skittles_of_SDC 0 #1 March 30, 2009 without health insurance? I just realized today if I don't get my grades up and get off of academic probation I will have no health insurance. After breaking my ankle and seeing the bill I don't think I could justify jumping without health insurance. I think I'd have to give up skydiving for awhile. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #2 March 30, 2009 I was jobless for a bit and tossed all the gear in the closet until I was able to get insurance again.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
figment 0 #3 March 30, 2009 I haven't had insurance the whole time i've been skydiving which is stupid but I'm not about to give up jumping till I can get it. Crazy? Maybe. Oh well. Edited to add the fact that I'm an idiot for not having insurance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #4 March 30, 2009 Quote without health insurance? I just realized today if I don't get my grades up and get off of academic probation I will have no health insurance. After breaking my ankle and seeing the bill I don't think I could justify jumping without health insurance. I think I'd have to give up skydiving for awhile. If you're young and healthy without pre-existing conditions you can get individual health insurance for a _lot_ less than you'll be spending on the injuries over the decades you spend doing interesting sports before moving into an unaffordable age category. Thousands of dollars in deductables aren't a big deal; it's the tens of thousands in surgeries and hospital stays you need to have covered. I'm going to get my insured butt to the hospital on May 4th for a bone graft to be as good as new. Woo hoo! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AliMac 0 #5 March 30, 2009 i haven't had health insurance since just after i started jumping, almost 2 years ago, i broke my leg skydiving last year and needed surgery, $15000 later in medical bills... i've jumped a few time since then but not since april, i may jump this week but won't get heavy into it until i get some insurance, that accident killed me financially and i won't recover financially from another one! as soon as i have a steady income (next 2 to 3 weeks) i'll be getting myself some insurance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ladydyver 0 #6 March 30, 2009 Quote without health insurance? I just realized today if I don't get my grades up and get off of academic probation I will have no health insurance. After breaking my ankle and seeing the bill I don't think I could justify jumping without health insurance. I think I'd have to give up skydiving for awhile. i only jump when i have coverage...that being said...think about it this way....you and i both had injuries this last year.....mine would have been about 25k if i hadn't had insurance....and I imagine yours would have been about the same --- as people say, the sky is always there; is it the taxpayer's responsibility to flip the bill if i make an error in judgement on a jump ------ or should the hospital write it off because the jumper doesn't have medical coverage? Working where I work I think allows me to see both perspectives. Suck it up love and get those grades up...... and then come out to lp so i can harass you some more DPH # 2 "I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~ I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #7 March 30, 2009 It shouldn't matter what other people will do, decide for yourself if you'd be able to take on $10,000+ in expenses for a basic injury. You've already learned that injuries come on as quite a surprise, it's not like it is anything that you expect when you load the jump plane. Is the academic probation for the school insurance or your parent's insurance? If you're a full time student, your parents should still be able to carry you on their policy. Of course, the easiest thing would be to just pull your grades up, but I'm not going to lecture you on that. She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #8 March 30, 2009 The job previous to the one i have now didn't offer health insurance. So i went 2 years jumping with no insurance. I tried to get an individual policy, but the cheapest i found was around $250/mo and didn't really cover anything. I have insurance from my current employer though. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #9 March 30, 2009 Quote Of course, the easiest thing would be to just pull your grades up, but I'm not going to lecture you on that. I am. [parental mode] If you had time to skydive, you had time to study. If you're down with an injury right now, all the more time to study. Oh, and clean up your room. It's a mess. [/parental mode] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twitter 0 #10 March 30, 2009 My lack of health insurance is what has kept me from jumping for almost an entire year now. I hate being grounded, but to risk the possibility of ruining myself financially for what could be the rest of my life...well, that just isn't worth it to me. The sky will still be there when I finally get insurance again, and then I can jump all I want. I always try to frame things in a "what would I regret later" kind of way. If I jump and get hurt and end up in unbelievable debt, I'll hate myself for being such a moron and jumping without insurance. If I wait until I get health insurance, I won't have anything to regret...I won't necessarily enjoy the time out, but I also won't be paying for it for the rest of my life. Edited to add: another thing to consider is that if you do jump and get hurt, those medical bills may keep you from having the financial means to jump for a long time...which could effectively put a complete end to your skydiving career. Celebrate we will because life is short but sweet for certain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,446 #11 March 30, 2009 Quote After breaking my ankle and seeing the bill I don't think I could justify jumping without health insurance. I think I'd have to give up skydiving for awhile. That sounds like a mature, adult attitude. Good for you. If you're really, really not into school right now, consider the alternative of taking a year off and getting a job. Of course, the job market isn't great, but you might still get lucky. You have to have a plan to go back to school, however -- it's your ticket to more options down the road. Even if you end up in a job where you don't really use your college education, you might never get in the door without one. Now go study Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrwrong 0 #12 March 30, 2009 Insurance is a part of the annual license fee in Sweden. It's good for the whole planet and include both health and liability (as long as I comply with the Swedish regulations). All this for about $375 “The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw He who dies with the most toys, wins..... dudeist skydiver # 19515 Buy quality and cry once! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #13 March 30, 2009 So, you're advising him to reside in Sweden? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrwrong 0 #14 March 30, 2009 If he's going to keep up the injury habit it seems like a good idea.... Joking aside... Just wanted to show the difference... “The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw He who dies with the most toys, wins..... dudeist skydiver # 19515 Buy quality and cry once! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 273 #15 March 30, 2009 I haven't had medical insurance since the summer of 2003. Which helps to explain why I've only made 200 jumps since then. Risk vs reward. Just like most swoopers know they can screw themselves up physically for the rest of their lives if shit happens to them, I know I could completely screw myself financially for the rest of my life if I get hurt skydiving. I've accepted that risk in return for the rewards of making a few skydives. I reduce the risk by jumping a conservative canopy, flying that canopy conservatively (ie traditional pattern) and I don't jump if the conditions aren't good to excellent. So far so good. Until the time comes when having medical insurance costs less per month than I spend to feed me, I'll keep hoping I don't roll a 7... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skittles_of_SDC 0 #16 March 30, 2009 Quote Quote without health insurance? I just realized today if I don't get my grades up and get off of academic probation I will have no health insurance. After breaking my ankle and seeing the bill I don't think I could justify jumping without health insurance. I think I'd have to give up skydiving for awhile. i only jump when i have coverage...that being said...think about it this way....you and i both had injuries this last year.....mine would have been about 25k if i hadn't had insurance....and I imagine yours would have been about the same --- as people say, the sky is always there; is it the taxpayer's responsibility to flip the bill if i make an error in judgement on a jump ------ or should the hospital write it off because the jumper doesn't have medical coverage? Working where I work I think allows me to see both perspectives. Suck it up love and get those grades up...... and then come out to lp so i can harass you some more 25K? That would have been nice. Mine came out to 51K without insurance. I didn't know it at the time I broke my ankle but technically I had no insurance. My brother broke his leg over summer break of 08 and he was covered under insurance. I figured the same would apply to winter break since I was in school the previous semester. Being retarded, as most insurance companies are, they said I wasn't covered until AFTER I registered for the spring semester. So for the first 2 weeks or so I had no insurance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #17 March 30, 2009 Yeah, I figure between the initial ER visit, surgery, hospital stay, follow up visits, PT and hardware removal (3 surgeries total) my 2003 broken ankle cost at least 50K, probably more. At some point, I stopped adding up the bills! Luckily, I was insured and probably paid less than $300.00 in HMO co-payments. Without insurance, physical therapy would not have been an option, much less hardware removal. I really don't feel like my recovery was "complete" until that last bit of metal was out of my leg. I'd still be limping, in pain or discomfort 90% of the time and unable to run more than a few steps. Bottom line- without insurance, that is what I would have had to settle for and I would also STILL be struggling to payoff the bills more than 5 years later. If we're talking risk vs. reward- as much as I love skydiving, I really am not sure it would be worth the risk to jump un-insured at this stage of my life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AliMac 0 #18 March 30, 2009 I couldn't afford physical therapy nor the surgery to remove my hardware, luckily i didn't really need the PT and my doc was impressed by the progress I made on my own but i need to get the hardware removed and can't! If anyone knows how to find fairly cheap but good insurance let me know! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kmills0705 0 #19 March 30, 2009 Even if you get insurance at this point it probably won't cover the removal of the hardware because it is now considered a pre-existing condition.Kim Mills USPA D21696 Tandem I, AFF I and Static Line I Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiver30960 0 #20 March 30, 2009 For those who have injured themselves while they DID have insurance: Did your ins. company know how you got hurt? Or do they think it happened "falling off a ladder" or "tripped in the yard" or something like that? Elvisio "just wonderin'" Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #21 March 30, 2009 I never lied about it to any of my doctors, etc., but when a law firm representing my insurance company sent a questionaire (not to deny coverage but hoping to find someone to sue, I guess) I was a little vague. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #22 March 30, 2009 QuoteI couldn't afford physical therapy nor the surgery to remove my hardware, luckily i didn't really need the PT and my doc was impressed by the progress I made on my own but i need to get the hardware removed and can't! If anyone knows how to find fairly cheap but good insurance let me know! Not everyone "needs" to have their hardware removed and PT is more beneficial to some people than it is to others. I was just pointing out that without insurance, whether you are paying out of pocket or the hospital and doctors are just writing it off, most people won't get more than the most basic care. PT and hardware removal are "extras". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #23 March 31, 2009 QuoteI never lied about it to any of my doctors, etc., but when a law firm representing my insurance company sent a questionaire (not to deny coverage but hoping to find someone to sue, I guess) I was a little vague. OK, that just made me chuckle. Q: Explain how the injury was sustained. A: I twisted my ankle in a 13,500-foot fall. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tigra 0 #24 March 31, 2009 That's about it. Right or wrong, I figured if they did ANY kind of research at all, they could have easily found out what happened. Why should I do their job for them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #25 March 31, 2009 Jumping without insurance is probably the dumbest thing a person can possibly do. It's not always just you in control. Think about getting clipped in a canopy collision or having a premature deployment off of the plane. Now think about lying in a field with a collapsed lung, two broken femurs and a head injury. Helicopter ride-$15,000 Hospital bill-$175,000 Rehab-$20,000 Bankruptcy attorney-? Having insurance-priceless More than one person I know has been wiped out and his/her families also due to no insurance jumping accidents. Just my 2 cents worth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
