Medical Mess

Medical Mess

I hope this doesn’t turn into a rant.

 We have great medical care in this country, it is just very expensive.  Good things, good service, is expensive.  When I retired I had to start paying my own medical insurance.  I pay more each month than people who make several dollars above the minimum wage take home in a month (I do have Medicare, most of my expense is for my wife and son.)  I am not complaining, I am lucky enough to be able to afford the insurance.  It does point out the problem for people who work from pay check to pay check and do not have insurance through their work. 

We should provide low cost subsidized medicine to those who need medical care and cannot afford it. 

People should not starve, people should have a roof over their head, and people should have medical care.

When I started paying my own medical insurance I opted for a relatively inexpensive dental plan.  Heck, years ago I had no dental plan at all even through work.  I mainly wanted to be insured for any major dental issues, and though my dentist for 30+ years was not on this plan, I didn’t mind paying out of pocket for routine procedures.

I asked my dentist of 30+ years, why he was not in my plan.  I was told that for what that plan reimburses he could not make a living without making it up in volume which would substantially drain the quality of his service.

I had a primary plan dentist who I only used to refer me to an oral surgeon when my dentist could not perform a procedure.  On several occasions my inexpensive plan saved me money.  Recently I had a tooth issue that required a root canal.  I called my plan dentist to get a referral to an endodontist, and he was no longer in business.  It seems he had been ripping off Medicare and or insurance companies and was missing in action or the recipient of three hots and a cot.

I now had to get a new primary care dentist for a referral or pay out of pocket for an expensive procedure.  After hours on the phone I was able to get a new dentist on my plan.  I had to join what I would call a dental mill.  I went for my appointment and God help me for my snobbery, but it was a scary place.  The waiting room was packed with people and little children coughing and sneezing, and there was an overall feeling of being just a number and a piece of dental meat.

I have opted to pay out of pocket for the surgery and seek a better if more expensive plan for the future.

I don’t mean to complain, but the experience has been eye opening to the fact that affordable or at least less expensive medical care is not ideal.  You get what you pay for. 

The experience reminded me of many years ago when we brought my new born son, Spencer, to a pediatrician one week after delivery.  We were directed to this pediatric group from the hospital.  When we entered the building it felt like the McDonalds version of a doctor’s office.   The first question the receptionist asked was for our insurance.  The second question was “are you married?”  She seemed surprised when the answer was yes.

After waiting 30 minutes for our new baby’s first exam a nurse poked her head in the examining room and snapped,

“Strip the baby down, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

The room was about 50 degrees, and I told my wife I would not strip the baby until needed, after all it takes about 10 seconds to remove a onesy. 

Thirty minutes later the nurse appeared again and immediately snapped with much anger,

“Didn’t I tell you to strip the baby?” 

I responded, “Why yes, I believe you did.  I opted to wait because the room is freezing.” 

She was not happy, but proceeded to weigh the baby and take his measurements.  It turns out that Spencer was lighter than at birth.  I knew that was to be expected.  But according to the nurses measurement he shrunk an inch.  I remarked a bit sarcastically,

“Isn’t it unusual for the baby to shrink an inch?” 

She ignored me and left saying the doctor would be in soon, “Keep the baby undressed.”

I put Spencer’s onesy back on.

We waited fifteen minutes before we both agreed; this was not the pediatric place for Spencer.  We simply walked out and ignored the nurse’s command to come back. 

Fortunately my insurance covered care from a small service oriented pediatric group, not a production line pediatric service.

Once again, I am able to afford more personalized medical care.  I realize there are many people in the country who cannot afford any medical care.  That is a bad thing.  It is wrong.  We should be able to do better.  Unfortunately doing the right thing for more people is going to bring down the quality of care for many.  The really wealthy people, the 5% er’s will always get top notch personalized care.  The service and quality I and many others have become accustomed to will become unaffordable.  The vast majority of the country will have to get used to long waits and becoming a number not a face.

Everyone deserves quality medical care.  My fear is that we are headed to a system where only the ultra wealthy will have quality care, everyone else will have substandard overcrowded care from overworked tired doctors and cranky nurses.

It is only fair, I don’t mean to complain, it is just that sometimes the way things become fair is when many people have to get less care so that others can get any care.

You get what you pay for.   In order to have everyone receive affordable medical care we all will have to pay for it in dollars and reduced service.

I have no answer, it is a real dilemma.  When health care is too expensive, people are abused.  When health care is inexpensive or free, the system is abused.