Protect Yourself from Healthcare Providers
Doctors, hospitals and other health care providers are becoming increasingly aggressive when it comes to over-charging for their services and then collecting the debts. And the bad news is compounded when insurance companies factor in the ridiculous fees being assessed against patients when calculating the insurance premiums which then also become over-inflated.
In the old days, the worst-case scenario would mean that people unable to pay would file for a medical bankruptcy and leave it at that. Today, hospitals are getting one step ahead of the game and filing suit in court and placing liens on property. The debt and lawsuit for exorbitant medical costs (which far surpass logic and reason) could cause you to lose your home and make you destitute.
And even ‘with’ insurance, people are going broke paying BIG MONEY to the insurance companies who want too much money for the premiums upfront and then do everything they can to avoid paying claims anyway. I have a friend in the insurance industry and he admits that the Motto for the insurance industry claims process is... get this....: DISPUTE, DELAY, DENY! That's their mindset. And you are paying 'how much' to these guys?
Prudent consumers will recognize this predicament and take some ‘preventative medicine’ so they never find themselves under the gun with such lunacy and extortion.
The Lighthouse Law club offers several solutions to such prudent consumers:
- Re: Hospital Bills: Understand that any ‘Bill’ is a presentment. It’s an ‘offer’. It can be refused and negotiated. Most people don’t understand this and they accept whatever they are presented with. Training on this simple concept is important to have just for general purposes, not just medical.
- Re. Bill Collectors: The law provides some very specific protections for people dealing with debt collectors and the debt collectors also have some very specific restrictions. Most people don’t know about this and let the debt collectors run roughshod over them. The Lighthouse has some wonderful research on this topic which allows someone to put the debt collectors into ‘silence’ mode. They usually break the law in their aggressive attempts to collect and when they do, YOU could collect from the collectors some very nice damages awards for violations of the law which they rarely if ever get challenged on.
- Re. Liens and Lawsuits: Liens and lawsuits are almost meaningless when your assets are properly protected. Understanding how to properly use trusts for property management, business structuring and employer relationships is essential to long term financial solvency. This is an area of strength for Lighthouse Law Club Members.
- Re. Insurance: This is a racket which is good for only one party…the insurance company. Think about how much you pay in premiums every year. Then think about the deductibles and co-pays that apply to any bill which you are required to pay even with insurance coverage. Then think about what a typical hospital procedure might cost for something that could come up within your family. Then think about being able to negotiate it down to what that bill ‘should be’ which is about 30% to 40% of what is actually charged (or less). Now compare that figure to your annual premiums that you pay. And if you require 1 procedure every 5 years of premiums paid (which is high for most people), maybe you should think about self-insurance.
Self Insurance: This author has been fortunate to have never spent a night in the hospital. I was looking at the money going out the window every month in medical insurance premiums for my catastrophic insurance with a $10,000 deductible which wouldn’t pay for 99.5% of anything I would ever need anyway and I said, “This is ridiculous!”
Here’s what I do and you might consider it yourself if it fits.
I self insure. Rather than dumping money out the window for the benefit of the insurance companies, which I will never get back, I choose to take that premium money and buy gold instead. I don’t keep the cash saved in a bank account because it’s too tempting to spend it. I’ve tried that before and it doesn’t work. I buy gold and put the gold in a drawer. It’s not so easy to spend that way and over time I look for that gold to appreciate significantly in value as I hold it. If an emergency ever arises, I have something to fall back on to cover the bills after I negotiate them down to a reasonable figure. This way my 'self-insurance' can pay 100% of the bill not just 15% after deductibles and co-pays!. I highly recommend Karatbars as one good source to by gold online in increments as small as a gram. I also earn free gold here as I make referrals to common sense and logic for the betterment of others and to hell with the racketeers of the controlled and weaponized health care system.
If I never need them for medical expenses, I’ve accumulated a nice little nest egg I can leave to my heirs and at least somebody can benefit other than the insurance companies.
I don’t own anything in my name so lawsuits are not a threat. My income is independent so that is not at risk either. So I’ve basically immunized myself from these predatory practices of the medical, collections and legal industries.
Plus, if I do need non-emergency medical care I know I can get better care with advanced procedures outside the USA. 'Medical vacations' are gaining in popularity where people visit exotic locations where they can get advanced treatments which are not even available in the AMA and FDA controlled medical systems of the USA. Other countries aren’t burdened with the predatory legal and medical control systems which the USA has and which keeps prices so high for fear of liability. What would a 7 day stay in the hospital after emergency surgery for kidney removal cost in your hospital? Any guesses? A friend of mine went through that in Panama at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Total bill: $4,000. It was paid out of pocket and done!
This is just one more reason to be a member of the Lighthouse Law Club. We expect that your membership will help make life go a little easier!
Many Blessings,
Mark