See, this is what’s so crazy… When I was coming back from Flagstaff back in June, my left ear never opened up or “popped” when we landed in Tampa. It stayed that way for a good week. I went to see the internist’s practice ARNP, who looked at my ear, told me to take some antihistamines for a week and all would be well. That visit of maybe five minutes, if that, was billed to my insurer for $370.00. They dd their negotiated discount down to $200 and change, paid most of it, and I was left with a $30 bill PLUS a copay of $20 I paid at the visit.
Fast forward to August. My ear is still not open. I’ve lost some of my hearing in the ear as a result. As my insurance just kicked in August 1st, I asked my dentist to recommend a good ENT. He gave me a referral. I called up the practice last Friday, explained my situation and on Monday I got an appointment - not with the ENT himself, but an ARNP in the practice. Fine, I’ll start with the second string so I can work my way up, I’m perfectly fine with that. In less than a minute or two she confirmed that yes, my eustachian tube was clearly blocked for some reason and she wrote a script for an antibiotic and a steroid I’ve got to take for two weeks, after which she’s seeing me for a follow up. I haven’t seen the bill yet, but my copay was $50 since it’s a specialist. So why couldn’t the ARNP at my internist’s practice have done this? And yes, I understand the pitfalls of socialized medicine, but it’s got to be better than the system we have now. Look at the number of people who are financially crippled due to medical debt. When Mrs. Dan has gone in for surgeries to address her cancer why does the admissions desk have a little sign that says, “If you don’t have insurance you can get a 50% discount on the bill if you pay within 30 days. Or pay in 15 days and get a 60% discount!” What does that tell you about the “business”? Grrr. -D > On Aug 9, 2022, at 9:12 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > Sounds like it's time for a new doctor... > > I waited 3 months for an appointment with an ENT. I've had sinus headaches > every day or two since September. Two weeks ago the ENT guy takes a look in > my ears, up my nose and down my throat (guess he was doing his job) and sent > me off for a CT scan. That was yesterday, I got the results today which > basically say I have a sinus infection. I suspect he'll give me some > antibiotics. > > -Curt > > On Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at 07:15:14 PM EDT, Kaleb Striplin via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > What do you think about doctors these days? Are they all idiots? The spouse > has been sick for a week, to the point she went to the ER Sunday. Has a virus > and very dehydrated. ER basically did nothing. Could not get an IV and just > gave up. Today she had a “wellness” visit with our primary care doctor. She > started to discuss the test results etc from the visit and the huge > dehydration problem but he cut her off and said this visit was only to review > certain things. Basically just going over the most basic items. So you are in > a doctors office and they ignore a glaring illness and say you would need to > make a sick visit rather than this wellness visit? It would seem to this > recent issue should be addressed on any visit including a wellness visit. I > use the same doctor and anytime I want to ask about my neck problems, or > anything related to my blood thinners he doesn’t want to discuss it, only > what is on his simpleton agenda for the day. > > Sent from my iPhone > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
