If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#181
|
|||
|
|||
Ericka Kammerer wrote:
We have a major issue with paperwork. The byzantine maze of insurance paperwork is causing dramatic increases in costs for doctors. They spend a lot of time handling referrals and figuring out rules and so forth. Most offices now have at least one person on staff who does *nothing* but handle insurance issues (more if it's a larger practice). That's a lot of money. Hospitals have entire teams. Oh yeah I forgot that it would probably be much worse for you. ;-) |
#182
|
|||
|
|||
On Fri, 5 Nov 2004 09:46:14 -0500, "Sue"
wrote: She's had the transplant already, but I forsee someday in her future of having a kidney transplant because of all the drugs. To be honest, I had thought of you and Thud when I talked about not trusting the NHS system. Your family has whethered the system with a chronic illness, so it can't be *that* bad. ) I think one of the major differences between the US system and the Australian system is the access to medical care for non-chronic or non-emergency illnesses. It is much easier and straightforward for you get to get _anything_ done here under Medicare if it is deemed medically imperative. However if you are after something that has not been deemed an emergency or necessary to be done immediately you are better off under the US system, assuming you have insurance. For example, my MIL had to have her gall bladder removed. She has private health insurance so she chose a doctor and he booked her into hospital, it was done within about 2 weeks. My mother needed cataract surgery within 3 months or she would be legally blind, the waiting list in the public system was approx 9-12 months so she had to find the $2000 per eye out of pocket expense to get the cataracts removed. I think it turned out that about $500 per eye was covered by Medicare, the rest was anaesthetist and eye surgeon "gap" or co-pay expenses. And then as I said, my cardiac kid can't go to a private hospital for his surgeries so we are going through the public hospital system and basically choosing the dates we prefer. When he had his last catherisation in late July I had recently found out I was pregnant. The cardiologist asked me if I had any preferences on when to do the surgery as we had initially discussed April next year, so when I told him I'd rather do it with a baby in my belly than at home he completely agreed and promptly booked Thud in for November. No discussion with the hospital, no real _need_ for the operation to be done then except that it fitted in with my family plans, it was just deemed medically necessary by Thud's doctor so it's going ahead. -- Cheryl Mum to Shrimp (11 Mar 99), Thud (4 Oct 00) Mischief (30 Jul 02) + Thumper due Feb 05 |
#183
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 17:18:48 -0600, "Donna Metler"
wrote: One of the hospitals has a plan where you can get standard pre-natal care and delivery support for $2500-paid in monthly installments for a year. Of course, it doesn't cover anything but the regular OB/CNM appointments and a standard delivery, but at least it means that you're not hit with a big bill all at once. The idea is that it's supposed to reach people who don't qualify for the health plan for low-income people, but who don't have health insurance through an employer or privately, either. Where my mother lives, there was a plan like that for dental work. I don't remember the details, but all of the local dentists offered it. My mother took out the plan because she needed some dental work done. If I remember correctly, her payments were something like $14 a month for 12 months. I wished more places in the US offered plans like that. My mother and some other people I know who live in the US could use them. -- Daye |
#184
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 4 Nov 2004 19:53:44 -0500, "Sue"
wrote: I did miss that Daye, I'm sorry. It is okay. I just wanted you to be aware that I was basing my opinion on experience, not on what I read that the US system was like. The only time I have been without insurance was when I was in college for about three years. Your experiences with no insurance sound like mine. If you had lived in Australia, the UK or NZ, you would have had treatment available to you. That is why I am pro-government funded health care. This must be a clinic that caters to people with no insurance and it is really sad to hear about all of these people needing medications and care, but cannot afford it. I admit, our system is definitelyly not perfect and something needs to be done, but I would not want socialized medicine. I can admit that the Australian system has flaws. Lots of them. I complain about our system all the time. However, I would never, ever want to go back to the US and live under that system. I enjoy being able to get the medical care that I need without having to worry about things like insurance. Yes, I pay for it with really high taxes, but I am okay with that. -- Daye |
#185
|
|||
|
|||
On Fri, 5 Nov 2004 08:45:45 -0600, "Nikki" wrote:
Mum of Two wrote: Yeah, and here, if you said, "I want my baby circumcised", they'd say "You want him WHAT? Oh, you want his head circumference? Here it is." Or something to that effect. Would a doctor do it for no medical reason? Yes. However, in Melbourne, I was told by a midwife that there is only one doctor who will perform it. It isn't covered by Medicare, so you have to pay for it out of pocket. If there is a medical reason, it is covered by Medicare. Religious reasons: I would assume would be out of pocket too. I guess it is whatever the person performing the religious ceremony charges. I know some Jewish people here in Melbourne... maybe I should ask them. -- Daye |
#186
|
|||
|
|||
Ericka Kammerer wrote:
Obviously, we're in different states, so perhaps the issue is geographical, but *many* women IRL over 35 have said things to me either indicating that their doctors *strongly* recommended amnio for them, that their doctors attempted to persuade them to do it after their first refusal, or that they were surprised to learn that they could have refused. Best wishes, Ericka ....And yet those doctors advocating a 1-2% miscarriage risk amnio are the same doctors who refuse a VBAC because of the less than 1% risk of uterine rupture leading to a much less chance of foetal/maternal death... the mind boggles.... Jo (RM) |
#187
|
|||
|
|||
"Jo" wrote in message ... Ericka Kammerer wrote: Obviously, we're in different states, so perhaps the issue is geographical, but *many* women IRL over 35 have said things to me either indicating that their doctors *strongly* recommended amnio for them, that their doctors attempted to persuade them to do it after their first refusal, or that they were surprised to learn that they could have refused. Best wishes, Ericka ...And yet those doctors advocating a 1-2% miscarriage risk amnio are the same doctors who refuse a VBAC because of the less than 1% risk of uterine rupture leading to a much less chance of foetal/maternal death... the mind boggles.... Ah, but in that case the true motivator is the risk of a lawsuit, not the actual statistics. For that matter, I can see someone trying to sue over a child with a genetic defect IF the OB didn't offer amnio and give the risk numbers. Definitely a mixed up healthcare system we have in the USA, with the lawyers and accountants calling the shots. Jo (RM) |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Birthing Balls/Spinal adjustments during pregnancy | Todd Gastaldo | Pregnancy | 0 | August 18th 04 11:00 PM |
ACOG vs. Homebirth (also: Pregnant FDA employees: Helpful hint) | Todd Gastaldo | Pregnancy | 0 | May 10th 04 06:25 PM |
Families needed to provide homes for children in need of protection | wexwimpy | Foster Parents | 0 | April 1st 04 06:08 PM |
Homebirth - reasons for transfer... | Buzzy Bee | Pregnancy | 11 | February 11th 04 01:29 AM |
Lydia's Birthstory (long) | Andrea | Pregnancy | 29 | September 7th 03 07:23 AM |