5 ms·

I moved to US last year, and figured the healthcare system in US is the biggest train wreck. It is not only super expensive, but also super complicated. You hav

I moved to US last year, and figured the healthcare system in US is the biggest train wreck. It is not only super expensive, but also super complicated. You have to jump through many hoops likes insurance, appointment waiting list, mail order pharmacies (who always mess up your order), pre-existing conditions etc. We were denied treatment by our insurance because of pre-existing conditions. Thankfully, Obamacare fixed it and we began to receive healthcare in 2014. The prices of healthcare are artificially inflated so high so that it is not affordable for most Americans, so they can be forced into the bizarre health insurance system. This system only makes healthcare even more expensive due to administrative costs and make it complicated for everyone. There should be no place for a middleman in healthcare. I recently went to see a doctor for a non-serious problem, and here is how it worked out. Steps to get medical care in US: 1) Call a specialist's office for appointment, and you will usually get a wait list of 3 to 6 months. 2) After months of wait, you get to see the doctor who will diagnose you. 3) Doctor sends in your prescription to your mail order pharmacy. 4) Pharmacy messes up your order; it could be incorrect dosage, pre-authorization, incorrect billing etc. 5) Your medication is delivered to you after few days, sometimes it can even take weeks. 6) You get bills, which could be 10x higher than what you were expecting. Your insurance company provides no explanation of the mysterious charges. Costs: $50 co-pay, $450 for prescription. Insurance claims: $700 specialist, $2750 prescription. Here's how it works in India: 1) Call into doctor's office, you will usually get appointment for same day or next day. You can even walk in without appointment. 2) The doctor diagnoses you, and write a prescription. 3) You take that prescription to any pharmacy, and buy the medications. Costs: $10 to $20 fee for specialist, and $20 for prescription. No Insurance required Edit: I've compared prices of various medications in US and India. Most of the medications in US cost 10x to 20x more than India.

vonmoltke 12y ago
> 1) Call a specialist's office for appointment, and you will usually get a wait list of 3 to 6 months. In the past year I have seen both a dermatologist and an orthopedist for the first time. I never had to wait more than a week. > 3) Doctor sends in your prescription to your mail order pharmacy. Mine have always gone to the local pharmacy of my choice. Same for my wife. > 5) You get bills, which could be 10x higher than what you were expecting. Your insurance company provides no explanation of the mysterious charges. I rarely get bills after the fact, but they always itemize and explain the charges. I also get statements showing what my insurance company paid.
- RealGeek 12y ago
  > In the past year I have seen both a dermatologist and an orthopedist for the first time. I never had to wait more than a week. Appointment times vary by type of specialist, location and luck. I've never got any specialist's appointment before a month here in New York. > Mine have always gone to the local pharmacy of my choice. Same for my wife. I tried sending the prescription to local CVS pharmacy. CVS said that my insurance only approved medication for 1 month, while my prescription was for 3 months. Moreover, they were charging me 4x copay than the mail-order pharmacy that works with my insurance company. I guess this is another tactic of my insurance company to maximize their profit by forcing us to buy medication from their partner pharmacy. > I rarely get bills after the fact, but they always itemize and explain the charges. I also get statements showing what my insurance company paid. My Insurance company's partner pharmacy keeps charging me random amounts for same mediation. I've been getting few medications for $37 each since past 6 months, but now they suddenly starting charging me $185 each for the same medications without any explanation. I could buy the same medications in India for less than $10 each.
- tn13 12y ago
  In bay area it took me 2 weeks to get appointment of a podiatrist and 1 month to get a general physician.
dghughes 12y ago
Similar in Canada: 1) Call doctor or drop by an evening clinic to see the on call doctor (who could be your doctor) 2) Doctor diagnoses you, write prescription 3) The pharmacy is usually in the same building All that is free except the prescription that's what gets you here if you don't have private insurance but universal pharmacare is supposedly something the government is considering. And specialists are hard to contact since you have to be referred to them by your family doctor if you have a family doctor. My last doctor who passed away had 7,000 patients he cared for he'd have to see three or four people every hour every day.

vonmoltke 12y ago

> 1) Call a specialist's office for appointment, and you will usually get a wait list of 3 to 6 months. In the past year I have seen both a dermatologist and an orthopedist for the first time. I never had to wait more than a week. > 3) Doctor sends in your prescription to your mail order pharmacy. Mine have always gone to the local pharmacy of my choice. Same for my wife. > 5) You get bills, which could be 10x higher than what you were expecting. Your insurance company provides no explanation of the mysterious charges. I rarely get bills after the fact, but they always itemize and explain the charges. I also get statements showing what my insurance company paid.

RealGeek 12y ago
> In the past year I have seen both a dermatologist and an orthopedist for the first time. I never had to wait more than a week. Appointment times vary by type of specialist, location and luck. I've never got any specialist's appointment before a month here in New York. > Mine have always gone to the local pharmacy of my choice. Same for my wife. I tried sending the prescription to local CVS pharmacy. CVS said that my insurance only approved medication for 1 month, while my prescription was for 3 months. Moreover, they were charging me 4x copay than the mail-order pharmacy that works with my insurance company. I guess this is another tactic of my insurance company to maximize their profit by forcing us to buy medication from their partner pharmacy. > I rarely get bills after the fact, but they always itemize and explain the charges. I also get statements showing what my insurance company paid. My Insurance company's partner pharmacy keeps charging me random amounts for same mediation. I've been getting few medications for $37 each since past 6 months, but now they suddenly starting charging me $185 each for the same medications without any explanation. I could buy the same medications in India for less than $10 each.
tn13 12y ago
In bay area it took me 2 weeks to get appointment of a podiatrist and 1 month to get a general physician.

dghughes 12y ago

Similar in Canada: 1) Call doctor or drop by an evening clinic to see the on call doctor (who could be your doctor) 2) Doctor diagnoses you, write prescription 3) The pharmacy is usually in the same building All that is free except the prescription that's what gets you here if you don't have private insurance but universal pharmacare is supposedly something the government is considering. And specialists are hard to contact since you have to be referred to them by your family doctor if you have a family doctor. My last doctor who passed away had 7,000 patients he cared for he'd have to see three or four people every hour every day.