Submitted by Cdclimber t3_yicmrc in personalfinance
As the description states, I had a buddy recently break his collarbone in a mountain biking accident. He works for a tree company, and although he makes $1-1.2k/week, does not have insurance. I took him to the hospital after the accident. They took an X-ray, gave him a pain medication script, and told him to he would likely need surgery as the bone is significantly displaced. They counseled that he visit an orthopedic to get a second opinion and possibly schedule surgery. Due to the physical nature of his job, he will be out of work until it heals completely. He has about 6K saved up and minimal living expenses (~$500/month in rent/utilities). What is his best course of action? He lives in SC, so it will be very hard to get on Medicaid. Should he try to get an insurance plan activated, or should he shop around for Orthos who will allow him to set up an "out-of-pocket" payment plan? I really want to help him get through this and would appreciate any advice you all may have. Let me know of any other applicable pages I could share this post too. Thank you so much!
mrschro t1_iuhxmip wrote
As second opinion could be useful, but may be an additional expense and delay treatment. If income is based on physical hours worked, the best bet may be to have the surgery as soon as possible. The buddy can ask for a payment plan or uninsured discount before the procedure and after try to negotiate the cost down further. The risk of going uninsured has already showed the downside and this will be a very expensive lesson. Do not let them put all their cash into the surgery or there will be further needs for cash to fund living expenses while out of work. Plan for the off time and life expenses, get the surgery, pay for it later and rebuild emergency money by living at a lower standard of living.
That salary is far too high to neglect health insurance. In the US, one needs health insurance or risk this type of financial catastrophe.