The Healthcare.gov website is horrible! — Page 6

I have been in Sweden for three years now.

My grandfather, in the US, was diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 lung cancer this week. (They can't determine the actual stage without draining fluid around the lung and that could cause it to spread.) He has three options:

1. No treatment.

2. The new lung cancer specific chemo pills. He could take those at home and avoid an IV port. It's also said that the pills have fewer side effects because they attack the specific cancer cells.

3. IV chemo, which requires you to have a port, receive treatment at a clinic, sit for hours while receiving the treatment and it kills your immune system.

With no treatment, he has maybe 9 months. With treatment, he could have 3 years. If it were me, I would rule out the IV treatment and either choose nothing or the pills. Then they drop the bombshell that the pills would probably cost $10k a month out of pocket. So, suddenly, they lose that option if they don't sell their home.

Just for arguments sake, I asked our physician here if these pills were available to lung cancer patients and how much they cost the patients. He said, "Of course. They are really expensive. You would meet your yearly out of pocket cost on the first dose." So, if my grandfather lived here, he could get the pills for 1800 SEK for a year. That's around $270.

Our system works as a co-pay system. Each average doctor visit costs $15. An ER visit or a visit with a specialist is $45. There is a yearly cap on those fees at $135. After you have paid that, it's free. There are programs in place that waive those fees for those who can't afford it. Pregnancy care is free. Anything involving your child is free until they are 20, including dental care. (Adult dental care is completely out of pocket without private insurance.) The same $270 yearly cap also applies to children's prescriptions, but all your children fall under the same cap. If you have five kids, it's still the same $270.

We pay about 40% of our income in taxes, between income tax and sales tax. (Sale tax is factored into the label price, so what you see is what you pay.) For that we get healthcare, free education through doctorates, up to 6 years of living stipend while pursuing education, retirement security, unemployment, housing and programs for the elderly and disabled, good roads, really nice public transportation (not free, but very affordable), monthly stipends for having children (regardless of income), free yearly dental check up, etc.

Since moving here, I have had two surgeries. One I had needed due to the pain it caused, but couldn't take the time off work or afford it on the sh!tty insurance I had. The other was medically necessary, but I couldn't get insurance to cover it. It was around a $20k surgery. I never saw a bill beyond the "hotel fee" of $12 they charge you for a night in the hospital to cover meals and laundry and such. We used a University hospital to conceive our daughter. Each visit cost us $15. We ended up spending $135 for three rounds of medically assisted IUI, which costs THOUSANDS in the US. My wife developed pre-eclampsia and was hospitalized for a week. Then my daughter was born via c-section. She was born on a Tuesday and we left on Friday. 12 days in the hospital and a c-section and our total bill was $36 and that was for the three nights I stayed with them. Our daughter developed dangerous tumors in her brain and throat. She spent 10 days in two different children's hospitals, receiving three MRIs, countless scans and a very new, very expensive treatment. Other than her prescriptions, at $270 for the year, we never got a bill.

It works. I just don't know how on earth you move to something closer to a program that helps everyone when there are so many who think the US is all about looking out for #1.

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Honestly, in response to my grandfather's treatment options, my wife said, "And what was that 'death panel' thing Sarah Palin was on about? Money is the US death panel."

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After reading that Jane it's no wonder that socialist countries are consistently ranked as the happiest in the world.
I really need to move.

Sorry Marianne. Mental health care in the country is an absolute disgrace. Out of curiosity did the hospital you were going to get taken over by a for profit management company? Do you have any non profit hospitals near you? They may offer you a better rate.

Note the bile was directed at the person who posted before you. Never at you.

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""it's no wonder that socialist countries are consistently ranked as the happiest in the world. I really need to move.""

ERIK I hope this is a joke. be careful of what you wish for.

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Scandinavia is lovely. :)

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you have to be blonde!

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All that and the women are gorgeous. I'm already paying 40%. I'm ready to book a flight now!

Roxy; That has nothing to do with your previous comments.

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News alert - that is because the House Democrats asked for the briefing at their Caucus meeting - you know, a meeting of Democrats. House Republicans also asked for one, and got one scheduled as well.

Updated On: 10/24/13 at 01:31 AM

I thought I would update you with my (lack of) progress ...

So my 48 hours wait for a callback led nowhere. That expired yesterday. I called back again today.

Someone answered right away, and let me just say that they clearly have "bodies answering phones" right now. But the last two people I talked with couldn't help me. They are poorly trained, and don't have answers that can help me.

The woman I spoke with today was very nice. She informed me that the request was never actually logged in for a supervisor to call me back. There is a record of it in the operator's notes, but the actual request was never filed.

So I waited 2 days for nothing.

She put in the request (no really this time), and gave me the "48 hours" speech again. Hopefully, I will hear back, and hopefully I won't hear "I'm sorry, I can't help you with this, due to the complexity of your application. You'll have to speak to someone else."

And so it goes ...

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