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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2933 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 5, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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To the American users of this sub, does anyone use a HealthShare plan?

Here's an example: https://altruahealthshare.org/how-it-works/memberships/

This would, in theory, allow one to have access to health care at less than half of the cost of comparable Obamacare plans. Presumably, a large part of the difference is not getting grouped together with the drug addicts, mentally ill, and extremely fat that make up a sizeable percentage of the American public.

But what are the practical elements of the plan? When I go to the doctor, are they going to give me a hard time?

If you're healthy and actually can't afford regular insurance, it might be worth looking into. If you have health conditions or can otherwise afford real insurance, steer clear. You are effectively uninsured and won't get insurance negotiated rates, and will get a bill that the company may or may not pay. As frustrating as health insurance can be, it's a highly regulated industry with consumer protections in place. Health shares are the wild West and they aren't required to actually pay for anything.

Quite the opposite. I'm healthy but am rich enough to not worry about any reasonable health care cost I will ever have to bear.

But I don't want to support a corrupt system and pay for other people's self-inflicted lifestyle disorders.

My concern is convenience and fairness. The fact that they deny claims without recourse is a positive, since I am very unlikely to have claims denied. My worry is that I will go to the doctor, show them my healthshare card, and be denied care or have to spend hours explaining my situation to dimwitted and exasperated bureaucrats.

I guess I'll probably just have to try the HealthShare to see how it works.

No, you just tell them to ring you up as cash pay if they don’t know how to process the medishare card.

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