@LikeItOrLumpIt I'd settle for slow dating to find a therapist at this point. Nothing else seems to work as all the therapists these days are either not taking new patients, aren't covered by my insurance, or have just stopped taking insurance altogether and have $300.00 to $500.00 hourly rates. #USHealthCare
AI was fucking things up long before the current hype cycle.
Today's example: "UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges." (AKA "Our lawyers say it's not a bug, it's a feature!")
When anyone criticizes the US healthcare system, they always go after insurance companies. I'm not a fan of insurance companies, but they sometimes get too much of the blame because they're not always in control. Often, the hospital systems are also complicit or in some places, they're actually calling the shots.
The US healthcare system has some serious structural issues and paradoxically as it stands right now, everyone who's part of the problem is also part of the solution. In an ideal world, it'd be great to have a single payer system in the US, but the power dynamics are more complex than most people realize. Banishing insurance companies tomorrow might not produce the results people think it would.
It's not just a simple case of insurance = greed and hospitals = victims and I'm saying this as a former healthcare professional.
Call to action: drug shortage in the U.S. (both for ADHD and cancer drugs)
We have a few weeks to leave public comments at the FTC and HHS regarding the manufactured drug shortage that has been hitting the ADHD community so hard over the past couple of years, and which is now also impacting cancer patients.
Call to action: drug shortage in the U.S. (both for ADHD and cancer drugs)
We have a few weeks to leave public comments at the FTC and HHS regarding the manufactured drug shortage that has been hitting the ADHD community so hard over the past couple of years, and which is now also impacting cancer patients.
Reminder:
Call to action: drug shortage in the U.S. (both for ADHD and cancer drugs)
We have just a few short days to leave public comments at the FTC and HHS regarding the manufactured drug shortage that has been hitting the ADHD community so hard over the past couple of years, and which is now also impacting cancer patients.
Our insurance provider, Blue Cross, terminated its contract with a large health care provider here in Arizona. That means that we can no longer go to the hospital that is less than 2 miles from our house. We now have to travel more than 7 miles to arrive at an emergency room our insurance will accept.
Now I have to figure out which doctors we can still see.
@LaNaehForaday
Yes. When I purposely selected my neighborhood for its proximity to a hospital, and now the choice to use it is financially unfeasible, I will complain.
People who don't want universal healthcare point to how limited our choices would be. I was trying to point out that the US' current system of health insurance limits our choices more than universal healthcare would.
I’m a lifelong power wheelchair user who lives in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, where there are only two vendors who specialize in complex custom wheelchairs for patients like me: Care Medical – a local independent vendor, and Numotion – a large national vendor. Both vendors are in network with Anthem, but only Numotion is in network with UnitedHealthcare. I would like to share in detail what a negative impact this change in health insurance has had on me and my healthcare.
When my employer offered health insurance through Anthem years ago, I used Care Medical for wheelchair services and repairs were always completed promptly. This has not been the case with UnitedHealthcare and Numotion. Back in early October I started the process to get seating adjustments on my wheelchair and replace a motor that was starting to fail. My Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM & R) doctor referred me to a wheelchair seating clinic, who arranged for a Numotion Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) to participate in a seating evaluation with one of the clinic’s Occupational Therapists (OT) on October 3rd. During that appointment they took notes and collectively decided what changes and parts were necessary for the proper fit and function of my wheelchair.
On October 30th I received an automated email from Numotion stating that they were still waiting for documentation from my clinician. This indicated to me that the repair order had not been fully submitted nearly a month after my seating evaluation. I immediately contacted the OT to ensure all paperwork was in order. I received another automated email from Numotion about missing documentation on November 9th. I discovered that Numotion had requested medical documentation from my primary care doctor, instead of the specialist who had referred me for the evaluation. Numotion received the parts in late November, and the service appointment is today – nearly three months after my evaluation appointment. When I tried calling Numotion’s local phone number to let the repair shop know that my mom would be a little late dropping off my chair, I was routed to a call center. The agent told me she would send a note after she tried to call the local repair shop and didn’t get an answer. When I asked for a direct number for the repair shop, she said there isn't one. When my mom arrived, she asked for a local phone number, and they confirmed that they do not have one.
I keep an old wheelchair around in case my current wheelchair needs repairs. It doesn’t fit me as well as my current chair, and I worry about how long it will last, but it works for now in a pinch. Many do not have that luxury and would have no choice but to wait for months without a functioning wheelchair. Care Medical employees have told me that they have tried to get in network with UnitedHealthcare for years without success. This situation has left me to rethink what I and others with disabilities should evaluate when considering an employer.
If I were to be laid off now and wanted to continue my same health insurance coverage for my family with COBRA, it would cost $3000/month. (medical, dental, vision)
So grateful a person with no medical degree, that’s only qualification is they work for an insurance company, decided that it was okay if my kid continues the medication she needs to walk and write and not be in extreme pain. Preauthorizations are fucking barbaric. #USHealthcare#healthcare#healthcareforall
This video goes a little dark.😅 But the truth is there. Don’t let your eye doctor and their employees guilt you into crappy glasses for $1k markup over what you need / insurance covers! Warning…some Halloween gore cursing, and loud noises.
The out of pocket for someone with insurance is $5,024.
That's three months income.
I want to say, "unbelievable", but I believe it completely, and it's one reason so many of us (me included) simply don't ever go to a doctor, no matter what.
Dying outright is a lot cheaper and likely less stressful than dealing with for profit healthcare/insurance.
Tweet by Sayed TAbatabai (@TheRealDoctorT, timestamp 19:58 Oct 28 2023): $16, 024 Insurance paid $11,000 All the Canadians with their free healthcare asking "who's Bill?" is both simultaneously adorable and depressing as hell.
"You can now treat your cough, cold, and flu with Amazon Clinic, the company’s latest expansion into the healthcare space Wednesday that begs the question: Why is Amazon now my doctor?"
"The federal government is losing as much as $140 billion per year by subsidizing private Medicare Advantage plans, according to a bombshell new report..."
"These private plans have been under fire for the rate at which they deny patient care. As The Lever reported, these claims have a devastating cost to health outcomes but frequently save insurance companies money as patients forgo treatments they cannot afford."