A few nights ago, my daughter woke up, screaming and crying. My husband went in to check on her (mainly because he was still awake) and when I arrived on the scene, I was told it was not due to a nightmare (which is what I thought). It was because she was screaming in pain. Apparently, her ear hurt. I thought it was from changing her earrings but she said no, it hurt inside her ear. This? Did not make me happy.
Since it was 11:00PM, there wasn’t much we could do about it. We gave her some Tylenol, put an ice pack on her ear and put her back in bed. The next morning, I called the doctor to schedule an appointment. My daughter is not a complainer so when she says something hurts, I listen. I was able to get her an appointment for that afternoon, talked to my supervisor to get the afternoon off, picked her up from school and off we went to the pediatrician. Sure enough, she had a raging ear infection. The doctor called in a prescription and a few minutes later, we had an antibiotic in our hand (the pharmacy is at the opposite end of the shopping center where the doctor’s office is located. Yeah, I’m that lazy) and we went home.
This whole event cost me $24.71. That’s it. I knew that I was fortunate because of our insurance and my job but it wasn’t until I started looking more closely at the cost of everything (‘cause I do that) that I realized just how fortunate:
- The doctor’s visit. My husband’s employer pays the cost of our insurance so there is no employee contribution. The insurance pays the doctor. All we have to pay is a $15 co-pay and the rest takes care of itself. If we didn’t have insurance, we’d be out at least $100 or more just to be seen by the doctor (the visit lasted maybe 10 minutes). Pretty big difference for a nominal amount of time.
- The antibiotic. Because of our insurance, we paid $9.71 for the antibiotic. Our pharmacy is kind enough to include the actual cost of the prescription on the receipt. For the one my daughter is on, if we didn’t have insurance, we would have been out $96. That’s a ton of money for a 10 day course of antibiotics. Our insurance afford us a huge savings.
- Paid time off. One of the benefits of my job is paid vacation and sick time. If I have a sick child, I get to use my sick time and, because I have an understanding supervisor, I can pretty much go to him 10 minutes before I need to leave, let him know what’s going on, and I can go. He doesn’t give me a hard time and doesn’t question if I’m being truthful. Given that, I lost absolutely no pay for having to take my daughter to the doctor. If I were paid hourly, I would have lost a substantial amount of money.
- Transportation. Since I must have a car to get around, I was able to just get in the car and go. I didn’t have to wait for a bus, pay for a cab or anything else. Not only did it save me money but a ton of time, too.
All in all, the doctor’s visit and prescription pick up took an hour. I wound up taking 3 hours off of work because I didn’t know how long the wait at the pediatrician and the pharmacy would be and I wanted to be safe. For that hour, what I paid out of pocket is pretty reasonable. When I think about what it would have cost me had I not had insurance or paid time off, I would have been really upset that something as small as an ear infection could have cost me 3 hours of pay and over $200.
The intent of this post is not to be an indictment of our health care system or rant about the cost of medical care. Nor is the intent to brag about the fact that I have insurance when so many go without. No. The intent of this post is simply to illustrate what, up until now, I have taken for granted. The only debt I’ve never had is medical debt. But after breaking down what a simple ear infection could have cost me, I now understand how a major illness or injury can financially cripple people.
“My husband’s employer pays the cost of our insurance so there is no employee contribution.” So there is no money going out from his paycheck towards insurance?
Tushar@StartInvestingMoney recently posted…Are You Delaying Investing in Your Future?
Nope. There is no employe contribution. It is 100% employer paid. For our entire family. And yes, I know how unusual this is and how lucky we are.
It’s difficult to compare, but the same treatment in many other countries would have cost much less than here in the U.S. Out of curiosity I wonder what the doctor would have charged if you said you didn’t have insurance? The insurance mechanism drives up prices. If health insurers were not-for-profit then I think this would help to keep prices lower.
Hunter – Financially Consumed recently posted…Chevy Volt Will Save You A Crapload Of Money
I’ve wondered that same thing, Hunter. I supposed I could get a list of their U&C charges but that might seem a bit odd to them if I ask. I also find it suspicious that no matter what service we receive, they always bill insurance for the same procedure code.
I feel the same way about medical costs. I have insurance now, but I did without for a few years and the cost of prescriptions was a serious problem as a student, something I had to scrimp and save for, and I often went without due to cost.
In July 2011 I broke my wrist in a car accident. I required an ambulance ride, a visit to the emergency room, and at least 10 visits to the orthopaedic department. Since I live in Canada, it was all free, and I was extremely thankful, as there would have been no way to cover those costs.
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That’s exactly the kind of situation I’m talking about! I could not imagine not having insurance and having to cover the cost of all of that out of pocket.
I was fortunate in college that we had a student health center I could go to when I was sick. It was free (well, covered with our tuition, room and board) and prescriptions were very reasonable.
Poor kiddo! I used to get ear infections and they hurt SO bad.
I sometimes forget how lucky I am that we have universal health care in Canada. It doesn’t usually cover antibiotics, but benefits from work usually do for most people. As a student worker, I have to pay for my time off though which is unfortunate. I never take time off because of that.
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You have to pay for your time off??? I’ve never heard of that! That’s crazy and I would totally do the same as you.
Last week both the kids got sick. Our daughter had a double ear infection, which cost us $20 for co-pay and $4 for the antibiotic (go to Target!). Our son also had bronchitis, which will probably cost us about $100 because he needed two follow up visits, a chest X-ray and breathing treatment. We can sort of reduce this by the fact that we’re paying for all this via our FSA card, which takes money tax free from my paycheck.
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Bronchitis is the worst! I get every winter so I really feel for your son.
We used to have an FSA when my husband worked for the same employer as me. When he left, I didn’t sign up because well, I plan on leaving to and I didn’t want that money coming out of my paycheck. Overall we’re pretty healthy so I didn’t see the necessity.
Insurance does save. My bf gets 100% paid insurance as well (and there’s no copay), so its nice! If only my insurance was that nice.
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Wow! No copay? That is a sweet set up. Will that apply to you if you guys get married and he covers you on his insurance?
My employee contribution is about $1,100 per month! But apparently it’s a good plan… don’t leave home without it.
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I threw up a little when I saw that number. That is insane but…is it normal for people to pay that much?
I’m just glad you have a good plan because for that kind of money, it better be.
Yeah – It’s good coverage but only in network coverage. It’s an EPO. The coverage we have is good, and we don’t need referrals, but we have to stick with in-network doctors or emergency rooms… but the network is really big where we are so we don’t mind.
Crazy expensive, isn’t it? Last year we paid $1,200 per month for the same plan but with out-of-network coverage, too. But my company cut that plan this year and replaced it with this or a more expensive HMO that had out-of-network coverage but required referrals for specialists. With 2 young kids, that would have been a pain in the butt, so we went w/ the no-referral one…
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I didn’t know what a huge benefit having corporate health insurance was to our family until my husband and I both left that world behind. We still made an employee contribution but it was minimal. Now to get a family insurance plan through my husbands work is beyond expensive because it is a small company with an “older” population with more than a few medical issues. My husband pays for himself only at his work and I have an individual plan for myself and the kids. I pay $287 a month with a high deductible that we could swing if need be. Having a kid with seasonal asthma, my monthly cost is less than what I would pay out of pocket for his treatment and for the kids wellness visits.
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$287 for you and 3 kids isn’t too bad…is it? I’ve never had to purchase insurance like that so I have no clue what’s a good value. But with the example you gave, it sounds like it’s better than what you would have to do without it.
I have looked at how much my insurance saves me in the past, and it is unbelieveable how much medical treatments cost! I cannot live without my insurance — I’d be paying (bare minimum)$650 per month without insurance. For me, it would be financially crippling to live without insurance.
Christa recently posted…Kids and Finances: How to Tell Them You Must Cut Back
Holy crap, Christa! That’s crazy! Examples like this really show how important insurance is.
Thankfully it was only an ear infection and it will be cleared up soon. Also thankfully everything was covered by insurance, because as you said it would have been expensive.
I am very fortunate because my employer covers me 100% with prescriptions, optometrists, and dental care. I also live in Canada so health-care is free.
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I just saw this blog: http://www.alongforthejourney.com/2012/02/20/insane-hospital-visit-and-no-health-insurance/ and it pretty much happened exactly as you feared. She has $52K in medical bills already! It is crazy to think about.
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Thanks for sharing this! And yes, it definitely highlights my fears exactly. I’m just glad her husband is okay.
Poor thing! I’ve had ear infections so bad that all I could do was lay in bed and cry. I hope she feels better soon. About the medical debt…I unfortunately am very close to someone (they may not want me talking about their lives, so that is as detailed as I will be) was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago and they are deep in debt because of it. They even have insurance….really, really good insurance. It’s heartbreaking, but they did get the best care available and this person who is very special to me is with us and I’m grateful everyday for that. I don’t take the availability of good medical care for granted, but I might have if I didn’t know anyone who’d ever been really sick.
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It’s a shame that someone who has insurance is deep in debt because of life saving medical treatment. It makes me question a whole lot of things about our healthcare system.
Hope your daughter is feeling better!
I’m spoiled, in a way – as a Canadian, basic health insurance is covered. Drugs are not though, and my work insurance cap is $500 per year for a family. One son has allergies (epi-pens are $150 each), another has ADHD – his meds were up to almost $3600 a year at one point. Thankfully my husband’s coverage and my ex’s coverage picked up most of the balance.
The potential cost of getting sick is crazy – even if you have insurance! I’m thankful for what we have, and it is definitely something I consider every time I think about looking for a job elsewhere.
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Here’s hoping your little one gets better soon. I picked up an ear infection traveling abroad late last year, and just now getting over it. They’re a booger.
Echoing Hunter’s thoughts. Curing a “simple” ear infection in places where medical care is cash-and-carry is probably straighforward … if you’ve got the money.
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commercials always say so and so company saves you the most, but which one really does save you the most. or if you cant answer specifically, which one is the best?