Yeah, no shit. I have a full time job, supposedly great health insurance, but I still can’t actually afford to go to the doctor (never mind an ER). You’re God damn right the healthcare system is broken!
Here’s the fun part.
It’s been like this for at least 20+ years.
I remember when my dad lost his job around 2002. I was a little kid and my mom told me to be careful when I’m playing outside, because if I broke my arm we could lose our house. That’s something I don’t think should ever be a reality, or something that parents or children should worry about in a functioning country.
Yes, but longer. It’s absurd. Not sure exactly when premiums really got out of control, though. There’s probably a good chart out there.
Democrats tried to fix this almost… 15 years ago (“thanks Obama”). Critical failure: no Medicare option for all. Most civilized democracies implemented right to free care 30+ years ago, should’ve been easy to follow. (Then higher education as well.) For-profit health insurance companies and their armies of lobbyists are evil and should be burned to the ground.
Because i think you’re the thinking sort, I suggest you Google ‘how Democrats sabotaged Obamacare’ or similar, select a source or sources you trust and see what you take away from your reading.
Edit: look… I don’t give a single shit about downvotes, what i want is for you to see… Just do it. Don’t be afraid. Do it, and see for yourself
In my view it was similar to the recent Manchin / Sinema travesty. Zero Republican votes, plus some very cowardly or corrupt “centrist Democrats” that neuter or kill bill. A classic recipe for disappointment.
Fuck Joe Lieberman
You are right. It was eerily similar. There was even a single scapegoat! His name was Ben Nelson, and he was a former insurance executive.
He joined politics for a few years, vsinglehandedly destroyed the public option, and then quit public service.
Makes you think, huh?
Am aware, this is why I avoid seeking medical care.
Fucking tired of people who suddenly see a problem when a) it happens to them or b) when they’re no longer relying on the problem for their income.
It’s the republican way. They live in delusion land and when reality hits them in the face they get all pissy about it.
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Most Democrat politicians are conservatives by every international standard. They are often called neoliberals.
The reason we have a corporatocracy and do not have a legitimate healthcare system is because of conservatives, many of whom are Democrat neoliberals, unfortunately. We don’t have a progressive party. We have a conservative party and a more conservative party.
We need progressive minded non-politicians to say “fuck it” and run for office. If Boebert, Gomert, and Santos can do it, literally ANYONE can.
Looking for work? Run for office. The less of a politician and more of an honest progressive you are, the more needed you are! Do it! Do it now!
We act like these politicians are not friendly with each other regardless of D or R. Like they aren’t getting together in DC bars just like we do after work and joking around about the bills they blocked today or the votes they were able to get. They don’t care. They’re all on the same side they just have to appease different groups of people at home.
We have a long way to go, man.
Sometimes, it still doesn’t hit them though. They’ll get a $20,000 bill and say “thank God I don’t live in Canada or this would be even worse!”
“In shithole countries like Europe I’d just have died! Probably still waiting to see the doctor!”
I mean… that’s kind of why we never stop ranting and raving… To force them to find new sources of compassion and to find empathy for the other which they weren’t taught by their family of origin. I’m tired of dealing with half the country being raised like thoughtless sociopathic fucking savages and eating the poor and each other.
To be fair to him, it seems to be a common thread with many in the medical profession, probably because they dedicate themselves to a system that is fundamentally broken. Even the likes of Doctor Mike (Medical YouTuber, whose content I really enjoy) have painted things like universal healthcare in a way that highlights the problems without painting the full picture of why (systemic underfunding to push privatisation).
I don’t want to excuse it, but it’s a very common problem that few want to address in the field.
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Make Congress abide by the healthcare they make us abide by and this will be fixed overnight.
They live on a different planet. Our representatives are completely out of touch and there’s no bringing them back. For the few good ones there are 99 career polticians out there carving out a niche for themselves and their families.
Who watches the watchmen? Well I’ve come up with a new branch named aptly:
The Duty Takers
99% agreed. I don’t believe there are currently any “good ones”. Everyone thinks “their guy” is going good and the rest suck and it’s why we never have change in the guard.
Quite literally
A couple years ago, I ended up in an ambulance due to what turned out to be a small urethra stone. At the hospital, I had an x-ray. When that didn’t find the problem, they gave me a CT scan. Once they found the stone, they called in a urologist. I got a consultation, prescription, passed the stone later that day (it was tiny), and recovered very quickly. My total bill was 243’000 Korean won - just about $200 USD. I only had the mandatory insurance that was paid for by my employer. Something to the tune of $50 a month that they are legally required to pay.
The US’s system is completely fucked. Broken beyond repair. I wish them luck.
I paid 1200 USD a month for a family of 3 for my health insurance to have the privilege of paying more a hospital bill.
I had to go to the ER because I slit my pinky on some glass and waited in the ER for 5 hours. They had to rip then dried blood and paper towel that was stuck on my finger because it took so long.
After all that, I had to pay 3000usd of my own money which didn’t cover my minimum. Why DA FUCK DO I EVEN NEED INSURANCE!?!?!?
The fucking nurse on staff that came to help me for a few minutes was not within my network. Ya fuck that hospital too.
For small wounds like that I generally recommend an urgent care clinic over the ER. Way cheaper and they can handle that shit. Save the ER for proper trauma.
It’s illegal for them to send you a bill because a provider isn’t your network. One of the few good things passed under Trump. Lmk if you need any specific help or information in disputing that bill.
Edit: assuming this ER visit happened on or after 1/1/2022. Or potentially earlier depending on your state.
It has been years. I actually decided to move out of the USA. Paid the bill and decided to be more careful.
My wife had to go to the ER and we went to a hospital that was in network. The hospital is indeed in network but the fucking ER is a separate entity and was not. I guess we should have been better informed consumers. /s
ER was in-network. The nurse and doctor was also in-network. The second nurse, who connected me to the ECG, and the person who read the ECG was not in-network. No way of knowing at the time. Balance billing was permitted in that state at that time, which out-of-network provider used to the full extent.
I’m still salty about that.
That is seriously fucked up.
For me, I called my insurance on the phone while bleeding profusely and wanted to make sure I went to the right hospital. I still got hit with out of network bills.
Do you have Urgent Care near you? They could have done some stitches.
For whoever doesn’t know. Unless you are going to die within the next 6 hours. Go to urgent care.
Not gonna say the system ain’t broken but that’s what the system wants you to do.
My insurance is $75 to go to Urgent Care. Maximum payout.
ER means $3000 minimum just to go in the door and goes up to infinity.
Urgent Care can handle stitches, and if you need to go to the ER they can make that determination.
It was Sunday and all Urgent care is not 24 hours in my area. I actually waited so long in the ER that one of the Urgent Cares opened, but at that point I was already inside and triaged. If I knew I would wait inside for another 2 hours, I would have left.
Yeah but in the UK they have to wait 2 weeks to see a specialist
We have waits for specialists too. To get my vasectomy, I had to wait six weeks from my referral to my first consult, then another month from the consult to the actual surgery.
And then I got a bill from the surgical center, a bill from the urologist, and a bill from the anesthesiologist, despite only going to one office for the whole thing.
If I tried to go see my primary care doctor right now in the US, I’d probably have to wait at least 3 months for an appointment.
Where the fuck are you in the US that you do not have to wait for specialists? You living in Fantasy Land? Even a simple specialist like a dermatologist is a 2-3 month wait.
He said UK. We only wish we only needed to wait 2 weeks for a specialist.
Yeah I know, it was a cruel joke. But if you talk to a con about this, you’re sure to find this in their argument salad
OECD data shows that wait times don’t significantly vary based on how a system is funded. The USA is just plain bad at wait times. That being said, the UK’s system is not the best example.
Lol, we wish we could wait 2 weeks. My wife needed a tumor removed in her stomach and took 6 months.
I just scheduled and appointment for my PCP. His next available is in June. Fucking 4 months for primary care.
I’ll take wait times in the UK with no bill over this bullshit any day.
If he thinks five grand is a big hospital bill, he’s not living in the real world.
5 grand for something that can be fixed by quite literally buying salt and distilled water (obviously give or take a month, but that doesn’t matter). Idk where you live but that shit is cheap where I am.
It’s not that 5 grand is a big bill. It’s that they’re charging 5 grand for salt water.
Don’t go to the ER for dehydration. If it’s really that bad, find an IV lounge that can just give you an IV bag with some vitamins and maybe some meds.
It’s like $150-$200, which I know is still expensive, but you don’t need insurance and it’s a quick in-and-out.
When that dehydrated, injecting liquids is way more effective than drinking them.
I highly doubt he just felt a little parched and decided to go to the ER. I also wouldn’t suggest to others to diagnose themselves as dehydrated and go to an IV clinic (unless they perform medical check-ups from licensed physicians as well).
In an interview Monday with Business Insider, Adams said he went to the ER in Scottsdale, Arizona, in January after he became lightheaded while hiking on a work trip.
From his wiki he looks like a fit military figure who’s probably not had the many health complications (is also still in his 40’s). As a doctor himself and probably his colleagues around him (work trip), I imagine the recommendation is to get checked-up asap. It’s also kind of ironic you’re calling out the former Surgeon General and a licensed doctor while giving alternative medical advice lol.
It’s not even alternative medical advice though. You go to the ER for dehydration and they’re going to give you an IV of fluids and vitamins. I know because I’ve done it several times.
Whatever the Surgeon General’s issue was, I’m sure he knew what was best for him and of course go to the ER if you’re that bad.
But I’ve personally been in situations where an ER visit would have been warranted. I’m not talking just parched, it’s when I’ve been frequently vomiting for 18 hours every 20 minutes and severely dehydrated because of my migraines. But instead of needing the ER, it took 10 minutes to get an IV at an IV lounge that took care of it for far cheaper and quicker. And then I’m not taking up a bed from someone who could use it more.
There’s nothing wrong with getting IVs because the people administering them are trained nurses. It’s not “alternative medicine” because it’s literally what the ER gives you.
lol sorry, I didn’t mean “alternative medicine”. I was referring to alternative (noun 1. One of a number of possible choices or courses of action) medical advice. Though, I haven’t looked into the claims the IV clinics make which might skew towards the “alternative medicine” side (ducked it, FTC has been going after a lot of them for false advertising). But, we’re talking strictly dehydration so that’s moot.
I am glad that the clinics worked out for you and sympathize as well coming from a family with a history of migraines. If you have a diagnosed medical history with a common side effect and you personally decide to go treatment first without further investigation that is your personal choice (again, I have no clue what the intake is like at one of these clinics i.e. blood pressure, heart rate, etc). You are self-diagnosing though regardless in this instance, same as anyone taking some otc medicine for pain (which can be fatal like a gallbladder or mundane like some bloating). This seems like a case of a sudden-onset of symptoms which he hadn’t experienced before, which can happen as someone gets older. I took offense to your comment as the dehydration diagnosis didn’t come till after his visit, so “knowing” beforehand is a gamble in this situation and one I wouldn’t lightly pass onto others as good medical advice.
Are IV lounges something anyone can just walk in and do?
Yeah, it’s actually kinda wild because the first time I went in, something about it felt illegal. But nope, they’re perfectly fine and a great way to treat dehydration, hangovers, migraines, general pain, nausea, etc. Anyone can walk in and use them.
They’ve personally saved me several times when my migraines have gotten to their 10/10 point because the meds hit so much more effectively through IV than orally.
I’ve been considering starting a vitamin regiment and, after doing a little research based on the information you’ve given me, this seems perfect. How often do you go in?
If you happen to live anywhere near an IV lounge, I guess.
This is the worst advice anyone has ever given.
I’m living in the real world, most I’ve ever had to pay was parking and I guess a few bucks for meds. I remember how $100 for meds a fe years ago made me cringe.
But I also live in a first world country, with first world problems.
Fuck this joker. He’s the IDIOT that said, as the SURGEON GENERAL, “Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!” (Tweet was then deleted). He should lose his medical license and be imprisoned for the excessive number of deaths his lies caused.
When exactly did he say this? At the beginning of the pandemic when things were still uncertain?
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with you if he said that at the beginning. To be clear, I know masks were an effective protection against the coronavirus. But at that time there was a lot of uncertainty, first, and second, he was half-right: there was a shortage of masks, and medical professionals needed them at a very critical time. I followed that advice. Then when the CDC said “oops, no actually DO wear masks!” I started wearing them.
So… I’m not saying he was right. I’m just saying we should judge people in context. Don’t pile him up with the true idiot anti-mask bundle.
They were lying in order to get as many masks as possible to healthcare staff. Perhaps they saved more lives doing so
And perhaps they didn’t.
I’m not putting the full blame of the Anti-Covid nonsense on him - but that decision was certainly straw on the camels back. I know I will never forget.
Sure, and I agree it was a bad idea because it burned so much credibility. And secondly, I can’t imagine it making a real difference. Those who had the means to acquire masks at that time wouldn’t be dumb enough to believe it.
And I also agree that it’s good to remind everybody every once in a while.
But my main point is that they didn’t lie because they are bad people that were preparing the masses for a one world government - they did it because they saw hospital staff falling ill or dying at unsustainable rates and were willing to do almost anything to slow that.
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching
That’s technically true, but the correct answer is more nuanced then the average adult has the attention span to understand or the character limit of twitter.
Masks are better at stopping the wearer from spreading it to other people, but a lot of people were getting infected through spit going into their eyes. Did this post occur during the mask shortage were even surgeons couldn’t get the masks they needed to do their work? The quote you gave said to stop buying masks, not to stop wearing them. Best practice was to use a reusable mask and face shield.
We’ve already had this discussion ad nauseum since 2020. It’s 2024. Just stop with spreading information that can fuel the anti-mask bullshit.
I understand that wearing eye protection can reduce the risk of catching the virus. But to say “masks are not effective” being technically true is irresponsible.
People only accepting simple answers are why so many people died. I never said masks aren’t effective. You reduced my comment until it lost it’s original meaning.
Yeah, sorry, man. Freaking anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers had me on edge for so long, that it was practically an automatic response.
I have a little experience with the medical billing system for this fantastic country that I’m lucky and unlucky enough not to live in (yes, both lucky and unlucky; different reasons).
It’s messed up. There are band-aids in place to keep costs down for charges billed to medicare and medicaid, but that just makes the whole thing worse because it adds a lot of extra complexity and everyone else likely gets fleeced to make up for the new overhead. The medicare 8 minute rule itself isn’t that complex, but add modifiers for activities performed by different providers (in therapy, this could be a PT and a PTA providing the same service, for different lengths of time, on the same visit)? It goes NUTS.
Single payer healthcare with optional private coverage would solve nearly everything. The cost to the patient first and foremost, but also the cost to the government itself, due to greatly decreased complexity. And private clinics and private insurance don’t have to disappear, they can still provide more high-end services, or shorter wait times, for those who can ACTUALLY AFFORD IT.
Dr. Jerome Adams, who was the nation’s top doctor from 2017 to 2021, said he was slammed with an almost $5,000 bill after being treated for dehydration at a Mayo Clinic emergency department, where he got labs and a few IV bags.
Awesome. I’m going there at the end of March.
Oh shoot, you’re the person who’s been having trouble eating, aren’t you. Man, I hope they’re able to help you out. So sorry for your health issues.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
You’re gonna get SLAMMED!!! They’re gonna bite your toes put your dick in a curling iron! You’ll leave with a cured appetite and they’ll FUCKING DUNK ON YOU with a $600 Billion bill! Don’t forget to take advantage of their financial assistance; the whole medical system may be financially and morally ruined, but there are some ways to navigate semi-relatively unscathed.
I’m guessing we’re going to get through our $10,000 deductible at least.
I genuinely hope it goes well. I excited await hearing about your progress.
Thanks. I sure hope so too because we have no idea where to go next.
There’s a pretty good prison in Terre Haute
I’m fairly certain a federal prison is not going to help me with my medical issues…
When the system can’t milk you for any more wealth, your next destination is a poor person death camp.
Oh, buddy, best of luck!
Thanks!
You’re planning on visiting the ER?
No, but it’s the same hospital.
If you’re curious why I’m going there, I wrote about it in Casual Conversation- https://lemmy.world/post/12194311
Long story short: I haven’t been able to eat any solid food for over six months and no one knows why.
(Please no medical advice, I am begging you. The general you, not you specifically.)
Have you tried chewing it?
I know you’re joking, but I am literally unable to.
Nothing is more frustrating than people giving unsolicited medical advice. I’ve IBD and I mentioned on a post about people buying cheap frozen food why some people do it. I explained that I literally can’t do prep, cook and watch the stuff cooking due to the symptoms when having a flare up. Wouldn’t you know I got the typical reply that I should learn to cook (I know how) and eat healthily and seek medical advice (I’ve a specialist nurse I can contact at any time and it’s difficult to eat anything when in constant pain and I feel nauseous after eating) so I feel you dude with not wanting to hear it at all no matter how well meaning some people are.
And they really are well-meaning, I know that, but it’s so tiring to say “yes, we’ve been over that. It’s not that. I don’t fit those symptoms.” or whatever over and over.
I hope you find a solution for your IBD that helps you, I’m sure that’s really awful.
The Mayo Clinic specializes in a lot of niche stuff which means people often have to fly from all over the country to visit this specific hospital in Minnesota
I know. I count myself lucky live less than an hour away from it. My grandma has actually gotten flown in on mayo one before for an emergency (speaking of expensive bills).
My original comment was a joke because the top post was talking about the surgeon general going to one of their emergency rooms and op was talking about planning to go there by which they meant mayo clinic but it could also be read as them meaning the ER.
Like mayonnaise?
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
Surely you’ve seen the movie Airplane!
Oh look at that. The sky is blue. Oh, and water is… wet! It’s wet everyone! Oh, no, not water, it’s piss being thrown at us by our government’s lack of representation, ethical apathy, and greed.
This isn’t news, it just underscores how out-of-touch some demographics are to what most of us deal with.
Only $5000? He got lucky.
“Here’s a bottle of water, that’ll be $5000. Have a nice day.”
It was probably Pedialyte
Intravenous Pedialyte, I love it. Wish they added Red 8 and Blue 40 to IV bags to make them more fun and so that my kids begged to go and get IV drips.
Really, did you need to go to the ER to know that? Shit has been broken for a while now.
Lots of people think it’s only the uninsured that get screwed, but it’s common to get a surprise 5,000 bill a few weeks after you’ve paid your copay.
But here’s the trick:
As of July 2022 the credit bureaus no longer report medical debt. So just don’t pay the greedy fuckers.
