This is why health care is so high

[apirateslifeforme]

My DBF recently had an appointment with a doctor who took over his previous (now-deceased) doctor's practice. He was very nervous; he'd never met her, plus it was his first "man-exam," if you get my drift She diagnosed him with hypertension and scheduled a follow-up for one month.

Now, he donates platelets every 3-4 weeks and part of the preliminary for that is his BP. They log it on the card he carries with him. It's never been anywhere near high; it's always low-normal. So in the month between the appointments, my mother - a registered medical assistant - manually took his BP every other day and logged it. He took it with him on his follow-up.

He was there for 5 minutes. A medical assistant took his BP using the machine, went to talk to the doctor, and came back to tell him to make another appointment in 2 months. He tried to show her the log my mother had done, but she blew it off, "I'm not the doctor and she doesn't have time to see you today."

For that visit, he had to pay his $30 copay and his insurance was billed the other $224 for the office visit. And he never even saw the doctor

 

[smidgy]

I'll retell a story I told here in 2007.

I had a fish bone stuck in my throat. I was at a fish fry,.. it jsut stuck there. for 3 days. It was sticking out of my tonsil. nothing I did could remove it.(eating bread, etc.)
my doctor said I needed to go to the ER. (in case there might be "complications" he couldn't deal with in the office.) like it might be "embedded," whatever.
ok, silly as I felt, I went to my local hospital. (it wasn't too bad, but really starting to irritate me, sticking out there)
3 hours in the waiting room, I finally saw a doctor. (very cute black guy with dreadlocks,.. but.. I digress)
anyhoo....It took him 5 minutes to shine a light in my throat and go in there with forceps and "PLUCK" that little bugger out! but, it had gotten infected, so he gave me a prescription for antibiotics.

now, come to find out, I THOUGHT I had insurance. but the company hubby worked for was "going under" . we didn't KNOW we didn't have insurance. the bill came to $900!. for those 5 minutes!
If I had known how much it would cost, and that we didn't have insurance, I would have told hubby to go in with his long nose pliers!!!

so: 5 minutes with a doctor(cute or not) and long tongs: $900!

 

[drnriordan]

The high cost of health care is due, in part, to the over-use and abuse by a portion of patients. My DH, who was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer 2 years ago, had to make a trip to the ER last year. While we were waiting, there was a woman near us who was there with a young girl who was maybe 4 years old. From what we could gather at the triage desk, the girl had suppposedly hurt her ankle. The problem was, the adult couldn't even tell which ankle and the child was running and jumping around, essentially hop-scotching, with no apparent issue. So, that woman had that child seen by emergency services, probably to the tune of several hundred dollars, for absolutely no reason. And somehow, I suspect that it was on some sort of an assistance program too.

Also, I work for a disability insurance company and see the people with vague complaints who doctor shop around and go for tens of thousands of dollars worth of unnessecary tests to learn again and again that there is nothing physically wrong with them, they simply don't want to work. It is so frustrating to me, as I have a husband with cancer who makes such an effort to work 4 days a week, because he doesn't want to be sick. Yet there are all these wanna-be "disabled" people out there collecting social security disability off the backs of all of us who work hard, and over-burdening the medical care system

That's one of the reasons why healthcare is so expensive. OK, off my soapbox now.

 

[Dr. J.]

As a greedy doctor who will be paying off med school loans until I retire, I am relieved there are so many experts out there to solve the national healthcare crisis caused by doctors. Give the President a call to lend your opinions, then maybe you can go cap the oil leak.

 

[Justsyd2]

After reading all of the "I got shafted" posts, I thought I'd post this one:

My brother had a vein explode in his leg a couple of weeks ago. It was bad. It looked liked "Saw V" in the bathroom. 911 was called, and he was taken to the emergency room where the vein was repaired. He was home within an hour, and with no insurance but fully expecting to pay the bill off in full, he received a bill this week for....$145.00 for the emergency room! That's not a mistake -- he was discounted for NOT having insurance. So, my point is, the system is starting to work, and not all of it is bad.

 

[eliza61]

As a greedy doctor who will be paying off med school loans until I retire, I am relieved there are so many experts out there to solve the national healthcare crisis caused by doctors. Give the President a call to lend your opinions, then maybe you can go cap the oil leak.

LOL. Don't take it personally J, I take every thing on forums with a grain of salt.
I find on the Dis
No one is in Debt
No one's kids ever are a problem
and every one knows some one who is causing all the ills on the country. Use the search function and search "food stamps" I'm amazed at how many people know "welfare mamas who are living like kings while on food stamps" while they live in shoe boxes.

 

[rebster]

As a greedy doctor who will be paying off med school loans until I retire, I am relieved there are so many experts out there to solve the national healthcare crisis caused by doctors. Give the President a call to lend your opinions, then maybe you can go cap the oil leak.

Yep, they have no idea. It hurts to read stuff like this though.

 

[Bell30012]

Doctors don't give test results over the telephone for a number of reasons. (1) Privacy, he/she reveals the test result to someone that isn't you and you sue the crap out of him/her. (2) Consultation, the doctor tells you that your white blood cell count is a bit off... You hang up and slit your wrist thinking you have cancer. Doc gets sued.

See a common thread here? Doctors go to school for many years then suffer near poverty going through residency only to have huge insurance premiums and mountains of school loans to deal with. Sure, doctor's visits are expensive.

 

[Dr. J.]

LOL. Don't take it personally J, I take every thing on forums with a grain of salt.
I find on the Dis
No one is in Debt
No one's kids ever are a problem
and every one knows some one who is causing all the ills on the country. Use the search function and search "food stamps" I'm amazed at how many people know "welfare mamas who are living like kings while on food stamps" while they live in shoe boxes.

Agreed. I am going to stick to threads about using antichafing gel as a makeup primer and what to stock up on prior to my next trip, and avoid the threads with political discourse!

 

[Dopey19]

IMHO this is why health insurance costs so much; people who abuse their bodies (this example is to the extreme) and then require excess in medical attention due to their own life choices. I don't think Dr.'s are the problem . .

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/old_bridge_woman_who_wants_to.html

 

[kaytieeldr]

As a greedy doctor who will be paying off med school loans until I retire, I am relieved there are so many experts out there to solve the national healthcare crisis caused by doctors. Give the President a call to lend your opinions, then maybe you can go cap the oil leak.

When will you start taking patients? I like the practice I see now, but I'm always willing to try a new doctor with the same general attitude I have and I mean that sincerely.

But only if you're staying in Massachusetts... or moving to Las Vegas.

eta: I misunderstood - I see you already are practicing... although I'd prefer if you have it perfected by now

 

[DebMcDonald]

Why do we pay so much for health insurance - you should ask that question right to the insurance companies. I work for a cardiologist and last week I needed to get an MRI of someone's heart approved. I needed to talk to three different people and then wait an additional three days for someone to get back to me for "medical information" Eventually it got approved, but in the end it took three people from the insurance company.

Another case, I had a very young man that I also wanted to get a MRI approved for, but because it was a "very different diagnosis" it was denied because we didn't go a cardiac catheterization prior. We would NOT book Cardiac Cath, a very invasive procedure compared to an MRI on a person under the age of 21. It was decided, again had to talk to many people and in the end the insurance company would have preferred to spend many thousands of dollars on a cardiac cath, vs. just a couple thousand on an MRI.

We pay so much not because of most doctors but because of most insurance companies - what the doctors do is most often dictated by what the insurance company will allow.

 

[dawnball]

The high cost of health care is due, in part, to the over-use and abuse by a portion of patients. My DH, who was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer 2 years ago, had to make a trip to the ER last year. While we were waiting, there was a woman near us who was there with a young girl who was maybe 4 years old. From what we could gather at the triage desk, the girl had suppposedly hurt her ankle. The problem was, the adult couldn't even tell which ankle and the child was running and jumping around, essentially hop-scotching, with no apparent issue. So, that woman had that child seen by emergency services, probably to the tune of several hundred dollars, for absolutely no reason. And somehow, I suspect that it was on some sort of an assistance program too.

Last year I had significant abdominal pain. All the classic symptoms of appendicitis. My doctor and spouse both insisted I go to the ER and have appendicitis ruled out. I was fairly sure I was fine, but it seemed reasonable to me, and the last thing I wanted was a burst appendix, so I went.

I checked in and took a seat. 8 hours later, I went over and said to the people at the desk "So, I feel better. I'm tired, I'd like to go home and sleep in my own bed instead of your chair and see my regular doctor in the morning." The ER charges for walking through the door and being triaged. And if you aren't seen - insurance pays nothing. I was on the hook for $800 if I left.

So yeah, if you have a $50 ER copay (which is pretty typical) then once you walk in those doors and check in it is in your financial best interests to be seen. Even if you know you're fine. I can't blame people for following their doctor's instructions and going to the ER. And then I can't blame them for making decisions that give them the best possible outcome from what was apparently a bad decision.

 

[bluesaturn]

I don't think most doctors are the problem. The various medical procedures and tests are ridiculously expensive, but the doctor don't seem to directly benefit. If they did, they'd all be walking around as millionaires with the $900/hr the ER charges for some procedures. Doctors don't really make that much, considering how many years of education they have and how much they work. Where is all the money going?

 

[tzolkin]

I agree with the OP that some things just seem like excuses to have something else for which to charge.

One example... DH had a physical scheduled months in advance, but he happened to be at the tail end of a cold that day. When we got the statement from the insurance there were two charges for him for the same date. I called the insurance company and they said there was one charge for the physical and one charge for a sick visit. The insurance company seemed completely fine and said this was a common practice.

 

[eliza61]

I don't think most doctors are the problem. The various medical procedures and tests are ridiculously expensive, but the doctor don't seem to directly benefit. If they did, they'd all be walking around as millionaires with the $900/hr the ER charges for some procedures. Doctors don't really make that much, considering how many years of education they have and how much they work. Where is all the money going?

And actually we (John P. Public) bears a little bit of the responsibility also. We always seem to want a "magic" bullet to fix all our problems and it just doesn't work that way. Unfortunately rising health care cost is such a multilayered problem the easiest thing seems to be find a scape goat. right now every body can beat up of doctors. Same thing happening in education, now it's popular to blame teachers for the mess, so they are currently the favorite whipping post.
Sad.

 

[fakereadhed]

I don't like paying bills either, but I think the bigger problem is that paying medical bills seems like a waste because you are ending up with the same thing you had in the first place. Like when your car breaks down... and you pay a fortune to the mechanic and still have the same old car. I think if you consider not being well, not having an MRI, not having surgery then the services provided are not overpriced. Yes it stinks paying for it, but in a lot of cases we're talking about lifesaving miracles. I hear people in my community complaining about the cost of an MRI when they didn't find anything. Well, you had the test and if they DID catch something you'd be happy, right?

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Don't be angry at the doctor, be angry at all the people who sue for ridiculous things because they are greedy.

I agree. Doctors have to cover their behind now because while you know your case and you won't sue if you don't get a referral for something you know you don't need, the next patient won't.

I don't mind the doctor getting paid a lot of money for what s/he does. I can't give myself an mri or set a broken bone and they paid through the nose to go to school to learn how.

It's not different then the phone company charging $100 to come out and look at wires or the plumber charging $75 to come out and say "yup it's clogged" after 5 minutes. Well no kidding brainiac, I knew that!

What peeves me is the drug companies charging $130 or MORE for 30 pills for some drugs and people using the ER like a regular doc and driving up the wait and cost for everyone else.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

I agree. Doctors have to cover their behind now because while you know your case and you won't sue if you don't get a referral for something you know you don't need, the next patient won't.

I don't mind the doctor getting paid a lot of money for what s/he does. I can't give myself an mri or set a broken bone and they paid through the nose to go to school to learn how.

It's not different then the phone company charging $100 to come out and look at wires or the plumber charging $75 to come out and say "yup it's clogged" after 5 minutes. Well no kidding brainiac, I knew that!

What peeves me is the drug companies charging $130 or MORE for 30 pills for some drugs and people using the ER like a regular doc and driving up the wait and cost for everyone else.

I agree with your last statement. Well, more than that but I'm responding to the last statement.

Dh is an emergency room physician and I wish the general public could spend 2-3 days in the ER to see what really goes on. Until we as a society hold people accountable for their misuse of medical services, things won't get better, they will get worse.

The same goes for frivolous lawsuits. Until there are repercussions for filing needless lawsuits, it wil continue to happen and doctors will continue to cover their butts, resulting in increased prices. I wish I could share a lawsuit one of his partners is dealing with right now. It would make your head spin! He will eventually be dropped, but their attorney it will most likely take 2 years before that happens. Ridiculous!

Rachel

 

[Bell30012]

Sure that drug that costs $130 a pill may only cost a few pennies to make but what about the years of research, development and the approval process costs? Prescription medication is so expensive because of these imbedded costs. In addition there is the insurance costs, attorney fees and settlement money that must be paid when someone discovers the pill will save your life but a side effect is your nose turns green.

I know a doctor that left the medical field to become of all things, an attorney specializing in medical cases after he was sued by a person whose life he saved on a New Jersey highway.