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Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Patients Price-Shopping For Care Find Online Tools Unreliable

Kate and Scott Savett were trying to be responsible when they needed some medical care. They live about an hour north of Philadelphia with their dog, Frankie. Scott, 43, is a chemist and designs software for labs; Kate, 37, works in life insurance.

They buy their health insurance through Scott's job, and to keep their premiums affordable, they chose a high-deductible plan. They understood from the beginning that this would mean shopping carefully when they needed care, because costs can vary a lot among doctors and hospitals.

For years the couple didn't use their insurance much — but that all changed this year.

Kate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in January. Doctors did a lot of tests and then follow-up tests. On top of that, Scott needed some imaging tests for a spinal issue.

Under their insurance plan, the two have to pay in full for the first $3,000 of their combined care. After that, they still have to pay 20 percent of the cost, until they reach a total of $8,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

they could have chosen a better plan, but decided to play health care roulette.

but im in the same boat. my employer only offers a high deductable plan
3k per person with 6k per year

i met it in 3 months

Anonymous said...

Will someone please remind me how everything is sooo much better under Obamacare?

Anonymous said...

It's a huge Ponzi scheme.

Anonymous said...


Are these plans the same for the superiors and the inferiors? OH'the inferiors have free insurance.DAH wats up wit dat?