It's my 5th metatarsal. I have X-rays, three doctor visits and Vicodin (I pass out when I use that stuff so anybody interested in buying it, I mean I only paid $1.98 for the bottle... truth be told it's actually generic hydrocodone so I don't know if you get all loopy on this stuff or not but I'll sell it for about 14 bucks.. I'm trying to save money for school ya' know?) to substantiate my wild claims.
I had to visit three doctors over two days order to obtain and air cast (that hurts my foot more than my own adapted walking strategy does: a pigeon-toed grunt-powered hobble) and to get an appointment for a follow up consult in three weeks time. Only then will I learn what we might do to fix my broken foot (this could include surgery, screws etc.). This so far cost me 20 bucks at urgent care, 20 bucks at my physician, and 30 bucks at the foot specialist.
This 70 bucks does not include the monthly rate for my insurance of over 100 bucks and certainly doesn't represent the true costs. I guess the total billed to the insurance company will be very high, in the thousands. I will only be able to fathom them after I get, via mail, several pages of documentation from my insurance company with confusing columns and algebraic calculations than I am unable to fully comprehend.
For 70 bucks out of pocket (read: no, nada, nunca, zilch, kosong, nor a hint of insurance) in Kuala Lumpur I could have gotten hospitalized and had a nice nurse to give me a happy ending to my full body message whilst staring at the Petronas twin towers while I was slipped into a cast in the matter of 2 hours. OK, no happy ending but probably at least a smile. Contrast this with the fact I had to endure my family physician's nurse (obese is an understatement as is the gaudiness of her eye shadow) bitch about how her husband punctured (my word since it would be out of her linguistic reach) their inflatable swimming pool mere days before this past summer's heat wave.
What is wrong with the US health care system? Referrals for one. I needed a referral to go to a person competent enough to tell me that I need an air cast and take it easy for a few weeks? I had deduced this myself after seeing the X-rays, day one. At the foot specialist in fact, a sign hangs on the reception window that reads "if you arrive here without a referral you are personally responsible for the insurance company fees." What? I visited a reumatologist directly for 15 bucks in KL when I had gout, without a referral. I said to myself, "huh my foot joint hurts- I need to go to someone who knows about this" and I called a reumatologist. Amazing how that works. Ear hurts? Call the ear Dr.! Butt hurt, call the proctologist! Dick hurt, well you get the point. Consequently I navigated my recovery through diet and exercise rather than a life long Uloric prescription, based on her astute observations that I ate too much meat and drank too much scotch. I bet here I'd have been prescribed drugs....
God I need a Vicodin.
1 comments:
Just tried to leave a comment and it looks like it didn't go through. Anyway, with an astronomical deductible and no co-pays, we have learned to start asking a lot of questions since we basically pay for everything out of pocket. For instance, if one of the kids has an ear infection, see a nurse practitioner that can also prescribe the $4 antibiotic but will only cost $32 per visit (less than most copays) whereas a doctor will charge $75. I also got out of the "mandatory" HIV test when I was pregnant with Jack and probably saved $100. Most providers don't have a clue how much their services actually cost and if most patients paid out of pocket, they would never get their services. It's a messed up system for sure.
{Stepping off soapbox...} Oh, and I really hope your foot feels better. Doesn't sound fun!
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