Stuck on health insurance and freaking out

One of my girlfriends had diabetes and they wouldn't cover her.
It was pretty expensive too, if I remember correctly.

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

Hi Spartygrad,

There was a proposal for single payer system in the USVI:

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/12/08/group-proposes-single-payer-health-plan-vi

I have not heard anything else since then.

I don't think they could pull it off here based on their horrific track record, but the only way the U.S. will bring health care costs down is by implementing this

Yup. That's what happens when you have for profit insurers covering health. Single payer is the only way to actually lower costs.

There are other ways to lower healthcare costs. In Panama for example, you can subscribe to a hospital plan. You purchase coverage directly from the hospital, no insurance company involved, no government agency involved. They have low caps on malpractice claims.

When I checked, 2 years ago, at 63 it would have cost me $95/mo. This was for no deductible and included drug coverage. No preexisting condition questions on the form.

For those who could not even afford that, the government provided minimal healthcare for free. Free clinics, free government hospital, etc.

OMG...imagine the rampant waste and nepotism. You thing there is dysfunction in the VI healthcare universe now.

Yup. That's what happens when you have for profit insurers covering health. Single payer is the only way to actually lower costs.

There are other ways to lower healthcare costs. In Panama for example, you can subscribe to a hospital plan. You purchase coverage directly from the hospital, no insurance company involved, no government agency involved. They have low caps on malpractice claims.

When I checked, 2 years ago, at 63 it would have cost me $95/mo. This was for no deductible and included drug coverage. No preexisting condition questions on the form.

For those who could not even afford that, the government provided minimal healthcare for free. Free clinics, free government hospital, etc.[/quote

Free huh? So a unicorn rained monies down upon doctors providing the service?

 

I am stuck on health insurance and really need the helpful advice! 🙂

I'm looking for individual health insurance on St John. I am a US citizen moving on Island this month (August 2016). An employer plan is not an option as my employer has no plans available in the Virgin Islands

Why do you need health insurance anyway? Are you prone to accidents or sickly?

If you're young and healthy, save your money. Its much cheaper to pay doctors and dentist visits as you need them for routine stuff. Most have discounts for those paying without insurance.

I guess you live on the cuff. I was thought to be healthy as well until I had a heart attack. Two weeks in the hospital and $100,000.00 later it was determined I wasn't as healthy as we thought. No warning, it just happened. Fortunately I had health insurance and it still cost me $10,000.00 out of pocket, which was every dime I had in the bank at that time.

Unfortunately HGTV and the travel channel don't show this part of their come to the Islands mon and live it up.

If you don't have individual or employer or medicare/medicaid, stay where you are at. It only takes an instant of an illness to put you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hole that you may never be able to dig yourself out of.

mike

If you don't have individual or employer or medicare/medicaid, stay where you are at. It only takes an instant of an illness to put you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hole that you may never be able to dig yourself out of.
mike

I suppose it depends on what name you check into the hospital under.

Would it be possible to enroll at UVI and qualify for student health insurance?

UVI does not provide health insurance to students:
http://www.uvi.edu/student-life/student-affairs/health-services/health_services.aspx

I was talking to one of the vendors here who told me the get international health insurance policy by UK underwriter and get provisions for emergency care only in USVI. For elective care they travel to private clinics in Europe where insurance covers them in full. It makes sense for for major dental work, operative care etc.
For office visits they use local family doc and pay cash. Creative, I must say but they get by and actually were very satisfied with operative care they got in Belgium clinic.

The territories were given other options for OBAMACARE and we chose to get Medicare benefits instead!...previous Administration

And what were those other options? The VI can't form an exchange because no insurers want to cover such a small, aging population.

Unless there's a federal, single payment option that includes territories, we won't get individual health insurance. PR opted for the same Medicaid increase as VI. They have their own PR public health plan, but that's going broke.

Medicare is health insurance for the "aged" and some younger folk with chronic illness.

Medicaid is health insurance for the poor and people with certain disabilities. This is what the ACA has allowed states (and territories) to access.

The single payer system proposed by VIHealthCare was a good idea, but difficult to implement. A similar approach, that would still be available to anyone, yet not preclude for-profit insurance companies from the marketplace, would be a government health plan that is open to the public.

Problem is in 1) establishing the political mandate to enact this, 2) ensuring funding is appropriately directed, which seems to be a struggle as evident by the state of GERS, and 3) the political will to force all government employees to utilize local services through specifically directed plans. BTW this would also elevate the level of care that our facilities would be able to provide.

If anyone is interested in more details in how this would work, pm me with your e-mail and I'll forward you a brief document on the subject.

FYI

http://lawblog.vilaw.com/2012/01/articles/corporate-financial-services/u-s-virgin-islands-discusses-joint-insurance-exchange-with-west-virginia/

FYI

http://lawblog.vilaw.com/2012/01/articles/corporate-financial-services/u-s-virgin-islands-discusses-joint-insurance-exchange-with-west-virginia/

From 2012.

FYI

http://lawblog.vilaw.com/2012/01/articles/corporate-financial-services/u-s-virgin-islands-discusses-joint-insurance-exchange-with-west-virginia/

From 2012.

Answering ms411's inquiry about options considered before VI chose Medicaid expansion rather than pursuit of ACA for its citizens.

FYI

http://lawblog.vilaw.com/2012/01/articles/corporate-financial-services/u-s-virgin-islands-discusses-joint-insurance-exchange-with-west-virginia/

From 2012.

Answering ms411's inquiry about options considered before VI chose Medicaid expansion rather than pursuit of ACA for its citizens.

Ancient news which was covered in detail and hard to imagine that Ms411 wasn't aware of it.

It would be interesting to know how the million was spent 'studying' the possibility of setting up an exchange.

I wonder if it would be remotely possible for all the uninsured virgin island residents to file a class action suit against the government of the VI for their failure to provide an exchange - given there is no other insurance available in the territory?

PS. What's the best fake name to use at the hospital? - Just in case of a heart attack.

PS. What's the best fake name to use at the hospital? - Just in case of a heart attack.

Anne Gyna

Thanks, but I was aware of the options that were considered.

Bottom line, no individual health insurance in VI. How many times and ways do we have to say it?

Alternative medicine and herbal remedies are very popular here because so many are uninsured.

And, as I mentioned earlier, no affordable individual health care insurance has been available here for donkey's years. And we've been relaying that message to potential newcomers for donkey's years. Nothing new there other than that the Affordable Health Care Act has led many potential newcomers to assume that it extends to the US territories.

No, it doesn't, not to any of the US territories because it wasn't fiscally viable for the territories to participate. That may well change in the future as the Affordable Heath Care Act gets tweaked and tuned. It all takes time but, right now, it's status quo for the USVI.

PS. What's the best fake name to use at the hospital? - Just in case of a heart attack.

Alicia "Chucky" Hansen