I hate the Health care system in the US

OxiMOM

I really really really hate it. Since DH quit we have to go on medicaid. we could do cobra but it would be about 1,500 a month to cover all three of us just for health care no dental or vision and with me making only about 300 a month that is NOT an option. I know medicaid is not bad but Applying is a pain in the ass. First I had to apply online now i have to wait a week or two and have an appointment and go in with little man DH and all our paperwork bank statements, pay stubs, proof of pregnancy ect and plead my case. Then have to wait anywhere from a week to 3 weeks for coverage.

I had a really shitty OB with little man and found one I REALLY liked for this pregnancy they do not accept medicaid and now i have to go to a clinic with some not so great reviews mostly just bitching but still I REALLY wanted to see the ob i was with. Called little mans Pedi today they also do not accept medicaid so now i need to find one in the area that will. We LOVED his pedi and they were awesome enough to fit little man in the day before our ins expires so he wont miss a check up.

I also hate how how "good" your coverage is depends on who you are employed for. I was lucky with little man DH had the best insurance you can get and we didn't pay a penny for any of our appointments or my c section or little mans stay in the Nicu. Yet a friend of mine had a totally routine birth and they still owed almost 5000 AFTER insurance for his birth.

I honestly do not understand why people are fighting universal health care. The US is one of the few developed countries out there that does not have this in place. Why not I dont get it, I would be more then willing to pay more in tax and not pay part of my check into insurance. Knowing you can can see a doctor when you need to and not be faced with enormous medical bills.. I would even be willing to have to wait for treatment unless it was a life threatening situation. Please mommies from countries with universal health care correct me if I am wrong but if your condition is life threatening I'm assuming you will not be turned away and be told to wait.

My brother was up in canada on a work visa a few years ago. He and his girlfriend were involved in a really bad car accident resulting in my brother needing pins in his arm and being put in a medically induced coma and on life support for 2 weeks in ICU. After all that he only owed 20,000 thats IT had that have happened in the US with no health insurance my brother would have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debit. And once he returned to the us he had to fight to get medicaid for follow up care like fight tooth and nail for it for follow up care that was nessacary in order for him to regain use of his arm and hand. And when he finally did get his medicaid the medical treatment he got here in the us was total crap compared to the care he got in canada.

I dont see why we cant just get our crap together as a country and get the ball rolling....We are already billions of dollars in debit that we will never ever recover from what is a few more billion when people in this country could live healthy and get great medical care.... rawrrrrr vent over.

Sassy

Quoting my father: "Why should I have to pay for other people to sit on their asses and still get free healthcare?!" On one hand I agree on the other there are people in your situation. It isn't always people being lazy. However, look how badly the current social programs we have in place are abused! Bah!

deviltwinsmomma

Thank you, our system is broken beyond repair. I believe there is no more patient care in this country, if we had preventive care ppl would not be dying in massive numbers from end stage renal disease heart diesease, staph infections. Shit that can be prevented by education and wellness checkups. Your right you must be RICH to get sick in this country to get good care, hell to get any kinda of care. Did you know doctors of specialty medicine HAVE to take coding and billing classes every six months or so because of all the changes in medicare.and there is sooo much more changes in medicare to come. we are sooo ass backwards in this country its amazing that we all havent died off from some sort of a plague yet .

AloneOverseas

I live in a country with universal health care. It is NOT all it's cracked up to be. There are waiting lists for everything, including life saving treatments like chemo. And not all medications are included ... there have been struggles over getting the necessary meds for things like breast cancer and many women have died because the meds were not 'approved' so they couldn't get the necessary treatment.

Many, many families travel overseas (especially the US) to get the treatments they need. Communities run fund raisers to help these families with expenses because of course nothing will be covered for them.

We also have private medical insurance. Without it, I would be put n a 3-5 year waiting list for a knee replacement. Instead, I'm having it later this year. Granted, we are not paying as much as many families in the US pay for their insurance, but we also don't get as much coverage. For just DH and myself, we pay about $120/mo. We still pay 100% for all doc visits, about $45 each visit. The government subsidizes most meds, so most just have about a $3 co-pay for a 3 month prescription (but some are more). Optometrists and dental work are NOT covered.

On the plus, in 2007 I spent a week in the hospital. Originally suspected appendicitis so yes, I was taken in right away and had emergency surgery. Turned out my appendix were fine! They diagnosed me with atypical pneumonia! Lol. I left the hospital and owed $0. That was a weird feeling!

Universal health care does NOT mean free and readily available health care. In my almost 12 years here, we have spent thousands on medical bills for things not covered .... but yes, it could have been ten times that amount if we were in the US and had no insurance. But there are many here that are also covered by what is called a Community Services Card so they get even more financial assistance (similar to Medicaid). But there have also been many hundreds of people dying while waiting for care or living lives day to day in pain while waiting for surgery. Imagine being wheelchair bound for several years waiting on a new hip when you could have been living life to the full ... there is something to be said about quality of life as well ...

AlbertaMom

So thankful for our health care here.right now I'm waiting for an opthamologist appointment. Dd got laundry soap in her eye on saturday and burned the cornea. We went to er and only had minimal wait time.monday had a follow up with her pediatrician and he got us this appointment for today. The only cost will be for the ointment she ends up being prescribed, that will probably be under twenty dollars.it makes me sad to know that some people have to worry about the cost when taking their kids to the doctors..I don't mind paying more taxes.as much as people bitch about our health care system we are very lucky here.

Charlotte_Sometimes

@AlbertaMom

So good to have perspective from outside the US.

My oldest (he is 20) is not covered at all. He had Medicaid before he turned 18. Now, nothing. Recently he was having a sore throat and some tonsil problems. My mother was insisting I take him to the ER. I did not.. I gave him ibuprofen and allergy pills and had him gargle with salt water and he was fine in 3 days, and I kept trying to explain to HER that taking him to the ER would most likely result in them doing pretty much nothing but charging him a crapload for it, which would then go on his credit as he has no way to pay it off anytime soon, and she insists that medical stuff on your credit isn't harmful. ::rolleyes:::

I was in a wreck back in 2008. Not my fault but the other guy who rear ended me and totalled our car had no insurance. I was starting a new job the next day and only had liability insurance on my car, so no coverage there. My son's leg was broken in the wreck but he had Medicaid coverage (applied for at the hospital) so it was covered, thankfully. I went to the ER to be checked out as well, I had glass all in my back and they did some x-rays, nothing broken. They spent a total of an hour with me; bill was over $1000!

They didn't even help me get the freakin' windshield glass out of my skin. :p

AnonUser28

I am with you on that @AlbertaMom. Sometimes the wait times for things that are not "essential" can get long, but in that case there are always private clinics for those who can/wish to pay for them. As to why we should pay for others who can't afford it to have heath care? Because we are human beings with a conscience, because it is our moral duty to help our brothers and sisters, because a healthy society functions better, your tax dollars with truly help the young, the elderly and the disabled, rather than your insurance dollars going to line the pockets of the CEO's and shareholders.

AnonUser28

@charlotte_sometimes That is a terrible story, I'm sorry you experienced that! In our country, no one would ever be turned away from a doctor's office or hospital based on their ability to pay. If you showed up here with glass in your back, you would be treated, whether or not you had a health card.

Charlotte_Sometimes

@CollegeMom; Yeah, it was pretty obvious they didn't want to exert any more $ on something they felt I could handle on my own! That's why I didn't take my son to the ER when his throat was bothering him. I would have, if it had worsened, but in the beginning of any illness we play a lot of "wait and see" because had I taken him, even if there had been nothing they could do for him there'd still be a bill at the end.

Oh and the waiting. :( There are a lot of people who WILL go to the ER for this or that but I am not one of them. A couple years back I was suffering debilitating headaches. Like migraines in severity but different, hard to explain. Anyway I woke up with one and I thought I was dying. I felt like someone had run my head over with a semi truck, no exaggeration. I went to the ER and couldn't even speak to describe my pain... yet I still sat there for five hours, just silently crying, before I was seen. They ended up doing a CT scan and finding nothing, then giving me 2 shots (some pain meds, can't recall what) and a prescription for 10 Vicodin and letting me sleep a bit in the ER, but the wait was horrible. I quite literally wanted to die! The only thing keeping me from jumping off the roof was some vague awareness of what it would do to my kids, the pain was that bad. And I have an extremely high pain tolerance.

Luvlyssa

you guys are only talking about dr visits and ER visits
what about medication and medical equipment?
the cost of our medicine here is out of this WORLD. and we're not talking things like pain meds or allergy meds.

I'm talking stuff I have to take. oh. you know. insulin. You know. that stuff that if I skip it for a day I oh DIE? (ok slight exaggeration. it'd take 3 or 4 days wout it to die)

I have NO insurance ... none. not qualified for medicaid cuz no babies (trust me. temptation to get pregnant is VERY high. wrong. but high).

Do you know how much it costs me MONTHLY for my 2 things of insulin? $250. for.insulin. that doesn't include syringes/needles or my other necessary meds.

I have to say.. if you've never used it there ARE patient assistance programs here in the states.

You have to go through the manufacturer... and they'll approve you for a years worth of meds.
It's worth it. I get insulin, 2 types of anti depressants, and that's all..
my seizure meds? not covered. my thyroid meds? not covered. LUCKILY thyroid meds are $4... seizure meds are 18. but frankly? I don't HAVE $18 this month for them... so I'm weening.

This is the type of shit I have to go through. and it. sucks.

So yes. I'm envious of other countries. very. because when I have to choose if I buy meds or pay a bill (Like I have) ... it's not fair. I shouldn't have to choose seizure meds or rent. (not that my rent is $18... wouldn't that be nice? but I promised landlord I'd give him everything from this paycheck... and he's a big enough douche bag to ask to see pay stub. so. he'll get every fucking penny)

I miss health insurance... yeah it's a PITA and expensive. but for some of us? it's SO worth it.

HotSouthernMess

As much as I hate my DH we have awesome healthcare. We have TRICARE. I do not know why military wives bash it. Now that DH is retiring we have to pay like less than 600.00 a year. That is for the whole family. It is not subpar care either. I myself had gastric bypass, lower body lift, deveated septum. Over 10 visits to mental hospitals. My children six total sets of ear tubes tonsils out, adenoids out. Daughter broken ankle. Meds are usually free if filled at the military hospital. I don't pay for some OTC meds. DS asthma machines his daily meds. You name it they cover it. I am so grateful to have it. I just wish we had better dental.

I am getting second septum work done as well tomorrow. The ENT is going to reshape as well.

CanadianMama

@luvlyssa medications are not covered by Universal health care but *most* people have access to private insurance to undercut those costs. Also we have an easier time getting generic prescriptions (I believe pharmacists may offer the cheaper alternative but usually only do so if you don't have private insurance, every doctor I have seen has asked if I have private insurance before writing the prescription anyways, if you don't have insurance they'll prescribe the generic brand). Also there are government programs for the vulnerable that help cover those costs (retirees, children, etc.)

I am very thankful for our health care system. My mother had no wait at all to get in for surgery to have her tumour removed, the longest part of the process was all the testing she needed before the surgery, and even then it was only weeks and only because of the amount of tests she needed, and the amount of time the surgeon needed to create a plan. It might take a while to get a non life threatening injury repaired, but for the big stuff no issues at all.

AnonUser28

Here in Quebec we have a provinical drug plan, those who can not prove the private insurance @CanadianMama is speaking about pay a small premium on their taxes. The first scrip of every month, I pay $15 copay, and the cost of meds is reduced. The amount of reduction differs for different meds. My DH's pain meds would usually cost about $75 a month, and I end up paying about $30, that includes the copay.

AnonUser30

My DD's meds are $125 a month WITH insurance. We pay 10%. Her surgery - $121,000. (hospital only). We currently have $6,000 of medical bills in a file from this year with TOP OF THE LINE insurance.

beam

So utterly glad to live in a country with universal health care and an awesome health care system. Had dd in a private clinic (because it was closer to home). All exams, medication, epidural, c-section and having private room - I paid $0. Ok I paid $45 for a cot for my SO to sleep on while I was in the hospital but zero for medical aspects.

All maternity costs are 100% covered my universal health care (epidural which is "comfort" was covered by private but ran about only $375 for the insurance, not for us). Most things are covered and I've never had to wait for anything (unless the doctor I really wanted did not have an opening in his schedule) nor did my SIL with breast cancer. A private "work" insurance covers the rest (it costs about $75 per month). My boyfriend's work insurance covers myself, because we live together (don't have to be married) and our daughter and there is no mandatory list of doctors or hospitals and I have never really had to wait. Even my insemination procedure (and miscarriage), hormone drugs and all related exams before and after were covered.

What is not covered very well is dentistry (eyes yes, teeth no) because a lot of it is considered cosmetic and not medical. Removing a tooth yes, replacing it, not necessarily.

It is an expensive system yes. Taxes are high but the peace of mind of being taken care of whether just preventative or due to an illness, along with a free education including university for my children... it is well worth it.

Dreamer

Me to. DS6 goes in for dental surgery tomorrow. 6 filings, 3 crowns and we are putting him to sleep. If we didnt have coverage, it would be upwards on $10, 000. With blue cross (xdh has a so so coverage) we'd be looking at around 3Gs.. In some ways the divorce is a good thing. I get some help from the govt, and I think pretty much everything is going to be covered.

goldie

Universal health care isn't that great. My brother and his family have been living in Ireland for 20 years. You have to have supplemental insurance or you end up waiting ages to see a specialist, or getting quality treatment of any kind. But on the upside, they don't pay taxes or file income tax returns, the government just takes half of your pay every week before you even see it!

GypsyMama

I have lots to say on this subject from a little different perspective but with the same venomous hatred. I have written about some of it on my blog

chardalescuriousjourney.blogspot.com

Basically the US medical system is driven by the pharmaceutical Industry. The system you encounter is framed the way it is based on Medicare regulation which is funded by congress which is in the pocket of pharma. Insurance companies structure their benefits to mirror Medicare. They are also in pharma's pocket. Medical schools are funded by pharma and their pharmaceutical only perspective is fostered by pharma. A disease is not considered a disease in this country unless there is a drug to treat it. Otherwise it is a syndrome.

Pharma is the devil. Not the drugs themselves but the industry that has paid to make us believe pharmaceuticals are our only and best option.

Really I could go on for days and each day I'm learning some new detail about just how deep the charade goes.

regp

@gypsymama - this "
A disease is not considered a disease in this country unless there is a drug to treat it. Otherwise it is a syndrome. " SO TRUE.

I don't want the government to run healthcare because they ruin everything they touch. Everyone is in someone's pocket. The circle jerk is so immense that it's hard to comprehend.

GypsyMama

@regp I don't agree that the government ruins everything they touch. There is a lot that goes on in govt agencies that is only mildly affected by any current administration. I used to work for the US Forest Service and there was rarely a person employed there who didn't have a personal commitment to be good land stewards. I also worked for the USDA Job Corps and saw how this govt program pulled many, many kids from the brink of jail and poverty. I also worked for the IRS which is truly evil:)

Unfortunately the government is the only entity that will be able to administer healthcare and national insurance because it requires leveling which means in order to bring care up for those at the bottom those at the top will have to let go of something. That giving up something won't happen voluntarily because it is fucking painful. The govt has to do it. The mom working at a fortune 500 deserves quality healthcare as much as the mom working at 7-11. Pre-existing conditions should never be an issue.

Now here's where I go batshit crazy on 'em. Healthcare is not just pharma. We could resolve a huge percentage of illness in this country with nutrition, alternative care like acupuncture, massage, reiki, chiropractic. Orthopedic issues could be resolved with anti inflammatory diets and palliative care. Homeopathy can treat most things pharma is treating with little to no risk or side effects.

There is no big money behind alternative care so the only way it is going to move into its rightful place is a grassroots uprising of citizens. We can do it too. With social media the way it is one push gone viral could bring their house of lies and manipulation would be brought down.

meandmy243 · mom of wild children going to the chapel 7/5/2014

If.it wasnt for state.insurance kids 19 and under get free or lost cost medical, vision and dental.. My sons growth hormone isnt covered but were working on the drug company will pay for it..