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I take my vitamins, exercise, and eat healthy most of the time.
Yeah, but most people don't. I do the same and only time I visit the doctor is for my annual physical. I think I have to visit the doctor due to illness an average of once every 2 years. I'm an insurance company's dream customer.
You are exactly correct. In today's society in the spoiled country of the United States majority of people believe they have a right to health care and have long forgot it's a personal responsibility. Most folks who demand health insurance don't know employers started offering health insurance in the '40s as an incentive to draw better employees. Feel lucky you have health insurance.
I agree that insurance has gotten way out of hand, but back in those days it also didn't cost you $250 (or equivalent) just to walk into a doctor's office, not including any tests or treatment. Your doctor was also a local neighbor, not someone who lived in a McMansion in a part of town in which you'd be viewed with suspicion when you drove through. While I certainly do not begrudge a doctor the right to make a decent living, especially after all that schooling, this idea that a doctor has the expectation to be one of the wealthier members of society just because s/he's a doctor isn't all that great an improvement, either. Yes, we keep hearing about the cost of malpractice insurance, but that doesn't account for all of the high prices, either. People are getting rich off of illness, whether it be as a physician, a lab, a pharmacy, or a facility that does all those tests that we aren't ever quite sure we actually NEED. And remember, folks, often those facilities are partly owned by YOUR doctor, who, by sending you for this that and the other thing, are ensuring that their income is plumped up.
Yeah, but most people don't. I do the same and only time I visit the doctor is for my annual physical. I think I have to visit the doctor due to illness an average of once every 2 years. I'm an insurance company's dream customer.
Same here. I hadn't been to an actual doctor in YEARS. My old one retired about six or seven years ago, and he just died this past summer. I'm not the kind of person who goes running to a doctor every time I have a sniffle, and my health has been good, so I really had no reason to go except for a physical, and I managed to keep putting that off because I moved, etc.
Then this past summer I must have scratched my leg and got this weird infection called cellulitis. My leg turned red and the foot swelled, and it's hard to get rid of. I was on three antibiotics over two months. Anyway, of course I got asked when I last had this test or that test (I have great insurance, too, through my employer) and she just started writing the prescriptions out, lol. I need a mammogram, a bone density test, a colonoscopy, a chest x-ray, a thyroid scan, bloodwork (had that done, everything's good), blah blah blah. She just said schedule one thing a month and get them all done.
The insurance company's going to feel whacked when they have to start paying for all this after years of nothing from me!
Same here. I hadn't been to an actual doctor in YEARS. My old one retired about six or seven years ago, and he just died this past summer. I'm not the kind of person who goes running to a doctor every time I have a sniffle, and my health has been good, so I really had no reason to go except for a physical, and I managed to keep putting that off because I moved, etc.
Then this past summer I must have scratched my leg and got this weird infection called cellulitis. My leg turned red and the foot swelled, and it's hard to get rid of. I was on three antibiotics over two months. Anyway, of course I got asked when I last had this test or that test (I have great insurance, too, through my employer) and she just started writing the prescriptions out, lol. I need a mammogram, a bone density test, a colonoscopy, a chest x-ray, a thyroid scan, bloodwork (had that done, everything's good), blah blah blah. She just said schedule one thing a month and get them all done.
The insurance company's going to feel whacked when they have to start paying for all this after years of nothing from me!
Not going for routine tests actually ends up costing your employer MORE so they will be thrilled to see these charges. Something that can be treated in the early stages for a few hundred dollars is much preferred to an advanced case of something that costs millions.
People are getting rich off of illness, whether it be as a physician, a lab, a pharmacy, or a facility that does all those tests that we aren't ever quite sure we actually NEED. And remember, folks, often those facilities are partly owned by YOUR doctor, who, by sending you for this that and the other thing, are ensuring that their income is plumped up.
There is a law that prevent doctors from referring patients to facilities they own for testing. It's called the Stark law and penalties for violating it are hefty. Most often the insurance company will pick the lab. If you do not have insurance, you can choose one. If you do go do a clinic that has in house labs and other services, Stark prevents the doctors from being remunerated based on the number of their patients who use the lab. You can always choose to go somewhere else for testing. For those clinics that do have labs, the doctors are paying for the equipment and the salaries of the people who work there. Should they not be allowed to share in any income the labs generate?
If you do not understand why a test is recommended, ask. A normal result does not mean a test was not necessary.
Same here. I hadn't been to an actual doctor in YEARS. My old one retired about six or seven years ago, and he just died this past summer. I'm not the kind of person who goes running to a doctor every time I have a sniffle, and my health has been good, so I really had no reason to go except for a physical, and I managed to keep putting that off because I moved, etc.
Then this past summer I must have scratched my leg and got this weird infection called cellulitis. My leg turned red and the foot swelled, and it's hard to get rid of. I was on three antibiotics over two months. Anyway, of course I got asked when I last had this test or that test (I have great insurance, too, through my employer) and she just started writing the prescriptions out, lol. I need a mammogram, a bone density test, a colonoscopy, a chest x-ray, a thyroid scan, bloodwork (had that done, everything's good), blah blah blah. She just said schedule one thing a month and get them all done.
The insurance company's going to feel whacked when they have to start paying for all this after years of nothing from me!
I agree with golfgal. I assume you're over 50. If so - all of these tests - except perhaps the thyroid scan - would be normal screening tests for a woman over 50 (and done at various intervals after that depending on initial test results - your personal health history - family history - etc.). For example - I get colonoscopy every 5 years because a close family member (my mother) died of colon cancer. I don't know about the thyroid scan. I am kind of on the high side of normal weight limits (not thin - not fat) - so I don't have any signs of thyroid abnormalities. But - if you have any questions about a particular test in your case - just ask the doctor who is ordering the test. Robyn
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), blah blah blah. She just said schedule one thing a month and get them all done.
