Why doctors drive nicer cars than you.
 

I'm just about fed up with being sodomized by the medical/insurance industries. I'm becoming convinced that certain doctors and insurance companies are running the most successful scam in history, and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.

I got a bill in the mail today for $170. No biggie, I guess, until you get the whole picture. About a year and a half ago, I started experiencing pretty severe pain and swelling in some of my joints. I figured it was some kind of tendonitis thing related to guitar, but the possibility of rheumatoid arthritis was in the back of my head.

To cut out a lot of boring stuff...that's what it was. RA was confirmed through a series of blood tests and xrays, etc. My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist to get me started on some meds so I could slow the progression of the disease (no cure, but manageable).

I went to the office, told the man I had RA. He felt for lumps or something in my hands, feet, etc. and said, "Here's a prescription for some anti-inflammatory drugs." I left after paying the $25 co-pay for my insurance. Then the bill came about a month later.

$235 total, for a first-time patient setup and "medical decision-making of moderate complexity." My insurance, to whom I pay $150/month in premiums, covered $40. That left me with the remaining bill to pay.

Moderate complexity my ass. He didn't do ANYTHING.

I only have enough molotov cocktails for one office. Should I take out the rheumatologist or Blue Cross/Blue Shield? I'm thinking I better just stock up on Vaseline.

Grr.

But MrNoodle, they need the money.

Oh yeah. That. well, OH looky the time. my crippling condition has me longing for the quilts of me good ol' bed. Um. I'll take that one up with ya tomorrow...

I can get better drugs then him, anyway. cheaper too. so there.

Going in March, with my bill in one hand and my feelings way up on my shirtsleeve. Back of shirt will be my Glock Armorer/Authorized Dealer freebie we got when we bought a bunch of guns. He'll probably be wearing a Springfield one (+4 Magic Dart, no mana). But it's worth a shot.

Can we please cease fire on the gun riffs? Shoot. [/range clear]

no, i'll ask him politely. but just once. The thing is, I HAVE to keep this condition treated or it will get out of control and I will say goodbye to guitar, archery, opening jars without my moms help. So if I can just keep his hands away from the vise wherin lie me nutz....

I've had so much worse...

I have 2 implants....dental implants. I have some messed up genes so 2 teeth never shoved up after the first set came out.

So I had 2 implants put in, hurt like a bitch. The doctor was the head of dentestry or whatever at UPenn, said he had never had a rejection. 8k and 2 years later, one came out.

So now I am having it redone and he wants 4k for it.

Here are the fucked up things:
1) He "never" had a failure except now he won't say wether he said that or not.
2) He won't tell me 'why' it failed.
3) He won't tell me how long my other implant will last.
4) He won't tell me how long this implant that he replaced will last
5) He won't tell me how it makes sense that I pay twice for some fuckup that isn't my fault.

It's fucked up because he is one of the best in the country, people fly over to get their implants done by him, yet he is being suck a dickhead that it's idiotic. Whats 4k to him? It's a lot to me. Why can't he just say that he used an implant that was smaller than it should have been and it didn't hold...it's irritating.

And nope. Can't sue him or anything. No kind of warranty on dental implants so there is nothing that he is responsible for.

And people wonder why I say that sometimes only napalm will do the job.

[sarcasm] You misunderstood what he actually meant. People come from far and wide to have him perform medical procedures and......he never had a rejection.....in extracting cash from either the patient or the insurance company.[/sarcasm]

On a more serious note, sorry that you are having the problem in the first place.

This whole thread reinforces my belief in the practical advantages of medical savings accounts/ catastrophic , high deductible insurance policies.

you could always get a pet octopus
http://cellar.org/2003/octopusjar.jpg

Just go to the doctor and tell him you need a total cashectomy. I guarantee you he'll understand *that*.

Octopuses...erm octopusii? are very smart. One day they'll rule the world along side with dolphins.

and cockroaches

My doctor does not drive a better car than I do.

He has been divorced three times, most recently within the last year. He also (glutton for punishment) just remarried.

He drives a mid-90s Toyota Corolla.

He's a great damn doctor, though.

I loved my Doctor and not just because of the prostrate exams. I'd email him jokes on a regular basis to use on his patients. He sent me an email a short while ago, that he had retired because he couldn't beat the Parkinson's disease he'd been fighting. I still send him jokes.:(

And this is why lawyers drive nicer cars than doctors.

While I'm using Edwards as an example, I'm not trying to make a partisan point. I just want to point out that the practice of suing doctors over things that aren't their fault has caused malpractice insurance costs to go through the roof. This cost, in turn, is passed through to the patients.

edited to add 2nd quote - otherwise unchanged

Off the point but perhaps more toward the goal.....
 

Expensive and perhaps too close minded ....

Some leading edge docters believe that RA is caused by the same agent(s) as Strep and can be cured with low-dose antibiotics over time. For some patients, the cure works. Find a doc that may give you hope and try this cure.....

Dr. Mirkin, a crusty sounding former athelete recently retired medical talkshow host cured his wife with the same treatment...
Look for it at drmirkin.com.


Good Luck

I've said this before but it bears repeating. In the OR the Doctor really has to work to do damage that can't be undone if it's noticed then and there. The person that holds your life in their hands is the anesthetist.
They let you see the light, then drag you back to life.
An anesthetist friend is real careful and had almost 1200 patients without killing one. The insurance company said the law of averages says he should kill 1 per 1000 and he was overdue, so the doubled his premium. :(

That kind of ridiculous logic encourages anesthetists to maintain the 'expected' status quo.
(Of course they wouldn't do it, i'm just jerking my knee in anger at the insurance companies behaviour.)

Jerk your knee not at the insurance company but at the lawyer who sues the doctor or anesthesioligist. Why do you think the insurance company tracks the rate? They figure with 1,200 successful procedures, an effUp and lawsuit are right around the corner so they are just bracing themselves.

Hmmmm (lightbulb). Seems all these threads end up with a common cause, Lawyers. In their defence (cough) I must point out juries ain't helping much.:(

Gambler's Fallacy
 

While the insurance company may have used "you're due" as an excuse for raising the anaesthesiologist's rates, be assured that they don't actually believe it. If their statistical ability was that bad, they'd be out of business in short order.