Thanks Obamacare! No "urgent care" for me

originally posted by: Iwinder
I can't believe what I am reading although I have posted in enough of these type of threads that I should believe and have a thicker skin too.
What is the problem with your health care in the States? I ask this seriously and I mean it.....
We have very heavy taxes but we don't pay a cent for health care nor do we have to pick and choose what hospital to go to when sick.

I really really feel bad for you folks and I wish I had an answer to your problems.
Health = life or death.....nobody should play the judge on which is which.
Good luck to you all and god bless.

Regards, Iwinder

Iwinder, you have asked before and honestly, its getting worse, much worse. Thanks to the passage of Obamacare. Yes, people are having to choose between healthcare and a household bill.
Do I buy groceries or do I take that money and go get seen for an acute health problem that won't go away that could get much serious.

If you really want to understand what us middle class and low income go through in regards to healthcare are concerned, we could use an example you gave earlier about what happened to you.

I could comapare it vased on people I know who had to pick and choose with a heart problem and Emergency visits.

I was in the ER with a serious head injury 2 days ago from something that happened on saturday.
While I was in the discharge waiting area, I can say noone was there without a damn good reason. We were all gonna owe money.
I wish I lived in canada because what I and all my ER friends went through probably wouldn't happen up there.

I am serious about comapring notes because Ive been through and seen alot and right here in the US, people are now making choices about their healthcare that I never thought I would see here.

What kind of care can I afford when I need it even though I supposedly have *COUGH* insurance.

originally posted by: graceunderpressure

originally posted by: SaturnFX
Careful about self administered antibiotics. if its not the right kind, dose, or length of time taking it, it could simply make any bacterial infection come back stronger and immune to the antibiotic you use. might be worth talking to a doc and getting a proper prescription. talk to him about price out of pocket and your concerns about the mega deductible you chose, etc.

I hear you, Saturn, and thanks. Actually, my doctor prescribed this exact same antibiotic, CIPRO, for UTI (which I really didn't have at the time -- she was being overly cautious before my hip surgery). At the time, alarmed after reading the side effects, I asked her to prescribe another antibiotic, and then tossed this one in the drawer. But, I was so scared and desperate yesterday that the CIPRO possible side effects mattered much less. Again, horrible choices! It's a full course for the exact condition that I have, so if I don't start accusing everyone of stealing my Jello, I think it'll be OK.

I do, however, appreciate your kind concern. I would only go this route under these exact circumstances, and I also urge caution to anyone considering taking antibiotics from the drawer.

EDIT: Unfortunately, my doctor is no longer my doctor thanks to Obamacare!

Cipro should do the trick. I'm currently battling Medicare for my family member. They're blocking her prescription coverage any way they can and it's really starting to piss me off.

If someone with some sense isn't elected in 2016, my hubby and I are leaving the USA. I've just about had enough.

This is where I really have a problem with "affordable" health care. People that could not afford health insurance before are now being forced to pay for insurance they, you guessed it, can't afford. Even if they get you on they lowest (cheapest) coverage, they deductibles are crazy, the coverage is crap and where you can go is limited (in this case, not even acceptable) people that had great insurance, now have no so great or even insurance that now cost more than its worth to them. I really don't think there is any group of people that have own with this insurance. The people that HAD good coverage are now paying for the ones who couldn't afford it before, had that insurance really been really doing any good for those lower income people, there may be some way out there argument. I know people that thought were happy that for the first time the now have insurance. Go to hospital with flu like symptoms and now they owe the hospital over 4 grand. This in my insurance would cost me about $100. Yup, that insurance really helped that person that couldn't afford the old health care. It's just having throw money into a government pot and they are still paying out of pocket for their hospital bills.

My kids are all grown up and out of the house. I have pretty much decided that I'd rather die with dignity then undergo that kind of crap.

originally posted by: SaturnFX
800? what tha...you are either like...very wealthy in which 800 a month equates to about 3 bucks a month to a norm, or your around 143 years old, smokes, and has a job as a stunt double for ninjas.

They allow around 143 years old people insure?

Looking at the replies, one thing seems clear: we need more voices speaking up about the reality of the current situation. I don't blame Saturn for disbelieving that I received the right Blue Cross quotes, or thinking maybe I had requested a family quote or something. (OK, well at first I did, but that was because I had a high fever and was cranky.) The truth is that our healthcare situation has become so incredibly messed up that it takes some effort to get people to believe how bad it is. I would have asked Saturn's exact questions myself, some months ago.

Please check out Xuenchen's excellent thread about "Healthcare Homelessness" in SF. www.abovetopsecret.com... It doesn't just apply to homeless people. The problem is also pervasive for average people like me.

So, how do we change it? Some would say, "Elect a Republican administration and/or Congress." Good try, but we all know that it's Big Pharma, Insurance and to a lesser degree now, Hospitals who hold the markers for our puppet politicians of "both" parties. I will certainly write to my congresswoman and state legislator, but I expect that action to have an impact equivalent to complaining to my dog. Move to another country? Yes, I've been considering it for some time now. Any other suggestions, anyone?

Meanwhile, here's a chilling thought. Doctors are retiring from practice like rats jumping ship. We're set to lose 1/3 of all physicians in my area in the near future. I do not blame them at all! As untenable as it has become to be a patient these days, it has also changed the face of the medical profession. So, fewer doctors = even less available care.

Will ordinary people quietly dying on this unspoken battlefield finally be the tipping point to remind us that we're citizens and patriots and start a revolution? What if it's your mom or your husband who dies or becomes debilitated because they can't get medical care? How will you feel about it, then?

I would rather die of cancer than sign up for obamacare.

Yes, people are having to choose between healthcare and a household bill.

a reply to: palmalBlue2

Makes me cringe and your post was just stellar and nothing less.
This is no way to live people but I assume you already know this.

Regards, Iwinder

Let me do a quick rundown of what I have had done in the past two months here in Canada and then everyone can guess what this would cost in the USA today.

6 ambulance rides, 4 were 110 kilometers each way with 3 EMT's and one Cardiac Nurse......2 were to emergency local.
Trauma room with 10-12 staff for about 2 hours.
ICU with a personal Nurse in the room for 24/7 for two days
Cardiac ward ( the bad boy room) for 13 days.
6 blood tests a day at 6 vials a draw to check and adjust meds for 13 days.
6 catscans, untold exrays, at least 25 EKG's
4 Ultra sounds minimum.
500 blood pressure checks.
Two surgery's out of town, one was an angiogram and the other one was for a Medrontic defibrillator installed in me all within that time period.
Over Three weeks worth of medications all for no charge and some of those were and are quite dear.
Then follow ups with specialists and such.
Lots and lots of appointments yet to happen and we now have a unit in the house to phone home to an out of town Hospital with all my info every night.
This thing scans me and reports right to the cardiology experts and If I am having a problem they will phone us and tell us what to do.

I know I am missing stuff but you get the drift, the total bill so far is zero/ zip/ nothing.
But heck yes our taxes are outrageous and I mean bad......but to choose I will leave that to you folks.

Mind you I would have rather missed the whole shebang and life would be good here.
I think you get the idea and I am sorry if this seems off topic a bit which it is.......but I feel so bad for you folks knowing how bad it is to be sick and not able to make a decision on your own.

Regards, Iwinder

originally posted by: graceunderpressure

Bear with me, and fast forward to yesterday...I've had Obamacare/Anthem for 4 months now, paying $400/month for a Bronze plan since my employer could no longer afford to maintain reasonable health coverage...

This is a pattern thats been bothering me- corporation or wealthy businesspeople who often lay people off, cut benefits, etc under the guise of not being able to "afford it". The truth is usually that they refuse to accept less profit. So I wish people would say "they chose not to...". There are definitely genuine occurrences of businesses that were barely making it and had to cut something to stay in business, but more often the businesses are highly profitable and deciding they don't want a dip in the bottom line because the executives won't get their annual $M bonus if they don't show quarterly growth to shareholders.

So, I was faced with spending a miserable night in a packed waiting room among violent shouting tweakers and people who smell so awful that you have to move across the room or gag, only for a crap shoot result of maybe having my problem resolved...

You've just described every trip I've had to any emergency room in my life long before Obamacare came to be. If you get lucky you may only wait 3 hours. Hospitals work on triage. They don't get to turn tweakers away. If you aren't missing a limb, suffering from a gunshot, unconscious, or having a heart attack or stroke, then you're probably going to be waiting behind people who are. This is simply the result of an increasing and aging population. Its not going to get better and if you think $400 is rough, my pre-Obamacare cobra insurance was $1200 a month. That's right...the company I worked for - a very high tech company that was doing well - paid for about $500 of that when I worked there and the plan had a $7000 deductible. The insurance was so high because they employed an aging workforce that had family members with serious health conditions and the other members of the company had to pick up the cost when it was spread across the group. This previous insurance refused to cover various medications prescribed by my doctor and limited my options in doctors and hospitals. I hit my deductible twice, but used a HSA. Again, well before Obamacare.

When I left there, I got Anthem Blue Cross from their website for $600/month for my family. It had better coverage than my old insurance (Humana) at the same deductible and I paid $100 less a month. The only reason it was $600 is because my son had recently broken his leg and would need therapy. Fortunately for me, they could no longer deny coverage due to this preexisting condition. The rate dropped to around $400 during the next enrollment period.

$400 seems consistent with the rates I saw pre-obama care for an HMO with high deductible for 50 yr old individuals with some chronic medical conditions. And again, the experience at the emergency room is consistent with every ER I've seen- not just inner city ERs. I don't see evidence of any of these things being the result of the affordable care act. They existed in this state well before the ACA.

Graceunderpressure, I have been against obamacare since it first raised it's ugly head. We now have nothing more than another big tax and a poor excuse for health care. In my humble opinion, now is the time to take our health back into our own hands by learning about natural healing - like herbs, homeopathy, etc. make great dietary choices and treat small issues before they need medical intervention. I have seen UTI s respond well to
Goldenseal powder in warm water, an aspirin, and lots of cranberry juice. The trick is that you have to start treatment at the very first signs of it and then stay super hydrated for several days.

Here is a link that tells a story, shocking numbers included for the paper pushers.
www.washingtonpost.com...

Regards, Iwinder

Insurance slaves, it's amazing how many there are. I know insurance is nice, I have it right now (mine's only $100/mo, $2600 deductible, which is why I bought it... and it was cheaper/better coverage pre-obamacare). But insurance is not a necessity. My uncle didn't have insurance when his daughter was born, she had heart problems and needed open heart surgery immediately. Throughout her life she had to have heart surgery 3 more times, of course it was a pre-existing condition so even if he had gotten insurance, she wouldn't have been covered.

The doctors were part of a charity network (as most surgeons are) and gave him a big discount right up front (about 50% if I remember right.) it took him about 30 years to pay it all off, but he did, and he didn't pay 500/month to an insurance company. He just paid his bill to his doctors. He lives a life no different than most, he owns a house, is about to retire from an OK job, etc.

Why are people so obsessed with insurance? It simply perpetuates the insurance scam. If less people used insurance, our situation would start to resolve itself.

One thing is certain. Your system is screwed up.

Obama had some interesting proposals but they became watered down by vested interests until you get the current half-baked mess. Not the British style NHS, not the French style private led socialised health care, but a mishmash of financial products tacked on to the side of the medical industry.

We've had to go to casualty (ER to you Americans) three times in the last month.

I badly tore two ligaments in my foot. Seen, x rayed, bound up, advised about how to get it working again in time for a serious cycle ride in June, all in just over an hour. They've healed pretty well, with some help from my local gym but foot still grumbles on training rides. If its still grumbling by the last week of May, the hospital said I should go to a private sports clinic.

Youngest son fell off a self-built assault course. Five stitches to the chin. In and out of a specialised child unit in less than an hour.

Son came off bicycle a week later. Splits stitches. In and out of the same unit - with the same doctor - in an hour.

Cost to us at point of use: nothing.

True, if we had hurt ourselves at 11pm on a Saturday night instead of 5pm on consecutive Friday nights, it might have been different - but the cost would have been the same.

Wife had a quality of life issue a few years back. Nothing serious but it was starting to get her down. She could have been seen on the National Health in six weeks but she chose to be seen privately. It came to about fifteen hundred pounds - not enough to justify claiming on her private insurance - and she had it done. The subsequent medication was on an NHS prescription, saving us around £700 total bill.

Perhaps if you, as a nation, had had a proper public debate about the issue, if you didn't need to spend more on your military than half the rest of the world combined, you could have something similar.

originally posted by: okachobi

You've just described every trip I've had to any emergency room in my life long before Obamacare came to be. If you get lucky you may only wait 3 hours. Hospitals work on triage. They don't get to turn tweakers away. If you aren't missing a limb, suffering from a gunshot, unconscious, or having a heart attack or stroke, then you're probably going to be waiting behind people who are. This is simply the result of an increasing and aging population. Its not going to get better and if you think $400 is rough, my pre-Obamacare cobra insurance was $1200 a month. That's right...the company I worked for - a very high tech company that was doing well - paid for about $500 of that when I worked there and the plan had a $7000 deductible. The insurance was so high because they employed an aging workforce that had family members with serious health conditions and the other members of the company had to pick up the cost when it was spread across the group. This previous insurance refused to cover various medications prescribed by my doctor and limited my options in doctors and hospitals. I hit my deductible twice, but used a HSA. Again, well before Obamacare.

When I left there, I got Anthem Blue Cross from their website for $600/month for my family. It had better coverage than my old insurance (Humana) at the same deductible and I paid $100 less a month. The only reason it was $600 is because my son had recently broken his leg and would need therapy. Fortunately for me, they could no longer deny coverage due to this preexisting condition. The rate dropped to around $400 during the next enrollment period.

$400 seems consistent with the rates I saw pre-obama care for an HMO with high deductible for 50 yr old individuals with some chronic medical conditions. And again, the experience at the emergency room is consistent with every ER I've seen- not just inner city ERs. I don't see evidence of any of these things being the result of the affordable care act. They existed in this state well before the ACA.

You kinda missed my point. I never said that the deplorable state of this particular ER was the result of Obamacare. I said that, because of my *wonderful* new insurance, this ER was my only choice. It was the only one that accepted my Anthem Blue Cross policy.

My son has a chronic and intractable seizure disorder. Whenever he has more than 2-3 seizures in a row without waking between them (a potentially life-threatening condition called Status Epilepticus) we go to the ER. This has happened at least 2-3 times per year over the last 20 years in various locales and situations, so I think I have the experience to qualify a "typical ER." By the way, an "Emergency Room" is not always the same thing as "Urgent Care." I was referring to the latter.

Read what other people wrote about this particular facility.

"... when it came to all the road rash I suffered, they neither cleaned nor bandaged my open wounds.
After the concern for serious issues had passed, they moved my bed to the hallway. I shared the hallway with a gentleman hand-cuffed to his bed with a Sheriff guarding him, a few homeless people yelling nonsense, and another inmate wearing a face mask because he was spitting on people. "

"The bill from SFGH for them.....
-"prescribing" me pepto bismol
-taking blood
-and misdiagnosing my condition it isssss *drumroll* $1638!!!!!"

"After getting hit by a MUNI bus, I was taken to SF General and my memories from this hospital are almost as traumatic as the accident."

So, as you can see, I am not the only person with a bad experience at SF County General. And, the point is that Obamacare severely limited my insurance choices in such a way that I now have this horrid excuse for a policy which many SF doctors won't accept, and am forced to go to such places for healthcare.

a reply to: Iwinder
Lwinder, I'm glad you're OK. Holy Schmoly, what an ordeal for you! And yes, in this country, you'd either be paying for all that for many years or you wouldn't be able to get such comprehensive care. Hugs, and hope you're well!

originally posted by: Atom12
In my humble opinion, now is the time to take our health back into our own hands by learning about natural healing - like herbs, homeopathy, etc. make great dietary choices and treat small issues before they need medical intervention. I have seen UTI s respond well to Goldenseal powder in warm water, an aspirin, and lots of cranberry juice. The trick is that you have to start treatment at the very first signs of it and then stay super hydrated for several days.

Atom, I couldn't agree more. D-mannose, the active ingredient in cranberry juice without all the sugar, is even better for UTIs. I think I just waited too long this time. And, if anyone has a similar experience, when you get a fever from a UTI, it's time to take it seriously and get some antibiotics at that point. Today at least, I'm all better and following up the treatment with some good probiotics to restore all the "friendly" bacteria.

originally posted by: Whodathunkdatcheese
Perhaps if you, as a nation, had had a proper public debate about the issue, if you didn't need to spend more on your military than half the rest of the world combined, you could have something similar.

Ouch! That is correct, sir. But you do realize that the US government has gone rogue, and it's not the average citizen such as myself who opted for this type of spending choice?

originally posted by: Dfairlite
Why are people so obsessed with insurance? It simply perpetuates the insurance scam. If less people used insurance, our situation would start to resolve itself.

That's an interesting theory. The reason why people are "obsessed with insurance" at the moment is because our government is forcing us to buy insurance now, or face a tax penalty.

I do not make enough money to pay these outrageous fees!