politics
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
view the rest of the comments
The biggest thing insurance does is limits risk. When you have insurance and get a big hospital bill, you generally have more bargaining power with the hospital than if you don't have insurance. When enrollment time comes run the numbers and look at the costs. You can also apply and review options on the health insurance marketplace which usually involves applying for Medicaid in the process. For kids under 18 Medicaid has a family income cap of like $8k/month so if you have kids they're definitely covered by Medicaid
Personally, I'm not sure what I'm going to do in 2026 if the subsidy isn't renewed. I'm an independent contractor so my health insurance options are entirely limited to the marketplace, and while I currently have a plan that costs $1250/month with the $1100/month subsidy I only pay $150/month for insurance which is quite reasonable. Every plan I saw on the marketplace cost a minimum of $900 or more per month.
I simply do not make enough (and I'm not allowed to work more hours than I currently am so that's not an option) to be able to afford insurance if the above math is the same for 2026. My plan right now is, keep job hunting and maybe my wife starts job hunting too since my contract work can work around the kids' school schedules (and my youngest starts going to school full time next year rather than half time) so we don't need a non-working parent as long as this contracting lasts for, and we probably won't get coverage through the marketplace in 2026 unless I can get it for about $400/month or less, because at that point I'm probably better off risking dumping more money into my emergency fund and hoping we don't have any medical emergencies (and planning on negotiating with the hospital if we do) I don't like the risk level of no insurance but we may simply be priced out of having insurance if the healthcare marketplace subsidy isn't renewed
"Bargaining power with the hospital" might be the most dystopian thing I've ever heard in my life.
Oh hospital billing is absolutely fucked up. Usually the bill you receive isn't itemized and simply requesting an itemized bill can be enough to knock some amoint off of the bill because even the hospitals billing staff are often not entirely certain exactly how they got that number they're now billing you for.
But yeah, anyone who does receive a large hospital bill, engage in some negotiations, ask for an itemized bill, state you will be paying the lower amount that is billed to insurance, advise that you're in a tough financial spot and ask what discounts or community care programs are available, and once all of that is done ask if you can settle for a lower amount by paying as a lump sum. My youngest's birth resulted in an $8k bill and ultimately the entire bill went away after a community care application (there were also some other unpaid bills that got forgiven because this hospital is horrible about actually sending bills, only ever sending statements that clearly say "this is not a bill" on them) so definitely use that bill as a starting point for negotiations!
Yeah, uh... We don't do any of that. Last time I was in a hospital my main concern was driving back to a different province with a bandage on my hand.
The only time I've ever paid anything for a hospital stay, other than prescription meds, is when I had to cover $40 for an ambulance call-out. And I billed that to my work because it was a workplace injury.
Look, I'm not trying to twist the knife here, I just really wish every American understood how completely insane their system is. It doesn't have to work like that. The words "negotiate with the hospital" do not ever have to be a part of your life.