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Insurance Companies Subsidize the Watch?
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It would be great if I could use my HSA account to buy gadgets that are for my wellness. But, I doubt the likelihood of it happening.
Come on, let's not get the insurance companies involved because you can't afford the Apple Watch.
The pessimistic view I suppose. The only good things to come out of the ACA were the freebies such as making it illegal to deny coverage for pre existing conditions.
What if your care provider picks up a potential health issue and prompts you to see your doctor for evaluation of your symptoms? Do you think the outcome would be less costly than when you finally have a heart attack, stroke, or some other catastrophic event?
Local providers already offer incentives when you share certain health data with them. They offer various devices free or discounted that you connect to USB while on their site.
As far as the foreigners scared to get sick in the US...well you will be cared for and it will probably be better care than much of the rest of the world. The bills are secondary. Chronic illnesses are maybe different than things needing immediate attention, granted.
And there's the rub. You can't overhaul the health care system and demand absolute privacy at the same time. Preventative care is where it's at and most modern health plans are designed around that. Some have already mentioned the incentives. If everyone waits until they are at death's door to seek care, it will continue to bankrupt us. Routine visits are generally free or small co-pay, and while they allow doctors to record a lot of information about us, they do help us get needed care sooner and at less expense.
I remember the first time a rep from a health insurance company advised my husband's office that a patient's proposed treatment was not approved by the company.
Doctor looked at me as if I had two heads and said "tell that bean counter to get off my phone". I relayed the message in a more delicate manner. Bean counter wanted to speak to the doc to make certain the message was understood.
Same deal. Get the bean counter off my phone. Insurance rep insisted on speaking with the doc.
My husband listened for a few seconds before saying "you can tell me you're not going to pay me but you can't stop me from taking care of my patient"
Goes without saying he did a lot of uncompensated care.
It's really not that bad. There are a number of reasons that an insurance company would deny a claim. Usually its because it was improperly filed. Sometimes its because the doctor didn't provide enough information (or didn't collect enough) to justify the procedure/medication. For example, if a doctor made a claim to perform cancer surgery on the basis that your lymph nodes felt swollen, that'd get denied. Another reason it'd get denied is if they don't deem it medically necessary, such as amputating a leg because of a broken tibia. Those are unrealistic, extreme cases, but you get the idea. A more realistic case would be denying a claim for a custom leg brace because the Doc didn't justify why a standard one wouldn't work. It's an important practice that keeps costs down, other wise you'd essentially be writing the Doctor a blank check to do whatever they wanted. I'm sure the UK has some system in place to justify the cost of procedures as well.
I'm not sure why you would expect an insurance company to pay for an experimental, unproven drug. As far as cancer drugs go, that's not even an expensive one. I'd be shocked to learn that any health system would cover unproven medical practices.
Exactly.
This is just foolishness. I would like my insurance to cover more of my co-payments, my prescription lenses (they only cover frames), medications in their entirely, the total cost of a MRI, and bring back dental coverage, before I'd want them to cover the cost of a stupid smartwatch that so many people here think they're entitled to.
Exactly.
Really? I don't think anyone here thinks they're "entitled" to anything.
It's an interesting question as more and more health benefit plans offer incentives for healthy living, preventative care etc.
It does depend to some extent on who you are insured with and if you have in network or out of network coverage. I know when I needed surgery i postponed it until i could change my insurance to out of network because I wanted to chose my surgeon.
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I think one of the issues with the system in the US is that Doctors inflate prices because they know that the Insurance companies will not pay the full claim. Insurance companies know that Doctors inflate prices and hence want to pay less and less. It is a classic chicken and egg situation.
Ultimately, yes. If you have sleep issues you go tell your doctor or it will show up in blood work even if you don't. If you are active it will show in your HR and blood pressure when you have your physical. If you gorge yourself on sugary and/or salty snacks, again, your blood and urine will rat you out.
Watch sensors are very benign compared to the level of information your insurance co has on you direct from your health care providers.
My insurance company in the UK kind of does this.
I get 50% off of a number of different fitness trackers (incl. Garmin, but I currently have a Fitbug). They track the steps. The more I do, the more rewards I get. I.e. do over 12,000 steps one day a week and get a free Starbucks next week. They're soon offering free iTunes credit as well - should be about £15 per month of free stuff there.
Of course there's 50% off gym membership too (and the more you go, the more rewards you get). Various other money-off things too and free cinema tickets (the best perk!).
Personally, I quite like it as I get a ton of free stuff and it genuinely does incentivise me to be more active. That said, I do wonder if it's the thin end of the wedge!
I get 50% off of a number of different fitness trackers (incl. Garmin, but I currently have a Fitbug). They track the steps. The more I do, the more rewards I get. I.e. do over 12,000 steps one day a week and get a free Starbucks next week. They're soon offering free iTunes credit as well - should be about £15 per month of free stuff there.
Of course there's 50% off gym membership too (and the more you go, the more rewards you get). Various other money-off things too and free cinema tickets (the best perk!).
Personally, I quite like it as I get a ton of free stuff and it genuinely does incentivise me to be more active. That said, I do wonder if it's the thin end of the wedge!
Exactly.
To be clear, I'm getting the Apple Watch regardless.
I heard talk of insurance companies possibly partnering with Apple to subsidize the watch. With the recent news that major hospitals are getting into HealthKit, there's obvious interest in the health industry.
I'm just curious if others have heard about, or have direct insight into, the subsidy issue. I'm ready to drop full price on the watch; but as long as there wasn't a "catch", I certainly wouldn't complain if my insurance company offered to sweeten the deal.
I'm curious how many forum member's iPhones (or other brand) are subsidized by their carrier? It doesn't make them entitled for wanting to take advantage of a lower priced device.
Incidentally, I paid full price for my iPhones so as not to be tied to a contract.
Bottom line, I don't assume that 1) people who would consider a subsidized device couldn't afford it otherwise, or 2) that said people feel entitled.
Because every drug that works was at one time an experimental, unproven drug.
If the experimental, unproven drug does NOT work, then the patient can eat the costs, but not for something that WORKS.
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You don't think Apple would work with the insurance companies and give them a kickback for every watch that was sold through an insurance program? It's a win-win for the insurance companies. They can get people to switch to their plan because it offers a free Apple Watch, and Apple gets more customers.
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Exactly.
How do you go from someone would like to get a deal on an Apple Watch to they think they're 'entitled' to one? One doesn't correlate with the other.