Stuck on health insurance and freaking out

There are actually more people that are uninsured now than before the ACA. There are 44 million now according to the most recent stats and I believe it was around 33M prior, that were uninsured.

no

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/33-million-americans-still-dont-have-health-insurance/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FiveThirtyEight

Yes
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

http://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/uninsured.html

no
PBS program cited was aired in November 2000.

I cannot find any information that confirms the legitimacy of data and other information used in the usdebtclock.org. Do you know who - or what organization publishes this website? It seems to have a point of view.

It doesn't really matter, we need to fix it once and for all. they can't even figure it out with all the fluctuations as pointed out here: http://obamacarefacts.com/questions/percent-of-uninsured-in-2008-vs-2015/

My wife is from Canada and although they are covered 100%, there are long wait times for a lot of procedures kinda like the VA, i'm thinking but by no means any type of expert.
What I see is such a waste in how they do things. My last surgery, I got bills from 5 different bill payment companies, see all kinds of adjustments on my bills. Once hospital changes the account number on each bill, so I can't even track what is going on. Another doesn't send bills, just calls me and reminds me and I have no idea what I owe them. It's crazy. A single payer system, get rid of all of middlemen, limited tort and make it better than Canada's system.

But again, what do I know?

I remember when the debt clock went up. And yes, from what I remember, it was put up by one of those monetarists who is opposed to the huge debt, among other things.

Here's the wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Debt_Clock

I remember when the debt clock went up. And yes, from what I remember, it was put up by one of those monetarists who is opposed to the huge debt, among other things.

Here's the wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Debt_Clock

What on earth does that have to do with individual health care in the USVI or in the US? The "monetarist" as you call him was Durst and that's what the site you linked was all about - do you not read what you link?

There's a link to usdebtclock which I did not read, because I didn't see what it has to do with health insurance. Gator's Mom asked about debtclock.

If you took the time to look at the debt clock, it also shows # of uninsured.

Debt clock is a very cool and scary website. Lots of interesting data over there.

I don't need debtclock to tell me lots of people are uninsured. Not providing benefits has been a growing trend in US for years.

Most of the businesses in VI are micro businesses - not small businesses, and local and federal politicians need to recognize that and create plans that support micro businesses which would include health benefits. Micro businesses have a hard time attracting and keeping good employees because very few can offer benefits.

Why couldn't the VI institute a single payer system on their own. (This is tongue in cheek)

I had the same problem. I came across this company while looking for just travel insurance for a 5 week trip, and ended up with a year policy.

https://www.healthcareinternational.com/

I don't think they cover you if you need to have a procedure done, stateside. Many people opt to have surgery, stateside.
Plus some surgeries just can't be done, locally.

That's one of my main reasons for moving to FL.
I'm too young for Medicare, not indigent enough for Medicaid and there's nothing else available.

Given your situation, maybe you can answer the question I asked earlier about whether affordable individual health insurance has ever been available here? I know that 20 years ago when I was no longer covered under a corporate group plan there was simply nothing affordable to be had. Until I became eligible for Medicare I paid as I went and, fortunately, had no major medical problems. If my memory serves me correctly then essentially nothing has changed.

It was.
I should clarify.Back then in the late 80's, one could get a group of friends together, a minimum of 2 necessary, at the time, and get a group policy thru United Healthcare or Cobra, I think.
So long ago, hard to remember names.
They didn't make it difficult by having all kinds of requirements to do this.
You just signed up and paid your monthly payments.
Unfortunately, that's no longer the case.
Also, one could get supplemental insurance thru AARP but when I called about it either last year or year before, I was told that was no longer happening. Nor was dental insurance thru AARP available in the VI.
(I don't think it ever was.)

It was.

Through whom and was it affordable. I realize "affordable" is relative but when I looked into it the premiums were extremely high unless there was a huge deductible of several thousand dollars.

I went into more detail in my edited post so re-read that.
I can't offhand recall the exact amount but it wasn't very expensive compared to what it is today and it included dental.
Pretty sure it cost around $200 or under.
At that time, I wouldn't have been able to afford more.
This was back in the 80's and 90's and then things changed.

OK, so that was a LONG time ago. When I was doing my research it was 1995.

Medicare supplemental insurance: Is it available in the VI?

Are prices similar to stateside?

Thanks.

Medicare supplemental insurance: Is it available in the VI?

Are prices similar to stateside?

Thanks.

http://ltg.gov.vi/vi-ship-medicare.html

Medicare supplemental insurance: Is it available in the VI?

Are prices similar to stateside?

Thanks.

http://ltg.gov.vi/vi-ship-medicare.html

AARP or United Health provide Medicare supplement plans in the VI.

Last I checked, the price would be $150-200 per month depending on the plan.

OK, so that was a LONG time ago. When I was doing my research it was 1995.

FYI. up until about 5 or so years ago a company called BUPA underwrote individual coverage here but like many others they stopped writing new coverage here. It was sold on STX through local insurance brokers. Their plans were affordable, they paid claims, and some people are still covered under their policies.

Yes, this thread from 2011 addressed their huge increase and probable local demise:
https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,170173,170400,quote=1

That is crazy. What caused this upheaval in the health insurance market??

OK, so that was a LONG time ago. When I was doing my research it was 1995.

FYI. up until about 5 or so years ago a company called BUPA underwrote individual coverage here but like many others they stopped writing new coverage here. It was sold on STX through local insurance brokers. Their plans were affordable, they paid claims, and some people are still covered under their policies.

As I recall, BUPA, like many other health insurance companies wouldn't cover preexisting conditions prior to ACA.

They sort of covered them... They quoted me a $50,000.00 deductible. :S

As I recall, BUPA, like many other health insurance companies wouldn't cover preexisting conditions prior to ACA.

Surely you can understand why an insurance company would not want to cover a preexisting condition. They are in business to make a profit and the risks are much higher for someone who already has health problems. The only way it works for the insurance company is if the government FORCES healthy people to pay more than they should in order to subsidise unhealthy people.