It’s gotten to the point where my doctor’s practice got bought by Walgreens and doesn’t staff well enough to handle ANY acute cases. If I call for a sinus infection or because my little one is sick, I can’t see my doctor or his pediatrician for upwards of two months. They send me to urgent care. They, admittedly, bill the same for urgent care as a normal visit, but there is no continuity of care, even for the pediatrician. Even when trying to schedule a 9 month checkup 45 days in advance, they tried to give me an appointment after his birthday!
What a fucking mess. Corporitization of Healthcare has utterly ruined the system. There is no room for real patient-doctor relationships anymore. Even though we like our doctors we can’t see them!
I actually use a telehealth primary and I really appreciate the convenience of it. They refer out whenever they need hands on stuff and there’s always something nearby.
That said, I do appreciate the niche for retail health for acute cases. A sick visit at my pediatrician is still $225 until I hit my deductible. I’d much rather pay MinuteClinic $30 and walk out with the same z-pack for my kid. It still sucks, but it beats deciding between “keep him home and hopefully he gets better before he’s a truant” or “paying $225”.
That was the HDHP so it was $1500/individual, $3000/family, per year.
The premiums were low though (well, lower. Total cost of my families healthcare was $27k last year but that was including my employers contribution to premiums). Last year my employer had a great program for seeding HSA (huge match) so it was slightly less expensive than the $500 deductible plan, even considering out-of-pocket max for both plans.
It sucks that there’s so much strategy involved in basic healthcare. It sucks that anyone has to make the decision between get their kid the healthcare they need, or not spend $225 for 3 minutes of their doctors time. It sucks even more that someone like me, whose family grosses nearly 200k, even has to think about that. That’s not a dig at “those dirty poors” or anything…more of a claim of the absurdity of the damn thing. Like…how the fuck do people on the median in become even manage? Or even below it? It’s just not possible.
It’s gotten to the point where my doctor’s practice got bought by Walgreens and doesn’t staff well enough to handle ANY acute cases. If I call for a sinus infection or because my little one is sick, I can’t see my doctor or his pediatrician for upwards of two months. They send me to urgent care. They, admittedly, bill the same for urgent care as a normal visit, but there is no continuity of care, even for the pediatrician. Even when trying to schedule a 9 month checkup 45 days in advance, they tried to give me an appointment after his birthday!
What a fucking mess. Corporitization of Healthcare has utterly ruined the system. There is no room for real patient-doctor relationships anymore. Even though we like our doctors we can’t see them!
I actually use a telehealth primary and I really appreciate the convenience of it. They refer out whenever they need hands on stuff and there’s always something nearby.
That said, I do appreciate the niche for retail health for acute cases. A sick visit at my pediatrician is still $225 until I hit my deductible. I’d much rather pay MinuteClinic $30 and walk out with the same z-pack for my kid. It still sucks, but it beats deciding between “keep him home and hopefully he gets better before he’s a truant” or “paying $225”.
Oof, I’m so glad that my insurance covers normal physician visits with just a copay, even before hitting my deductible.
Just curious, how bad is your deductible?
That was the HDHP so it was $1500/individual, $3000/family, per year.
The premiums were low though (well, lower. Total cost of my families healthcare was $27k last year but that was including my employers contribution to premiums). Last year my employer had a great program for seeding HSA (huge match) so it was slightly less expensive than the $500 deductible plan, even considering out-of-pocket max for both plans.
It sucks that there’s so much strategy involved in basic healthcare. It sucks that anyone has to make the decision between get their kid the healthcare they need, or not spend $225 for 3 minutes of their doctors time. It sucks even more that someone like me, whose family grosses nearly 200k, even has to think about that. That’s not a dig at “those dirty poors” or anything…more of a claim of the absurdity of the damn thing. Like…how the fuck do people on the median in become even manage? Or even below it? It’s just not possible.