Why Is Health Care So High In This Country?
Posted 06-20-2008 at 08:13 PM by GCSTroop
As a relatively young person (26 years old) I have had little experience with doctors other than the occassional check-up. Most of my adult life, until this past year, was in the military and you only went to the doctor (what we called the "medical hobby shop") as a last resort. So, it was my first "real" experience being referred to a specialist earlier last week.
It all started when I went to my primary care physician early last week for my regular checkup. One of the first things I did was step on the scale and notice that I'd lost 15 pounds in about a year. Now, that may sound like a lot, and I'm sure some people would wish they had the good fortune of being able to do this without even exercising or caring what they ate. But, for me, as someone who has been underweight his whole life, this was a little concerning. However, given the wide range of events in my life over the past year it, it didn't seem that crazy. Buying a new home, changing jobs, working night shift, and so on and so forth added up to quit a bit of stress and I had also had acid reflux problems within that time frame as well.
At least, I suspected it was acid reflux. I would get about halfway through my meals and feel like someone was sticking a finger down my throat. So, I wasn't eating all of my food either. It's not hard to see where the 15 pounds could be shaved off at this point. Now, my doctor was a little concerned even after I told her all of this and she said she wanted me to gain 12-15 pounds over the course of the next two or three months but she also wanted me to see a gastroenterologist for "just in case" purposes.
So, I made the appointment, went to the gut doctor and told him what was going on. He asked me the regular questions that you would expect and said that everything appeared normal. However, he wanted to eliminate as many possibilities as he could so he said he was going to draw blood and check for everything from hyperthyroidism to AIDS?! He also wanted to take stool samples and then he was going to have me come in this upcoming Monday so he could have me drink radioactive waste, do a CT scan on my "upper", and also put me under anesthesia so he could ram a camera down my throat and look at my stomach.
At this point, I'm beginning to wonder. All of this for acid reflux? I mean... my doctor gave me Omeprazol to help with the acid reflux and it seems to have helped quite a bit. No doubt, my stomach surely feels like it has shrunk a bit - probably because I haven't eaten normal portions in over a year - but the "finger down the throat" feeling is gone. It was at this point that I drew the connection as to why health care is so outrageously ridiculous in this country.
Imagine... Just think about it in this light. Let's say you take your car into the shop because you hear your brakes squeaking. The mechanic looks it over, runs the usual range of tests, and even though you said that the pads hadn't been changed in a while he insists that they inspect every single part of the brake system for "just in case" purposes. However, for each point that they check, it's going to cost you and your insurance company an enormous sum of money. There very well COULD be something wrong with some of the points but if you pull the tire off and see worn brake pads isn't it an obvious indication as to what is wrong?! And, wouldn't you possibly change the brake pads and take it for a test drive? I certainly would.
Yet, this is not the type of practice my gastroenterologist insisted on. Rather, he wanted me to have CT scans done, he wanted me to have my stomach scoped and all of this before my blood tests even came back! Now, imagine this... Imagine that my blood tests come back and show a bacterial infection that could easily be cured with antibiotics. Does that not mean that the CT scan, anasthesia, and radioactive sludge was all a waste of time?! Imagine that! And yet, who's going to foot the bill for all of this? My insurance company and myself. And yet, we sit here and we wonder why health care is so high in this country.
What it boils down to is this:
Just like when you take your squeaking brakes to MIDAS, they offer a "thirty-something point inspection" for your brake system at no extra charge. Now, while I realize it's easier to visually inspect a cars brake system than the human body, I also have to wonder at why each individual component isn't included in some sort of "inspection package." I find it abhorrently ridiculous that I was expected to pay for a gauntlet of tests before I knew the results of preliminary tests. All in all, I cancelled my "upper" CT scans, radioactive waste drinking binge, and other things until I find out if I start gaining weight and seeing if the antacids work. If, in two or three months, there is no improvement, than I'll go ahead with it.
Be skeptical folks! I'm not saying I'm right. For all I know, there could be a tumor the size of a tennis ball growing in my esophagus. However, I've been dealing with acid reflux for well over a year (more like two or three at least) and I don't imagine that whatever is causing it just cannot wait for another two or three months. I could be dead wrong, but use a little common sense when you see your doctor. They have mouths to feed too!
It all started when I went to my primary care physician early last week for my regular checkup. One of the first things I did was step on the scale and notice that I'd lost 15 pounds in about a year. Now, that may sound like a lot, and I'm sure some people would wish they had the good fortune of being able to do this without even exercising or caring what they ate. But, for me, as someone who has been underweight his whole life, this was a little concerning. However, given the wide range of events in my life over the past year it, it didn't seem that crazy. Buying a new home, changing jobs, working night shift, and so on and so forth added up to quit a bit of stress and I had also had acid reflux problems within that time frame as well.
At least, I suspected it was acid reflux. I would get about halfway through my meals and feel like someone was sticking a finger down my throat. So, I wasn't eating all of my food either. It's not hard to see where the 15 pounds could be shaved off at this point. Now, my doctor was a little concerned even after I told her all of this and she said she wanted me to gain 12-15 pounds over the course of the next two or three months but she also wanted me to see a gastroenterologist for "just in case" purposes.
So, I made the appointment, went to the gut doctor and told him what was going on. He asked me the regular questions that you would expect and said that everything appeared normal. However, he wanted to eliminate as many possibilities as he could so he said he was going to draw blood and check for everything from hyperthyroidism to AIDS?! He also wanted to take stool samples and then he was going to have me come in this upcoming Monday so he could have me drink radioactive waste, do a CT scan on my "upper", and also put me under anesthesia so he could ram a camera down my throat and look at my stomach.
At this point, I'm beginning to wonder. All of this for acid reflux? I mean... my doctor gave me Omeprazol to help with the acid reflux and it seems to have helped quite a bit. No doubt, my stomach surely feels like it has shrunk a bit - probably because I haven't eaten normal portions in over a year - but the "finger down the throat" feeling is gone. It was at this point that I drew the connection as to why health care is so outrageously ridiculous in this country.
Imagine... Just think about it in this light. Let's say you take your car into the shop because you hear your brakes squeaking. The mechanic looks it over, runs the usual range of tests, and even though you said that the pads hadn't been changed in a while he insists that they inspect every single part of the brake system for "just in case" purposes. However, for each point that they check, it's going to cost you and your insurance company an enormous sum of money. There very well COULD be something wrong with some of the points but if you pull the tire off and see worn brake pads isn't it an obvious indication as to what is wrong?! And, wouldn't you possibly change the brake pads and take it for a test drive? I certainly would.
Yet, this is not the type of practice my gastroenterologist insisted on. Rather, he wanted me to have CT scans done, he wanted me to have my stomach scoped and all of this before my blood tests even came back! Now, imagine this... Imagine that my blood tests come back and show a bacterial infection that could easily be cured with antibiotics. Does that not mean that the CT scan, anasthesia, and radioactive sludge was all a waste of time?! Imagine that! And yet, who's going to foot the bill for all of this? My insurance company and myself. And yet, we sit here and we wonder why health care is so high in this country.
What it boils down to is this:
Just like when you take your squeaking brakes to MIDAS, they offer a "thirty-something point inspection" for your brake system at no extra charge. Now, while I realize it's easier to visually inspect a cars brake system than the human body, I also have to wonder at why each individual component isn't included in some sort of "inspection package." I find it abhorrently ridiculous that I was expected to pay for a gauntlet of tests before I knew the results of preliminary tests. All in all, I cancelled my "upper" CT scans, radioactive waste drinking binge, and other things until I find out if I start gaining weight and seeing if the antacids work. If, in two or three months, there is no improvement, than I'll go ahead with it.
Be skeptical folks! I'm not saying I'm right. For all I know, there could be a tumor the size of a tennis ball growing in my esophagus. However, I've been dealing with acid reflux for well over a year (more like two or three at least) and I don't imagine that whatever is causing it just cannot wait for another two or three months. I could be dead wrong, but use a little common sense when you see your doctor. They have mouths to feed too!
Total Comments 59
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You make a good point.
It's a balance, trusting doctors and using our own judgement.
Hope you get the answers you need soon enough, and that stress lessens for you.
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You, Americans should invest more into living healthier than fortunes into the health care system.Posted 09-09-2015 at 09:40 PM by backpacking15
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I came across this website looking for advice about fixing stuff at my home. I am a medical doctor and I took time to go through this blog. I am glad people are talking about the cost and quality of health care.
Medical liability is huge driving force behind rising medical costs. OP asked why he can not do some tests and see the results and then do mote tests if necessary. The problem is if there is a bad event happens while waiting the doctor will have no ground to stand. How many of you not hire lawyer if some thing bad happens to you ?
Another recent reason for increase in HC costs is there is exponential increase in the administrative costs for the hospitals. The CEOs and they have five vice presidents and many many managers who are sucking huge amount of dollars from the hospital budget. 15 years ago it was 5% of the hospital budgets which is close to 30% now. They are there supposedly to contain the costs but all they do all day is make bogus reports and make lives miserable for people who really take care of patients like doctors and nurses. BTW doctors making lots of money are long gone and most of them are employed and makes much less money than you would think. In my opinion the days are not far when you will some unemployed doctors. If you have a daughter, niece or nephew who wants to be a doctor please discourage him/her.Posted 12-11-2016 at 01:00 PM by bigfoot297
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Am lots older than you. Think the answer is Greed, plain and simple.Posted 04-03-2017 at 09:49 PM by marymaryaz
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Well every country has these types of issues.Posted 04-19-2017 at 01:46 AM by sabashahid
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Dude take your health seriously. Whenever you have any ailment do see the doc, because if you delay, it may result into worse. I understand the costs a stupidly high, but instead of paying thousands on surgeries, better get it checked first hand. Take care!Posted 07-27-2017 at 07:03 AM by Raymond78
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Actually, I can understand your position a bit. Some doctors these days have made it a business of fooling people around just to coin some money. No doubt, they are the ones who possess the expert knowledge and they know what's actually the case and we should totally respect them for that, but when you get to hear certain cases of hiking up of the doctor's fees when they are putting in the same efforts like they were doing before or their giving their patients a long list of tests to perform which could have been avoided , it hurts...Posted 06-11-2018 at 03:10 AM by David_bird
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You make a good point.
It's a balance, trusting doctors and using our own judgment.
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