First Hand Story About Our Fucked Up Healthcare System

[JMU DJ]

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Holy crap, dude, I could have told you that it was a sinus infection. That is the first thing to check for when you get dizzy.

Yeah man, it's that or an ear infection... usually the ear infection will lead to the sinus problems if untreated. Did any doctor, at any point, suggest that your ears or sinus might be the cause?

[txstatebobcat]

[
Holy crap, dude, I could have told you that it was a sinus infection. That is the first thing to check for when you get dizzy.

Yeah man, it's that or an ear infection... usually the ear infection will lead to the sinus problems if untreated. Did any doctor, at any point, suggest that your ears or sinus might be the cause?

nope. I was told that I had meniere's disease. I had all the major symptoms for it, ringing in the ear, dizziness and occasional vertigo. Funny thing is that now all I do is use saline solution for my sinuses and no problem.

I'm not even all that pissed about the misdiagnoses, its all the money I had to pay (and in one case, still paying) is what pisses me off.

From my point of view is that people who pay their bill within 30 days of receipt should get the benefit of a full rebate that insurance companies get. It sure would have been nice to pay only 40-60% of the original bill.

[Ibanez]

that story is too fooking long to read. Executive Summary please.

[ASUMountaineer]

that story is too fooking long to read. Executive Summary please.

I feel the same way about T-man's posts.

[oldsloguy]

That is part of the reason that the costs are so high, but remember... the docs don't own the MRI machine. It is usually owned by a medical facility that can charge exorbitant rates because most people who are getting MRIs have insurance, so it isn't hitting them directly in the pockets.

Also, you should take a gander sometime at the endless conditional agreements in malpractice insurance policies. Heck, my Dad was just a dentist, and the things he was required to do just to maintain his premiums (or his insurance policy in general for that matter) were absolutely redonkulous. If you are having headaches accompanied by dizziness in the US, the doctor is all but required to indicate an MRI or a CT scan if he wants to practice medicine for very long. If we had significant tort reform, we'd see at least some costs coming down, but there would still be the profit seeking issues you mentioned. It is a mixed bag when we talk about the causes of the high cost of health care, but the problem right now (and the reason we will never see a real solution) is because the issue is too politically charged, and the politicians are in the pockets of the people who stand to lose the most from reform. The lawyers have the Dems by the balls, and the pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies have the Republicans by the balls. Neither side will give anything, or acknowledge that the other side's list of reasons has any validity.

That's why when I hear Obama talk about how there will be some tort reform in his "new" package I know he is lying through his teeth, just like a Republican would be if he claimed he was going to put premium controls on the insurance companies.

My best friend that I grew-up with is an ER Doc. His annual malpractice insurance is $202,000. We figured that that is about $80 per patient that he sees!

BTW, Don’t they have urgent care clinics in the east? In western states, these clinics are usually operated by nurse practitioners under a supervising agreement with a Doctor. Why are people going to the ER for cuts and dog bites? Urgent care clinics usually offer almost no waiting and charge about $70 or $80 for visit requiring stitches. $65 and 30 minutes a couple of years ago in Colorado got conjunctivitis in my eye diagnosed and another $20 for antibiotic eye drops. Done!

[oldsloguy]

Another reason U.S. health care costs are so high.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/more-illegal-i ... 79442.html

Six months after the Review-Journal revealed that 80 illegal immigrants with failing kidneys were running up about $2 million a month in bills for dialysis…… at University Medical Center in Las Vegas...

Trust me, this only happens at this one little hospital in Las Vegas, nowhere else. And this is for only dialysis and associated costs. I wonder what the cost would be if they totaled up dog bites, cuts, broken arms, heart attacks and flu’s.