So I received my UHC claim saying that my claim was denied due to using out of network provider! The specialist I saw is in network and he performed the colonoscopy on me and removed a polyp which was sent to a lab which UHC claimed to be out of network and my $2000 lab claim was denied. I think this should have been covered! what do you think?
I wanted to see how people would feel about certain medical specialties receiving forgiveness for their debts. I was thinking OB/Gyn, family medicine, internal medicine, general pediatrics, and psychiatry. These specialties earn 50-70% of what most other specialties earn and are often considered a “back up plan” career choice because of the relatively lower income.
Average medical school debt is about 200,000 dollars. Average annual income for these specialties is still around 200,00 dollars but can vary a lot depending on many variables.
Is it worth offering this loan forgiveness to attract talent to these fields?
CW: mention of suicide
FYI: This is a serious question, I’m not trying to manipulate the system or anything. I truly believe therapy would be preventive care for me.
I know the healthcare system isn’t great about therapy. Currently, my insurance has therapy costing $80 PER SESSION. If I’m serious about talking to someone, that would be every week, and I 100% cannot afford that.
On the other hand, my insurance covers ALL preventive medicine. As in it’s $0.
As a person with a history of serious depression and mental illness, including suicidal ideation, mental health care could conceivably prevent me from ending my own life at some point in the future. I’m not saying I’m fully suicidal now, but I never know when I could get that way again.
Could I arrange with my health insurance to get therapy covered as “preventive care” in this case?
Hi!
I (20F) already made a post yesterday for my friend on something different so sorry for anyone seeing my user again. I also already asked this on physician assistant Reddit and I guess I thought I could get more advice here since it's broader here.
I am a senior undergrad (international relations major and minor in public health) and I graduate after this Fall semester. I have already decided that I want to work within the healthcare field and was looking into going to get an MPH or becoming a PA. I want to be able to build a career where I can do both clinical and non-clinical work. Clinical work I think I would enjoy is working one-on-one with people with medical conditions and learning about specialties and working within them (in certain fields such as dermatology, primary care, maybe global work, etc.) I believe I would want to work for communities and help make change outside of clinical work and work on the prevention of medical conditions and diseases from occurring as well too (and other social determinants.)
These are all ideas and I believe I am trying to form a clinical and non-clinical healthcare career for myself.
However, I have been told that getting a dual MPH/PA degree means that the MPH is essentially useless and that you won't get the most out of an MPH degree. Then I saw that people just with PA degrees only work clinical mostly (not a lot of work for PAs is consulting, being a liaison, clinical research, or health educator) and that if I don't want that I shouldn't be in that field.
(Let me state I chose PA because becoming an NP or MD/DO means not having that ability to switch between specialties as easily. Not because of the work. Also, I love teamwork settings and I don't have to be calling the shots. I am willing to do that work if it aligns with what I want.)
My questions are: Are there healthcare fields that encompass what I am looking for besides MPH or PA? Or does anyone know if it is possible to do this with a PA or MPH or both?
Thank you to anyone who reads this and helps. Sorry for any grammar and much appreciated.
My niece just got into an accident - she's been flown from Idaho to Seattle, Harbor View Hospital for spinal and head surgery. She had two "life flights" to get here there, and I just know that even though she has health insurance, the bills are going to be astronomical.
Any advice on how to deal with hospital bills, health insurance companies, or anything else at this early stage would be incredibly helpful.
I don’t think it’s fair that a patient should have to pay an ambulance bill if a hospital called an ambulance without their consent. You never told the hospital to transport via ambulance to another hospital or facility. Healthcare is so backwards to me, they should make it a law for hospitals to be responsible for ambulance bills. There should also be a law mandating health insurance companies to pay the full ambulance bill regardless of network status. Health insurance companies need heavy mandates and penalties to keep them in check.
Hi!
This post is for my friend (21F) who doesn't have a Reddit account. She is a junior in undergrad right now and is trying to figure out what her career passions are and she has stumbled upon healthcare administration. She is interested in jobs dealing with consulting, problem-solving, management, etc.
She was curious about what undergrad degree(s) would you need to get a career in healthcare administration work. What masters degree would you need to work in the field as well too (MPH, MBA, MHA, etc.?)
Her questions are: Is healthcare administration worth deeply looking into if you want to consult? What are different health administration jobs or opportunities? Is there a big market for health administration work? Are there any healthcare administration jobs that involved gender studies/gender identity work?
Thank you to anyone who responded. I know this is a weird format. Sorry for any grammar mistakes!
Fair Health has in-network and out-of-network rates, but no Medicaid. Any other resources to look it up? Need this for a paper
I understand what copay and what coinsurance is. But I don't understand copay then coinsurance which is written in my plans' policy. Let's say I have a 1000 procedure. How much do I end up paying out of pocket ? (assuming no deductible ). I'm in Texas.
Universal Healthcare would be ideal, but it wouldn't apply well in the US because of tax rates, culture, and distribution? Instead, I suggest we utilize a system that has something for everyone regardless of needs and wealth.
A slight modification of the current system, everybody finds a private insurance provider that works for them and them alone. The provider charges a market price so paying more gets you better treatment, but paying less is also viable.
Here's the important part. The government provides insurance as well of the lowest possible quality but completely free, so you aren't screwed if you lose your insurance.
With this system, we can let people choose the type of health insurance that works perfect for them, at a quality they can agree with, and at a price they can afford.
What do you think? Are there any flaws in this system that I haven't noticed?
Need to have a procedure done, but US bad.
If anyone is familiar with healthcare systems other than the US that could be cheaper, I would love your advice.
Even if the travel costs make it come out to a similar price, I’d rather spend that extra money on a gun trip than nothing at all.
Hello,
I am supposed to go to Peace Corps Ecuador and they require a lot of medical clearance. I had blood work and tested slightly out of range for TSH. This is apparently very common.
I need a note from my doctor to confirm I am not a medical risk. They simply need to write a note, and I called to ask the medical office for her number or if she can call me and they said no that I need to come in and schedule an appointment, is that a standard practice?
I’m 25 but I imagine for someone older with more health complications if they have any issues they should be able to speak to their primary care physician. I’m not stupid I get it’s all about the money but seems like terrible client care.
TLDR: doctor doesn’t take phone calls only appointments, is that normal?
I recently got a new job that starts August 1st. With this job, I will be able to opt into healthcare coverage on day one. Additionally, I am moving out of New York State on August 15th, so won't even be able to use my NY marketplace health insurance for half the month.
I called the marketplace on July 22nd, which is when I got the job offer. I was able to successfully disenroll from my plan, but they told me based on the timing that my insurance would last through the end of August. I not only don't need this plan anymore, since I'll be getting access to one that is completely covered by my employer, but I also can't even use it for the latter half of the month when I'll be in a different state.
I have followed up with the marketplace twice now and the ticket is still processing. Apparently they can't escalate the ticket because it isn't a medical emergency, and it hasn't been 30+ days since I first called.
I really don't want to pay this $800 premium for insurance I won't be using at all, but the payment is due in 4 days. The guy on the phone at NY marketplace suggested they might be able to reimburse the payment if they decide after the fact that they can end my coverage on July 31st, but getting that money back sounds like a nightmare in itself. The following is stated on my premium invoice, which I think means that if I simply don't pay the premium, as long as I don't go to the doctor or get any prescriptions filled at the pharmacy that I just won't have access to the insurance, which is totally fine... but just want to be sure:
Your August 2022 premium must be received by the due date on this statement. If you do not submit payment by this due date, we will suspend processing on any claims for services received after this date. In addition, you will be charged 100% coinsurance for pharmacy purchases and applicable child only dental and vision services. You can be reimbursed for covered charges later if your account is paid in full. If you do not submit your payment by August 31, 2022, you will be disenrolled from the plan retroactive to July 31, 2022. You will be responsible for all service charges received after this date.
Help please!
My friend (30,F) is recently moved to GA and is having trouble finding a public healthcare option. She is a daycare teacher and her employer does not offer that in her benefits package. She applied for public healthcare but they rejected her saying she makes too much to qualify. They did accept her 5 y.o son’s application for health insurance. She makes under $50,000/year and leases a home for $1,913/month. Where can she find Georgia health care insurance? Are there any other public options that are free or low-cost?
My wife got a new job. We have options for either Sutter or Kaiser for insurance. We have had Kaiser over the past couple years and the experience has been awful.
My issues with Kaiser:
No Urgent Care. You have to call in to get an Urgent Care appointment and those might be several days out or in an entire other city.
The least helpful doctors I've ever met. Awhile ago I got some lower back pain and my entire leg went numb. Originally it started as leg pain. I asked my doctor I could get an Xray on my leg. He requested it and it came up clear. I then realized it's all from my back. I messaged him again to request a back xray , and he kept sending me automated messages to schedule an in person appointment if I want further help. The earliest I could get an appointment was literally a month later. Again no Urgent care so I couldn't just walk in.
Pretty much any time you try to message a doctor to ask for help or advice they Just tell you to schedule an appointment. Even phone or zoom appointments can be weeks out.
Their online pharmacy is awful. I have a specialized shot I have to take every 2 weeks that can't be mailed in. When I try to order it online so it's ready to pick up, it always gives me an error. So I always have to go to the pharmacy and expect to wait 45 mins for them to fill it.
Their phone system is awful. Often get sent to the wrong department or it just glitches when I put in my Kaiser number and doesn't let me continue. Have spent 4 hours on hold once because 3 nurses kept transferring me to the wrong department after I've continually told them I just got transferred FROM there
I want to get rid of Kaiser more than anything, but also don't want to get something worse (if that's even possible). Kaiser is shitty but familiar, and I have no experience with Sutter and haven't found much information or reviews on it.
Affordable Healthcare Plans
I’m accepting a job offer but the company doesn’t provide health/dental benefits. Obviously I’m going to seek out heath and dental for my wife and I’m just curious to see what my options are. We’re based in California and need something that’s not going to break the bank. Thanks in advance!
I was hit by a car on the last day of April. The driver was driving on a revoked license and thus had no insurance. I was sent to two hospitals and one has been of no help in financial aid. My insurance barely covers anything, and they have charged me nearly $25,000 for basically nothing. I don't know what to do. Is there a victim's fund? They considered this a hit and run initially and he was charged for it.
So I have battled GAD, mostly situational with panic attacks for years and have tried almost every SSRI and alprazolam and clonazepam. I also have ADD that i have been on vyvanse for. The vyvanse works great and i had been off of klonopin for about a year and taking buspar. Im still taking buspar and wanted klonopin when i need it but i was told i would have to choose between klonopin and vyvanse because they are both controlled. I really dont like this because i have no problems with not taking the vyvanse but i feel 100x more productive and present while taking it but my panic attacks are unbearable and i would like to have the klonopin for those circumstances. Im just at a standstill as to what to do. Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can do?
So my hospital opened up a carepayment credit account in my name. I'm wondering what the benefit is to me for this, as it seems like if I miss a payment I'm going to get hit with extra interest and late fees. Should I just pay a minimum amount to the hospital every month instead?
I lost health coverage the day after my 26th. Where can I buy health coverage? I know there’s the federal marketplace but what about some private marketplaces? Any suggestions on getting the most budget friendly deal would be appreciated.
So I am primary currently and through my employer we get a significant contribution to our HSA if we have the HDHP. It's worked out great so far once we hit our family ded we owe 0% unless it's out of network which is then 20% up to a max of 10K.
My kids mom is getting a new job and health coverage is included in her benefits (I'm pretty sure at no cost) and I think it's a typical PPO plan with a co-payment (not sure on cost of that).
I think (if we have a choice) keeping mine as primary where we pay the full cost of the visit up to my max deductible, and having hers as the secondary would be the most beneficial?
In this case, say the Dr visit for us is $120 after all "credits" under my plan alone we split that $120 and that goes towards the deductible. With hers being secondary it would pick up the tab of that $120 and we might owe the co-payment? But that $120 would go towards my deductible still correct?
I'd call insurance but even they don't know how the plan works haha and would probably recommend whatever is best for them anyways.
They keep on telling me they have to meet a deductible for my mri scan it's 300$ it's been over 2 weeks since that, I've been thru this twice we go to the doctor I tell them my back problems then they say I need a full body mri then my mom will tell them that it's too expensive and we have to meet a deductible, I've told my parents about this going onto 2 years
Which one should I stick with? I live in Indiana and have had MHS for awhile but I can get empire blue through my works insurance. I've seen not so great reviews on empire blue, I'm thinking about just keeping mhs. Any thoughts?
I had two ambulance rides last year, for medical emergencies. Total bill was around $4500. My insurance (UHC) paid around $1300. I then receive bills from the City of X for the remainder ($3200). They mistakenly sent them to the wrong address which is why I'm only dealing with this now.
On my insurance portal I see:
"Member: this service was provided by an out-of-network provider. We paid the provider according to your benefits and data provided by data isight. If you're asked to pay more than the deductible, copay and coinsurance, please call data isight at 877-859-2166 or visit dataisight.Com. They will work with the provider on your behalf. If the provider disagrees with data isight, the provider might bill you for the difference between the amount billed and the amount allowed. We've asked them not to. Please contact us if they do. Provider: please don't bill the patient above the amount of deductible, copay and coinsurance."
I've now contacted UHC and left a message for data isight. UHC has told me I should only have to pay ~$300 for both, rather than $3200. They said they'll get in touch with City of X. Does anyone have any advice for handling this situation? In the meantime I guess I'll do a $5/month payment plan.
Young & healthy in late 20’s, haven’t seen a doctor in 4 years. Thinking I should get a checkup, maybe blood work, etc for preventative purposes. Cheapest way to do this on a high deductible plan? Urgent care or clinic?
My son’s ADHD medication was not delivered and I received an email claiming that they had tried to contact his doctor and had not received a reply and therefore could not complete his refill. I called today and was told that his medication was on long-term out of stock status and had been since May! I received the email yesterday. It’s unbelievable they would lie in this way and to not only me, a simple search on Twitter shows many, many other patients having the same issues, ridiculous!
I live in Canada, where there is talk of reforming the public healthcare system. When there is talk of reform, hybrid public-private systems, such as in the Netherlands and other European countries, comes up. For those of you how live/have lived in a country with this system, do you feel like it's functioned well?
Basically I've been having a searing pain in my sinuses and ear since October 2021. This is the first time I have to deal with the American healthcare system. Good god! What a joke!
They told me I had an infection, put me on antibiotics. Didn't help. After that, every time I go, they keep "checking for tumors" and I'm like wtf?! They look at me for 10 minutes and go "Welp, you seem to be ok." But I don't feel ok, not at all. Breathing makes my nose and ear sting, and sometimes the pain gets so bad, I have to lay down for hours. I've had to wait for months to see a specialist, only for them to tell me "Idk, but no tumors tho"
I'm thousands in debt, and I don't feel better. They don't even try to find what's wrong with me. What the hell is this garbage?! I thought Americans were exaggerating, but this is somehow even worse. I don't have the money to travel to get care in my country thanks to all the money I've been paying. And the worst part is that I have it good compared to most people!
I don't know what to do, or who to talk to. I'm hurting every day, and no one cares. Ahhh but the bill is always on time. That never fails. Paying for nothing.
Recently came across a post where a blind person claims to have suffered blindness due to the buecratic red tape of the Canadian healthcare system
https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/w1htg3/i_am_going_completely_blind_from_optic_nerve/
this comment specifically:
Actually, it was not in the US, it was Canada of all fucking places because there was a Doctor shortage on account of a lot of medical personnel quitting because they were overwhelmed during COVID. At least with America, if you pay, they will promptly fix it. However, with a tax-funded medical system, there's a lot of buerocratic red tape on deciding what is in a emergency, sort of like what one would expect from an army triage unit, deciding who lives and who dies, or in this case, deciding who gets to survive a few more years of congestive heart failure versus a young, otherwise healthy person lose his vision. They see a 75 year old who has one foot in the grave as a higher priority. The 23 year old can learn to live with reduced quality of life.
Could this situation happen in a US hospital? How is the Canadian healthcare system different?
So I was taking my girlfriend to the ER for a bad Cyclic Vommiting Episode last sunday and it was a mess. She got her first few shots a couple of minutes after we arrived but we had to wait like 3 hours until she actually could get in.
She was passing out, and was super dehydrated because of her illness, and no one seemed to care at all. When we got her blood test, it seemed like no one really cared that she was so dehydrated. Afterwards it took 3 hours for her to get into the main hospital, in which she finally got her help. But in the meantime we were in a busy ER with a bunch of weird people which is usually for the ER. It seemed like a disaster, and every time I think about bad healthcare I think about ER rooms.
But after she was omitted to the hospital my perspective shifted to the other end. Were the ER rooms are chaos and trash is everyone and people are doing all kinds of shit. The hospital is in pristine conditions, not a spot anywhere. With a press of the button you can ask for help, and if you had any pain whatsoever you can get that treated. Compared to the ER where she was basically dying and no one seemed to care. It was such a huge difference in the hospital.
I find it weird that the place were people need the most treatment takes the longest and treats you the least. She could have died and I feel like no one would have showed, up but if she feels pain in the hospital its like help comes instantly.
Anyone else find it weird how the ER is so different and worse then the hospital.
My wife's doctor prescribed her a rather expensive medicine ($100) without telling her the risks and side effects; mainly, there is a risk of getting breast cancer with this medicine. My wife has a family member who got breast cancer so she doesn't want to take the risk. The problem is, we didn't learn this side effect until we already bought the medicine. So, not only the doctor, but the pharmacist also failed to inform us of the side effects. We just want to return the medicine and get our $100 refund, but the pharmacy's manager (at CVS) wouldn't accept it, so now we lost $100 for a medicine we don't want.
Is there anything we can do? I thought about filing a complaint with CVS on their website, but I don't know if they are legally at fault or if my wife's doctor is solely to blame for not telling her the risks. Please advise.
I don’t know how to explain it, but I know it can’t just be me! I’ve met a lot of healthcare workers including doctors, PA’s, dermatologists, dentists, etc. and it’s one of the environments where I’ve noticed that a certain number of medical professionals will come in and maintain this unbroken gaze with you, and it’s caught me a little off guard before. 30 seconds of unbroken eye contact starts to feel like a lot and I lowkey feel like I’m under a microscope sometimes, lol.
I’m aware that eye contact is an important part of bedside manner and many doctors will make eye contact to show that they are being respectful and attentive. However, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people (don’t really know the exact number, but at least 6 or 7 I met personally that I can remember over a few years?) who held such a long stare compared to other doctors that I wondered if they were ever actually gonna blink, lol.
I think a lot of less ‘emotional’ people, people who are cooler under pressure, or even sociopaths/psychopaths might be drawn to these jobs because of their ability to handle stressful or challenging work environments, but I don’t know. Not vilifying sociopathy or psychopathy, of course, but I wonder if those are people I’ve met without realizing it. (I do realize that you can be low empathy without necessarily being a sociopath, and that eye contact/lack thereof isn’t necessarily indicative of either) but I’ve always wondered, why do some doctors do this?