Person Shares His Story Of Trying To Get A CT Scan In America And It’s Infuriating
To me, a European, the US healthcare system is hard to comprehend. However, while reading Adam Weinstein’s story, I’ve learned that even Americans don’t always get it.
When Adam wanted to get a computerized tomography (CT) scan, he had to go through so much trouble, he decided to share the whole experience on Twitter.
At first, it seemed like a simple task: he just wanted to learn whether he could save some money. But instead of finding answers, he constantly ran into more and more questions. In the end, he did manage to get to the bottom of things, proving that you sometimes have to be a pain in the a** to get what’s rightfully yours. I hope we all can learn a little resilience from his viral thread!
More info: Twitter
Image credits: 12019 / 10261 images (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: AdamWeinstein
“[This] was the first time using this insurance,” Adam told Bored Panda. “I obtained it on the Healthcare.gov exchange in December, since I work remotely on a contract basis with my New York-based employer, which is working hard — and struggling mightily — to get me covered through their NY-based benefits.”
Previously, Adam went for about a year without a full-time employer or health coverage, and his health has suffered as a result. “I’m also the first person in my immediate family ever to have insurance; my parents are self-employed, avoid doctors, and pay cash when they need care, which was why I knew to ask about self-pay rates. All of my insurance experiences over my career have been similar to this one; the least bad experiences were using Tricare in the military and campus clinics in graduate school.”
He spent the entire day on Wednesday before he finally got an appointment to get the CT scan taken within driving distance. “Apparently, the first place, which is around the corner from me and in the same health group as my primary specialist, was technically in my plan but is billed as out of plan because it’s a hospital facility. My employer has been very understanding as I’ve lost work productivity in fixing this situation.”
Despite all the hassle he had to go through, Adam doesn’t really blame the staff. “Most of the people I’ve worked with, in clinics and in insurance, are sympathetic but are also hamstrung — and acutely aware of it — by arcane profitmaking rules in a bureaucracy set up by stakeholders way above their paygrades. One insurance rep, in particular, spent an hour with me, calling clinics to set up the procedure and necessary approvals… after a colleague of theirs sort of muffed it. Even then, I had to make some followup calls and chase some billing info to make everything theoretically work. I anticipate more of the same when I go in for the CT scan next week.” He does, however, blame the American health system, calling it ‘a batshit insane patchwork of privileged, cash-hoovering cartels and fiefdoms.’
“Everyone knows it,” he said. “I worry about its ability to address my health, sure, but more to the point, I worry about its capacity to bankrupt me and the people I love. And I worry about a thin, pale version of national patriotism that believes the fault lies with the underemployed, sick and afflicted, rather than the system that’s supposed to tend to them.”
In his youth, Adam was an ardent libertarian who believed that profit motives and frictionless markets could solve big problems. But things have changed. “I grew up, and have now spent nearly two decades in the American workforce. I’ve been mugged, beaten, and left for dead a couple of times by reality, and it’s made me a believer in radical change, not a conservative. You can care about people, or you can care about maximizing revenues, but not both. America is the proof.”
According to a December poll by GALLUP, Americans prefer a healthcare system based on private insurance (54%) over a government-run healthcare system (42%). But it’s worth mentioning that while support for a government-run system averaged 36% from 2010 to 2014, it has been 40% or higher for each of the past five years. Which would you favor and why? Tell us in the comments.
Here’s what people said about the ‘thievery’
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US healthcare finance in a nutshell: 50% bureocracy, 40% lawyers, 9% doctors, 1%: actual price of medicine and equipment.
I don't know whether to up or down vote you. I agree with you and you are right, but what you said sucks..
The truth hurts, use your vote to protest.
Upvotes make a comment more visible. Downvotes make it less visible. Do you want this comment to gain visibility or lose it?
Preach! Hans every one should watch the episode on health care from Adam ruins everything. Then everyone will see its really the government who ruins everything
The UK National Health Service is far from perfect..... but it's still absolutely f**king brilliant and staffed by dedicated healthcare professionals with the patients' best interests at heart. I love the NHS <3 <3
Come to Lincolnshire and you would find things totlaly different
My Wife's family is super conservative and they always say, "Well if we had universal healthcare you would never be able to find a doctor". If anybody on here is from outside the US, do you actually have a hard time finding a doctor to get appointments? It took me 3 months to find a doctor in the US to check out my Hernia, so....its not like we can go see a doctor right away here either.
Universal healthcare Sweden here. We get a first contact same day, max 3 to specialized care. Guaranteed by law.
Are there firms in Sweden looking to hire highly-motivated hardworking (non-Swedish-speaking, yet Volvo-driving) Americans? I mean I already have to drive an hour each way to commute, and I already work 50 hours per week, so it can't really be any worse, right?
I'm in Canada, I have a family doctor, if I need an "emergency" appointment (ie: flu) I can usually be seen the same day. A few years ago, I wasn't feeling well and found a lump, blood test, ultrasound, biopsy and surgery all done within a week or two. We also have walk-in clinics that accept our health cards so we don't pay for those visits either.
Reminds me of Portugal, although the surgery might take longer (bureocracy also sucks here), and we pay for walk-in clinics consultations about 35€-40€ (self-pay, no card).
Not only that, there are tons of people who can't even afford to see a doctor in this country which qualifies IMO as can't find a doctor. The ration argument is dumb because health care is rationed by price in this country already.
Yes, I have great insurance for the U.S., but even if you look at their list of doctors, you still have to call to make sure they still take your plan. And I've either been lied to a few times or the doctor's office made a huge error in telling me they did take my plan.
When I lived in the UK I never had a problem finding a doctor or getting an appointment. It was pretty much the same as in the US, you call up and make an appointment. The big difference is that in the UK you don't pay anything extra, you pay for it as a taxpayer.
Aussie here, and nope, if you need a doctor, you get a doctor, same day. I ended up in the ER last week. No waiting, no $’s. America is nuts
In Canada, you just walk in, get treated, and you pay nothing. Anytime, anywhere.
Canadian here, and I lived in the UK for 10 years. I know some people can have trouble finding a family doctor when they move to area or when their doctor retires.However, in the town where I live (suburban Toronto) there have been about 4 new health care facilities open in the past couple of years. There are walk in clinics by the dozen where you can go and see a doctor without an appointment and without paying. My mother has had a multitude of health problems involving cancer treatment, several major surgeries, including having a kidney removed and has spend at least 12 nights in Intensive Care. All of this is covered by universal health care.
That's fantastic!
I'm in New Zealand. If I needed a doctor RIGHT NOW I could probably be seen by my usual general practitioner. If they didn't have an appointment though then there is a clinic less than a 5 minute drive away who takes walk-ins and the wait is usually less than 20 minutes. If it is after-hours but not severe enough for a hospital then I can drive 10 minutes for a 24/7 walk-in clinic. As for specialists or needing surgery, the wait in my area is a maximum of 3 months from referral to seeing the specialist at the hospital who will then plan and book the surgery. The surgery is free. If you pay for private health insurance then you can do so much faster but may have to pay a portion of the cost depending on your plan (for example, I have the plan which is second from the bottom with my provider so if the treatment is covered then I only pay 20%).
Netherlands: we are all registered with a GP, who has time either same day or next (depending on urgency). GP will refer to hospital for further treatment. Based on GP estimate of emergency, you are either seen same day or as soon as possible, usually within a week and if they don't have place, or you feel it's too long to wait, you can check other hospitals. You call insurance for the broker and they arrange a swifter visit in a further away hospital.
Medicine everywhere is triaged. So if you have a random minor thing, it might be a day or so IF your usual doctor is super busy (but you can usually get 'em to find someone who isn't for you). If it involves anything threatening, it's on the same day. I've had to wait - once - a few days for serious surgery because a series of motorcyclists had horrible accidents and the surgeons were keeping them alive rather than fixing my foot. Which is okay. Because keeping people alive IS more important.
Universal healthcare Spain. It depends. Sometimes you can get an appointment for your GP for the same day or a few days out. If it's an emergency, there's always an emergency GP available at your local healthcare center, and then there are the ERs at hospitals, of course. The problem is that there've been budget cuts and the system is overflowing with patients, so getting to a specialist usually takes months unless you're labelled as an urgent case. Still, our universal healthcare system is something to be thankful for. For example, two months' worth of my antidepressant only costs €1.70.
Sometimes it's hard to get a NHS doctor to see you quickly for minor ailments, even some chronic disorders because the system is generally overstretched, but when it comes to the serious- potentially life threatening stuff there are legal requirements for "urgent referrals". For example, if a GP suspects any symptom of something like cancer you MUST be seen by an appropriate specialist within 14 days.
I live in Germany and appointments for acute reasons usually take a few days at most (less if it's like, the flu, you can usually be seen on the same day. for real emergencies there's the emergency room, which tends to be chronically understaffed (especially because they privatized the hospitals where I live, so they ARE based on profit), but if it's life-threatening you'll be seen almost immediately). For less acute stuff it depends, it tends to take pretty long to get a psychologist bc there's too little, everything else probably within a month, but again, the sooner the more urgent it is.
Although the Ministry of Health in South Africa is bad, at least we have private hospitals & doctors, with a number of good Medical Aid schemes. Those who can't afford them, go to state hospitals or clinics, which are overcrowded, but free.
This comment has been deleted.
This comment has been deleted.
US healthcare finance in a nutshell: 50% bureocracy, 40% lawyers, 9% doctors, 1%: actual price of medicine and equipment.
I don't know whether to up or down vote you. I agree with you and you are right, but what you said sucks..
The truth hurts, use your vote to protest.
Upvotes make a comment more visible. Downvotes make it less visible. Do you want this comment to gain visibility or lose it?
Preach! Hans every one should watch the episode on health care from Adam ruins everything. Then everyone will see its really the government who ruins everything
The UK National Health Service is far from perfect..... but it's still absolutely f**king brilliant and staffed by dedicated healthcare professionals with the patients' best interests at heart. I love the NHS <3 <3
Come to Lincolnshire and you would find things totlaly different
My Wife's family is super conservative and they always say, "Well if we had universal healthcare you would never be able to find a doctor". If anybody on here is from outside the US, do you actually have a hard time finding a doctor to get appointments? It took me 3 months to find a doctor in the US to check out my Hernia, so....its not like we can go see a doctor right away here either.
Universal healthcare Sweden here. We get a first contact same day, max 3 to specialized care. Guaranteed by law.
Are there firms in Sweden looking to hire highly-motivated hardworking (non-Swedish-speaking, yet Volvo-driving) Americans? I mean I already have to drive an hour each way to commute, and I already work 50 hours per week, so it can't really be any worse, right?
I'm in Canada, I have a family doctor, if I need an "emergency" appointment (ie: flu) I can usually be seen the same day. A few years ago, I wasn't feeling well and found a lump, blood test, ultrasound, biopsy and surgery all done within a week or two. We also have walk-in clinics that accept our health cards so we don't pay for those visits either.
Reminds me of Portugal, although the surgery might take longer (bureocracy also sucks here), and we pay for walk-in clinics consultations about 35€-40€ (self-pay, no card).
Not only that, there are tons of people who can't even afford to see a doctor in this country which qualifies IMO as can't find a doctor. The ration argument is dumb because health care is rationed by price in this country already.
Yes, I have great insurance for the U.S., but even if you look at their list of doctors, you still have to call to make sure they still take your plan. And I've either been lied to a few times or the doctor's office made a huge error in telling me they did take my plan.
When I lived in the UK I never had a problem finding a doctor or getting an appointment. It was pretty much the same as in the US, you call up and make an appointment. The big difference is that in the UK you don't pay anything extra, you pay for it as a taxpayer.
Aussie here, and nope, if you need a doctor, you get a doctor, same day. I ended up in the ER last week. No waiting, no $’s. America is nuts
In Canada, you just walk in, get treated, and you pay nothing. Anytime, anywhere.
Canadian here, and I lived in the UK for 10 years. I know some people can have trouble finding a family doctor when they move to area or when their doctor retires.However, in the town where I live (suburban Toronto) there have been about 4 new health care facilities open in the past couple of years. There are walk in clinics by the dozen where you can go and see a doctor without an appointment and without paying. My mother has had a multitude of health problems involving cancer treatment, several major surgeries, including having a kidney removed and has spend at least 12 nights in Intensive Care. All of this is covered by universal health care.
That's fantastic!
I'm in New Zealand. If I needed a doctor RIGHT NOW I could probably be seen by my usual general practitioner. If they didn't have an appointment though then there is a clinic less than a 5 minute drive away who takes walk-ins and the wait is usually less than 20 minutes. If it is after-hours but not severe enough for a hospital then I can drive 10 minutes for a 24/7 walk-in clinic. As for specialists or needing surgery, the wait in my area is a maximum of 3 months from referral to seeing the specialist at the hospital who will then plan and book the surgery. The surgery is free. If you pay for private health insurance then you can do so much faster but may have to pay a portion of the cost depending on your plan (for example, I have the plan which is second from the bottom with my provider so if the treatment is covered then I only pay 20%).
Netherlands: we are all registered with a GP, who has time either same day or next (depending on urgency). GP will refer to hospital for further treatment. Based on GP estimate of emergency, you are either seen same day or as soon as possible, usually within a week and if they don't have place, or you feel it's too long to wait, you can check other hospitals. You call insurance for the broker and they arrange a swifter visit in a further away hospital.
Medicine everywhere is triaged. So if you have a random minor thing, it might be a day or so IF your usual doctor is super busy (but you can usually get 'em to find someone who isn't for you). If it involves anything threatening, it's on the same day. I've had to wait - once - a few days for serious surgery because a series of motorcyclists had horrible accidents and the surgeons were keeping them alive rather than fixing my foot. Which is okay. Because keeping people alive IS more important.
Universal healthcare Spain. It depends. Sometimes you can get an appointment for your GP for the same day or a few days out. If it's an emergency, there's always an emergency GP available at your local healthcare center, and then there are the ERs at hospitals, of course. The problem is that there've been budget cuts and the system is overflowing with patients, so getting to a specialist usually takes months unless you're labelled as an urgent case. Still, our universal healthcare system is something to be thankful for. For example, two months' worth of my antidepressant only costs €1.70.
Sometimes it's hard to get a NHS doctor to see you quickly for minor ailments, even some chronic disorders because the system is generally overstretched, but when it comes to the serious- potentially life threatening stuff there are legal requirements for "urgent referrals". For example, if a GP suspects any symptom of something like cancer you MUST be seen by an appropriate specialist within 14 days.
I live in Germany and appointments for acute reasons usually take a few days at most (less if it's like, the flu, you can usually be seen on the same day. for real emergencies there's the emergency room, which tends to be chronically understaffed (especially because they privatized the hospitals where I live, so they ARE based on profit), but if it's life-threatening you'll be seen almost immediately). For less acute stuff it depends, it tends to take pretty long to get a psychologist bc there's too little, everything else probably within a month, but again, the sooner the more urgent it is.
Although the Ministry of Health in South Africa is bad, at least we have private hospitals & doctors, with a number of good Medical Aid schemes. Those who can't afford them, go to state hospitals or clinics, which are overcrowded, but free.
This comment has been deleted.
This comment has been deleted.