Insurance for catastrophic ailments.
By marguicha
@marguicha (230334)
Chile
February 19, 2017 5:12pm CST
In all these years mylotting, I have read about people losing all they have and raising funds to pay for catastrophic ailments, such as cancer and some heart or mental conditions that require a long time in the hospital.
A few years ago, my country implemented 2 sorts of help. The fist one is paid by the government and the patient only pays for what is called a "basket" that includes meds, hospitals and doctors. Some of those illness need other meds that are not included there and there is an insurance where you pay a very small amount every month and a deductible when you use it.
The insurance is not free. But if it weren´t for this, some people would have to die because they cannot pay to get better and others would have to sell all their material things(house, car, others) and be indebted for the rest of their life.
I read a few weeks ago that my country, Chile, was among the third world countries. How do the giant countries of the world manage this?
5 people like this
4 responses
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
20 Feb 17
That is specially important when people have an illness that has meds or many days at the hospital. I know from first hand that chemotheraphy cannot be paid for anyone who is not rich unless there is a payable insurance.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
20 Feb 17
@marguicha The Swiss mandatory insurance cover chemotheraphy too, only homeopathic medicine and doctors are not covered.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
20 Feb 17
@LadyDuck Our government has a list of several ailments that insurances don´t cover completly. Those have a complete coverage. You only have to pay a small amount for it. But some illnes are not covered completly, like some of the meds that chemo needed in my case. THose were covered by the catastrophic health insurance. I checked when I started my chemo and they gave me the same treatment I would have had at the Mayo clinic.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
19 Feb 17
It is. I paid more because I could pay it. But low income people pay nothing. Leticia gets even most of her meds free. And all of her doctors.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
20 Feb 17
@shaggin When I had my chemo, I would have had to sell my house if it wasn´t for this. As it was, I could pay all I had to pay.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
19 Feb 17
Insurance for catastrophic illness of any sort is too expensive here and that alone would make it out of reach for most. We have known people in the USA that lost everything, including their homes when one became ill. There is no easy way here, although the gov't has reported for several years that there is.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
19 Feb 17
We pay around $5 a month and the deductible differs depending on the kind of health insurance you have. A low income person would pay almost nothing, and in installments.
