• NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    I saw someone else in another thread post they weren’t too expensive (relatively) to get checked. I think someone said something like $1500 uninsured in USA, and googles AI answer says on average $2400.

    Not cheap, but it’s not some crazy $20,000 bill kinda thing.

    • AoxoMoxoA@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      To me $2400 is some crazy bill kinda thing.

      I’m gonna die soon too I guess , I’d rather not even know at this point. Hope I can figure it out in time to try crack and heroin which are at least somewhat affordable

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Ya that’s not good for routine checks which is what should be normal, but if you think something is actively wrong its an option, or at least on the lower end of the scale price wise if that’s where you happen to live. That doesn’t count for what happens if its positive and you’re uninsured either.

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        I don’t think that’s true.

        Health insurance is expensive in the US. Many sites indicate an average monthly cost in the $400-$600 range, and given it’s average also means it can be even higher.

        That’s $4800 - $7200 a year, vs a 1 time $2400 if they are in the average cost area for a colonoscopy.

        It’s not great, many people can’t afford that either, but it’s not true that if you can’t afford insurance, you can’t afford $2400

        • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          Pricing is far more complicated with the old having Medicare, many of the poorest having subsidies some free, and others a range of plans mostly at least somewhat subsidized by employers.

          We are a fat unhealthy folk in a country where a single hospitalization can run you 10-100k and financially ruin you due in no small part to cartel pricing.

          So your various medical providers have negotiated given rates for given things that are less special rates and more what you might consider normal pricing whereas if you are not protected by such a “deal” you may pay several times more at hundreds of percent profit for the provider with the expectation that you pay up front for services or die essentially so long as your death isn’t immediately caused by their immediate neglect. Eg you can’t be allowed to actually bleed out for lack of a stitch but you can be allowed to get septic and then be admitted after it’s really too late to do anything but try to bill your family 100k and steal any inheritance from your estate if any.

          So you are incentivized to buy at least the shittiest high deductible plan with an 8000 deductible just to have access to sane pricing, get treated and then billed, and limit max damage if things go bad even if you expect to not actually get much direct benefit. Plus favorable tax treatment paid in.

          Whilst some may choose to risk it being literally incapable of paying a subsidized 100-300 for the shittiest plan possible means that you are poor in a state which doesn’t choose to subsidize the poor and likely illiquid. Most people in America don’t have 2500 to cover am emergency of any variety. This is true of nearly 100% of the bottom half

          Furthermore anyone who needs a colonoscopy needs other things like annual checkups and medication.

          The number of people who can cash pay the sucker uninsured rate but not shitty insurance is basically zero

          • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            If I’m reading this right, you’re saying there are cheaper insurance options, but the deductible would be so high it wouldn’t cover this $2400 anyway? It’s just more catastrophic things, like if this came back positive and now you needed surgery?

            And ya, even if you have $2400 and think the test is important to take because you have reason to believe you might have it, it doesn’t mean you’d be able to afford the aftercare.

            • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              You are missing the primary part. Without insurance it costs several times more than it would with insurance.

              • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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                2 days ago

                Not an uninsured colonoscopy, that is the uninsured price on average.

                Edit: i get youre saying it’d be cheaper if insured, but when talking about this specific thing that is the price.

                • michaelmrose@lemmy.world
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                  11 hours ago

                  If not insured and they find shit or anesthesia is complicated or god forbid you have complications it could balloon out into 5-20k. Even if you can afford to pay up front 2K can you afford to risk financial ruin if something goes wrong?

                  Again the kind of people who can’t afford insurance even high deductible insurance can’t afford this shit. Hell you are still wrong that people can afford to come out of pocket $2000. Do you even live here?

                  • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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                    7 hours ago

                    I don’t live there but youre talking in absolutes which just isn’t the case.

                    How do you think i know about this in the first place? Someone from the US was telling a story about how they had to get one while uninsured and they paid $1500 for it (that’s the lower end of the scale which is 1500-4800)

                    Im not saying everyone can, and you’re right if the test comes back positive that’s a whole other story, but a lot of uninsured people can afford to get the test if they think its needed. They might not have 2k sitting around either but could save for it.

                    Edit: And just going back to my very very first message, I was surprised to hear it was so low compared to other crazy expensive procedures in the states, so I figured it was worth sharing because for some, it is something they could manage.