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Sitting in Urgent Care

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
My wife and I watched Sicko last week and there was a lot of things that stuck with me after watching that movie. Now I'm sitting here and there is a mentally handicapped patitent with a supervisor may not be able to be seen because her insurance carrier was switched or some crap.

Not to mention there is probably only 5 other sick people here and I've already been waiting 45min.

I'm moving to Canada!!!!

PS urgent care is like a no appointment needed Dr's office. I have this deep in my lungs cough that has lasted 2 weeks already.
 

Nick

My name is Nick
Sep 21, 2001
23,926
14,438
where the trails are
Get well soon ... eh?

As much as I hate the insurance racket, its really the cost of health care that is the problem. People shouldn't need to rely on insurance to get proper care, but as somebody who had an ER visit while uninsured, I know that I wouldn't willingly take on that debt again unless my life depended on it.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,839
15
So Cal
I like my job. Mainly because I have kick ass health insurance through it.

After I broke my leg a few years back and recieved a copy of all the expenses I realized tha without insurance I would have had to declare bankruptcy.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
i'm fine but thanks for caring. Basically if I talk I start coughing like crazy. I'm on the phone all day at work so this isn't very conducive to work. I waited 2 weeks because I'm 99% sure they can't do anything for me.
 

3D.

Monkey
Feb 23, 2006
899
0
Chinafornia USA
My buddy broke both femurs in nov. 2007. His current tab is $585,000 thus far w/very little insurance help (Medi-Cal) cause he is one of those shallow pocketed ski-bum kind of guys.

To my point… one (1) of his 15 ti screws was invoiced at $5800 with no labor included. It’s an 1/8’’x 2’’ or something, with like a square “trap-eze” type head on it.

You can by aftermarket replacement Titanium nuts & bolts for about 8 motocross bikes (retail), for the price of that one screw. (very large, heavy bag of bolts)

Are being over charged? :confused:

edit: this is going to be diverted
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
I guess people didn't see the movie. If you haven't I recommend checking it out.

My point is if we had a health care system funded by the citizens and not paid for by insurance agencies your friend wouldn't have over $1/2 million in hospital fees.

My sister could have died a few month ago when she was given sub par service because she didn't have health insurance. She had Mersa and the first dr. she saw didn't give her a full check up. Thankfully my cousin is a nurse and lived by her and could help her out. It's scary to not have Health Insurance and it shouldn't be.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
It's scary to not have Health Insurance and it shouldn't be.
No joke. When TN switched jobs we went through a lot of health insurance stress. We had to make sure we remained covered so that we could get pre-ex coverage when new health insurance kicked in. We ended up paying almost 800 bucks a month for Cobra. If we had to do it for longer than we did, we wouldn't have been able to afford it.

And you should really see a real doctor about that cough. Those urgent care docs never diagnose or treat right and you don't want to let upper respiratory **** go.
 

MountainDrew

Monkey
Aug 15, 2007
471
0
I know the cough you are talking about. I have had it for the last week now. Started as the flu, and now I am left with the cough.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
I was there for 1.5hrs and of that time I was with a doctor for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. He gave me antibiotics because I'm starting to have an ear infection and a sinus infection.

That visit cost my insurance provider $587.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,227
20,006
Sleazattle
I was there for 1.5hrs and of that time I was with a doctor for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. He gave me antibiotics because I'm starting to have an ear infection and a sinus infection.

That visit cost my insurance provider $587.
What did they do? My regular Dr visit costs $65, I throw in a $15 copay and insurance covers the rest. My often seen orthopedic surgeon costs something around $100.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
What did they do? My regular Dr visit costs $65, I throw in a $15 copay and insurance covers the rest. My often seen orthopedic surgeon costs something around $100.
He checked me with a stethoscope and an ear thing. Same thing he did last time and I saw at the bottom of my invoice thats how much it cost last time.

My co-pay was $15
 

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
The medical system is a rip, I have good insurance now but I had to do the COBRA thing for a year and it killed me financially. I had it because of preexisting things like my quick release shoulder. It seems like they try to recoup their costs, from treating people who can’t pay, by over charging the people with insurance.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
The medical system is a rip, I have good insurance now but I had to do the COBRA thing for a year and it killed me financially. I had it because of preexisting things like my quick release shoulder. It seems like they try to recoup their costs, from treating people who can’t pay, by over charging the people with insurance.
We thought we were going to have to do it for a year and calculated that we would be close to 10,000 in debt by the time it was all said and done.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,227
20,006
Sleazattle
He checked me with a stethoscope and an ear thing. Same thing he did last time and I saw at the bottom of my invoice thats how much it cost last time.

My co-pay was $15
That is insane. I can't see how a similar visit to my doctor would cost 1/10 as much.
 

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
We thought we were going to have to do it for a year and calculated that we would be close to 10,000 in debt by the time it was all said and done.
I would have to go back and look, but I think I was paying $1200 a month and this was three years ago....I can't imagine what it would be now.
 

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
I was there for 1.5hrs and of that time I was with a doctor for 3 minutes and 27 seconds. He gave me antibiotics because I'm starting to have an ear infection and a sinus infection.

That visit cost my insurance provider $587.
thats around $10,000/hour
 

eaterofdog

ass grabber
Sep 8, 2006
8,187
1,427
Central Florida
Anybody still under the illusion that your representatives work for you?

1 Get a group of lobbyists to spread some cash around DC.
2 Make sure every law passed that affects your industry benefits the industry.
3 Profit.

Say what you want about other Canada, France etc, but at least the people there aren't treated like a piece of garbage by the medical profession if they don't have oodles of cash or good insurance.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
thats around $10,000/hour
it sure would be nice if physicians got that whole fee.

first off, i agree the system of health insurance blows goats a la pinksh^H^H forget that. :D

but there are many reasons why the charge is so high:

1) the insurance companies don't pay up for all that is invoiced. ie, the emergency department charges $590, the insurance company says "hmm, we will pay you $300, take it or we won't give you anything next time".

2) as noted above in this thread charges for people with insurance are higher in order to subsidize/offset the discounted or charity care given to people without insurance.

3) the emergency department is a terribly inefficient way to care for people who aren't critically ill, aren't trauma victims, etc. stosh did the right thing by going to urgent care vs. the emergency room, but even that setup ("doc in a box" as per bigmike) is much less cost effective than seeing your REGULAR FAMILY PHYSICIAN (or internist).

4) having to charge insurance companies this and that leads to massive overhead: it wasn't just the physician that saw stosh that's getting paid, but also the security, the receptionist, the triage nurse, the medical coders, the biling department, the medical assistants, and sundry nurse practitioners and physician assistants who cover the workload.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
Im convinced that you dont get service unless you show up in an ambulance. Even then it sucks. I had to get stiches in my finger (too deep to super glue it) a few months ago and waited 3hours for 8 stiches and by the time the doc. started the first stich the numbing shot wore off.
such is life when people are triaged. the sickest get care first, and your cut on your finger did not warrant immediate attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage
 

h22ekhatch

Monkey
Jun 13, 2005
269
0
Portland
I relate to this thread on many levels. As someone who (even with insurance) managed to go pretty deep into debt over some medical problems I definitely feel uneasy about the way medical stuff is handled.

The last time I was in the hospital (outpatient, but had to stay for a week) the bill totaled about $100k. As a patient it sure didn't seem like they did much, but like Toshi said the insurance doesn't pay what the hospital charges. My basic understanding is that insurance companies have maximums based on a contract basis (worked off some sort of multiplier system). If for example the max allowable is $10k on a procedure, but the hospital charges $9k they will only get what they asked for. On the other hand, if they inflate all procedures by double (or whatever) they are always guaranteed to get the full payment. I guess it also helps for non insured patients because if the $10k procedure is charged at $15k but the patient asks for financial help, the hospital can treat the difference as a write off.

****That is the general idea I have been given by family who works in the medical/insurance world. I don't know anything beyond that.

It is weird to look at the bills sometimes. I have this one test I have to do once a month that is billed at around $279. The insurance company pays $12.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Infant Mortality Rates by country.
Note where the US falls.

A - Japan 1.8/1000
B - Czech Rep 2/1000
B - Finland 2/1000
B - Iceland 2/1000
B - Norway 2/1000
C - Austria 3/1000
C - France 3/1000
C - Germany 3/1000
C - Israel 3/1000
C - Italy 3/1000
C - Luxembourg 3/1000
C - Portugal 3/1000
C - Slovenia 3/1000
C - Spain 3/1000
D - Australia 4/1000
D - Belgium 4/1000
D - Canada 4/1000
D - Denmark 4/1000
D - Estonia 4/1000
D - Greece 4/1000
D - Ireland 4/1000
D - Lithuania 4/1000
D - Netherlands 4/1000
D - New Zealand 4/1000
D - Switzerland 4/1000
D - United Kingdom 4/1000
E - Hungary 5/1000
E - Malta 5/1000
E - Poland 5/1000
E - Slovakia 5/1000
E - USA - 5/1000
F - Latvia 6/1000
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Infant Mortality Rates by country.
Note where the US falls.
Healthcare overall WHO:

WHO World Health Report said:
1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America
38 Slovenia
39 Cuba
40 Brunei
41 New Zealand
42 Bahrain
43 Croatia
44 Qatar
45 Kuwait
46 Barbados
47 Thailand
48 Czech Republic
49 Malaysia
50 Poland
51 Dominican Republic
52 Tunisia
53 Jamaica
54 Venezuela
55 Albania
56 Seychelles
57 Paraguay
58 South Korea
59 Senegal
60 Philippines
61 Mexico
62 Slovakia
63 Egypt
64 Kazakhstan
65 Uruguay
66 Hungary
67 Trinidad and Tobago
68 Saint Lucia
69 Belize
70 Turkey
71 Nicaragua
72 Belarus
73 Lithuania
74 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
75 Argentina
76 Sri Lanka
77 Estonia
78 Guatemala
79 Ukraine
80 Solomon Islands
81 Algeria
82 Palau
83 Jordan
84 Mauritius
85 Grenada
86 Antigua and Barbuda
87 Libya
88 Bangladesh
89 Macedonia
90 Bosnia-Herzegovina
91 Lebanon
92 Indonesia
93 Iran
94 Bahamas
95 Panama
96 Fiji
97 Benin
98 Nauru
99 Romania
100 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
PS urgent care is like a no appointment needed Dr's office. I have this deep in my lungs cough that has lasted 2 weeks already.
Did you go to our show in Brooklyn? I've had this Nyquil-proof-I-wanna-die-at-3-am cough that has prevented me from getting much sleep for two weeks.

I'm blaming you. Thanks.
:rant:
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Did you go to our show in Brooklyn? I've had this Nyquil-proof-I-wanna-die-at-3-am cough that has prevented me from getting much sleep for two weeks.

I'm blaming you. Thanks.
:rant:
No I didn't go to your show. Also my cough isn't at night.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
H8R said:
---Quote---
37 United States of America
38 Slovenia
---End Quote---
:rofl:
If you look at the detail of the WHO report what is even worse is USA spends the most per capita and yet we are 37th place.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Didn't need to see that.
:(
That stuff never hit home till I had a child.

A friend of my wife's son died at birth because the hospital didn't have enough doctors on staff so she couldn't get a C-section when she and the baby were under stress. It's one of only 2 local hospitals that delivers babies around here. I live in a part of NY that is a somewhat typical middle class America area of the country. If a hospital can deliver the same amount of babies with less doctors I guess they can make more money. So what if you loose 1 in every 200 because of it. So you get sued for $300,000 when a bone re-attachment costs $1/2 million what's $300,000 in the scheme of things.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
That stuff never hit home till I had a child.

A friend of my wife's son died at birth because the hospital didn't have enough doctors on staff so she couldn't get a C-section when she and the baby were under stress. It's one of only 2 local hospitals that delivers babies around here. I live in a part of NY that is a somewhat typical middle class America area of the country. If a hospital can deliver the same amount of babies with less doctors I guess they can make more money. So what if you loose 1 in every 200 because of it. So you get sued for $300,000 when a bone re-attachment costs $1/2 million what's $300,000 in the scheme of things.
Remind me not to read any of your posts till after April.
 

Quo Fan

don't make me kick your ass
I say an Ortho a couple of years back and they gave me a brace for my wrist. Later I got a bill from my Ins co for $20. I could have gotten the brace at Walgreen's for $17.95. The Ortho billed the Ins co $100 for the brace.