people food, drugs, etc. keep you alive, gas keeps you working and housing keeps a roof over your head so you can keep on working and support the "system". I wish the war in Iraq would end and Bush and Cheney would be impeached and all of their money given to charity. Its sad really that people are literally starving and suffering in the USA why a few fatcats are getting richer by the second. It reminds me of the olden days back to the "feudal system" where there were Lords, servants, peasants, etc. The "American Dream" is gone. Prior generations mortgaged the future for their own financial gain and pleasure and
benefit and now it time to make the payments.

My view is different than most, I thank God I live in America and have health insurance. I raised three children as a single mother for ten years without it. And I didn't qualify for help because I worked so I had to pay for every medical bill and medicine in full. During that time we were only sick a few times and able to be treated with cheaper drugs. Then I remarried and had two more children after the three left home. Five years ago, when my youngest was only a year old, my health took a bad turn and I am disabled. Come to find out, I have been diagnosised wrong for years, or I should say undiagnosised. My medications without insurance would ruin my family,it cost more than $2000.00 every 30 days, so I will pay the $225.00 and do without other things. Sure the $40.00 an office call for the 3 specialist I see hurt when they all fall in the same pay period, but I try hard not to let that happen. And when it does, there is one that understands now, and works with me. Developing relationships and finding the right doctors, makes all the difference, it took me going through over twenty doctors and thirty years to find out I have a disease that has effected my whole life. But I thank God I have and for each day.

Wake up America! Do not buy in to the anti-universal healthcare propoganda funded by who else, THE DRUG COMPANIES. The United States is the only western nation without universal healthcare. We are led to believe by the rich and powerful that we have the best healthcare system in the world, WRONG. As one prior post stated, universal healthcare works in Canada. The World Health Organization ranked France as having the best healthcare in the world. what was the United States ranked? 37th!!! The United States ranks 42nd in both life expectancy and infant mortality rates. Guess what countries are ahead of the US? All of those with universal health care. I agree with one post, it doesn't matter who the next President is. Until we as Americans demand universal healthcare, nothing will ever happen. If being ranked 37th in overall healthcare is ok while the drug companies earn billions in profits, then we shouldn't change. However, I believe that if France can do it, so can we. Please do not believe everything you hear from the drug companies and the Republicans.

Ahh, the reliance upon healthcare insurance companies is further training the U.S. citizens to stay away from health care. I stopped going to the Dr for myself because of a decade without healthcare insurance and then because of healthcare insurance that found a way to reject every claim for even routine maintenance. While we have good insurance, now, I am only going to the Dr for prenatal care...for my baby. After the birthing, I will discontinue going to the Dr for myself as before.

Thanks to insurance policies, I know better than to seek healthcare for myself unless I am making a super good wage....since I am now the Stay At Home Parent, I am not making a wage and will not afford going to the Dr. But, I do not deserve to go to the Dr, do I? The U.S. citizens have supported this way of life for generations and now we pay for it. Good enough for us and we shall continue to pay for it with an increasing population that no longer seeks healthcare.

Real World said:

"my family will likely suffer much greater harm at the hands of the current healthcare system than any threat from any extreme terrorist group."

I HAVE NEVER HEARD SOMETHING RING SO TRUE. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING CAREERS AND AM LEFT NOW WITH NO INSURANCE IN BETWEEN JOBS. I HAD INSURANCE FOR THREE YEARS AND OF COURSE NOW I GOT SICK. IT'S A SAD DAY IN AMERICA WHEN A PERSON KNOWS THEY ARE SICK AND POSSIBLY NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND DON'T FOR FEAR OF FINANCIAL RUIN.

Real World said:

"my family will likely suffer much greater harm at the hands of the current healthcare system than any threat from any extreme terrorist group."

I HAVE NEVER HEARD SOMETHING RING SO TRUE. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING CAREERS AND AM LEFT NOW WITH NO INSURANCE IN BETWEEN JOBS. I HAD INSURANCE FOR THREE YEARS AND OF COURSE NOW I GOT SICK. IT'S A SAD DAY IN AMERICA WHEN A PERSON KNOWS THEY ARE SICK AND POSSIBLY NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND DON'T FOR FEAR OF FINANCIAL RUIN.

What ticks me off personally: is that those in congress who allow this to go on, our own elected officials all enjoy 100% health care coverage. They pay no premiums and no co-pays whatsoever. As hard as I work this somehow just doesn't seem fair.

Until January 1, 2008 my company's self-directed medical insurance policy, which includes prescription drugs, was on a co-pay system with mail-order for long-term medications. As a diabetic [Type 2] on insulin therapy, a 3-month supply used to cost me $60. Now it will cost me $148.40. . . money which I do not have as the company hasn't given its employees a raise of any sort in 8 out of the last 9 nine years. If my endocrinologist cannot help with more samples [received from the pharaceutical rep] I will have to stop taking my insulin. It's either that or not buy food for a month. I understand medical costs are going up but such a leap cast is intolerable. Something has to be done, especially when medicines in other countries such as Canada are cheaper. American drug companies are getting rich while American citizens face the prospect of an earlier death because they couldn't afford the drugs they need to keep them alive and healthy. It has to stop NOW!!!!! And if it means government intervention then so be it!!!!

I work for a Dr Office and its very hard on patients to have to pay their copays, but what the ins co are doing is that they are applying the copay and co insurance to the allowed amount for what ever services are being done, As a patient i get scared to go to the Dr office because if i go more than once a month i feel like i should get a part time job to afford the medication, and pay for all the copay if i go more than one a month. thanks

On the other side of the coin, I recently had a 5 day hospital stay, including several expensive tests among them was a cat scan. My statement just arrived, the total bill was $35,000. My end was $235.00....I am retired. My Humana H.M.O. is paid through Medicare. $67.00 monthly. There are different Humana policies for working people,or self-employed.
You just have to check to see if Humana is offered in your state.

This is just sad. My husband takes over 16 different medications for various problems and as it is right now, there are some months we just can't afford to get them all. how much worse does this have to be before someone high up gets a clue that Americans can no longer afford to take care of themselves ? It isn't terrorists that we need to worry about, it's the money-hungry health care system !

I work for a moderate size company and only a small handfull of employees are even offered insurance. BUT having said that the insurance we have is not worth what we pay for it (almost 300. a month). I only have it incase of a major illness or surgery. I am a single mom and I have a plan for my daughter and I. We don't even have copays, we have to cover the 1st 4000.00 out of pocket before the insurance starts to pay 50%. So be glad that you still have a copay even if it goes up. This is so out of hand it is crazy. We can't even afford to go for regular stuff much less anything else.

More bills the working class cannot afford!! My DH who is early 50's and otherwise has always been in excellent health, recently needed a stent. From November-February his bills totaled $63,000!!! His Insurance--which he pays a few hundred a month for paid about $12,000. My insurance has paid $500. Get this--most providers--hospitals, labs, docs, do participate with both of our plans. But, his pays better--so when the bills go to mine as secondary, if his has already paid more than they would, they pay nothing. The $63K is a totally ficticous number to be sure, but our out of pocket has been $900 so far, and we are not done yet.

We'd be better off to drop his insurance, rely on mine and then pay the "lower" co-pays and co-insurance from my plan!! Since they all participate in both, if his plan would pay $100 and my co-insurance would be $25, and if my plan would pay $80 and the co-insurance would be $20, it would be better for us to use the cheaper insurance plan!!!!

We set up an FSA with his employer for $2,000, and that is the best deal out of all this mess. Nevermind the paperwork to file two claims is outrageous!! And due to HIPAA regulations and privacy laws, his insurance statements do not have enough information on them anyway for the second carrier to process!!

Then I see commercials for the uninsured, and to be sure there are real and true needs there, but here we are both working, both have insurance and I pay, pay, pay, while these commercials all have the folks saying, "we just go to the doctor and we don't have to pay anything, it gives us such peace of mind" What is wrong with this picture???

My company just changed insurance providers and associated plans at the first of the year. Previously, it had paid my individual premiums in full however, now I have to pay $79.95 bi-monthly. On top of that, my prescription co-pays have gone through the roof. We have always been told that buying generic is a major cost-saver but in my case, it just ain't so. I take a daily dose of a med for high blood pressure and it is a Tier 3 drug. If I opt for the brand name it costs me $100 for a 3 month supply by mail order; however, if I opt instead for the generic, IT IS THE SAME PRICE. There is absolutely no savings for choosing the generic. However, my insurance plan saves big time if I choose the generic - $177.40 for brand name, $28.52 for generic. My other medication, Actonel (for pre-osteoporosis) has no generic equivalent so it is $70 for the 3 months. I don't mind paying the cost if there is no generic offered but I am furious that I have to pay the same price for either brand name or generic and my company's insurance rep as well as the people at United Healthcare have no clear explanation for the disparity. Whenever I check in with my two doctors (the ones prescribing) I always beg for samples to stretch my supply and hold off having to re-fill.

Well, I pay $366 a month for health care and I am retired and my husband is disabled. Our meds are through the insurance company and they are pretty reasonable. I cannot take some of the meds that the doctor wants me to because I am allergic to most of them so guess I am fortunate that way. We have a real problem in this country that no one seems to want to address. We are paying millions of dollars every year for health care for illegal immigrants in this country. Just go to the emergency room at night in any hospital in southern California and you will see where our money is going and why our health care is so high. The hosptials are becoming the regular office visits for illegals. We need to take back control of our country.

I am a 48yr old grandmother with diabetes, sleep apnea, hiatal hernia and ibs. I currently pay copays of $15/25 for doctor appts and $100/300 for emergency/mri and for prescriptions my copays vary with the standard being $50/per prescription. I have recently found out that my job will be moving to China and Budapest in the near future. I have decided to attempt to eliminate my drugs slowly and hope that I can keep things from flaring up to a minimum.

WE NEED CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY - VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA .....

We found out the hard way! My husband had surgery and was prescribed physical theropy. Much to our suprise our insurance policy only allowed "so many" visits. Please check your policy for this endorsement.

Thankfully, the physical theropy provider helped us out by taking half the bill off because of the "hidden" endorsement they did not even know about and have been in business for 25 years!!

This is just one of the "hidden" endorsements that you could find out about only AFTER the fact.

Call your provider for EVERYTHING that way you will know what is what before you find out too late. Make sure you write down all information asked and answered and get the name of the person you talked to and their extention so you can have that info should there be a problem.

The health care issue is out of control. Now they want to charge by percentages. That is ridiculous and what are we to do to pay for medications, doctors' visits/co-payments if the costs are going to run in the thousands of dollars.

The only ones making money are the insurance companies and doctors. Whenever I have questioned an amount to an insurance company they have answered that the doctor has a right to charge that particular fee. Nobody cares anymore but when you reach middle age you will all be sorry because then you will have to take medicines to live and go to doctors to maintain your health. Then it will not be a choice but a matter of life or death.

Until our government banishes HMO and Big Pharma lobbyists, we will continue to be gouged. My copay for a 90-day prescription with Aetna is $40. Specialist visit is $40 per visit and primary care physician is $30. But, even though the GYN is in the network, he charges $10 more than the copay which is rejected by Aetna. I end up paying $50 per visit instead of $40.

Good health is a necessity. But, for the rich only. Who else can afford to be sick when emergency room deductibles are $5,000?

Employers should NOT be responsible for providing health care because employers continually change plans with every renewal period. That means new networks, new doctors, new diagnoses, new tests with every plan change.

Until Americans get off their duff and protest this insanity, only the very wealthy will be able to afford health care and they won't be concerned if anyone else can't.

I think that Andrea has some valid points, but ...... I also think the cost are way out of line. My wife had an MRI, the co-pay was $437. Does any one on this planet think an MRI cost a total of $1500 ? let alone a co-pay this high ? Plus some one in another state has to READ the results for another $100 co-pay.

At 56 I am surviving breast cancer, lost both breasts, have been diagnosed with MS and have begun having breathing problems. The thing is that our ins. comp. comes by way of USAirways horrific treatment of it's longtime employees. Were it not for the Pen. Guar. ppl and HCTC program, our benefits would cost us $1014.00 a mo., and his pension benefit after along career is $1034. I thank God for the organizations that have intervened to protect and help ppl in our situation. Now I think that the Government needs to hold USAirways accountable. If they can own up to billions of dollars to buy another airline, they need to take care of business. But, the problem for me is that we are forced to use a mail order plan. It saves one co pay for a three mo supply, so that sounds good, but when the drug companies come out with plans to help us, as I am on some high dollar meds, I cannot use them as they send a card that the pharmacist uses along with your ins. card to fill the med. For instance, Prevacid. For me the copay is 30.00, with the card it is $5. But my plan prevents me from getting that benefit. That is just one example. My MS medication costs $100 for a three mo supply. and on and on. In order to be healthy and keep the disease progression at bay, I guess I average 150 a mo or more with ins. God help those without. For the first time, I have thought of trying to stop some of my medications. Add to that all the frigging copays at the docs. The family doctor does not want to handle your asthma, or prozac, or anything. They send you to the specialist. At a much higher copay. Something needs to be done. I feel as if no one has my best interests at heart, that all my doctors are handling my health independent of each other and I look to die soon from drug interactions or overdose. They have no idea what is going on. Add to that the flipping PA. I will NOT see a PA if I am at my oncologist or neurologist or any other specialist that is costing me top buck. They can take my temp if at my regular doc for a check up or take off a cast. That is about all.

Well good for you Brenda. Instead of being eaten at once, now you can be eaten a digit and limb at a time. You will learn what others have. Your ins. prem. will climb, your co pay will climb, and the amount that the ins. company's pay to the doctors and hospitals will not. So the cost of healthcare will climb and climb. Insurance companies are the richest corps. in America. Go to the home office of one. Marble floors from Italy, etc. They are in the lap of luxury, they have so much they have to spend it to avoid reporting it. It is disgusting. Corporate greed is killing America. We pay more and more for them to kill our children, keep us from feeding our children or lower the quality of what we feed them, etc. The president of the insurance company sits in his home eating steak while we are forced to eat hot dogs and fish sticks, IF we are lucky. So before you go counting your good luck which is understandable, you need to remember you will not always be the mother of these children, they will get older. That disease you have will get worse, perhaps, and perhaps more will arise. And, your copays, if they are leveraged on drugs to 33%, will exceed anything you have EVER paid to now. My prevacid shows a cost of $5000. Do the math. That is one med. The drug company is gouging, now the insurance company, and so forth. Don't cheer too loud.

Just won't be filling any Rx . . . if you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

So more people will be/remain dis-eased until there is some kind of epidemic. Then maybe we will get national healthcare.

One more sad state of affairs in this country.

I have several health issues including Lupus, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, asthma and arthritis. My employer in order to not have to raise monthly employee contributions to our health insurance doubled our deductable and the co-pays on our prescriptions have increased to the point where I had to speak to my Dr about changing my medications to try to fit the insurance companies list of "approved meds" and going to medication web sites and asking for discounts.
My co-pay is so high that I can't afford diabetic testing supplies or supplies for my c-pap machine. My mask and head gear that is supposed to be changed every 3 months is now 2 years old. I am so afraid I will get sick and have a big co-pay that I will not be able to pay even if I have a payment plan from the hospital because we have not had raises where I work for several years while the prices of gas, food, rent, propane and electricity continue to increase.
I know who ever comes into the White House, Democrat or Republican, is not going to be able to get changes started and approved (if they even are approved) for several years while we all suffer.
But what is a working widowed grandmother suppsed to do??

Everyone says stay healthy and you won't have to pay so much. Wrong.

I'm an RN and I certainly advocate a healthy lifestyle but if you notice, everyone with a serious illness posted how lucky they are to have insurance but the way the deductibles and co-insurances are set up if you're healthy, you'll pay large monthly premiums, copays as high as $50 a pop and never reach any of your deductibles.

So basically, if you're healthy you pay for your healthcare (the occasional infection, xray etc.) out of pocket, and it better be a deep pocket. You're premiums are money out the window.

I call my insurance disaster coverage. I try to stay healthy, I pay for my checkups and if I get hit by a bus or something, I have insurance (that'll at least get me in the door of the ER).

Insurances are now charging people a percentage of the total cost of hospitalization (eg. 20% of a zillion dollars) so I'll still go bankrupt even with insurance.

Twisted logic says, Smoke, drink, overeat, don't exercise and you'll get sick enough to make having health insurance worth it.

I am on Medicare and also receive Soc Security benefits. I have continued a health care plan from former employer. Now get this .... Medicare has gone up so much, I hardly realize anything from Soc Security. Medicare has cut down or out on what they cover ... such as annual pap smear. I am diabetic and doc has run several blood tests that Medicare does not cover or says it is 'too soon'. Since Medicare doesn't pay anything on these, my health insurance through former employer, doesn't pay anything either. Doesn't even go towards my deductible. Try living on a 'fixed income' ... big laugh!! Oh yes, it only pays for colonoscopy every 10 years, but that's OK cause I don't want to have another any time soon. It is sad for families and retirees.

My husband and I are both on Medicare and Part D (prescription plan). Before Part D, we were able to get most of my husband's expensive heart medications through pharmaceutical companies' prescription assistance plans. Now we have to use Part D and my husband is already in the "gap" meaning that we have to pay the entire cost of the drugs, which, in his case, amounts to about $600/mo. We are on Social Security and that takes almost his entire check. Even so, our combined Social Security income makes us ineligible for the additional help that is offered to "low income seniors". Medicare costs about $100/mo; plus Part D premiums; high gasoline prices; astronomical electric bills -we are desperate. Bush touted how much Part D would help seniors - well that is B.S. It has hurt us and I don't think we are that different from other seniors.

Gentle Readers,
I'd like to add to this whole discussion by pointing out the euphemism of calling this "Health" Insurance. If you're healthy you don't need it! Let's get real, this is "Disease Insurance" and this society is in a Disease Care Crisis.

I don't pay for Medical Insurance because I don't see much health coming out of it. I'd rather be healthy! I do carry good medical payment coverage on my auto insurance which is where an accident might happen.

Gentle Readers,
I would like to add to this discussion by pointing out the euphemism of referring to your dilemna as "Health"Care and/or Crisis. We're talking about Disease Care and if you're healthy you don't need it. This society is in a Disease Care Crisis. Insurance Companies do exactly what they say, and they can help you manage if that's what you want or need to do.
Me, I'd rather be healthy. I don't pay for Medical Insurance because I don't see much health coming out of it.

For the first time in my life I struggle with Health care costs. I have always had jobs with excellant healthcare and I took it for granted. I now work for a company that deposits $1000. into an Employee account, when that is used up you pay $1500. out of your own pocket and then 80% after that.
With the Flu this Winter and regular medication my Account is used up.
I need blood work, a Mammogram, Gyn surgery with testing before that, I'm overdue for a Colonoscopy and a visit to my Gastroenterologist (I have multiple stomach problems) my roseacea is flaring and my hair is falling out! I can't afford any of these Doctor visits and just pray I will be ok.(or win the lottery). Something has to be done.

A rude wake up call
My company offers health care, but I couldn't get the low deductible for my family, it was more than I make in wages. So I thought at least I had coverage....WRONG!!! if you don't have the deductible in pocket, the hospital wont touch you for what they call "elective surgery". In our case, a bad gall bladder is considered elective. For years my husband suffered with acute pain. we eventually came up the the money but what happened to the AMA s ethics?
And here is a lovely little joy I just found out. Our HR dept has given me a verbal warning about using the policy too much (I guess any is too much) and raising the amount that the company will have to pay in premiums. I am afraid that if I use my insurance again I may be let go. I really need my job so I am not going to the Dr. again for anything.
And my Boss has the nerve to call these little packages "benefits". I feel ripped off because I cant afford to keep paying for something I dare not use, and I cant afford to drop it for fear of emergency.....sigh

I'm only 44 but haven't worked for 3 yrs. due to terminal illness. My boss wouldn't let me go to the dr. and fired me instead. I paid 29 mos of COBRA costing around $30,000 since there is a 6 mo. waiting period for SS disability to be paid and you have to get payments for 24 mos. to get medicare. I had to do cash advances for the money and pay 21%. Where I live no companies will sell me a supplement policy. This covers deductibles, co-pays, and the 20% they expect me to pay. One hospital is threatening to put a lien on my condo over the $7000 they say I owe. I didn't know it was out of network so they expect me to pay. In less than 4 mos. I owe over $2000 in medicare non-pays. I have to charge food and medical things since my check is small.My medical expenses are huge and nobody seems to remember I have not worked for 3 yrs and am single. Where is the money supposed to come from? I make a little too much to get welfare too.

We have about 58K (41K to work with after taxes/deductions) a year coming in...my husband has our child on his policy and pays about $140 a month for them (or $1820/per year) his work won't cover me, so I have to use mine. Mine is about $64/mo ($416/yr). Both include perscription, dental and eye and have a 80% on hospitalization, with some type of copay. The cost is not bad considering what healthcare costs today. My doctor's co-pay is $20 and the Husband's is $30. But it's doesn't matter, we don't use it. With living paycheck to paycheck, barely being able to make the month bills...we can't even afford the co-pay so we don't go. The $184 we pay a month would be better off in our pockets. We don't have large amounts of debts, just a fixed mortage that we are struggling to pay along with regular bills. We can't even afford simple things that people take for granted, haircuts (mine's not been cut in over a year and 1/2),buying new clothes and we don't go out to eat, if we do it only to the local pizza parlor for $25 and it's tough to scrape that together. If any of us get majorly sick, I've no idea what we'll do becaused there's no money to pay for anything extra in our budget. After all the bills are paid, if we're lucky we have $46 left over a month...most months it gets ate up in other expenses. I guess if it happens we'll worry about it then and look towards bankruptcy court for help, we've no other choice.

We have about 58K (41K to work with after taxes/deductions) a year coming in...my husband has our child on his policy and pays about $140 a month for them (or $1820/per year) his work won't cover me, so I have to use mine. Mine is about $64/mo ($416/yr). Both include perscription, dental and eye and have a 80% on hospitalization, with some type of copay. The cost is not bad considering what healthcare costs today. My doctor's co-pay is $20 and the Husband's is $30. But it's doesn't matter, we don't use it. With living paycheck to paycheck, barely being able to make the month bills...we can't even afford the co-pay so we don't go. The $184 we pay a month would be better off in our pockets. We don't have large amounts of debts, just a fixed mortage that we are struggling to pay along with regular bills. We can't even afford simple things that people take for granted, haircuts (mine's not been cut in over a year and 1/2),buying new clothes and we don't go out to eat, if we do it only to the local pizza parlor for $25 and it's tough to scrape that together. If any of us get majorly sick, I've no idea what we'll do becaused there's no money to pay for anything extra in our budget. After all the bills are paid, if we're lucky we have $46 left over a month...most months it gets ate up in other expenses. I guess if it happens we'll worry about it then and look towards bankruptcy court for help, we've no other choice.

My SIL requires a drug that costs $1500 a MONTH! She is on disability and hits that donut hole about this time of year. There is NO WAY they can afford that medication and the others she has to take for myriad medical issues. However, the pharmaceutical companies HAVE been wonderful about picking up a portion of the cost or even giving her some free! Thank heaven, because she is totally debilitated without it.

MY problem is that I don't qualify for SS benefits...I spent most of my life raising kids and volunteering for schools, community and city. My husband is about to retire and MY meds run more than $600 a month. That's not counting the doctor visits and procedures I require. So, I will HAVE to apply for Disability, although I really only want/need the medical help. I'm only a few quarters short but cannot work out of the home now because of my disabilities. We have searched and searched for a group insurance plan that covers people like me and nothing seems to exist for us that doesn't cost more than we'd spend out of pocket anyway! And so many restrictions! One plan won't cover one medication and another won't cover a different one....and who knows what I will need later???

We CAN do it out of our own pockets....but it's going to be a real hardship. I'd always figured on going back to work when my youngest graduated....but the disease got me first!

I wish I HAD employer insurance or medicaid or medicare. I Live in Michigan, the most depressed state in the country, and am grateful to have the contract job that I have. I make $1 an hour too much to get medicaid and cannot afford to buy my own insurance. Boo Hoo on paying $500 for having a baby. You should feel fortunate that you had the rest covered.
There are programs (Montel Williams as well as programs provided by the pharmaceutecals) that will help if you are financially not able to buy your meds. DO THE RESEARCH and stop your whining!
Thru about 1/2 hour of research, I found Title XV that was designed for someone in my "predicament" that completely paid for my mammogram and treatment. It would have paid for everything had cancer been found! RESEARCH!!!!

Well I saw this coming, the big bad greed machine of the republican party. As with GWB the first they have been working on a 2 class country, the rich and the poor!
This move is just another way of bleeding the people dry and taking their homes, their fighting us on all fronts, heating oil, gas, diesel fuel, electric. With diesel fuel up, food prices have gone through the roof but wages haven't gone up, in fact they really haven't changed since 1980 when Ronald Reagen was in office and the started this 2 class adventure.
Who controls oil prices, not OPEC! Oil prices are controlled buy the stock market, I should say manipulated by oil brokers who purchase the oil at a low price and then by holding until there is almost a crises, then selling. Then the refineries buy it at a higher price, so they have to charge a higher price.
There is price gouging going on all around this country for most necessities of basic life, IT'S WRONG!!!
Before I watch my parents die or lose their home that they worked for all of their lives, I will fight back!
Remember, ( The pen is mightier than the sword).
It is for good of the world that oil and gas should not be traded on the stock market.
Medical Insurance Companies should be held accountable for their gouging techniques as should the pharmaceutical Corporations, for endangering the health and welfare of Americans! If these corporations are foreign owned then I say we are being attacked, flogged by our own government a government that is suppose to stand up for the people and protect us from enemies foreign or domestic!

Not only have co-payments for drugs been raised, but I now have to pay a portion of all testing. I never had to pay for a blood or urine test done at the doctor's office. Now I do. I recently had a mammogram done. The results indicated additional tests which meant another mammogram and an ultrasound. The doctor also sent me for a chest x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound because he suspected gallstones. A few years ago, I wouldn't have had to pay for these tests. Now I have to pay a portion. I wound up paying over $400. He now wants me to have a colonoscopy and I need my annual pap test and exam. He also suggested having my gallbladder removed to prevent further problems. That would mean I would have to pay aportion of the surgery. I can't afford this. I've been putting off the pap and mammogram because I had to pay a portion of my dental bills which amounted to alot because I needed a root canal and cap. I won't even go into my husband's bills because of an emergency room trip and subsequent tests for a renal infection. Sure...my medical plan pays a good portion of the bills, but I find myself putting things off because I can't afford my portion.

It is fustrating the amount of money that has to be paid in health insurance costs. I was recently diagnosed with Ductal Carninoma In Situ, form of breast cancer early in the second stage. I have a plan that has a 1100/ind 3000/Family ded, with a FSA attached. My FSA is gone. My bills portion of my copay after the deductible is 15%. Perscriptions are tired for generic $10,$30,and $60.00 dollars. I have had the surgery to remove both breasts. My bills are piling up I have about $3300.00 in medical costs to pay. I am a single parent, now on disability for the next month, until I return back to work. If I have to have chemo or take the drug Tamoxfin for the next 5 years.
It is fustrating how money is made on the backs of the working class. When the insurance companies do not care all they care about is what is benefiting the bottom line. Your employers chooses the plans they offer employees. All with the high deductibles, co-pays, and pre existing conditions clauses. I cannot believe in the United States today, with the sub prime mess looming, economy is down, and the rising cost of gas. There is nothing that Pfiser and rest of the drug companies can do to reduce the cost to the consumer. It does not matter to me on a political note who wins..The point we have allowed our country to be pilliaged, by sending american jobs to foreign countries, not creating more better paying jobs, allowing the insurance company lobbiest to make the back room deals to create the high costs passed to the average consumer. What is going to change ? I am waiting to see

I am very scared after reading this. I read a lot of the posts, but just couldn't continue. It's just too depressing and it saddens me that there are people out there who care more about how much money they make, than the health and well being of a human being. I mean...isn't the point of medicine to help better or prolong life that would otherwise not have the chance? While yes, I agree medications do cost a lot of money for research and production...they have also become a necessity in this life.

Many people, like myself, need medications to survive. I had a kidney transplant and my immunosuppresent drugs cost over $1,000 each and I take THREE! If I stop those medications, then I lose my kidney. At the moment I am still on SSD and I have the supplemental PAAD (Pharmacutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled) insurance coverage which makes my copays only $5 per med. But I am only 35 years old!! Now that everything is fine with my transplant, it's time to come off SSD and find a job. HOW? How will I find a job with good enough benefits that will cover my meds? I wouldn't mind paying a little more than the $5 copay...but I couldn't pay 30% of that amount, PLUS all my blood pressure meds.

WHAT CAN WE DO? PLEASE NO MORE REPUBLICANS. We need someone who cares about the everyday people!! We are headed for yet another crisis in this world.

I suffer from CRPS/RSD, which is an extremely painful syndrome, along with all the side effects it has put on my body. I also suffer from Fibromyalgia.

I am on SS Disability Insurance, and in the last ten years, my co pays have gone from approximately $25 to over $300 a month. Because I receive SSDI Benefits higher than the average person on Disability, I don't qualify for Medicaid, or should I preface it by saying, I qualify, but due to my income, my "Share of Cost" would be HALF OF MY INCOME, I told them to please keep their little card.

I recently changed from one health plan that used to cover all my medications for a co pay of $5 per prescription, but had co pays for my yearly hospital stays for Staph/MRSA in my right hand that has colonized in the hand. The plan I was on dropped their "gap coverage" and I was forced to change to another plan that has gap coverage, however, it didn't cover three of the meds I am on. I am on multiple pain and muscle relaxant medications.

To stay in the hospital would vary year to year and last year it was a flat $250 per stay. On the new plan there is no hospital copay.

When Uncle Sam started the Prescription Drug Plan, it should have only affected those on straight Medicare, but it has had a negative domino effect on those of us enrolled in Medicare HMO Plans. As soon as it was started, two of the medications I was on, were no longer covered, so I have to pay out of pocket for them.

One compounded injectable medication I take costs me $120 plus $30 for overnight shipping as it is a compounded drug that must be kept refrigerated. The Pharmacy gives a great break, but they are out of state, thus the overnight UPS Delivery I have to pay for. The UPS has almost doubled their overnight service in the last ten years.

Although I own a small duplex, my COLA increases are so low, and Uncle Sam keeps increasing my Medicare Part A and B benefit. Then each year, each HMO raises their Primary Care Physician and Specialist office copays. There is a point I know I am going to have to sell my home and rent a room, just to make ends meet. I drive a vehicle 18 years old because I don't have enough money to buy a newer one.

Ten years ago I never had a copay for an MRI or CT Scan and now have a 20% copay which can be anywhere from $220 to $300 depending on what part of the body the scans are done on. I have to beg the hospitals that provide the scans to please let me pay monthly as I don't make enough money to pay all the money up front.

Something has to be done soon, or we will wind up with sicker people because they cannot afford to pay for their medications and buy the good food they need. Even now people don't take their medications as prescribed because they have to make that decision, do I eat or do I suffer in pain or run the risk of making myself sicker.

I often believe the government actually wants the sicker people to just die because then it's one less person draining the system. And believe me, WE DO NOT WANT UNIVERSAL MEDICINE like in Canada, Australia and the UK. I have communicated with people who suffer from the same pain syndrome I do, and they tell me how bad their medical care is.

When they need to go to the Emergency Room. they are turned away. Unless you are in an accident or suffer a major trauma, they are told to see their regular doctor.

When I worked in a hospital as an ICU Nurse Tech, because Canadians are covered for medical care when traveling, and because they were on waiting lists months long for a knee or hip replacement, when they would travel to the US, and then have it done because while traveling their condition became so bad they could barely walk, and received excellent US care, not their Universal Care. Even medication is covered under their care, however, it is also limited.

What if you are a heart patient and are told you really need say four or five medications but can only get half of their much needed medication. For pain patients like myself, I would wind up curled up in bed, crying in agony because my pain which on one pain scale is double that of a cancer patient. How they survive is beyond me, and yet our own government wants to make the US have Universal Health Care under the assumption everyone would be covered, but at what cost?

We have to stop this nonsense. Congress is so tied up playing games on who is in control, that many Health Bills aren't even being passed. Call and write your elected officials and tell them your case. Tell them you are barely surviving and each year it just gets worse and worse.

American should be ashamed at itself. It pours billions of dollars into medical care for foreign countries, yet it doesn't even take care of it's own people.

This has to stop, and each American has to take a stand and say NO MORE to the increasing costs we cannot afford to pay any longer. If I was married, I would be better off, but like so many women, I am divorced, and have to depend on myself.

And to top it off, gas prices in CA have topped the $4 per gallon mark and food is three times more expensive than when I was raising my two grown kids. What I pay for two weeks worth of food, would cover the three of us for a full month.

Please, please, let our government know we must come first, not foreign countries that don't like us to begin with.

This is for ANDREA who gave a "different perspective" and it may sound right, but there are very few of you who are not working, who are disabled and on SS, or the elderly on SS, believe me, our copays are breaking us. We have to decide whether we eat or take our meds as ordered.

Everyone always addresses those working. Believe me if I was healthy enough to work, I would glady do so, but I am now over 60, have been on SSDI since 1997 and have watched what used to be almost no copays to copays that are breaking my budget. Don't forget, the young who live to grow old, will develop heart disease or those who smoke will develop COPD and no one seems to address those of us who can't work, have lost what we used to have and now live at poverty level.

The average American woman on SS who is not disabled and is over 65 receives approximately $750 per month. How they live is beyond me. The average American couple living off SS benefits is $1500 a month. How they survive is beyond me. Start saving now for when you reach retirement age because by then, there won't be SS for anyone.

The government has already come out and said by the year 2019, there will not be enough money in the SS Fund to cover hospital costs. What does that mean, we have to pay the whole bill? Quite frankly when I hear that, it scares me to death. I will be at an age where I will be even worse off than I am with my current pain syndromes. Perhaps we should all move to Canada with their insufficient medical care, because it has to be better than ours will be in ten years.

Those who are working, please take out LTD benefits offered by your employer. It's such a small amount, and it took care of me for a year before I was approved for SSDI. Otherwise, you will have to move back in with family and pray they will open their doors to you. Because I only checked 50% of my income, and didn't read the small print, it's a co insurance, and because my monthly SSDI is higher than my last position and they pay on your base salary, not what you really earned, so I only get $100 a month, which stops when I reach 65. Thankfully, if I live that long, I will receive retirement benefits from the aerospace company I worked for, for almost 14 years and will receive a much needed $500 a month, but then my SS will be subject to part of it being taxable.

I have been on disability about 6 years. I suffer from an incurable back disease. After being on SSI disability for 2 years employers force you to go onto Medicare. Medicare is about $100 a month out of my disability check. It doesn't cover anything and with the amount of time I spend at doctors I had to take out a supplement policy. So now I am paying for 2 insurance policies and still have co-pays. What I don't understand is why are we forced to pay for Medicare when it doesn't cover anything that someone with my type of illness needs.

I agree with the person who thought the senators and congress should try just for 1 month to meet the expenses of being a disabled person or an elderly person and have to deal with trying to find quality care or a doctor that will accept medicare. I have certainly written enough to my senator, repeatedly I might add, asking them to just spend one day trying to figure out how I can pay everything. He has never taken me up on the offer. Luckily for them, they have no worries--they have the best health coverage and mega bucks in retirement. While each time they tout giving the Social Security recipients an increase--they fail to mention that the increase usually doesn't begin to cover the raise in what Medicare is being increased--that's in the fine print!!!!!

I lost my health care when I lost my job 6 years ago. I was 59 years old. I couldn't find a job for love nor money and so went without health care altogether. In 2006 I fell and tore my rotater cuff and I'm just now getting my bills paid off. I had to take my SS at age 62 in order to have some income so what I now get is about half the SS benefits I would have been entitled to had I been able to wait until I was the required 65 yrs of age. I don't think people get it. What is affordable health care when you don't have a job? That's absurd! Nothing is affordable when you lose your job. If you have to come down to about half or less of your former wage, (thanks to illegal immigration and outsourcing) you can't even make your house payment. The real issue here is this: All the companies that quit providing health care as a benefit, and/or fired a bunch of people to pay the CEOs criminally high salaries left the insurance companies with a big loss in premiums. They have to make up at least some of the cost somewhere. The drs and hospitals both seem to take very good care of the people who have good coverage because they are the people who profit the drs and hospitals. The rest of us? You know the drill. Don't get sick. I have struggled to repay my bills from my surgery but my credit report is ruined because I am what?, chronically late making my payments. Pray tell, where was I supposed to get the money to pay these outrageous medical bills? Rob a bank? The first place this country should start and oversee is Corporate America. I don't think insurance is the issue, I think it's a sympton. Every company should cut their top heavy brass that suck the profits and the life out of our corporate America and leave the rest of us for road kill.

This is a truley disgusting issue, it's becoming so hard to afford to be sick. It's even real difficult for hard working Americans to afford health insurance because health insurance premiums are very very expensive! Between paying insurance premiums, co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles, it really depletes someones income. Then on top of that employers really aren't increasing employees salaries to keep up with the rising costs!! How does Canada afford to give their citizens free health insurance?

I believe health care and insurance should be removed from employers oversight. Employers are asked to cover management and administrative costs to big health care networks such as Cigna, Atena, Delta Dental, and these have HR people and corporate legal entities bargaining for your care. We as Americans should have a collective universal health care where everyone can have access to good quality care. For people that are healthy giving them preventative care is essental and provides for catching diseases before getting out of hand. For people that require physical therapy, radiation, mulitudes of drugs, hospice and the thousands of other needs, these people should be treated however many times is needed. Provided the doctors are deemed honest and actually give a damn. I am charged every month of close to $200.00 for insurance coverage. Also deductibles are required as well as prescription copays. I would be willing to place that money into a general fund, not medicare but a universal health orginization that is technology driven, organized and has no stock holders and answers to the American people. Also, does not have the goverment running daily operations, but does have congress hold accountable any oversight functions. There is so much money wasted on various health networks functions, forms, approval processes and you name it. I believe we should be allowed to vote for a program that we will all need to pay into to use, but maybe at a sliding scale based on who really can afford to pay. I use an old car and don't make alot of money, however, I would be willing to pay my fair share. The people who make alot of money should pay their fair share as well. The people who are the very poorest need our help.

So what does all of this mean. The rich pay the most, the middle class will pay second and the poor will pay next to nothing. But because we are a society that cannot seem to get it's collective shit together, nothing will be accomplished until we all start pushing back.