Rant... Free Medical My Butt

I'd ask if it is reddened and swollen or just swollen? Is there fluid? An MRI a year from now will not do you any good, I'd get a second opinion and let it heal naturally, then return to gentle exercise.

I've just been to a rheumotologist for all over aches and pains, esp in my ankles. I've had it off and on for years. I've got a nice lab bill for over $400 that my insurance didn't cover and no explanation of the issue. Screw 'em. I refuse to see any unless its an emergent issue anymore. I'd rather deal with it on my own. Sorry to steal your rant.

In the US all you'd have to do is go to the ED.

and pay the bill when you're done if your insurance doesn't cover it or you don't have insurance............:laugh:

To the OP, no one ever said healthcare is free, it is paid for by the taxpayers of this country.

We don't have free medical care but I have decent insurance as I work for the government. I still paid over a grand the last time I had advanced imaging done and that was above and beyond what my insurance paid. Not to mention the copays for my primary physician, specialist and prescriptions.

In the US all you'd have to do is go to the ED.

To the OP, no one ever said healthcare is free, it is paid for by the taxpayers of this country.

:drinker: YUP. Socialized healthcare... no thank you :noway:



I am sorry for your troubles though.

People don't die in the USA because they can't go to the Doctor. Completely untrue. They go to the Emergency Room, the hospital stops calling about the bill in a couple of months, and then they just raise their prices for other things to cover the cost of those who can't pay. Public hospitals cannot deny service in the emergency room.

Hate it when it double posts!!

Nevermind

Does your employer's medical insurance cover MRIs? When my daughter needed an MRI for her knee issue, the wait time was 18 months. Fortunately, my husband's medical insurance covered the full cost of a private clinic and we were able to get the test done within days. Good luck!

Just wait US citizens...this is right around the corner for us...and closer than you think....aren't you glad you voted?

People don't die in the USA because they can't go to the Doctor. Completely untrue. They go to the Emergency Room, the hospital stops calling about the bill in a couple of months, and then they just raise their prices for other things to cover the cost of those who can't pay. Public hospitals cannot deny service in the emergency room.

Wrongo. Approximately 26,000 people in the US die every year because of a lack of health care. Someone with insurance who has chest pains calls 911. Someone without it pops an asprin and a Tums and lays down to rest. Guess who doesn't survive?

And yet again I wonder why governments and countries refuse to even consider a system like the NHS that we have here in Britain, this would never have proved a problem. You should never have to worry about money when it comes to your health, as much as it is denied people die in places like USA, supposedly one of the most developed countries in the world, simply because they can't afford to go to the doctor! Since when did that become ok?

OK... the US healthcare system is far from perfect, but I'm pretty sure Britain's NHS has problems, too. For example, a woman in the U.S. is far more likely to have her breast cancer diagnosed early, get appropriate treatment, and survive. Women in the U.S. are typically screened regularly at an earlier age (40), and screened every year instead of every 2-3. In the U.S, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 97% likely to still be alive 5 years later, in the UK the odds are only 78%.

No healthcare system is without flaws.

Personally, I have great insurance through my employer and I would choose it over what is provided by the British NHS.

I see what you're saying, the American system is all well and good for those who can afford it, but for those without insurance because they can't afford it? For those who worked hard all their lives, lost their jobs in the recession and are now scraping the bottom of their bank accounts just to eat, never mind get health insurance! Yes the NHS has flaws, but if you're well off in Britain you're perfectly welcome to go pay for private health care if you want to. But the NHS will treat everybody, theres no one who is not able to get a doctors appointment, theres nobody who feels ill for months but can't afford to visit the doctor, and when they finally are ill enough to end up in the ER, they're told they have stage 4 cancer, have months to live and theres nothing we can do, oh, and by the way, here's the £300 bill for coming here today. That is my issue with the American system, all the arguments I've ever heard that favour the american system hinge on statistics like that that you've just given me on breast cancer, but what nobody ever seems to face up to is that the American system only works for those with employment, for those with money, for those who can afford it. The people with no jobs and no money and no way of getting treatment are forgotten about, brushed over. That is why I think the NHS is by far and above the better system, it does not judge, it does not deny treatment, it doesn't forget about anybody. I think this is the point that nobody ever seems to get.

And yet again I wonder why governments and countries refuse to even consider a system like the NHS that we have here in Britain, this would never have proved a problem. You should never have to worry about money when it comes to your health, as much as it is denied people die in places like USA, supposedly one of the most developed countries in the world, simply because they can't afford to go to the doctor! Since when did that become ok?

It's "okay" in the US because (from my end as I have worked with many doctors) they are greedy and looking to pad their pockets rather than work for the common good. People had put them on a pedestal and they could do no wrong, so if they healed your loved one, you'd pay anything. Many do nothing but complain that they are not being reimbursed enough by insurance to afford private schools for their children or keep up the country club memberships. They need their bubble burst. The good one's - well they stay quiet and work and volunteer, not looking for credit or commendations. It's a screwed up society.

So you don't think a doctor is worth paying a premium for if they are good at what they do? God forbid they can afford a better life because they worked their butt off for 20 years or more. Show me an ER that turns away people that can't afford care. Please.

And yet again I wonder why governments and countries refuse to even consider a system like the NHS that we have here in Britain, this would never have proved a problem. You should never have to worry about money when it comes to your health, as much as it is denied people die in places like USA, supposedly one of the most developed countries in the world, simply because they can't afford to go to the doctor! Since when did that become ok?

It's "okay" in the US because (from my end as I have worked with many doctors) they are greedy and looking to pad their pockets rather than work for the common good. People had put them on a pedestal and they could do no wrong, so if they healed your loved one, you'd pay anything. Many do nothing but complain that they are not being reimbursed enough by insurance to afford private schools for their children or keep up the country club memberships. They need their bubble burst. The good one's - well they stay quiet and work and volunteer, not looking for credit or commendations. It's a screwed up society.

So you don't think a doctor is worth paying a premium for if they are good at what they do? God forbid they can afford a better life because they worked their butt off for 20 years or more. Show me an ER that turns away people that can't afford care. Please.

Emergency Rooms may treat you, but you have to be pretty ill to go! You can't go for check ups, you can't go for cancer screening, by the time some people get to an emergency room they're beyond help, and if they'd been able to go to the doctor months before they woulld never have reached that stage. They would have survived. Health care is a human right, I just find it difficult to comprehend how the most powerful country in the world can turn around and say to people, you don't have enough money, so you can't have it. I find it terrifying to be perfectly honest.

If you go to the ED and complain about it enough (ham it up, limp, whatever), you're more likely to get an MRI done right away. Wait time is a year because it's not really impairing your life. I work in a healthcare facility, and we can book MRI's usually within a day or two, depending upon time of day/client's schedule.

Additionally, you can go back to your doctor and ask for a referral to a specialist (rheumatology maybe), but specialist appointments can take just as long, especially because it's not impairing your life.

Seriously. It's free healthcare for a reason. If you want something done, you have to make it known that you can't function because of it.

And hey, if you don't like it, move to the U.S.

(if my tone sounds annoyed, it's because I am. You sound awfully ungrateful. You could live in a third world country and have nothing.)

People don't die in the USA because they can't go to the Doctor. Completely untrue. They go to the Emergency Room, the hospital stops calling about the bill in a couple of months, and then they just raise their prices for other things to cover the cost of those who can't pay. Public hospitals cannot deny service in the emergency room.

People do die in the USA because they do not have access to medical care! Emergency rooms only obligation is to save your life if you are in immediate danger. But if you show up to the ER because you just found out you have {Insert fatal disease} lets say cancer and it's in the early stage where chemo will say your life a ER will NOT provide that for you. They will however, send you home with pain meds and well wishes.

It is disgusting that healthcare is not a basic privilege.