#american healthcare

[leebrontide]

Ok so my kid had an ear infection, right? As kids often do.

The doctor scraped out a bit of earwax to have a better look inside.

I was sent a bill for $200 PER EAR for this 5 second procedure which I did not give permission for them to do.

That was key- they did not ASK me if they could do this "procedure". And, as I OWN a medical practice (it's me. The medical practice is me, sitting in my house on video calls) I knew to call them when this bill came in to be like "You did not obtain informed consent for this procedure, and it was not en emergency procedure. You had full ability to gain my consent and didn't. I'm not paying."

And the massive hospital who owned the bill said "yuh-huh you do have to pay."

And I said "I own a practice. I know these laws. I do not owe you money for this."

And they conducted an "internal review" and SURPRISE! Decided I totally owed them money and they had never done anything wrong ever.

And so I called my state's Attorney General office, and explained the situation because, as I mentioned, I know the law. The AG got in touch within a couple days to say they were taking the case and would send the massive hospital conglomerate a knock it off, guys letter.

Lo and Behold, today I have a letter where said hospital graciously has agreed to forfeit the payment.

"How not to get screwed over by companies" should be part of civics class.

Know your rights and know who to call when they're infringed on. This whole process cost me $0 and honestly less effort than I would have expected.

May this knowledge find its way to someone else who can use it.

[animentality]

[fruitycircus]

commission for my buddy @skee-ters!!!! (and you can commission me too, ehehe) tf2 ship name game continues to be peak with american healthcare

[seagiri]

bottled up feelings

[thashining]

My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was the district attorney of San Francisco. I remember cooking meals for her and taking her to her appointments. I did what I could to make her comfortable. I figured out which clothes were soft enough that they wouldn't irritate her, and told her stories to try and make her laugh.

Caregiving is about dignity—not just for the patient, but also for the caregiver. We must lower the costs and ease the burdens faced by our caregivers to make it easier for them to provide care while pursuing their aspirations.

Today, I am announcing a new historic Medicare at Home benefit as part of my plan to help families with caregiving needs and strengthen Medicare for the long-term. Over 67 million people are covered by Medicare, yet many Americans don’t realize that Medicare does not cover long-term services and assistance like home health aides.

As a result, many American families face challenging and sometimes impossible choices.

My plan will strengthen Medicare to cover home care services and support for seniors. This will include providing care workers with better wages, improving the quality of care for seniors and those with disabilities, and treating our seniors with the dignity they deserve.

Kamala Harris

[xiaq]

I don't know if anyone else in Texas/the US is dealing with this right now, but just a PSA: over the last year my primary doctor and my dermatologist both suddenly had a "suggested pharmacy" that would "conveniently deliver your medication for free" rather than just sending it to whatever pharmacy location was closest to me. I was like, sure? Sounds great?

I don't have regular prescriptions, but I noticed that the occasional prescriptions I needed for eczema flare-ups or when I had the flu, seemed like they cost more than they should.

My dermatologist prescribed me Tretinoin last week, which I've never used before. From research online, it looked like it should cost less than $20 with my insurance. When it came time to virtually "check out" for the suggested pharmacy, they wanted me to pay $55. I called my derm and was like, can I opt out of this suggested pharmacy and just get my script sent to the place by my house? And they pushed back a bit (supposedly, their prices were competitive and should be similar to those at any other pharmacy. Sure, Jan.) but eventually did transfer it. Turns out, Tretinoin is $10 at my normal pharmacy. So, I don't know exactly what this bullshit is but watch out for it if your doc suddenly starts suggesting a handy dandy pharmacy with "free" delivery.

[yurtb0y]

Hey, what do you think about solmedic (soldier x medic)? Could you draw those two sillies please? Thank you<3

why yes I can anon I love them

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Just found this tag on a good omens fic and I'm more than a little concerned

[ludzwig]

Some reqs from insta!

I will draw heavy tf2 tummy when I'm brave enough..

[cedar-raine]

[morlock-holmes]

We are now, what, two three years into the Adderall shortage, and I have been informed by my pharmacy that their next order will arrive during a weekday in November.

Yes, that is how specific the information is.

The amount they will get in November will almost certainly not fill all extant prescriptions, so it will be distributed to whoever calls in and asks for the prescription to be filled on that day.

There is no automated method for informing customers whether the pharmacy has received a shipment, you must call and speak to a pharmacy representative.

This is a very small version of what I assume it must have been like to live in the Soviet Union: Every single decision maker insisting that they are actually operating at 110% efficiency and there are no further improvements that could be made, while meanwhile shortages drag on for literal years and everything grinds to a halt in a bureaucratic mire.

Like, the fact that the way to fix this is to literally call the pharmacy every day and talk to a person means that all of the pharmacists are wasting a tremendous amount of time for, and I cannot stress this enough, literally no reason whatsoever except sheer laziness and apathy on the part of Albertsons management.

In other news, you may remember that after calling four different "Health Homes" that my insurance accepts as PCPs, I got an appointment for 9:40 AM on Christmas Eve. Luckily, they have a telehealth program called "Bridges" which allows you to speak to an RN to get basic health care while you are waiting out the effects of the national Physician shortage that all of our politicians are pretending doesn't exist for some reason.

As best as I can tell, my insurance rejected the claim from the bridges team because they want me to use my Health Home. The one I don't have because they don't have any openings. The one that the bridges team is supposed to cover for until you get establishing care.

I wonder if the people who do health insurance claims ever wonder how many suicides they've caused when they go to bed at night.

[chronicillnesshumor]

[thashining]

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[batwynn]

My new favorite thing that medical professionals do is diagnose without actually diagnosing. Like writing down, “It’s very likely fibromyalgia” but not entering it as a diagnosis so I can’t make any moves to get help with it because the Big Ego Man didn’t write it down it the right area for the other Big Egos to take it seriously.

Did you know that my last application to disability got denied mostly because these assholes didn’t ‘officially’ diagnose me with multiple things I tested clearly and concisely for? What a fun hellscape we live in! 🇺🇸🦅💀

[lordnot]

If you want to get angry with every American politician who railed against socialized medicine, try making an appointment with a specialist with private health insurance.

Recall their warnings about rationing of care as you're told that the first available appointment is a Thursday afternoon four months away.

Think about the fearmongering about how the quality of care would drop as your doctor meets with you for all of fifteen minutes, half of which is asking you questions you answered on a survey before you came in, the other half doing the minimum amount of tests of your breathing, blood pressure and the like necessary to bill your insurance.

Recall the hysteria around 'death panels' as your doctor goes over the long-term risks of not having your condition treated, and then tells you to call a number to actually get tested for the condition that has another two month waiting list.

And keep in mind how many privileges you possess that others do not that prevented this whole process from being even more difficult. Privileges like living close enough to a major city that the specialist is only 40 minutes away by car and not two hours. The fact that you own your own vehicle. How you are able to take time off of work without worrying about a supervisor calling you last minute to say you need to come in. The fact that you can afford the copays, can afford to miss a half day of work, don't have to worry about whether you'll be home in time before kids get back from school, etc.

In short: it was all a crock of shit.