Do you have health insurance?

[Wells]

As skateboarders we tend to get banged up a bit, and I'm curious to hear about fellow longboard types' experiences with their health insurance companies.

[stringtheory]

Yes. What are you trying to find out?

[Petary791]

This is a great question, I've always wondered. I'm on my parent's currently so I don't really count.

[bakersfield90]

I'm still covered by my parent's plan, but I know alot of people that SHRED with no insurance.

[Jerzey@AdvancedSlideLabs]

I still rode when I didnt have health insurance but def. toned it down a bit. Now I have insurance again so fair game! I didnt wanna end up so far in debt from injuries I had to sell my boards 8)

[DELETED]

No insurance, and I take it easy because of it. If I got seriously injured I'd be seriously screwed.

[1337leo]

I'm not sure but, in Australia we have private health insurance as well as public (I think) called medicare?

I know for sure I don't have private health insurance but I'm pretty sure if I go to hospital it's covered.

EDIT: Checked it out Know my government well don't I :P

I guess we are similar to canada yet we can choose private health insurance if we want. Otherwise there are public hospitals.

[Jailbot]

I'm not sure but, in Australia we have private health insurance as well as public (I think) called medicare?

I know for sure I don't have private health insurance but I'm pretty sure if I go to hospital it's covered.

Be glad that you have a reasonable government that doesn't blow all its money on guns, coke, and diamonds...

I don't have any insurance at the moment, so I just wear full safety gear and don't try anything that's too far above my skill level.

[loserplayer]

haha pie
103.1415

[TIMORNE]

Health & life,my wife would KILL me if I didn't

[-Mu-]

I have a good health plan because my mother is a state employee. If I didn't have that I'd be buying it through work.

EDIT: I still enjoy not getting hurt though.

[Wells]

I've got it through my parents 'till I'm 25. Hopefully the health insurance landscape will be radically different in two years.

[SlyTX]

Recently there was a sanctioned race being planned in Nacogdoches Texas that was through SF getting hyped quite a bit and a thread pretty big on it. It was gonna be sanctioned and then the planner mentioned that the city was requiring all participants to submit health insurance info. Once that info came out, like half the people talking in the thread came out saying they wouldnt be able to race because they dont have any emergency coverage. I was really surprised at how many people out there are willing to be speedboarding without health insurance. I used to be hitting 35+ on a regular basis without any coverage, but then one day I collided with another skater and got a head injury. Got knocked out, went to get a CT scan and checked out at a hosptial and was diagnosed with a concussion and told to rest it off.

I took an hour and a half at the hospital and when I checked out was several thousand dollars in debt. With the payment plan I worked out Ill be paying it off for 2 years bit by bit. Even a minor fall can resuly in compound fractures that may requrie surgery to heal properly and with the extremly high cost of treatment xrays, doctors, surgery, medicine etc can result easily in 12k+ in charges. The charge I received just for checking in was 900 dollars. Rediculous!!

I still havnt gotten insurance but will soon get it through employment. No way am I speedboarding until then. I take it easy and dont push myself at all, but developing new skills slowly. I learned a hard lesson that week that I should have been smart enough to know before, and putting myself at risk of getting in that much debt is just straight up irresponsible in my opinion. Ill now be spending more money on one minor trip to the hospital then I have ever spent on longboarding, and Ive had 9 decks, tons of wheels, NJK leathers, charly helmet, 3 other helmets and what ever else Ive gotten....

[Wells]

Recently there was a sanctioned race being planned in Nacogdoches Texas that was through SF getting hyped quite a bit and a thread pretty big on it. It was gonna be sanctioned and then the planner mentioned that the city was requiring all participants to submit health insurance info. Once that info came out, like half the people talking in the thread came out saying they wouldnt be able to race because they dont have any emergency coverage. I was really surprised at how many people out there are willing to be speedboarding without health insurance. I used to be hitting 35+ on a regular basis without any coverage, but then one day I collided with another skater and got a head injury. Got knocked out, went to get a CT scan and checked out at a hosptial and was diagnosed with a concussion and told to rest it off.

I took an hour and a half at the hospital and when I checked out was several thousand dollars in debt. With the payment plan I worked out Ill be paying it off for 2 years bit by bit. Even a minor fall can resuly in compound fractures that may requrie surgery to heal properly and with the extremly high cost of treatment xrays, doctors, surgery, medicine etc can result easily in 12k+ in charges. The charge I received just for checking in was 900 dollars. Rediculous!!

I still havnt gotten insurance but will soon get it through employment. No way am I speedboarding until then. I take it easy and dont push myself at all, but developing new skills slowly. I learned a hard lesson that week that I should have been smart enough to know before, and putting myself at risk of getting in that much debt is just straight up irresponsible in my opinion. Ill now be spending more money on one minor trip to the hospital then I have ever spent on longboarding, and Ive had 9 decks, tons of wheels, NJK leathers, charly helmet, 3 other helmets and what ever else Ive gotten....

This is outrageous. Nobody should have to be in debt for two years for one quick hospital visit.

[SlyTX]

This is outrageous. Nobody should have to be in debt for two years for one quick hospital visit.

I spent two months talking to hospital and doctor customer service. You get seperate bills from the agency the doctors are brought in through, asside from what ever treatment was given to you at the hospital. I found out they charged me the highest they could which was 800 dollars. The doctor rates how much to charge on a 1-5 system based on severity and complexity of analysis. To quote the lady on the phone, 1 is a sprained ankle, 3 would be laceration requiring stitches, 5 being anything requiring an xray or scan.

People I talked to on the phone had no interest in my opinion or contesting of the charges and treatment I got. They just tell you that you dont have to accept the treatment they want to give you, and that once you accept the treatment, your stuck with it. No sympathy what so ever.

[tao man]

Im canadian, I worry about getting hurt just because it hurts! I never realized not having insurance would stop poeple from skating hard... sucks.

[msk]

I have insurance through work, but it sucks. Very high office/ER co-pays, and they do whatever they can to deny coverage. When I tore my achilles 4 years ago, I was basically told that I didn't really need to be able to walk again, and as a result the surgery was done without the insurance company's OK. I'm still paying for that. So if I get injured while skating, I'll end up paying for a good portion, if not most or all of, whatever care I need.

But at least I have something. Because of "pre-existing conditions", I'll never be able to get private insurance on my own. Fortunately, I like my job, because like so many other people, I'm pretty much locked into it just because of the insurance...

[Cann0n]

I take it easy. No sense is purposely mangling myself up. 16 years of skating and I've had my shares of bails, and permanent pains from them, and I,m not getting younger. I plan on cruising with my grand kids one day...

[Bombsquad_Manny]

I dont but keep my self safe by wearing a helmet and knowing how to stop and to staying in control (for the most part, haha) of my skate.
I try not to get too comfortable with the runs i skate sorta like how you respect the Ocean.

Whenever i have gotten hurt though i go to Mexico since I'm really close. (South San DIego)
If it's friday evening though i try hard not to get messed up cuz having to wait in line at the boarder with a fractured foot bone (w/e got messed up) really sucks!

[DELETED]

Ah, pre-existing conditions...