Fuck you American healthcare system

[pop 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Fainting spell heh? Doesn't sound like an emergency to me;

It's not, unless you have heart problems like I do.

I'm not saying it wasn't a valid reason to go... it likely really could have been. When you went up to the check in, did you TELL THEM that you have a history of cardiac problems and are passing out? That is a lot different than just "I got dizzy and lightheaded" But even knowing what to say, you might still have to wait. Sometimes the world does not bow to serve you.... I know it doesn't for me, but if it's truly something that needs to be looked at, I get it taken care of.

The fact that I have heart issues and I still have insurance says a lot about hw much I have to pay for it. I expect first rate service. Many people in my position are not as lucky as I am. Most people in this country cannot have insurance if you have heart problems. Isn't it fucked up in itself?

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

I am tired of piss-poor customer service.

Me, too.

Quote

Every system is built to STOP the people from using it just in case the one person who is not entitled might try to sneak in.

I agree. If I don't get paid, I don't do the work. I screen out everyone I can with it because I cannot survive without that. Fortunately for me, I can choose whom to represent. ER's cannot.

Quote

The fact is that MOST people are basically honest

True. A very small percentage of dishonest people are all it takes to send you down, though.

Quote

EVERY system that exists has people that take advantage of it, whether that be healthcare, education, paying your fair share of taxes or stealing from the fruit stand.

Yes. And that $2,000.00 in almonds that the farmer just had stolen by those two guys just may be what causes him to lose his farm. People don't die from a broken nose. It can be bloody and painful but they live. It's the little scrape that doesn't bleed - that tiny little wound - that leads to septicemia. It'll kill you. It's the little things that kill businesses.

Quote

Do we want to spend all of our time trying to stop the few, or servicing the MAJORITY

Neither. We want to live our lives and go on, but take that minute of time to disinfect the scrape on the knee that is looking a little red on the outside.

Quote

Ever call DELL, or HP lately - jesus what a joke - like I said, the entire system is designed to WITHOLD services from you -

Yeah. And it sucks.

Quote

Say what you want about the Canadian system, and sure, Canadians gripe about it too, but NO ONE in Canada would give it up for a privatized system......

Except those in Canada who come to the US for treatment.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Lindsey 0]

Most people in this country cannot have insurance if you have heart problems. Isn't it fucked up in itself?

Group health plans have to cover you regardless of pre-existing conditions and can't drop you because of them.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Quote

Im legal in Canada

You sure about that bro? If you have lived outside Canada most of the time for three consecutive years your permanent residency permit expires.

[Muenkel 0]

Here is an example where our healthcare system is definitely broken. It doesn't have to do with an ER, but rather a doctor's office.

My parents were waiting in the office of a urologist. There was a man in the waiting room that was in horrible pain. A woman was with him to assist. According to what my parents overheard, his insurance was not going to kick in until the next day. The receptionist would not allow him to see the doctor. The woman was literally begging and she wouldn't budge. My father, who was in quite a lot of pain himself, got so furious that he went up to the window and asked the receptionist how much his bill would be. When she told him $90, my father slammed the cash down on her counter and in a very firm voice told her to get the man in immediately. I don't know what the outcome was with the man, but he was seen within 5 minutes. Also, once my father was in with the doctor; he gave him a piece of his mind. I thought that took guts, as I wouldn't want to piss off a urologist (no pun intended).

_________________________________________
Chris

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

It;s in the governemtns best interst to keep its people healthy and educated

Why is it in the government's interest that I'm healthy? So I can pay taxes to support it?

It's in my best interest to keep my car maintained. Why? So I can use it. I paid for it to get me from place to place.

So I would look at it as me being nothign more than a healthy tool for the government to use.

I keep myself healthy because it is in my OWN best interest to do so. Plenty of people keep themselves unhealthy because, well, they see no reason not to. Sure, they'll keel over with a heart attack at age 45, and that's fine with them.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Shotgun 1]

I guess I've had good luck with emergency medical care in the US (TX and CA). I've had to go to the ER five times in my life, and I'm pretty sure I never waited more than two hours to see a doctor. I've been to the urgent care/minor emergency clinics a lot more times, and I don't think I've ever had a ridiculously long wait there either.

And I have no idea if there were illegal immigrants in the ER during any of my visits. All except for one of those times, I was too sick/f'd up/in pain to notice who else was in the waiting room. Not that I would know whether they were illegal anyway.

Anyhow, I hope you're feeling better, and sorry to hear you've been having bad experiences with the healthcare system. I have my own gripes about the system, but I'm not sure if universal healthcare would make it better. (It would probably fix some problems while creating new ones.)

[Thanatos340 1]

I have found that using an "Urgent Care" places works much better than an "emergency room". Around here there are "Urgent Care" Places all over. Basically a Doc in a Box with some X-Ray, Lab type stuff for when you need a doc and cant wait for an appointment.

I pay a little more for visiting one of these places than I would for a regular Doctors Visit but I have never waited more than 30 minutes from walking in to talking to the Doc and/or Nurse Practitioner. I am currently trying to get my Insurance Company to change my Primary care physician to one of the Docs at the Urgent Care place closest to my home.
The urgent Care place seems great. No waits, Open Late, No appointments Required.

[pop 0]

Quote

Quote

Im legal in Canada

You sure about that bro? If you have lived outside Canada most of the time for three consecutive years your permanent residency permit expires.

Phew,...its a good thing its only benn a year and a half

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

people in this country cannot have insurance if you have heart problems.

If we stopped looking at health insurance as different from other insurance, you'd see why it's so messed up.

Let's say you have a car that is uninsured. It gets hits by an unknown vehicle and suffers $5k in damages. Would you expect to go to an insurer and have the insurance company pay to fix it?

That would be ludicrous. Because you'll pay your monthly premium and deductible (total a couple of hundred bucks) and get the car fixed, then stop paying into insurance until something else bad happens.

See, the insurance companies cannot just stop insuring you if you develop heart problems. They'll cover it - so long as you already have insurance once it happens.

So let's say I don't have insurance and have a heart attack. I need a bypass operation. I look for an insurance carrier to pay for it. They'd say, "SEE YA!" just like a car insurer would - and for damned good reason.

---

Insurance is actually driving up the cost of medicinebecause everyone expects insurance to pay for everything.

Does auto insurance cover gas, oil changes, new tires, brakes and car washes? No. It's stupid, and to do so would make insurance very expensive. Add to that that people would want new tires every 10k miles, would not worry about heavy braking and tend to drive a lot further (insurance is paying for the gas, after all), you'd see the cost of insuring and owning automobiles go sky high.

Just like we see with health insurance.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

Others' healthcare is not my responsibility, nor should it ever be.

But you didn't mind when others subsidized your college education.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

Quote

Quote

well that is where we disagree - I think the government's primary responsibilities should be to feed the people, educate the people and provide healthcare for the people.

AMEN!! Those are the ONLY three things a government owes its people. Well at least the educate and provide healthcare...the feed part I could argue.

Frankly, I think the government's responsibilities should be to get out of my way and let me feed myself and those I want to feed, let me get educated or let me get my kids educated, and let me get healthcare for myself and whomever I want to care for.

I don't want government food - I was in the Army, and I'll tell you - I'd take McDonald's over an MRE any dya.

Government education? I had it, and it worked okay for me. I'll give it that.

Healthcare? Um, I'd prefer to stay out of government healthcare (ER's, etc) for just the reason you stated. I'd rather find a good private doctor and pay him or her to take care of me.

OK, now there's two of us.


Anyone else?

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

I live in a predominantly white suburban area about 10 minutes from NASA. I also have full medical coverage. Last night I drove down the street to get some food, and while in the parking lot, I suddenly felt really dizzy, the ground gave way, and I found myself collapsing unto the ground. I stumbled back to the car, waited a bit, and drove home. I then had my roommate take me to the emergency room to see whats problem.

There's your problem.

Since emergency rooms are the only free medical care in many places (federal law requires to them to triage any one who walks through the front door regardless of ability to pay) people go there instead of other doctors who'd want an insurance or credit card. Naturally this makes for long lines.

You want to go to urgent care clinics any time you need medical care during normal business hours without needing an ambulance to get there. The waits are usually much more reasonable; often under an hour.

[livendive 8]

Quote

Insurance is actually driving up the cost of medicinebecause everyone expects insurance to pay for everything.

Does auto insurance cover gas, oil changes, new tires, brakes and car washes? No. It's stupid, and to do so would make insurance very expensive. Add to that that people would want new tires every 10k miles, would not worry about heavy braking and tend to drive a lot further (insurance is paying for the gas, after all), you'd see the cost of insuring and owning automobiles go sky high.

Just like we see with health insurance.

There's a big difference though. Pharmaceutical companies are pretty much playing to a captive audience. If they invent a drug that will cure or treat the symptoms of a common ailment, be it fatal or merely inconvenient, they get sole rights to manufacture and market that product for, what, 7 years? I understand they need to recoup their R&D expenses and turn a profit, and I'm generally opposed to market restrictions, but when you look at the absurd dollars they've got to throw around...well, there ought to be some sort of happy medium. I just don't know what it is. The bottom line is, if you can't afford to insure and maintain a vehicle, you have the option of mass transit, and life goes on. If you can't afford to treat your life-threatening or debilitating illness, your options aren't so pleasant.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[kallend 2,026]

A friend of the family is being buried this week.

He had surgery last Friday. Came out of the operating room OK, spoke to his family in the recovery room, then died.

The autopsy revealed severe internal bleeding from a small artery that had been cut but not fixed, and two sponges left in his abdomen.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Thanatos340 1]

Quote

You want to go to urgent care clinics any time you need medical care during normal business hours without needing an ambulance to get there. The waits are usually much more reasonable; often under an hour.

Not just normal Business Hours, Most Urgent Care places are open pretty late. Of the 3 that are closer to my home than any ER, One is open till 10pm and the other 2 are open till Midnight.

everyone should check thier area and see if there are Urgent Care places near them and when they are open. Could save them ALOT of time in the future should they need care quickly.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Well come on home then. The weather has been nice the last couple of days and should stay above -30, well except Saturday morning.

[pop 0]

Quote

Quote

You want to go to urgent care clinics any time you need medical care during normal business hours without needing an ambulance to get there. The waits are usually much more reasonable; often under an hour.

Not just normal Business Hours, Most Urgent Care places are open pretty late. Of the 3 that are closer to my home than any ER, One is open till 10pm and the other 2 are open till Midnight.

everyone should check thier area and see if there are Urgent Care places near them and when they are open. Could save them ALOT of time in the future should they need care quickly.

Honestly I had no idea about these urgent care places, and not sure if they exist in my area or not, but definitely worth looking into.

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[freethefly 6]

Quote

Quote

AT least in Canada no one has to fight with the insurance company on top of being injured, nor do they have to deal with bills rolling in from 3-4 different companies that 'touch you' during an ER visit.

This one is currently pissing me off. My insurance says I have a $100 copay for emergency room visits ($25 for office visits). I made a trip to the ER in September and received 5 different bills totalling a bit over $800. I'd honestly like to see some effort among healthcare companies to promote customer service, including centralized billing. How am I supposed to know how much to set aside for bills when they just keep coming in, from companies I haven't heard of, for seemingly random amounts? Hell, I got a bill in November from December 2005! It was for someone reading an MRI, the results of which were never given to me because my primary physician closed up shop the same day I had that $3500 scan. (I did get a copy of the reading from a friend who worked at the hospital, including a note that she could lose her job if they found out she'd given it to me.) When I called to contest that one, they said something about the prior billing company hadn't been up to speed. Who the hell keeps all their receipts for 2 years? For all I know, I paid the bill back then, but since I can't prove it, I pay now or they send me to collections. That's BS...there should be some reasonable number of bills expected and within a reasonable timeframe.

Blues,
Dave

I live in the sad state of Misery (Missouri). Some time back, our idiot governor Matt Blunt (R) kicked most everyone off of medicaid and then revamped the system bringing in a private insurance company, Healthnet. Healthnet then raised everyones spenddown. I now pay $571.00 for the month that I have a doctor appointment. Fine, I have no problem with that as my treatment is quite expensive. AIDS is not cheap. Problem with Healthnet is that they have refused to pay for the treatment that I recieved. What treatment did I recieve? Blood drawn and lab work. Nothing else. My bill on top of the $571.00 is 1 outpatient visit - $83.00, a level 4 visit (whatever the hell that is) - $130.00, Lab service - $180.43, and a second lab service - $671.87. So, I pay $571.00 to a private insurance company that is contracted by the State and I still have to pay for the entire thing a total so far (spenddown included) of $1636.30. I'd much rather had kept the money that Healthnet ripped me of for and then only have a bill less of $571.00. That $571.00 could had gone towards the service recieved instead of into the pockets of Healthnet. What a freaking ripoff. Medicaid was far better as I paid my spenddown and Medicaid paid the rest.
For you people who will surely scream "Why should my taxes pay for your care". Me, paying the spenddown and then Medicaid covering the rest is no different than you paying into your private insurance and then using that insurance. What you pay into is small compared to what they may pay out for your care. Why should another person who pays into the same insurance have to help pay for your care with their premiums? It's the samething, the pooling of funds to help treat everyone, to help provide the same level of care. Sadly, Healthnet is ripping off us who can never obtain care anyother way. Myself, being HIV+, no insurance company will cover me. Tell me, what choice do I have?

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Thanatos340 1]

If you are in a Metropolitan area, You should be able to find several nearby. And if you have a Primary Care Physician that you are not happy with, Call around and tell them you are shopping for a new one. Some of these Urgent care places will make an appointment for you to come in an interview them. They want your business.

Private industry solving this problem?? Who would have thunk it.

[kbordson 8]

Quote

A friend of the family is being buried this week.

He had surgery last Friday. Came out of the operating room OK, spoke to his family in the recovery room, then died.

The autopsy revealed severe internal bleeding from a small artery that had been cut but not fixed, and two sponges left in his abdomen.

Wow. I'm sorry that happened.

Surgery comes with risk. Sometimes it's the risk of the procedure, sometimes it the risk of the one doing the procedure.

I hate to say it, because I really do try to be perfect. I try to ensure that when I close an abdomen - it is DRY! I don't close the skin until the sponge, needle and instrument counts are done..... but can errors happen. ABSOLUTELY. I am NOT perfect. The surgeon that did the one for the friend of the family is not perfect (obviously). We are human. Mistakes are made. Unfortunately. But, in our field, people can and do die.

People expect doctors to be ALL KNOWING, ALWAY AVAILABLE, PERFECT AND PRECISE. But then also expect them to do this for what kind of pay and sacrifice?

I will admit, some doctors are part of the reason that the system is broken.

[Lindsey 0]

Myself, being HIV+, no insurance company will cover me. Tell me, what choice do I have?

Again, if you're able to work, group health plans have to cover you despite pre-existing conditions IF you change from one group policy to the new one (unless that's just an Arkansas phenomenon...I doubt it). Even though they don't have to cover you if you did not change from another group plan, most do.

Prior to medical school I was a social worker. Had several clients who went back to work after being on disability for some time. They made sure they would be covered before taking a job, but none had any difficulty with this.

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Shotgun 1]

Quote

Honestly I had no idea about these urgent care places, and not sure if they exist in my area or not, but definitely worth looking into.

In Texas they're usually called "minor emergency" clinics (well, in Austin and Midland anyway). But it's the same thing as "urgent care" here in CA.

My insurance company provides me with a list of the closest urgent care places, and the co-pay is the same as if I go to the ER. You might want to check with your insurance co. about them.

[piper17 1]

You could always try calling your primary care physician. My doctor's office always has a doctor for emergencies on call.

Also, there are plenty of walk-in medical clinics around here....I can get seen in a few minutes by an MD or P.A.

Enjoy the Canadian winters and don't bother writing.

"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling

[freethefly 6]

Quote

Government education? I had it, and it worked okay for me.

So your fine with what only works for you?

Quote

Insurance is actually driving up the cost of medicine because everyone expects insurance to pay for everything.

Next time you or your family need medical care do you plan to not use your insurance? If you do use the insurance, then you are part of the problem then, according to your words.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young