<p>Somebody in my Family a few years older than myself, really should see a doctor, though she has no insurance. She likely just needs to see a dermatologist and get a biopsy.</p>
<p>if you as a parent had more than 1 child and 1 had insurance under your plan and another didn’t due to age, would you as a parent ever allow the uninsured child to use the insurance of the insured. yes I know it is likely illegal, but it could lead to extreme financial hardship otherwise.</p>
<p>Insurance is not cheap. </p>
<p>Insurance, is for when you don’t need it. </p>
<p>Go see the doctor and pay out of pocket. Initial visitation would not be paid by insurance anyway because of deductibles.</p>
<p>Insurance fraud is against the law and punishable with fines and/or jail time. You mean well but profits mean more to the stakeholders.</p>
<p>I am surprised that the thought of doing something unethical would cross someone’s mind.</p>
<p>Since the reason the one child is uninsured is “due to age” does that mean that child is 19?</p>
<p>My doctor’s office (and many others around here) now checks ID because of the number of people trying to use someone else’s insurance.</p>
<p>Our doctors as well as the hospital requires photo ID to match with the name on the insurance card.</p>
<p>No. I absolutely would not allow my children to do that. The penalties if caught would not be worth the risk. What I would do is convince the uninsured child to get catostrophic helth insurance before any doctor’s visit. It won’t pay for a darn thing if it turns out to be benign, but if it’s malignant, it would avoid financial hardship. I would then impress upon my child how important it is to have health insurance always. </p>
<p>Catostrophic health insurance for a person under 30 is quite reasonable.</p>
<p>If it is that much of a financial hardship, and the child is over 18, the now-adult should apply for whatever medical assistance program the state has available.</p>
<p>Is there a chance that the family member can get insurance soon? I ask because if the suspected condition is a skin cancer other than melanoma, it can wait a few months. But if the suspicion is of melanoma, it shouldn’t wait.</p>
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<p>Not “likely illegal” - it IS illegal.</p>
<p>Could she get some fairly reasonable (likely high deductible) insurance right now? Then go to the dermatologist. Pay for the visit. This will end up costing a couple hundred $, but the insurance would be there in case further treatment is needed–if it is skin cancer.</p>
<p>A couple hundred $$ should not cause extreme financial distress. But a cancer treatment that runs into 10s and 100s of thousands might. But both are preferable to the alternative–letting something go that could be life-threatening. (BTW, I know two young people who have cancer and no insurance. They are being treated. Yes, their finances are a mess. But they are surviving, and they will work out the finances later.)</p>
<p>Do not try to use another persons insurance. You can go to jail for this. Don’t risk it. Expect IDs to be checked.</p>
<p>Don’t know where you live, but many of the large hospitals have "free care’ programs (they are required by the federal government to provide this) for low-income people and/or those who can’t afford health insurance. Check the hospitals in your area and see if the young person who needs to see a dermatologist is eligible. I wouldn’t wait.</p>
<p>Every thought of pushing for, Universal Health? :)</p>
<p>One of the questions for HI is to:
'Are you plan to or have a condition that may need future health needs. ’ </p>
<p>Thus a precondition will rule out a newly purchased HI in expectation in using it for the pre-existing health condition. You lose, again.</p>
<p>Is this an ethics test for parents or are you actually contemplating this situation?</p>
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<p>We looked into this type of care for her using on line quoting websites as well as calling a few companies and all were around the rate of 8K per year for her at 24. Lowest was 7.3K for the year.</p>
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<p>Those programs are not “free care” they bill every client no matter what the income, then sell that debt to a collection agency which destroys the persons credit.</p>
<p>Its not cancer, its more of a cyst.</p>
<p>If it’s just a cyst, then go the the doctor and get it taken care of. Pay out of pocket and be done with it.</p>
<p>Then, go get some insurance. It’s too important to be without.</p>
<p>your numbers quoted to you for catastrophic health insurance for a 24 yo, high deductible, high copay, should run less than $100/mn. </p>
<p>It is the “Free Market” that determines whether patient will or will not have HI. The alternative is to pay cash or payments. Since the condition is not life threatening, the patient/family can be destitute, on welfare, and never have the condition paid by Medicaid/public assistance/welfare. Patient does have the choice of having the cyst removed or not removed.</p>
<p>Look, it’s illegal. Two different people fact possible indictment–the person who uses the card and the person who lets his/her card be used. Realize that even if you don’t see the inside of a prison cell, this means lots of potential jobs will be ruled out if you’re caught. Plus, your own insurance company will drop you and good luck trying to get any other company to take you on once you’re caught–even if nobody brings charges. It’s not going to happen. If this is an employer-sponsored plan, it’s grounds to fire the employee. </p>
<p>Then there’s another problem. You’re creating a false medical history. Illegal aliens do it a lot around here and doctors complain. They can never trust that the blood type, the allergic reactions, the medicines they are taking, the blood pressure, whatever, belong to the person being treated. The “loaner” of the card could end up with a “pre-existing medical” condition or go over the limits of coverage or have something else happen because someone else’s info ended up in the file. </p>
<p>I don’t know where you live, but in NYC, there are plenty of walk-in clinics. You walk in and you’re asked about insurance and employment. If you can’t pay, doctors adjust the treatment accordingly. They also adjust the bill and they’ll set up a pay over time schedule. I assume that NYC is not unique. </p>
<p>And if the person involved is 24 and low income, she might be eligible for Medicaid.</p>
<p>we live in nyc and from my research there is only one and that is from NYU. I would love to here if there are more.</p>
<p>There’s DOC’s at 34th Street between Park and Madison. Most of the doctors are affiliated with Beth Israel. It definitely takes walk ins and I’ve never seen them turn anyone away because of lack of insurance. She will get asked about insurance, and she must answer truthfully. She may feel that if she does she’ll be turned away. Tell the truth, and I’m 99.9% sure she’ll still get to see a doctor. </p>
<p>Columbia Presbyerian runs a similar service-it’s on the West Side about 60th Street, but I don’t know the exact address. </p>
<p>I know at least one hospital in Queens has a similar service. If you live in one of the outer boroughs, check with hospitals in your neighborhood. They may be less expensive than those in Manhattan.</p>