It depends. The policy I had was a 100% policy, meaning after I paid the $3,000 annual deductible I had 100% coverage of my docs, hospitals and drugs. There were problems with that (other than the annual "holy cow, how am I gonna find $3,000?"). They reimbursed for the drugs, so I had to pay for them out of pocket and wait for the money. That's a big deal if you don't have money. And every so often they didn't have a plan with a facility so I had to pay the leftover amount. That happened with Mayo Arizona. They paid most of the bill, but Mayo's charges were outrageous so I was left with the remainder. I couldn't have afforded to get care at Mayo to the degree that I receive it at JHU. Also, no policies cover pre-existing conditions. I was very healthy when I got the policy except for a couple of orthopedic injuries. I had to pay full price for that care and couldn't receive the care I really needed--not even close.
Most policies are 80-20, meaning the policy covers 80% of "Covered" expenses and you pay the remaining 20%. Not only is that 20% enough to sink most people with extensive bills, but they deny coverage for just about anything. And they tell you everything is a pre-existing condition. In many states even being female is considered a pre-existing condition (because you "could" get pregnant and that would cost more), and so is having been the victim of domestic violence. Across the board women are charged more for insurance policies. Many people can't even get insurance because of the pre-existing condition thing. "Un-insurable." Weggies are, for sure.
Note: the number in my post was wrong. I had been paying 85% of my disability income for insurance. In February they raised the premium to $750, which would have been 98% of my disability. That's why I canceled it.
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