Consumer-Driven Health Insurance Sucks...

Until I went to CIGNA, I've always been on a PPO. Even when PPOs were bad, they've never been as bad as the HRA plan that I have now. With CIGNA, I can't choose a PPO. HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) and HSA (Health Savings Account) are the only options.

So here's how it works:
CIGNA tosses $750/year into an account for me (and another $750 for Dean).
When I go to the doctor, CIGNA pays the bill up to the $750 limit.
After that, I have to pay 100% of the bill up to $4,000 (the deductible)
After I pay the $4,000, CIGNA starts chipping in again, at roughly 80%.

So here's the situation I'm in: Dean and I have been to the doctor a couple of times and got a few prescriptions. No sweat, but I burned through the $750 pretty quick. Then, one of my blood tests came back with a high creatine count (0.7 when 0.1-0.3 was normal), which indicates poor kidney function. So that took me to a specialist. Since I only have 1 kidney left, it's pretty important to stay on top of these things.

The specialist recommended a CT Scan. I've had these before--they are no sweat. It took 10 minutes start-to-finish. But the bill!! OUCH!!

I now owe $2,000 to the hospital and the radiologist to pay for that 1 CT scan (which, thankfully, turned out negative...I think...the nurse had a hard time interpreting it for me).

I'm supposed to see the specialist again in November for more follow-up tests. At this point, I am probably going to put it off to the new year (when I get another $750 from CIGNA). I just don't see being able to afford another $2,000 for another test this year.

So -- this is how consumer-driven health insurance works, and now I know it first hand.

It lowers the cost of health insurance by forcing customers to have to choose between getting the health care they need and risking that 1 kidney they have left because they can't afford the 10 minute test to check it. It SUCKS.