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You can't be turned away from an ER in the United States due to an inability to pay, it's called EMTALA.

I really couldn't tell you how much you're looking at paying, but if cost is a concern maybe you can try to find a community health center near you.

Good luck and get better soon.

You are eligible for Affordable Care Act coverage (aka Obamacare). The loss of your parent's insurance policy qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period (of a limited period of time), meaning that you can sign up for coverage through an exchange (either through Healthcare.gov or your state exchange if you live a state that opened its own exchange). Not only are you eligible to sign up for health insurance through an exchange (and there will not be any pre-existing conditions applied to your coverage), but you sound like you are likely eligible for financial assistance through that exchange. As a general over-simplification, you are eligible for financial assistance as long as your employer does not offer you coverage (and most contract jobs do not have an offer of coverage) and you make less than 400% of poverty (roughly $46k annualized for a single individual). Try this site for more info: https://www.healthcare.gov/screener/

https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/coverage/ I recommnder browsing through the website for what best suits your situation. If you can't figure it out, give them a call They should have health insurance navigators on the line to work though applying.

With your new job you will (hopefully) make too much to qualify for Medicaid. If your new job does not offer insurance, you can still get insurance on the health insurance exchanged. Losing Medicaid (or any other health insurance) qualifies you for a "Special Enrollment Period."

Click here for more information ->https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/

Click here to start the application process -> https://www.healthcare.gov/screener/

I used to work at a large hospital verifying health insurance and eligibility benefits. As per Healthcare.gov, a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) is

>A type of health insurance plan that usually limits coverage to care from doctors who work for or contract with the HMO. It generally won't cover out-of-network care except in an emergency

By choosing an HMO (with Medicaid or with other private insurance payers), you will be restricted to seeking care to one facility and you must seek a referral to seek care elsewhere. However, with regular Medicaid, you will have more flexibility in where you can seek care. Medicaid regulations vary state by state, so do clarify with your local Department of Human Service (DHS) about where you can seek healthcare with these plans. Personally, I recommend going with the regular Medicaid as it is more flexible than an HMO plan.

*Edited for clarity

You'll probably want to actually call healthcare.gov to get tech support at 1-800-318-2596

I'm sure you'll be on hold forever, but I'm also sure you're not the first person with this particular problem.

Unemployment benefits count as income. Make a realistic estimate of your 2018 income and check the marketplace plans. You should be able to find one with a very low premium.

https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/coverage/

Thank you so much for the response! Here's a link to one I am looking at right now: https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/plan/results/15560MI0350001/details

Would I have to pay everything out of pocket until I hit the deductible?

You'd need to have a qualifying life event to enroll. https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/

Other than that, not much you can do. You'll have to pay the penalty and go without coverage or purchase a short term plan (which would still require you to pay the penalty).

if you go to the healthcare.gov website, there is a section for researchers where it breaks all of the data down into a machine-readable format.

here's a link for individual plans for 2015: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-plan-information-2015/

might take some digging to get exactly what you want.

"If you’re uninsured for just part of the year, 1/12 of the yearly penalty applies to each month you’re uninsured. If you’re uninsured for less than 3 months, you don’t have to make a payment.

You’ll pay the fee on your 2014 federal income tax return. Most people will file this return in 2015."

https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-dont-have-health-coverage/

I'll start off by saying that moving the to US is a "Qualifying Life Event" and should grant you a special enrollment period. This will allow you to sign up for a plan through HealthCare.gov. You should be able to cancel the plan and then get on your wife's plan (although I'm not sure how painful this process will be). If you go for this route, then the type of plan that you want is a Catastrophic Plan (this will cover catastrophic events like being hit by a car). However, you can't get a subsidy for Catastrophic Plans, so depending on your income, it might be worth comparing prices with other plans.

Option #2 is a short term health plan. These are generally a lot cheaper than ACA plans but are not required to follow the same rules as ACA plans (e.g. short term plans can deny you for preexisting conditions). Most aren't very good general health plans, but they'd be fine for catastrophic events. Also, you'd be able to get one for the exact amount of time you need. You can search for short term plans here.

I'm not an expert on healthcare and you should definitely double check with HealthCare.gov or a HealthCare.gov rep (1-800-318-2596).

Hope everything goes well. Welcome to the USA, sorry our healthcare system sucks.

The best thing you can do is go to your states health exchange and get a quote. https://www.healthcare.gov/. Instead of us all speculating, you can speak with a representative who will give you a solid answer and price for your health care.

https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-someone-doesnt-have-health-coverage-in-2014/

The link above should give you everything you need. Sorry I couldn't hotlink it. On my phone. If you have any more questions just let me know!

I bet they have to send you paper correspondence regarding big-ticket legal stuff like cancelling your plan (i.e. it's illegal or inadvisable to send via email). Regardless, it's a frustrating situation.

It IS possible that since your plan is discontinued, you'll need to purchase another plan through the ACA exchange.

However, you can also explore a few other options. 1. See if you can appeal directly to Aetna. I feel like a 90-day appeal window is a thing in these situations. Document ANY correspondence you have with them (phone calls, emails, etc) 2. Because of the ACA, you have a right to an external appeal of any dropped coverage. Here's more information on that: https://www.healthcare.gov/how-does-the-health-care-law-protect-me/#part=11

Technically, it seems like Aetna just...didn't re-enroll you for 2014, which isn't the same as dropping you. You can likely argue anyway that they unfairly dropped you (which is illegal under the ACA except if you've committed fraud against them), but it might require some legal help.

Good luck.

I think these are better:

Health Care Systems Around the World

Why Ration Health Care?

You might qualify for a hardship exemption from the penalty. Here's more info about that: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/

The tax bill may repeal the individual mandate, but that hasn't passed yet and the last draft I saw had it going into effect for 2019.

Common life qualifying events include things like: -Marriage -Divorce -Child Birth -Loss of coverage -Moving out of the service area -Court Orders

There are a handful more and you have 30 days to notify your employer/hr team of the event. From the information you've provided, it sounds like you're screwed.

Heres an exhaustive list: https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/

Good luck.

Oh wait… I’m getting my books confused. The Emanuel book is great, but the one w all the metrics is: Financing Universal Access To Healthcare: A Comparative Review Of Landmark Legislative Health Reforms In The Oecd by Alexander Preker link to book on Amazon

While I don't agree with many of the claims made in this book, it is the best reference around. You should read it: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Pay-First-Bill-Health-ebook/dp/B08PCMYZJN/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=never+pay+the+first+bill+by+marshall+allen&qid=1647863727&sprefix=never%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-1

As the books says ... "Don't Panic"

There is a lot of advice to give you here but really it would be more effective for you to pick up this book https://www.amazon.com/Never-Pay-First-Bill-Health-ebook/dp/B08PCMYZJN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XEXYE0GPE1ZV&keywords=never+pay+the+first+bill+by+marshall+allen&qid=1647457130&sprefix=never+pay+%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1

There are a lot of angles in your case and you will need to research each one. Start with your state's Medicaid guidelines and maybe even contact the Medicaid office. Even thought the ER was not registered with Medicaid there may be some things that can be done.

After that follow some of the advice that is in this book it will help - negotiating with the billing department, demanding answers as to why you were not informed of their network status when you went in. I find it hard to believe that they did not ask about your insurance when you walked in. That would have been the moment that they could have told you that they were not in network. BTW the new No Surprises Act directly addresses this situation.

Don't just accept things as they are, advocate for yourself. It won't be easy but it will help.

Here is a link to some of your answers: https://www.healthcare.gov/young-adults/children-under-26/

Without a job based plan to jump into you will be hoping the marketplace for the Affordable Care Act has not completely disintegrated under Trumpcare by November when open enrollment begins. If it stays and insurance plans in California actually stay, you will google marketplace California turning 26 and have info galore. Open enrollment is between November and December for your health insurance to take effect in Jan 2018. The above link discusses the penalty costs as currently calculated so you can weigh the monthly cost of an insurance plan against this. The penalty could change. You just need to determine how risk adverse you are and weigh the likelihood of consuming healthcare in 2018. Welcome to adulthood.

I am no insurance expert so definitely check out the above link. If you have an afternoon, call and talk to the marketplace people personally.

Are you in the US? If so, that is patently false. No US ACA compliant insurer can charge you different rates based off your medical information. The only way your premium is affected is based on your age and tobacco usage.

https://www.healthcare.gov/how-plans-set-your-premiums/

thanks for the heads up

"If you qualify for an SEP, you usually have up to 60 days following the event to enroll in a plan. If you miss that window, you have to wait until the next Open Enrollment Period to apply." (https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/special-enrollment-period/)

Thanks. Found this primary care visits: https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/preventive-care-benefits/

So if I read this right there isn't a co-pay or anything for the three visits? You only pay if the doctor treats something? What about general tests? Seems like every time I go they do a blood test or something. Those kind of things aren't included right per the preventative care page?

Catastrophic coverage: https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/

Sorry this is so long after you posted. Hopefully you have insurance by now, but basically this is a decent flow chart to decide on what plan to choose on healthcare.gov if you plan on buying on the exchanges.

They have a list of immigration statuses that are elligible to buy insurance on the individual market and you are likely included in that list.

Of course if you can get coverage through your employer that would be good too, but especially if you are planning on staying here for awhile you will probably want to have coverage ASAP, or risk being charged more for pre-existing conditions

First thing is, you and every one here has to agree that if a consumer asks "How much is this?" or "How much will I have to pay?" then the answer cannot be "You pay $50" and then later the consumer receives a bill for $400 because that is dishonest. It is theft. It is brazenly criminal and no one should meekly pay the bill.

https://www.amazon.com/Never-Pay-First-Bill-Health/dp/0593190009 - "From award-winning ProPublica reporter Marshall Allen, a
primer for anyone who wants to fight the predatory health care
system--and win.Every year, millions of Americans are
overcharged and underserved while the health care industry makes record
profits. We know something is wrong, but the layers of bureaucracy
designed to discourage complaints make pushing back seem impossible. At
least, this is what the health care power players want you to think.Never Pay the First Bill
is the guerilla guide to health care the American people and employers
need. Drawing on 15 years of investigating the health care industry,
reporter Marshall Allen shows how companies and individuals have managed
to force medical providers to play fair, and shows how you can, too. He
reveals the industry's pressure points and how companies and
individuals have fought overbilling, price gouging, insurance denials,
and more to get the care they deserve."

>I'm not sure if getting these removed counts as cosmetic or not or as preventative care, which would be covered 100% under the hdhp.

Most likely considered cosmetic. Definitely not considered preventive.

>Basically, is preventive care just checkups, or treatment for conditions to prevent them becoming worse?

https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-adults/ These are the preventive care screenings available under the ACA in addition to an annual physical. It's not treatment for a condition (by definition).

Thanks a ton! Much appreciated! Here's one I am looking at right now: https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/plan/results/15560MI0350001/details

Would I have to pay everything out of pocket until I hit the deductible? Or is this one like you described above where they pay some?

Honestly, I can't think of a workaround for this one. Here's the thing; you most likely will pay over $1000 at tax time for NOT having insurance (2.5% of your income), unless you get a hardship exemption (see a list of exemptions here: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/hardship-exemptions/). You need to figure out if you're willing and able to pay the monthly premium for coverage by cutting other costs or bringing in additional sources of income, or pay out $1000+ at tax time for nothing.

Your pre-existing conditions are probably covered. It depends on your plan, if its a grandfathered plan then maybe not. You really just have to check the policy. You can call the insurance line and ask about pre-existing conditions.

https://www.healthcare.gov/health-care-law-protections/pre-existing-conditions/

If you're looking to get on a state medicaid program, then you're going to have a bad time. You'd have to get it in the state you're in, so right now Alaska, then change it over to Oregon but when you're in Mexico, nada. And as a 26 year old, it might be difficult depending on that states budget. However, you can check out your options at https://www.healthcare.gov/ to see if you can get coverage but you have to pick a state, so I would advise picking Alaska since that's where you're at.

Government expenditure on the health service stood at about £144.3bn at 2016-17 rates. In terms of spend per capita this equates to around £2,273. The share of GDP spent on the National Health Service in the United Kingdom is forecasted to be 7% by 2020/21.

https://clootrack.com/2-factors-that-can-transform-patients-experience-of-national-health-service-2/

You have some time to get this figured out. In order to avoid the penalty, you need to be insured for 9 months of 2015, meaning that you can wait until early March to sign up for insurance before incurring the penalty for uncovered months. After that, you'll pay 1/12 of the penalty per month you're uncovered. Meaning that the minimum penalty is 4/12 of the penalty. However, getting insurance in March may be more costly than getting it by Monday evening as many insurers may not offer a special enrollment period for people without a qualifying event after 12/15/2014.

If you're making a variable amount that is between 0-2K per month, there's a very good chance that you qualify for medicaid and you should continue appealing. f

Edit: Here's more information on the penalty and your requirements.

What are they asking for as far as proof? Get something in writing as to what is needed for proof.

https://www.healthcare.gov/what-income-and-household-information-do-i-provide-when-i-apply-for-marketplace-coverage/

Being self employed you should get an EIN number and at least an LLC, to protect your personal property and money.

u/DragonFuel didn't answer this question: "If we move to South Carolina, will her doctors in St. Louis be out of network?"

Yes. Health insurance markets continue to be regulated state to state (with some federal standards imposed, such as forbidding denial on pre-existing conditions and recission). As far as I am aware, there are no plans that have even interstate networks let alone a national network because they would have to comply with more than one state's department of insurance (maybe KC, Cincinnati, NY/NJ, who knows).

At $30k you'll qualify for pretty substantial APTC/CSRs. If you have a qualifying event that terminates your coverage, you can still get the APTC/CSR, this year. And, since networks can only price you based on your age and your smoking status, you won't get hit with an enormous premium because of pre-existing conditions.

Just some quick info on the APTC (annual premium tax credit) and the CSR (cost share reduction): If you qualify for them, you will pay less for you premiums and the CSR will actually discount your deductibles and your co-pays. What it basically does is helps to upgrade the coverage that you receive from silver to something closer to gold.

If you're thinking of moving to South Carolina, call an insurance agent in the city you're planning on moving to, tell them about your situation, and figure out what your costs will look like on the individual market. They might tell you that you can't get insurance on the individual market anymore, they're probably wrong. Call a different broker (or, just call the insurance companies directly and ask them if they'll take you. These guys are probably pretty hungry for members since they're a startup health insurance company and they'll probably be happy to help you.

Unfortunately, yes. However, the penalty for the first year is $95 or 1% of your income per person not covered in your family (max $285). So it's not going to break you much more than you are already broke if you can't purchase insurance.

Paying a penalty sucks but having no insurance is worse. I don't know what state you live in, so it's harder to give specific information. However, you can potentially purchase a catastrophic plan off of the exchange (no subsidies are available for this, so you'll be paying full price, but that price is cheap. Not as cheap as $95, but you'll have some insurance).

You can only purchase a catastrophic plan if you're under 30 or if you qualify for an exemption. Living in a state that did not expand medicaid will qualify you for an exemption (here is a list of other exemptions)

Not a good idea! Read here to see why. US privacy laws are among the loosest. And with TISA, much more outsourcing and offshoring is on the way. There would be NO special safeguards/privacy for medical or financial data.

My thoughts API fully occupied the Healthcare industry, There are tonnes of healthcare APIs that help mobile app developers to create engaging & feature-rich mobile apps. That is why Apple & Google are continuously engaging themselves in creating the latest healthcare APIs.

These APIs will help developers to seamlessly integrate the latest features in their mobile app and make it useful for:

For Patients - APIs in the healthcare app ensure a complete control over their health data and other information. EHR system in wearable devices allows them to add more data & charts.

For Hospital - Healthcare APIs are proving to be beneficial for hospitals & doctors as well. It improves the scope of usability of EHR with the assistance of third-party software. Through this, doctors can easily access the patients' information from anywhere & anytime.

Read it in this book that delves into the gritty details of alllllllllllll of the middlemen involved in healthcare delivery that most people don't know about. The book goes into detail about what this basically describes:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-johns-hopkins-middlemen-suppliers-hospital.html

(fwiw, you can follow the JAMA article referenced in that webpage if you get access from your local library - the JAMA article is written by the same author of the book).

I mean, think about it. If I make medical devices and need to make $10 profit to stay reasonably afloat, yet some GPO shaves off 95% of the sale price just so I can list my device in their stupid catalog that hospitals use to buy supplies, that means I need to charge $200 for the device to obtain my $10 in profit. I can't sell my device to the hospital directly for $10. That $190 in markup due to GPOs is exactly why US healthcare is so damn expensive.

As we all know that there has been a significant gap in healthcare services, I relayed most of the time online platforms. I am using the FamilyDoc+ app. It has all that a man is looking for. You can schedule your dieting, medication, even consult the doctor on a single tap.

For an in-depth analysis of the American healthcare system and the need to pivot to a universal model, check out the book Health Justice Now by Timothy Faust! https://www.amazon.com/Health-Justice-Now-Single-Payer/dp/1612197167

That's a much more complicated question than must people want (or that I would ever have time to type). If it's a topic you're genuinely interested in, Ezekiel Emanuel wrote a decent book on the topic. It's still a lot of material to try to cram in, but I struggle to find resources for explaining healthcare policy to people who don't spend their lives studying it.

https://www.amazon.com/Which-Country-Worlds-Best-Health/dp/1541797736/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=which+country+has+the+best+healthcare+book&qid=1603331036&sprefix=which+country&sr=8-3

Yeah, it is freaking hard to pick a career at that you will love forever at that age. The important thing is to think about the type of lifestyle you want (where do you want to live city/rural, how much money you will need to make to live that lifestyle, do you want to work in an office or outside, with with your hands, on a computer or directly with people etc) all of these things matter more in my opinion long-term than what you actually do.

When in doubt it is never bad to look at salary ranges and demands for different jobs and compare them to the amount of training needed.

It is kind of simple but this book will give you an idea of what is out there

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465429735/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_XAYzsV9SzJeOr

From my perspective some of your current options include 1) looking for relatively low paying healthcare admin job, 2) 1-2 years of more schooling to become an allied health practitioner (eg x-ray tech, RN, ultrasound tech, dental hygienist, PA etc), 3) MBA and go into health care admin or business, or 4) 3 years more schooling to switch into tech (engineering/CS)

Please enjoy this book to learn how to treat the cause and not the symptom.

https://www.amazon.com/Obesity-Code-Unlocking-Secrets-Weight-ebook/dp/B01C6D0LCK

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this book or author. I found it trying to figure out why I couldn't lose weight on a very low-calorie diet. It's a great read and addresses this issue.

The healthcare system leaves us confused and frustrated. We need to educate and advocate for ourselves and our loved ones. Please check out the book, Health Care and You: A Guide to Navigating the Health Care System and Becoming Your Own Best Advocate. It is available on Amazon, or you can request it at your library. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GQ6218N/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_m.xFBbXJENQ61

I'd recommend Paul Starr's 'social transformation of american medicine'. This was a required textbook in the American health system history/overview portion of my grad school. I don't know if the most recent edition has been updated to include recent changes like the ACA, but I think this is widely considered (at least in academic circles) as an authoritative historical overview of how the American healthcare system came to be from hundreds of years ago to the 20th century. Hopefully the 21st century in the most recent version.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Social-Transformation-American-Medicine-Profession/dp/0465093027

There is a book that is really incredible and a really easy read. It's about a guy who travels the world to see how different healthcare systems work and how they would treat a shoulder injury he has. He dives into each of the different systems and it's really interesting to see the vast difference in American healthcare and really any other country. http://www.amazon.com/The-Healing-America-Global-Cheaper/dp/0143118218