Why doctors drive nicer cars than you.

[mrnoodle]

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.

[OnyxCougar]

I would go back to that doctor. Take the bill with you. Tell the doctor when he comes in what has happened and ask him if feeling you up was "moderately complex."

Ask him if him fucking you up the ass is considered "extremely complex" and how much would that cost?


No, seriously, my friend worked in medical billing for awhile, and some doctors have no idea how all that stuff works, and what the patient gets stuck with. (No pun intended.) If you show him the bill, and explain that if all his patients get charged $235 for him feeling your joints and writing a prescription for a PREVIOUSLY DIAGNOSED condition, then you'll be going to the AMA and taking up his practices and procedures with them.

You may be surprised.

[xoxoxoBruce]

But MrNoodle, they need the money.

[mrnoodle]

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.

[mrnoodle]

Originally posted by OnyxCougar
I would go back to that doctor......

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....

[FileNotFound]

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.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally posted by FileNotFound
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.

[slang]

Originally posted by FileNotFound
..........he had never had a rejection.

[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.

[slang]

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

[lumberjim]

Originally posted by mrnoodle

opening jars without my moms help.

you could always get a pet octopus

[Elspode]

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

[FileNotFound]

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

[lumberjim]

and cockroaches

[wolf]

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.

[xoxoxoBruce]

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.