No medical insurance?

[jambo101]

 After reading a story on how many Americans have no health care coverage i got to thinking what do people with kidney failure do if the have no healthcare coverage, i'd imagine a 3 day a week dialysis regime could be quite costly if it had to be paid for out of pocket.

[kickingandscreaming]

It's not your imagination.  Is DOES cost a lot, close to $100,000/year.  Fortunately, we still have Medicare (god knows how long that will last in the hands of the current administration) and Medicare pays for dialysis.

[jambo101]

It's not your imagination.  Is DOES cost a lot, close to $100,000/year.  Fortunately, we still have Medicare (god knows how long that will last in the hands of the current administration) and Medicare pays for dialysis.

What if you are under 65?

[kickingandscreaming]

It doesn't matter.  Dialysis makes you instantly "65."  Actually there is a short waiting period of about 3 months before it kicks in, but then they pay for that time.

[Michael Murphy]

Actually after 33 months you have to switch to Medicare as primary.

[KarenInWA]

If you go straight to training for home dialysis, Medicare kicks in right away. Same with if you have a transplant without starting dialysis. If you have private insurance, Medicare will be secondary for the first 30 months of having it, then after that, it becomes primary. If you have Medicare/Medicaid, then Medicare will be primary right away.

All information for this can be found here:

https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10128-Medicare-Coverage-ESRD.pdf

This is the link to the offical Medicare ESRD handbook and was updated in January.

KarenInWA

[jambo101]

Would deductibles come into play or does medicare/Medicaid foot the entire cost for some ones dialysis?

[lulu836]

Basically Part A pays hospitalization.  B pays doctors.  You need a gap policy to pay for 20% not covered by Medicare.  You also need a Part D for drugs.  There are many combinations of co-pays and coverages.  I would physically go to the Medicare office in your town and get them to explain everything succintly and correctly.

[GA_DAWG]

Your social worker should be able to help you with it. You are correct about the current administration and their allies who tried last year to not fund the disability fund part of Social Security.

[Rerun]

If you are Illegal you get it for free. 

[Jean]

Yes, there is that.

[Rerun]

It's not your imagination.  Is DOES cost a lot, close to $100,000/year.  Fortunately, we still have Medicare (god knows how long that will last in the hands of the current administration) and Medicare pays for dialysis.

Complaint about making this political. 

Rerun, Admin.

[Rerun]

If you are Illegal you get it for free.

This is not Political.... it is the truth.  It is not an opinion... it is the truth. 

Rerun, Admin

[MooseMom]

No, it is NOT true that illegals get standard dialysis for free.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/02/health/kidney-dialysis-undocumented-immigrants/index.html

Rerun, I know it is difficult for you, with your eyesight, to read the plethora of links this sort of discussion engenders.  So I'll sum it up for you.

This article is about a 51 year old woman who is an undocumented immigrant.  She has ESRD.  Because she is illegal, she cannot get incenter dialysis because she does not have the private funds, nor does she get Medicare or Medicaid.

What she CAN and DOES get is "emergency dialysis" at a hospital because once a week, she becomes so ill that she is taken to the emergency room, where she gets emergency dialysis as provided for by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor act of 1986, which compels hospitals to treat anyone on an emergency basis no matter their ability to pay or their citizenship status.

This article goes on to show how this woman's "emergency dialysis", as shown in a 2007 study by Baylor University in Houston, cost 3.7 times more than standard dialysis.

In summary, an illegal immigrant DOES get free dialysis, but only if the patient is near death.

Not sure this is either Christian or financially responsible.

[Rerun]

Yep she gets dialysis for free.  I sat by two in Sacramento and they showed up 3 time a week just like me.  I asked the Social Worker about it and she confirmed it. 

Not That There Is Anything Wrong With That....  All I said was that if you are illegal you get dialysis for free.  In and of itself that statement is true. 

We have had a whole topic on this.....  This is nothing new.   
I think they get Transplants for free too, but something stupid like not anti rejection meds?

Whatever.... This Thread is called No Medical Insurance?  So, I'm not off topic.

[MooseMom]

Yes, you are right, Rerun.  Thanks for that information!  California is one of a handful of states that HAS set aside funds for this.  I guess they realized that it's cheaper that way.

[Rerun]

I need to screen shot that!   

  

[GA_DAWG]

No one gets anti-rejection drugs for free, at least not around here. When you have your transplant eval, they tell you that. Seems kind of stupid for them to pay for a transplant, but not the drugs to keep a person's body from rejecting it. I think MooseMom summed it up very well by saying it is neither Christian nor financially smart.

[Michael Murphy]

First off aliens in the US pay a large amount of SSA And Medicare taxes and in most states they are not eligible for any benefits.  If we are collecting taxes for benefits they can’t get whose ripping off wo.

[jambo101]

Perhaps some clarification on the reason for the topic is in order.
While i live in Canada and all aspects of dialysis are paid for through Canadas healthcare system my brother lives in Florida,he is 55 with no healthcare and no money,as this kidney  malady runs in the family i was wondering how he will pay for the eventual dialysis treatment if his kidneys fail before he reaches the age of 65.

Thanks

[Michael Murphy]

After 3 months of treatment he is eligible for Medicare at any age.  Without any other form of insurance Medicare will pay 80% of the cost leaving about 70 dollars per treatment  cost to the patient.   Depending on the state Medicaid will cover the added cost.  There is also commercial medigap insurance that covers the added cost.  The social worker at the clinic can arrange help paying for the additional insurance costs.