I moved to a new state, so United Healthcare is dropping me because they apparently don't do business in my area. I am self-employed, so insurance through work is not an option. I could get insurance through my husband's job, but it would be around $800/month, which is insane, I think, for a young healthy non-smoker who almost never goes to doctors. In the interest of getting something in place quickly, I went to the exchange online and signed up for what is basically catastrophic health insurance for $215/month with a deductible that's something like $6500. That's all I really need anyway, but there is one potential catastrophe that none of the 22 options covered.
That potential catastrophe is being admitted to an out-of-network hospital. I would be responsible for 100% of that cost. This would be unavoidable if, say, I had a massive car wreck while on a road trip far from home and required a trip to the ER, followed by a long ICU stay for internal injuries. Or if I needed to have my appendix removed suddenly while away from home. (I work out of state monthly, so these are real concerns.) The ER bill would be covered after my deductible (except for any potential out-of-network ER doctor, but that's another story, and, I would hope, somewhat limited in terms of total cost). But the hospital admission could come to $millions, and none of it would be covered. I could see a situation in which I allow myself to be stabilized in the nearest ER and then get my husband or someone to drive me to an in-network hospital, but if I'm on a ventilator or something, that's not realistic. What on earth are people supposed to do? Just go bankrupt because they develop appendicitis while away from home?
I sure hope I'm missing something. Is there supplemental insurance I can purchase to cover this? Is there a private insurer in the state of Washington who covers this? My ACA insurance is just for the last 4 months of the year (my old insurance covers me for August), and I'd like to figure out a better situation for 2018, if not sooner.
