Friend of mine had a a heart attack and was lucky enough to call an ambulance ahead of time for himself.  Had to have a stint put in.  Worse yet, was even though he had good insurance and pays $800/month for himself and his son, he STILL got hit with about $7000 in charges that the insurance didn't cover.  His deductible is something like $1000.  I find it kinda scary that you can get into a situation that your "premium" insurance still doesn't pay those charges above your deductible.  The total hospital bill was over $50K

Obamacare insurance doesn't cover anything and only pays half of nothing. Insurance companies loved it, they got to stop paying everything. And they will send us the bill for their losses.

Well at least since Obamas rules are in play he can't spend more then $13,200 out of pocket total for 2015

I kinda figured it might have something to do with the Obummer-care changes.  Ive not had to use a doctor in years, but his experience kind of spooked me as my family has the same insurance company and I pay $800+ per month in premiums.  I was under the impression that it was only premiums that have gone up.  I remember when they took a big jump, seems it was 2012.
So now im reading up on other Obummer-care horror stories.  Just about anything and everything got more expensive.  Gotta love it.

The start of Obamacare three years ago was a fine time to buy health insurance company stocks.

 

What is the particulars of his policy?  It sounds like he may have hit his out of pocket maximum.
You mention the $1,000 deductible, which tells me that's not a HDHP.
Most non-HDHPs pay something like 80% of everything (covered) over the deductible up, then 100% of everything over the out-of-pocket max.
A $50k hospital bill would be $50k (bill) - $1k (deductible) = $49k  then $49k X 20% (his share) = $9.8k
That leaves his total share to be $1k + $9.8k = $10.8k   If his totals are coming to only $7k then he hit a limit.
This is a good reminder to read your insurance policies to see exactly how much you might be on the hook for in a worst case scenario.

My personal insurance is (single person) a HDHP.  I have a $2,000 deductible (in network) then everything after that is paid 100%.  My out of pocket max is $4,000 which I'll only hit if I go to an out of network.

I had open heart surgery in October last year.  $1000 deductible and $3000 maximum out of pocket.  I got a bill for the cardiac echo and the MRI and nothing else.  Those 2 tests added up to the $3000 maximum.  Total bill for the 6 days in the hospital and fixing the valve and aorta was $121,000.

United Health Care.  Cost me $629 a month in premiums.

The negotiated rates can often make having insurance worth it even if they don't cover much. Negotiating rates is just part of the business; it sucks but it is what it is.

My insurance provides a statement for every service that shows the charges, the allowed charges, the disallowed charges (per negotiated contract), amt covered by insurance, and amount patient owes provider. I can truly say that I'm happy with my insurance. The premiums are very reasonable and the coverage is very good.

One other note: I've been gainfully employed for 6 years now. As a healthy young male that hates to go to the doctor until I'm nearly dead, I rarely used my insurance the first several years. I spent a LOT of money in premiums. The birth of a single child, and to see all of it covered 100% (~$25k) paid back every penny of my premiums and then some...

but does it really "cost" $25K to have a baby? thats what they want you to think. in reality you could probably have negotiated a 4-6,000 cash price.

I doubt that... I think if the difference between actual cost and negotiated contracts with insurance companies were that large we would see ins. companies negotiating lower contracts or dropping the provider from the coverage list.

That's the beauty of the free-market, ins. companies can drop the hospital/provider rather than pay exorbitant rates.

Is there still a thick profit margin in there? I doubt it; based upon the insane hospital budget cuts, lay-offs etc going on in my area the hospitals are either grossly mismanaging money or they really are operating on a tight margin.

I'm not old.  I haven't been around the block like some here.

I have never experienced a law that had so much direct impact on my life as Obamacare.  The amount I pay every month for what I get from it -- I can't dwell on it, it really gets me angry.  No one is in network anymore.  Everything has a deductible attached (but well-care is free!  Oh, and my kids now have dental insurance that no one in my area takes.)

My monthly premiums are just pissed away.  It seriously gets me angry.

That's what most people think.  That makes sense.

Reality is that any uninsured "cash price" is no where near what the insurance company pays.  The insurance company decides what they're going to pay, and the provider can decide to be in-network or not.  The providers then try to make up the difference by soaking people without insurance.

Insurance / healthcare is anything but "free market".  If it was free market then there would be a published tariff describing what services cost and end-users could decide where to get service. What we have had is this self-reinforcing loop of insurance companies demanding favorable rates ("hey, we insure 10% of your area!"); health care providers raise cash rates to make up the difference (and knowing the are not going to collect on a lot of it); health insurance becomes a necessity basic human right ; insurance companies seek more concessions and start dictating when certain procedures can/will be covered.  Now thanks to the ACA, everybody has "health insurance", though the most basic policies don't cover shit and the premiums are just money lost.

The health care/insurance industry is a complicated issue with a whole lot of factors that are working against lower costs. $7k doesn't seem that bad relatively speaking but I have no doubt Ocare made it worse. I haven't met anyone whose costs haven't shot up pretty significantly since it went into effect.

He can likely set up a payment plan or do loans. This is why having 6-9 months worth of living expenses in emergency savings is so important.

Our last baby cost under $ 1000.00 including all prenatal visits, and included a midwife and her assistant delivering the child at our house.