The medical system in this country is totally fucked.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Sounds like you don't have very good insurance.

I had Covid and spent 4 days in the hospital including an ambulance ride from the local ER outpost. It cost me exactly $250. No wait to being seen. My wife aslo had Covid and spent 3 days inthe hospital and it cost us $250. No wait to be seen. This was at the height of Covid in December/January of 2020/2021.

I choose jobs based on benefits ... which insurance is a huge part of. Otherwise I could be making much more and paying like 20% copays. It isn't worth it to me especially as we get older.

BTW ... many hospitals around here in Orlando get you right in. There are some who do not and you play the waiting game but most locals know who they are.

Dave doesn't have bad insurance by USA standards, you have outstanding insurance.  Not everyone has the flexibility to choose a job with great benefits.

[Dave Gray]

I have good insurance by comparative standard, provided by the State.

My issue isn't that they only paid 3/4th of it up to the deductible.  It's the cost of the service being 34K is fucking crazy.  I didn't even get admitted.  I sat in a chair in the lobby.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I have good insurance by comparative standard, provided by the State.

My issue isn't that they only paid 3/4th of it up to the deductible.  It's the cost of the service being 34K is fucking crazy.  I didn't even get admitted.  I sat in a chair in the lobby.

You may have paid more than 1/4.  It is not unusual for the following arrangement....

Insured pays 20% of list. 
Insurance company has an arrangement that they get a discount of 78% off list.

List $1000
Insured pays $200
Insurance company pays $20.

Procedure would cost the government $50 with zero copay in most European countries.

[Spider-Dan]

I choose jobs based on benefits ... which insurance is a huge part of. Otherwise I could be making much more and paying like 20% copays. It isn't worth it to me especially as we get older.

So if the US had single-payer health care - like, say, Canada - and you didn't have to worry about co-pays, you could be making much more (and also: have increased practical freedom in choosing a job).

Interesting.

[CF DolFan]

So if the US had single-payer health care (like, say, Canada) and you didn't have to worry about co-pays, you could be making much more.
Interesting.

But I would be waiting a hell of a lot more and not seeing who I would like to see. Rich people in the countries you guys like to quote come to the US for treatment in many circumstances. It isn't because of our insurance programs.

[Spider-Dan]

But I would be waiting a hell of a lot more and not seeing who I would like to see.

Except that Dave lives in America and still had to wait, as per this thread!

So unless you're saying that flashing your platinum insurance card would have let you jump the line Dave had to wait in, we already live in the hellscape that our overpriced health insurance is supposed to prevent.

[Dave Gray]

I waited 5 hours in intense pain for essentially no service, was told to see a specialist, and then he wasn't available for 3 weeks.  It wasn't ideal.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

But I would be waiting a hell of a lot more and not seeing who I would like to see. Rich people in the countries you guys like to quote come to the US for treatment in many circumstances. It isn't because of our insurance programs.

US does have an excellent heathcare system for the ultrawealthy.  I completely agree.  That is why we are the number one choice for billionaires living in third world countries.

However unless you are part of the 1% our system has longer waits, less services, and worse care than most other industrialized countries.  The wealthiest 1% of Americans can get better healthcare than all Canadian, but all Canadians get better healthcare than 99% of Americans.  Being I am not part of the 1% I would prefer the Canadian system.  

[dolphins4life]

I wonder how similar Massachusetts' system is to the Canadian system.

I have never had to wait too long to see doctors.  My rates have been reasonable.

I believe Massachusetts was the first state to implement universal health care

[Dave Gray]

I am legitimately worried now --

Like, not even joking, I don't think that I would ever go to the hospital ER again ever, for any reason.  If I felt the signs of heart attack and tingling, I'd probably just hope it was anxiety, because you can't risk a 34 thousand dollar bill.  And I can see it cutting my life way short, unintentionally.

There's pretty much nothing that would make me go back.

[Spider-Dan]

Dave, your insurance should have a yearly cap on your out-of-pocket expenditures; you may have reached it already.

I seriously doubt that you would ever be asked to pay $34k out-of-pocket for one visit, though FL is a non-ACA state so I can't say for sure.

[Dave Gray]

Dave, your insurance should have a yearly cap on your out-of-pocket expenditures; you may have reached it already.

I seriously doubt that you would ever be asked to pay $34k out-of-pocket for one visit, though FL is a non-ACA state so I can't say for sure.

It's not that I'm going to have to pay 34K.  I think my entire family caps at 8K out of pocket.   

But I wouldn't willingly pay 8K for what I went through.

I guess the only thing is that I didn't know what I had.  It turns out, they couldn't do anything for me.  They gave me a prescription for Advil and some printable papers on kidney stones.  No pain relief or coaching or advice on-site.

Also, it's not like they said "hey, we'd like to do this scan.  It costs 20K."  They just do shit to you and that's that.  Was it necessary to give me a 20K scan?  Kidney stones are pretty common.  We were diagnosing that long before a CT scan was invented.

It all feels like an insurance scam to me.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

It's not that I'm going to have to pay 34K.  I think my entire family caps at 8K out of pocket.   

But I wouldn't willingly pay 8K for what I went through.

I guess the only thing is that I didn't know what I had.  It turns out, they couldn't do anything for me.  They gave me a prescription for Advil and some printable papers on kidney stones.  No pain relief or coaching or advice on-site.

Also, it's not like they said "hey, we'd like to do this scan.  It costs 20K."  They just do shit to you and that's that.  Was it necessary to give me a 20K scan?  Kidney stones are pretty common.  We were diagnosing that long before a CT scan was invented.

It all feels like an insurance scam to me.

In general you should avoid the ER unless you have no other choice.  If your issue is an emergency you need to go to the ER.  If you can wait for primary care provider that is preferable. 

Not saying going to the ER was a mistake in this case, but if you can avoid the ER it is better.  Your wait was in large part because triage decided that someone else needed treatment now for something life or death and your condition was not life or death. 

[Dave Gray]

In general you should avoid the ER unless you have no other choice.  If your issue is an emergency you need to go to the ER.  If you can wait for primary care provider that is preferable. 

Not saying going to the ER was a mistake in this case, but if you can avoid the ER it is better.  Your wait was in large part because triage decided that someone else needed treatment now for something life or death and your condition was not life or death. 

I am not someone who goes to the ER.  I'm 44 and have never been in my life until now.

I was crawling around on the floor like a dog after many, many hours of excruciating suffering.  I didn't even go to stop the pain.  I went because I didn't know that the pain would eventually stop and feared that something was very wrong with that.

[Phishfan]

It sounds like you went to a shit hospital Dave. I've had kidney stones twice and generally they have a good idea that's what they are dealing with very quickly, they still doped me up very good. Provided they determine it's small enough to pass that's all the treatment there is to be had. I was at least put into rooms.