jerryc41 wrote:
Our medical system is not getting better. While my son was at work, he got a cryptic email from CVS saying that they couldn't contact his doctor to get a Rx refilled. This happens every time a Rx has to be renewed. I can always get through, so why can't they? I called my doctor, and I got a recording saying that because they were overwhelmed by Covid, I had to go to the "Patient Portal" to renew the Rx. I'm signed up on the portal, but my son isn't, and I saw no way to sign him up. I can't visit the office in person because I must have an appointment, and I have to phone them when I get there so they will let me in. I wrote a letter to the doctor, and I'll mail it when I go out. Is this progress?
My doctor's office joined a large group - Health Quest - after the founding doctor retired. Then that group joined a larger group - Nuvance. Now it's Nuvance Health Quest, which includes hundreds of practitioners and several hospitals. Besides that, the local hospital has also joined a group, and it's now Health Alliance. Health Quest, Health Alliance - life used to be simpler - and easier.
I watch an English doctor report on Covid every day. The US is leading the world in hospitalizations - way more than any other country. He said this is partly because so many Americans have other health problems, like obesity, and our healthcare system is so costly that it leaves many people on the verge of needing hospitalization, anyway. Getting Covid, even the milder omicron, pushes them over the edge, and they must be hospitalized.
A couple of years ago, I cut my thumb. After having it washed and bandaged at the ER, I received a bill for $3,897. Fortunately, my co-pay was only $75.
Our medical system is not getting better. While m... (
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Keep in mind that public health-care in other countries is rated by survivors. The dead tell no tales. In Canada there is a saying, "If you want good medical care, be a dog or a cat!" That's because the animal health-care system is private!
And if you want to see bureaucratic nightmares, I invite you to The UK, where it is impossible to see a doctor the same day. It's nice to never receive a bill, but those who are wealthy enough come to the USA for anything serious. I worked at a surgery clinic, in fact two of them, and a surprising number of patients have foreign mailing addresses. That's because either a certain nation's health-care system is incapable of providing the care required, or the patient doesn't trust public health-care to treat him for a certain ailment.
In the USA, most doctors have appointment slots that are not given out until that day. The first people to call in the morning get those appointments. In my system, if my doctor is unavailable, I can see a different doctor, that day! You probably can't sign up your son, because he's an adult, and you're logged in to 'you're' account! They can't have the patients just signing up whoever they want to!
But you may live in an area without competition. The care can get pretty shabby when that occurs, probably only slightly better than public health-care. UK does not permit pregnant foreigners in the courtry unless they got pregnant after they got there. They don't have the money to pay for even one more childbirth than is strictly necessary.
The US has a law, if a hospital accepts Medicare, it must provide prenatal care, even though that is not covered ordinarily by Medicare, regardless of the mother's insurance coverage. If you try really hard to get stuff done with your provider network, it'll work you like a dog! But if you don't really care, like medical care is optional to you, the network will climb to mountaintops to make sure you get the care they say you need.
Unless you're habitually late paying. Then they neglect you as you neglect them. The trick is: don't respond to any communication, like updating your record, any type of special services (dietician, diabetes nurse, exercise classes, and all that stuff). Once they're sure you don't really care, they'll put out the red carpet! It's on patients like you that they lose all their money, because you don't receive the maximum amount of care you're entitled to by your insurance.