anyone else strongly consider leaving due to garbage US healthcare?

[Anonymous]

We are French, and considering returning to France when we're older. We can afford US healthcare, but if we want a great nursing home... I don't know. More research is probably needed on our part. Also there's the family and cultural aspect of it - we might want to be closer to our roots then.

I'd like to warn you, however, that in some instances the standard of care in the USA is better than elsewhere, even in developed countries of Europe and Asia. My husband is a doctor, and we've seen how the US has very slowly and gradually outstripped major European countries in certain protocols and exams. Not all the time, not for everything. But it's something to think about. A wealthy person in the US will usually have better medical care than anywhere else.

Please don't be fooled by broken bones incidents in various countries. X-rays, resettings and casts are some of the most basic and easy medical acts - you can get them the world over, and the quality will be pretty much the same. But there are thousands of blood and other tests, and thousands of new or costly-to-manufacture medications, that are only easily available in the US! Many conditions will therefore not be treated the same elsewhere. For example, I'm on Synthroid, brand name of thyroid hormones for a very common hypothyroid condition. France does not sell Synthroid. The European continent mostly has the generic levothyroxine, which works fine - except I prefer and do better on Synthroid, as it's more accurately dosed.

It's a lot more complex than you might think.

[Anonymous]

I have excellent health care! But I understand the insurance companies can sometimes be a pain in the butt to deal with. My doctors do everything through an online portal (pre-approvals, referrals - it has made it quite easy). But sympathies OP, I know it’s only a matter of time until I have a crappy health care story.

[Anonymous]

Would if I could. It's not that easy.

[Anonymous]

Looking for jobs in my country of dual citizenship as we speak and public health care is definitely a reason I'm considering the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so angry right now. PCP sent a referral to do a sleep study. I lineup the sleep study with the health group/facility. Still no word if my insurance is covering anything. I try calling their office number on their website, and it routes you through an automated system where I get an operator on the line who tells me she can't determine if my insurance will pay and to call the office number. The number she gives me is the same exact number online that I called in in the first place. And around and around and around I go with no answer.

Ok, screw that. I try calling up my insurance company directly to see if pre-authorization is required....sit on the phone for hours and am still waiting.

I am just so sick of this trash. I am seriously consider leaving soon so I never have to deal with trash US healthcare anymore. I can't wait to be told soon that no, the sleep study won't be covered anyway even though the doctor ordered it. Why the F is it so goddamn hard to get HC in the US, and why do oatients have to waste hours getting answers or thrown into circular loops over and over again with no answers until it breaks your will to pursue? I can't imagine how terrible this would be if I had a more serious illness and were too weak to deal with all of this stupid nonsense.

I went to Thailand once with my in-laws. My sister in-law fell and broke her arm. She was in and out of the hospital after getting x-rays, a cast, and meds in no time. Total cost was $300 with no insurance. I just want to gouge my eyes out just trying to figure out if I can even get a GD sleep study paid for by insurance.

The naive American who was born yesterday thinks Thailand has better healthcare than the US.

Sure. Go and enjoy!!

They have EXCELLENT health care. Prior to the pandemic, I was flying yearly to Bangkok to do a complete health review, blood, stress, cardiac tests and more.

Total cost $700 and sent electronically to my doctor.

The same procedures at Sloan Kettering would cost 10’s of thousands.

I went to Tijuana for dental work as well as weight loss and plastic surgery.

Don’t be so ignorant of excellent cost effective medical care outside the USA!

My insurance covers those procedures. What type of insurance do you have?

[Anonymous]

It's trash. Agree we will likely move. DH in hosp now --needed routine heart procedure and was on ice over weekend with a fib bc I guess they just don't do much on weekends?? I wonder how much the waiting around will cost us. Top research/teaching hospital in case that even matters.

What's up with your sleep? Have you tried new exercise plan and completely new diet (no sugar, no alcohol, no wheat...).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We are French, and considering returning to France when we're older. We can afford US healthcare, but if we want a great nursing home... I don't know. More research is probably needed on our part. Also there's the family and cultural aspect of it - we might want to be closer to our roots then.

I'd like to warn you, however, that in some instances the standard of care in the USA is better than elsewhere, even in developed countries of Europe and Asia. My husband is a doctor, and we've seen how the US has very slowly and gradually outstripped major European countries in certain protocols and exams. Not all the time, not for everything. But it's something to think about. A wealthy person in the US will usually have better medical care than anywhere else.

Please don't be fooled by broken bones incidents in various countries. X-rays, resettings and casts are some of the most basic and easy medical acts - you can get them the world over, and the quality will be pretty much the same. But there are thousands of blood and other tests, and thousands of new or costly-to-manufacture medications, that are only easily available in the US! Many conditions will therefore not be treated the same elsewhere. For example, I'm on Synthroid, brand name of thyroid hormones for a very common hypothyroid condition. France does not sell Synthroid. The European continent mostly has the generic levothyroxine, which works fine - except I prefer and do better on Synthroid, as it's more accurately dosed.

It's a lot more complex than you might think.

Good like educating Americans.

Hint: the majority of posters on dcum couldn't care less about healthcare, it's just about US politics, how to attack Republicans or Trump or SCOTUS....facts are not important

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so angry right now. PCP sent a referral to do a sleep study. I lineup the sleep study with the health group/facility. Still no word if my insurance is covering anything. I try calling their office number on their website, and it routes you through an automated system where I get an operator on the line who tells me she can't determine if my insurance will pay and to call the office number. The number she gives me is the same exact number online that I called in in the first place. And around and around and around I go with no answer.

Ok, screw that. I try calling up my insurance company directly to see if pre-authorization is required....sit on the phone for hours and am still waiting.

I am just so sick of this trash. I am seriously consider leaving soon so I never have to deal with trash US healthcare anymore. I can't wait to be told soon that no, the sleep study won't be covered anyway even though the doctor ordered it. Why the F is it so goddamn hard to get HC in the US, and why do oatients have to waste hours getting answers or thrown into circular loops over and over again with no answers until it breaks your will to pursue? I can't imagine how terrible this would be if I had a more serious illness and were too weak to deal with all of this stupid nonsense.

I went to Thailand once with my in-laws. My sister in-law fell and broke her arm. She was in and out of the hospital after getting x-rays, a cast, and meds in no time. Total cost was $300 with no insurance. I just want to gouge my eyes out just trying to figure out if I can even get a GD sleep study paid for by insurance.

The naive American who was born yesterday thinks Thailand has better healthcare than the US.

Sure. Go and enjoy!!

They have EXCELLENT health care. Prior to the pandemic, I was flying yearly to Bangkok to do a complete health review, blood, stress, cardiac tests and more.

Total cost $700 and sent electronically to my doctor.

The same procedures at Sloan Kettering would cost 10’s of thousands.

I went to Tijuana for dental work as well as weight loss and plastic surgery.

Don’t be so ignorant of excellent cost effective medical care outside the USA!

My insurance covers those procedures. What type of insurance do you have?

I don’t use insurance. I pay cash for those services.

I only have catastrophic high deductible insurance and a prescription drug plan. I pay out of pocket for most regular doctor visits at a self pay cash rate.

I know what a strange concept. Paying for your own health care and only using insurance for a catastrophe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so angry right now. PCP sent a referral to do a sleep study. I lineup the sleep study with the health group/facility. Still no word if my insurance is covering anything. I try calling their office number on their website, and it routes you through an automated system where I get an operator on the line who tells me she can't determine if my insurance will pay and to call the office number. The number she gives me is the same exact number online that I called in in the first place. And around and around and around I go with no answer.

Ok, screw that. I try calling up my insurance company directly to see if pre-authorization is required....sit on the phone for hours and am still waiting.

I am just so sick of this trash. I am seriously consider leaving soon so I never have to deal with trash US healthcare anymore. I can't wait to be told soon that no, the sleep study won't be covered anyway even though the doctor ordered it. Why the F is it so goddamn hard to get HC in the US, and why do oatients have to waste hours getting answers or thrown into circular loops over and over again with no answers until it breaks your will to pursue? I can't imagine how terrible this would be if I had a more serious illness and were too weak to deal with all of this stupid nonsense.

I went to Thailand once with my in-laws. My sister in-law fell and broke her arm. She was in and out of the hospital after getting x-rays, a cast, and meds in no time. Total cost was $300 with no insurance. I just want to gouge my eyes out just trying to figure out if I can even get a GD sleep study paid for by insurance.

The naive American who was born yesterday thinks Thailand has better healthcare than the US.

Sure. Go and enjoy!!

They have EXCELLENT health care. Prior to the pandemic, I was flying yearly to Bangkok to do a complete health review, blood, stress, cardiac tests and more.

Total cost $700 and sent electronically to my doctor.

The same procedures at Sloan Kettering would cost 10’s of thousands.

I went to Tijuana for dental work as well as weight loss and plastic surgery.

Don’t be so ignorant of excellent cost effective medical care outside the USA!

My insurance covers those procedures. What type of insurance do you have?

I don’t use insurance. I pay cash for those services.

I only have catastrophic high deductible insurance and a prescription drug plan. I pay out of pocket for most regular doctor visits at a self pay cash rate.

I know what a strange concept. Paying for your own health care and only using insurance for a catastrophe!

Yikes that would make me nervous.

[Anonymous]

I think getting timely access to specialty care like a sleep study could be really hard in countries with government-provided medical care.

I used to be on a discussion board for people with a medical condition my child has and was really shocked by how long the Brits and especially the Canadians had to wait for appointments with a specialist. Like any specialist, not just a really good one at a prominent clinic who you go to when your local specialist hasn't helped.

[Anonymous]

List the countries where you think you’ll quickly and easily get a sleep study let alone have it covered.

FTR, I have Cadillac insurance (think: $35 copay for major surgery and insurance covers the rest). I’m confident other countries aren’t actually better. In the US, you can practically dictate what services/tests you want. In the UK, you wait. And you don’t always get what you want.

[Anonymous]

i think you are over estimating how easy it is to access the healthcare in other countries. i think your experience you describe is pretty common for public healthcare in European countries for example from what I have heard from colleagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone rely on someone else to pay for everything? I don't get it. If your health is important to you, spend money on it. Who cares if the sleep study is covered or not. If you feel you need it so you can work on your health and longevity then go get it and pay the bill. All the other money you waste on stuff (entertainment, fancy cell phone, cable/internet packages, etc.) could be spent on more important things. Please don't lie and pretend you don't waste money. If you can't afford to pay for the sleep study out of pocket you don't deserve to get it. Services and time aren't free. Be responsible for yourself at least once in your life instead of complaining and wanting someone else to cover your expenses.

I work in healthcare and the amount of waste is staggering. To say nothing of government subsidies that go to funding hospitals that serve “underserved” patients. We are talking to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

The system is very, very broken and there is a glut of extremely overpaid executives in healthcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think getting timely access to specialty care like a sleep study could be really hard in countries with government-provided medical care.

I used to be on a discussion board for people with a medical condition my child has and was really shocked by how long the Brits and especially the Canadians had to wait for appointments with a specialist. Like any specialist, not just a really good one at a prominent clinic who you go to when your local specialist hasn't helped.

This right here. I think you’re a bit delusional if you think you’re going to get a sleep study asap in another country. Your best bet is likely the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:List the countries where you think you’ll quickly and easily get a sleep study let alone have it covered.

FTR, I have Cadillac insurance (think: $35 copay for major surgery and insurance covers the rest). I’m confident other countries aren’t actually better. In the US, you can practically dictate what services/tests you want. In the UK, you wait. And you don’t always get what you want.

Have to disagree. I work in healthcare (US) and had an emergent health issue in the Netherlands. I was seen, prescribed medicine, and billed in a very transparent and efficient way: it cost less than $100. What I experienced there is not replicable in the US, currently.