This happened in America?

[catherine]

This issue is so close to home...
I have been a foster mother to several kids in the past few years. Our most recent foster son came to us with some kind of allergic reaction/skin rash. No medical info available. As the condition worsened, I tried to get him into a doctor in my area (suburbs of Chicago.) NOT ONE doctor (called probably twenty, including so-called "low income clinics") would see him because of his prior condition/being on Medicaid/no appointments available for the next two months... Finally I had no choice but to take him to ER, where they said he has an allergic rash (DUH!) and I should follow up with the pediatrician listed. Went to the ped--he said, yes, the boy has an allergy and really should be evaluated but that this MD wouldn't take anymore Medicaid patients so go find another doctor. This could have potentially been a life-threatening condition--who knows what the poor kid was allergic to--and my only source for medical help was an understaffed ER. And how much did the state have to pay for an ER visit?
Had a similar issue with another foster son who needed surgery, but again, no doctor in my area would see him because of Medicaid. What are working people who can't afford to traipse around looking for medical care for their children supposed to do?
So yes, people without insurance are forced to use the ER because doctors today refuse to see them. And God help us all if we are without insurance and have any kind of chronic health issue.
It is extremely frustrating to have a child with a medical condition not get proper treatment. Those of us who have experienced this know that our country desperately needs to reevaluate our health care/insurance industry.

I can't imagine being in a situation where one of my children needed to see a doctor and I had nowhere to go! How helpless you must have felt! I feel so sad for families who are not able to afford healthcare insurance and have to resort to going to the ER every time they need some medical treatment for their child.

I can see that there is a big problem with having to use the ER as there is no continuity of care. Where are a person's medical records kept?

 

[Galahad]

The thing is, it's a larger situation than most of us realize - in the US there are plenty of qualifiied people who want to attend medical school but our system keeps the supply of physicans low on purpose - few medical schools, huge tuition. It's just a sad situation fueled by greed.

THIS IS UTTER HORSE DOO-DOO!

 

[BuckNaked]

THIS IS UTTER HORSE DOO-DOO!

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Yes, it's common occurance with the decent doctors with good reputations. My husband had a lump in his neck - the docs office said they could see him in 5 months (gee, thanks, he could be dead by then).
Had a skin complication and couldn't get in to see our regular dermatologist for two months - couldn't wait that long, saw a doc-in the-box THREE TIMES - misdiagnoised and condition persisted. When we finally got in to see the dermatologist, she said the patient had been misdiagnoised. Well, great, if we could have seen her first, none of this would have happened.

It is safer to say this is your experience instead of making such a sweeping generalization. My experience is much different. I also have family living in Georgia who have no problem getting quick access to healthcare. It's not as "common" as you'd try to lead people to believe.

The thing is, it's a larger situation than most of us realize - in the US there are plenty of qualifiied people who want to attend medical school but our system keeps the supply of physicans low on purpose - few medical schools, huge tuition. It's just a sad situation fueled by greed.

I'm sure you have some evidence to support this contention.

 

[AllyandJack]

My best friend has been "uninsured" for the last 3 years. She got free care at Mass General Hospital. She had her own primary care doctor and her care was no less suitable than mine. When she got pregnant, she went on Medicaid and kept all of her doctors and got everything paid and her care never changed. When her DH got a real job (he had been working under the table and making $700./week clear while they're on public assistance, but that's a whole different story!), she was able to purchase Medicaid to cover them for the waiting period the job had for insurance. Again, all the same doctors, no issue with quality of care, etc. She paid between $50. and $150. a month depending on what treatment she had the prior month. Now, she has insurance, her DH works AND works the under the table job making about $400./week with that, in addition to his real job where he makes another $300./week after taxes and insurance and she has Medicaid to cover her co-payments!

She is not the only person I know getting free care or Medicaid or other state systems. A friend of mine has her kid on the NH Healthy Kids program because her DH is self-employed. He makes over $2,000 a week clear, but they only get the insurance for themselves and have him on the state program.

There ARE programs out there. There are programs to assist with COBRA payments if you lose your job. The problem is that we give away the free care and Medicaid to anyone who manages to jump over the border. As a result of this form of "compassion", citizens who hit rough times are told to suck it up when they need help. I've been there. I needed help. I was shown the door. Too bad, so sad. All I wanted was help paying the $750./month in COBRA. We had savings for the mortgage and other bills. We just needed help with the COBRA. Tough luck on me, I guess. I only pay the taxes, I never actually get to benefit from them - it was quite the learning experience.

If I called my family doctor right now, I'd be in to see him this afternoon. I never wait weeks, let alone months to see any of my doctors. Neither does my friend on Medicaid. Nobody I know has ever had to wait months to see a doctor - maybe it's because there are an abundance of quality doctors who choose to practice in this area. I'm not saying it doesn't happen in certain parts of the country, but it's certainly not a pervasive problem nationwide.

College and graduate school are expensive. I'm over $100,000 in debt thanks to my law degree. That's life. It's not a big conspiracy.