Saturday, July 25, 2009
13 Weeks 6 Days: $200 For a 15 Minute Dr. Visit
A while back I went to the doctor because my blood pressure was through the roof (couldn't use my normal naturopathic doctor, long story). So I was told, since I have no medical insurance, I couldn't see the doctor until I paid a $150 deposit. Which I did. Then I saw a nurse practitioner (not even a real doctor) for maybe 15 minutes, no tests were done, she checked my blood pressure, listened to my lungs and wrote a prescription. That's it! I figured they would credit me back some of my deposit. Until today when I got a bill in the mail for another $50. It was $200 to see a nurse practitioner for 15 minutes?!?! Are you out of your mind? Our healthcare system is fucked. All you people that say a national healthcare program would ruin our country are crazy. It's already fucked! All you people are either 1. rich, 2. already have some healthcare that is paid for, or 3. not in need of healthcare (ie. young, unmarried, no kids). When you're middle class and want some healthcare to protect yourself, your wife and your upcoming baby and you find out that it would cost $500 a month plus a $5000 deductible (after the baby is born since the pregnancy is a pre existing condition), you open up to new options real easily. But it's easy to ignore if you aren't in a market for healthcare. What we have now is not working, plain and simple. It's time to try something else. So if you are one of those people not in the market for healthcare and you are campaigning against single payer or a public option: you can bite me. I need healthcare for myself and my family and I shouldn't have to pay out the ass for it because the insurance company wants 40% of premiums to be profit. This isn't meant to be an attack on anyone. Everyone is entitled to their views. But so am I and views against healthcare reform affect me A LOT. It's just really frustrating to hear people talk out their ass about how reforming healthcare will hurt the country while at the same time, I'm not able to get any good healthcare to save my life (almost literally). So if you don't need healthcare, shut up. If you have great healthcare that is affordable, by all means clue me in. But if you want to tell me I'm wrong, then you better be ready to tell me about your healthcare or experience shopping for healthcare or how to get great affordable healthcare at the same time. If you can't do that, don't bother. I don't need to hear people talk just so they can hear themselves talk.
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Oh I hear ya... for me: basically the gov. gives the school dist. so much money to break into employees insurance coverage based on the amount of hours we work. I have like 7 plans to choose from (all with various, ridiculous co pays and deductibles). I have to choose the 2nd to the best plan if I don't want to pay extra out of my paycheck and then I have to pay another $80 to add Luna to the plan. It works out to be about $700 A MONTH that is being paid for Luna and I to have insurance with a $25 co pay per visit, 80% procedure and test coverage after an annual $100 deductible per person.
ReplyDeleteOne time Luna and I both had visits with the same doctor 15 minutes apart. Not only was the doctor over and hour late, but her saw us both at the same time and for only maybe 2 minutes... in and out just like that... and I still was charges two co-pays. I don't see that doctor anymore. I felt my knee surgery was handled very impersonally and quickly. In - out - bill!
So not only do we get screwed on insurance premiums and costs, but then you have to waste time and money finding a good doctor that actually cares about people health and not how many patients they can burn through in one day.
I agree with you 10000000%. After being in the French hospital for 3 days, and seeing how well the system worked (the DRs did their own charting and ultrasounds-you got the results right then, not 8 hrs later)nurse just did nursing such as food, baths and blood draws. I even had a nurse apologize to me cause she thought she was taking too much time with the other lady in the room and ignoring me! I am all for a national health system. Heather
ReplyDeleteHave you seen that ad featuring a woman from Canada declaring that she would have been dead if she relied on the Canadian health care system? She lives near me. People are freaking out that she would say such things. Very few people would consider giving up our current system, flawed as we know it is at times. I feel bad for you Yanks who don't have quality health care.
ReplyDeleteDonny and I watched the President's news talk about healthcare reform a few eveings ago. Sounds to us like he's moving in the right direction. We liked how he pointed out the even though he has the best healthcare in the world, that doesn't make it right for the rest of us to be stuggling like we are. Donny is retiring soon and keeping us both covered is a SCARY thought. Also, my doctor - who I absolutely adore and will spend as much time with a patient as THEY need - doesn't believe in having P.A.s doing the work the doctors should be doing. The way she put it is: "Maybe I'm being possessive, but they're MY patients and I'm going to see them myself." She also said that The Doctors Clinic head honchos are trying to get the doctors there to have P.A.s do a lot of the stuff instead of the doctors. My Doc is fighting it. Everyone should be so lucky to have a Doc like mine (and now Janet and Luna's - - and my Mom, too.)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Although I eventually plan to become part of the healthcare system, I feel that it is in serious need of reform. It's taking me forever to get a root canal because I can't find a dentist who takes my insurance.
ReplyDeleteI'm a new follower. Check me out at http://awkwardyoungwoman.blogspot.com