whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

So true. And then there is the “listen carefully as the menu options have changed…”.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

And, "Call volume is higher than usual..."

sgt hop Loc: baltimore md,now in salisbury md

exactly....

mindzye Loc: WV

"Please listen to our menu that is intentionally longer than most patients patience".......

ELNikkor

and "we don't serve patients with THAT insurance anymore"

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

The real problems we have is the medical field is taken over by the insurance companies and lately the political field. ANOTHER problem is the medical field has become so specialized which is not a problem because it results in a better healthcare.

lenben Loc: Seattle

Doctors and hospitals are being taken over by venture capitalists (vulture capitalists) only interested in the bottom line so patients are allotted 15 minutes, docs are penalized for exceeding this; charges are added on in ways that make no sense except to add profits;// Medicine did better when docs were in charge-now it is MBA graduates who know nothing about medicine but lots about accounting and money. There ought to be a law against this.

Flash Gordon

Jerry, most of what you say is accurate. We are close in age. My wife and I both have regular Medicare and a supplement from Blue Cross Blue Shield, Plan F. When we moved from Virginia to Florida we only needed to change our drug plan. Good RX is oftentimes better than our drug plan. When we moved we saw an insurance agent who told us that if we ever received a bill someone screwed up. That has been the case for us. We never receive a bill. No copays, nothing. I understand if you have Plan F you can keep it. If you ever had it you may be able to get it back. No new subscribers. Apparently the US Govt thought we were getting too good a deal. They wanted us to have more skin in the game. We have plenty of skin in the game. Our premiums are quite high and going to get higher. More geezers like us are dying off leaving fewer participants in plan F. There was/is the big push for Medicare Advantage plans. Maybe okay for some. It sounded like a scam to us. Medical care in this country is now run by the large corporations. Guess what their prime objective is?

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

When I was born in 1947, my life expectancy was 64+ years. A child born today can expect to live 76+ years... and that includes pandemic deaths and 100k overdose deaths yearly. By virtue of having made it to age 76, the charts throw in a bonus of eleven years or so. So, my projected lifespan is about twenty-three years longer than I originally bargained for. Additionally, if I'm afflicted with a dreaded disease, my suffering will be offset somewhat or eliminated altogether by modern drugs. The point is this... in spite of all the less-than-ideal circumstances that I see mentioned here, somebody in the medical-industrial complex must be doing something right.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Dannj

Good point. I’m also 76 and I’ve made it this far with the help of a few common meds for common ailments. At my last physical my Doc said I’m likely could for at least another ten years…. but he wouldn’t put it in writing😂 I also have great insurance.
Great progress has been made in the medical field in terms of diagnoses, medications, treatments, etc.; the problem lies in the access. If I have a symptom that worries me or research tells me could be serious, I can get it checked out and get treatment…or. hopefully, just peace of mind…without much concern about cost. That’s where the problem lies. Everyone should have the same ease of access and treatment.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Coincidentally, I see my eye doctor on Tuesday and my dermatologist on Thursday. I'm pretty sure the GP is also due this month.