Scan Medical Insurance

For those who are uninsured medical wise, what do you do?

I see Cinergy is NOW offering Health Insurance. If you go to their website, you'll see. What do you think?? It says for $5 a day you will be able to have doctor appointments and stuff. What does $5 a day actually mean? I am uninsured and would like to know how anyone else who maybe in my same postion handles it? If you need to go to the doctor do you go? I remember paying a lot when I had to thats for sure. I just want to know if there is maybe a way to get it a little cheaper??? I am 22 years old. I live in Wisconsin, USA. I always get bad sinuses which usually lands me in the outpatient area!

Public Comments

1. yeah, get out of the states.
2. From what I heard a hospital has to take you in no matter what. I personally had to get on disability and then I got medicaid. Maybe try applying for medicaid or medicaire.
3. Do you live in the US? I do and I cannot rationalize spending money for health insurance. I know it is good to have in case something terrible happens. The way I see it, in privatized health care systems doctors are crooks. They will do whatever procedure they can to rack up your medical expenses. You simply cannot trust them. I apologize if I offend anyone who is a doctor by saying this, and I am sorry to generalize. My advice is to stay uninsured and do not waste your money. Eat right, exercise and stay healthy. I know this cannot prevent all illnesses but I hate to see people ripped off by doctors who are supposed to be altruistic healers not money sucking scam artists.
4. Well, $5 a day really means $150/month. (5 x 30). And you probably have to continue to pay it every month, even if you don´t see a doctor that month, and you probably won´t be getting prescription coverage. You have to be REALLY careful about EACTLY what IS covered, and how much you have to co-pay, and if there's a deductible. And remember, even those who had really good coverage 10 years ago through their employers, are now much harder hit today, because a) the employers aren't willing to pay as high a premium as they were 10 years ago, and b) the insurance companies aren't covering the same percentage of medical costs as they were 10 years ago. All in all, we're all getting screwed by the medical community. Gotta do the best you can. One of these days, the gvt is going to control it, but I'm afraid, we may not live to see it.
5. $5 a day most likely means that your monthly premium would be around $150. (5 x 30 days) This is probably for a not-so-wonderful plan in which your deductible is something like $1,500-$2,000 a year and your office visit co-pays are $25-30. Prescription coverage is likely to be extra. However, even not-so-wonderful insurance is better than no insurance, because it can keep you from going bankrupt, losing your home, wrecking your credit and other life-ruining problems in the event of a major illness or accident. I was uninsured for about the last three years, until recently. What did I do? Well, I hoped and prayed I didn't get sick. And I didn't, really. When I had colds and stuff I just sucked it up and self-treated. I was lucky. I did need eyeglasses during that time period and I saved up and paid for them out-of-pocket. Had I gotten seriously ill or broken a leg or something, I would've been in quite a financial bind. It's the American way. By the way, I was working full-time. My employer did not offer health insurance and I didn't make enough money to pay a monthly premium on my own. ETA: Oh, OK, for sinus trouble? Well, I am prone to seasonal allergies in the fall and spring and used to come down with raging sinus infections each season because of them. I found that if you can prevent the allergic reactions (like post-nasal drip, clogged-up sinuses, etc.) you can prevent the infections. I use 24-hour Claritin-D almost daily, and almost throughout the year. As a preventative, I use half a pill a day, which works out to about $15/mo if you use a generic version; during the height of allergy season or if I'm experiencing trouble, I take the entire pill at a cost of about $30/mo. It's worth a try if you want to avoid the misery of sinus problems as well as doctor visits.
6. $5 a day, 30 days in most months =$150 a month or $5 a day, 365 days in a year = $1825 a year Seems expensive unless you know you'll have to go to the doctor. And what does it say about prescription drugs or emergency room visits? But I know where you're coming from. I'm uninsured myself and have been for a number of years. I just try to take the best care of myself that I can and hope for the best. Not a great way to handle things but till someone finally starts a universal healthcare plan in the US, I guess it's what I'm stuck with.
7. I don't know about Cinergy. Looking at their 'about us' link on their web page though seems to indicate that they are 'for profit'. That means that they WILL make money off of someone in some way. If you want health insurance, this will be a minimum of $150 monthly, and the benefits may be worth it to you. You would have to contact them for details. One way to get treatment is by going to a hospital emergency room. If you do not pay them, you may seriously damage your credit. The plus of this is that they cannot refuse you service based on ability to pay. The down side is that it puts a great strain on the system, can damage your credit. I don't know about their ability to sue or not, but an account could surely be put into collections. I would recommend only using this option as a last resort. Hope that's helpful :)
8. Why don't you just compare health insurance quotes to see if you can get the best deal? Another posted mentioned that $5 a day = $150 a month. Since you don't give your age or health status I don't have any way to know if that is a reasonable amount, but for a fairly young and healthy person it is probably a medium priced figure. You talk about going to the doctor, but really, you should think about health insurance in terms of larger expenses than a doctor visit if you are concerned about your monthly premium. I can find a clinic that charges $50 so that's not a problem if I have to visit for a sore throat once a year or something. However if you get really sick or hurt and end up with surgery or a hospital visit, that's where insurance should kick in. So for peace of mind, you should look into coverage for major things, maybe with a deductible of a few thousand a year... but don't worry so much about doctor copays. That should save you money. Anyway, it takes a couple of minutes to fill out a form to compare insurance, so why not get an idea of the prices from insurance companies?
9. Firstly Lauren, one must be aware of the difference between Health Insurance and a Health Plan. It won't make much difference to someone w/minor illness, but to someone like me, a cancer survivor, those terms make a great deal of difference. Cinergy offers both and without goofing around for a quote, I can't tell which one you are talking about...plan or insurance. Philip states that a hospital has to take you no matter what. That's only true for emergency cases. You don't sound like you are over 65, so you won't get Medicare. State rules vary about Medicaid, but usually you have to have a very dull car and little money to qualify ..if not worse. There are special funds for certain things like certain cancers if the awful happens and one can't afford it, but that doesn't sound like your concern. Most of the generally healthy and not too rich young people are probably better off just paying odds and ends out of pocket or taking the group health insurance from work, though if something dreadful happens and they don't have insurance, their choices may be limited. You can shop around to see what doctors charge for an appointment just like you can shop around for other things. If you need an expensive drug but don't have insurance, the doctor can possibly get it for you for little.. I did this long ago with Accutane. So check to see if you qualify for Medicaid in your state, weigh your options, and good luck to you.
10. Either do an online quote or pick up the phone and call and independant insurance broker. I mean, really, how can somebody tell you which insurance company to use when you do not even tell us your age or what state you live in? Do you really think that there is "one" really cheap health insurance company? Well, my friend. Apples are apples and oranges are oranges. you can cut your premium by deciding what is important to you. If you have a low income, you may find a state or county health program. A good insurance agent can help you with that too.