I saw the same commercial. Oddly it was an advertisement selling life insurance. I hope she recovers but it’s crazy she didn’t have insurance. Depending on her state she could have qualified for a subsidy if she couldn’t afford insurance.
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Maybe a plutocrat would think that a $millions medical bill is pocket change… But Retton probably is not that wealthy.
I can think of no reason, if one has the funds, not to purchase health insurance even if it is a personal plan. Get a high deductible if one doesn’t like the premiums. I would think/hope she could qualify for a plan even off the exchange.
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My plan is literally the cheapest I can buy. Very high deductible and co-pays. And I still don’t like the premium!
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There could be technical reasons. My husband was technically without insurance once when he lost his job and was considering COBRA which gives a 60-day window to sign up. My insurance would have kicked in one month after the month he lost his coverage. Had he ended on a vent in ICU and not able to sign up for COBRA, he would have been without insurance (yes, I know that can be done retroactively but if the person was incapacitated for longer than 60 days…).
Correct. But if incapacitated perhaps a family member could do so, especially if she has a healthcare proxy or POA
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Any insurance is basically buying a hedge against a possible large cost. I.e. you are willing to pay a smaller amount (the premium) in order to avoid a possible large cost. Of course, for the insurance company not to go bankrupt, it needs to collect enough premiums to cover the costs of claims plus the administrative costs. So, on average, insurance buyers pay more in premiums than the value of paid claims. But they buy insurance because the potential large cost would cause financial hardship or bankrupt them, even if the chance of such a thing happening is small.
What it means is that a plutocrat for whom even a large claim would be pocket change does not really have a reason to buy insurance if not required.
But, as others suggest, Retton does not appear to be in the plutocrat class who would consider a large medical bill to be pocket change, so it seems odd that she would go without.
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There is no reason to not have health insurance. If you have low income (note this is income, your savings are not included, so you could still be worth $2 million where that value could include your home), the federal government will subsidize your health insurance. Even the worst plans (high deductible, etc.), cover catastrophic events (which is what a long ICU would be considered.)
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She’s had about 20 orthopedic surgeries including five hip replacements. Would this cause higher premiums?
I guess she did have insurance – in the event of a crisis, her fan base will pay.
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No.
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The fuller answer is: no, thanks to Obamacare. The answer was generally yes prior to 2012.
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I know multiple people who can’t even afford subsidized insurance. Or so they say. Maybe they just don’t want to pay. The ironic thing is a couple of them are medical receptionists.
Seems like some people are willing to give money to her now as evidenced by the large amount received.
I’ve seen some crazy examples of what people have asked to be given through GoFundMe and succeeded in getting. This is actually “tame” by comparison.
Hopefully she recovers fully from her illness. I’m sure her family is pretty concerned.
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While her decision to refuse to purchase health insurance through the exchange (and no, none of her past medical history would have increased her premium) was her own foolish choice, know that she has nothing to do with her daughter’s using the mother’s illness to fund raise on GoFundMe. MaryLou Retton is sedated on a vent; she’s most definitely not approving or disapproving of any of this. The daughter is just using the situation to get money, to use for whatever purpose she wants. The hospital will go after the mother’s estate, if there’s anything to get at.
Is it possible she had a concierge doctor? That does not include hospitalization costs.
That wouldn’t preclude her from having insurance. Most concierge docs take insurance. They just charge an annual fee to access their services. And with her injury history, it is likely she had mor than one doctor in different specialties (eg orthopedics).
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Yes…but concierge doc would not pay for a hospital stay. That is what I meant. It’s possible that she only thought she needed this. But with her Ortho history alone…foolish not to have insurance.
Regardless. I hope she recovers.
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I do not think this applies to Retton as it sounds like perhaps she has money, but I tried to assist a few people in getting Obamacare in NC and it was way too expensive even for very low income people. It has been several years but as I recall, the premiums were high but they could pay that but the deductible was several thousand USD. Neither of the two individuals could ever possibly afford the deductible and both had poor health. They simply go to the ER for issues and do not pay the bills and/or pay a very small amount.
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It’s unusual for a “young” person of 55 to be so sick as to need a ventilator. I wonder what’s going on there…?