How do you feel today?

[lorin]

This is here because I FEEL angry today. We wonder in the US why our medical system is collapsing.

One hour of surgery in an outpatient clinic. Just thought I'd share the wonderfullness of it all. Check out the grand total.

[CovenantJr]

Thirty-one? Seriously?! That's...insane.

cov, you should just go for it. You never know what may happen. Life gives you moments and if you don't take them then you never know the highs and lows of what you may achieve. Acceptance or rejection, it's all a learning experience and what you take away is always more than what you invest. grab the girl, kiss her, win the day.

Meh, it's not that simple. Friend 2 is the one who's more...enthusiastic...but the more I think about it the more I suspect that she's just vulnerable and I'm reassuring.

Blech. There's a reason I don't date. This isn't it, but that's beside the point.

[Damelon]

Is that what the insurance won't pick up?

I like to think myself reasonably intelligent, but I find medical billing statements cryptic. The bottom line, when I get a statement, is what do I owe? Yet, from my experience, that's not so easy to figure out. The opaqueness of the system, that's a big problem.

[Menolly]

That looks like the entire bill to me, High L-rd.
And it looks like lorin has exceptional coverage that covered everything.
(I am assuming "Insurance Transfer" means payment received)

The medical center appears to have billed multiple times for the same procedure using different codes for different specific parts of the procedure. When I did billing many moons ago, this was common, as a "hit and miss" effort. Payment for procedures were denied by insurance coverage more often than not, so billing multiple times for the same procedure in different ways was an attempt to get paid something, and when the coverage was denied it was then up to the care givers staff to determine whether to write-off the procedure, attempt to collect the whole thing, or bill the patient for a percentage.

Unfortunately, far too often when a company did pay for everything billed, the doctors pocketed the money, rather than return the excessive payment.

It would be interesting to hear from someone like Ki if this is still common place in the system.

But yeah, the system is in a shambles. Hence the need for reform. Too bad we didn't get what is needed...

...wow, that feels like a 'tank post. feel free to ignore...

[Xar]

*grumble grumble*

Woke up this morning, it was a great sunny day, I went to my car to go to the lab (I was scheduled for routine blood tests in 15 minutes)... and when I turn on the engine, not one but three yellow lights turn on as well, while the engine starts making a groaning sound.

I find out that the nearest service point is 10 Km away, so I call the lab, postpone the blood tests, drive all the way over there (slowly and with a car which stopped every now and then), I finally arrive and they start looking at it. Turns out that a marten (yes, the animal) had chewed through the wires in the engine. Not that bad, except for the fact that the service point didn't have replacement cables, so they told me the earliest they can fix the car is tomorrow.

Fine, then I get a replacement in the meantime, right? ... not so fast. Apparently, Renault has a policy according to which the replacement car is at the discretion of the service point, if you drove the car over there yourself. But if your car stops in the middle of the street and won't move, then you can call the assistance and they'll take care of everything. So I had to pretend the car had stopped near the service point and they had dragged it in (thankfully they were happy to lie about it). Then I called, they opened a file, and two hours later (yes, 2 hours later) they called back to say they'd arranged a replacement car with AVIS. Except that... the AVIS center they had contacted was in another town (!!!!) so they had to pay for a cab for me to get there, and the cab took another hour to arrive.

So to put it all in context, I wasted almost 5 hours (4 of which I spent inside the service point), and hopefully tomorrow I'll have my car again.

*grumble grumble*

Now where did I put those Pantheon turns I should process... I need to vent some stress out!

[Menolly]

Oh...
...oh my...
*I know I shouldn't react this way, but trying desperately NOT to giggle*

Now where did I put those Pantheon turns I should process... I need to vent some stress out!

...uh-oh...

[aliantha]

Wow, Xar, sorry about the car troubles....

And lorin: And Menolly, I bet this is *not* the whole bill. For one thing, I don't see any anesthesia charge on there, and presumably she had some. It's often the case with surgical procedures here in the US that you will get multiple bills for the same procedure -- one from the doctor, one from the hospital, a separate one from the anesthesiologist, and so on. It's crazy. When Magickmaker went to the emergency room for her first kidney stone attack, she got a bill from the doc, a bill from the hospital, and a bill from the ambulance company. Luckily her father has excellent insurance that paid almost all of it.

[Avatar]

*Speechless*

Is Menolly right about billing multiple times for the same procedure? I understand the reasoning she gave, but I can't believe that is possible. If the insurance pays everything, haven't they then significantly overpaid?

--A

[I'm Murrin]

And lorin: And Menolly, I bet this is *not* the whole bill. For one thing, I don't see any anesthesia charge on there, and presumably she had some.

I see a charge of almost $2,000 for an injection of anaesthetic agent in the brachial plexus near the bottom of the list.


Anyway, yeah, I'm against the idea of private medical care being pretty much the only option, it's a basic human right and should be provided by governments as a matter of course.

[aliantha]

Oh wait, I see the anasthetic now. But that's just for the drugs, not for the person who administered 'em.

[CovenantJr]

Anyway, yeah, I'm against the idea of private medical care being pretty much the only option, it's a basic human right and should be provided by governments as a matter of course.

Agreed. Say what you will about the NHS, at least we get free essential healthcare.

[Avatar]

And it's of reasonable quality. (There's free healthcare here, but right now it's atrocious. Government is talking about an NHS system. Taxes would go up, but it's worth it in my opinion.)

--A

[Damelon]

Oh wait, I see the anasthetic now. But that's just for the drugs, not for the person who administered 'em.

No, that's probably the total cost for that person.

What isn't in this bill are the diagnostics that led up to it, MRI, whatever. It's just for the procedure. I'm not really surprised by the total though. A friend of mine had heart bypass surgery a couple of years ago and the total on that was $110k.

[Menolly]

Right, I am thinking this is the total bill only for this procedure done at that outpatient facility. Diagnostics and anything else will be billed separately.

Keep in mind, my medical billing experience is over a decade in the past. Ki is really one who could verify if the same thing is still happening or not.

[Cameraman Jenn]

I'm tired. The training modules made my brain bleed. I think I only retained 10% because they are either so monotonous or so packed with information that I was either sleepclicking or overwhelmed. I have a few more to finish in the morning. I spent the last two hours of my day in my department finding out how humbling it is to realize that while I could diagnose and fix the customer's car, I haven't a clue as to how to get their files from the flash drive to print in color on the proper paper from the correct drawer on the industrial print/copy machine. At least I am good at greeting customers, running the cash drawer, faxing and keeping customers entertained and smiling while they wait. Don should have put "PATHETICALLY GREEN NEWBIE" on my nametag instead of "in training." Luckily, Don and Mei are really supportive and nice and patient and appreciative of my customer distraction skills. I also had to have it out with Mario the king of the parking nazis at the potrero center complex. My first day I went in the morning and told him I was new, pointed out the rape van, asked what to do so I would NOT get a ticket and he told me to put a business card signed by my supervisor in the window and they would not ticket it. I did that and got a ticket anyway. Day two I put the card under the wiper blade where the first ticket showed up, thinking that maybe they just didn't see it and BAM ticket again. So today I didn't bother. Then after work I hunted Mario down and got him to agree to make the tickets go away. It took such persuasive statements as, "I did what you said with the business cards", "Give me a break, it's not like I am wearing this Office Depot uniform as a fashion statement." and "Let's get real, it's not like you don't know which rape van is mine or didn't recognize the rape van from our morning conversation on day one. It barely clears the employee parking roof, it overhangs the parking spots allotted for employees and it's a tattered white old ford rape van that I again pointed out to you on day one. It stands out and you know it." to get him to actually become human again. At that last part he laughed and acquiesced. Still it was annoying that I even had to go there. Ugh.

[Kaydene]

Am incredibly stressed out.

I went to pick up the new car this morning. It was an hour's drive, so I call the guy this morning to make sure he's going to be in. I drive all the way up there and he's not there.

His business associates are, and they say they can take care of everything for me. I fill out the paperwork, go out to the car, and it doesn't start. One of the mechanics says he'll give it a jump, and then says that the battery that they supposedly replaced for me wasn't the right size. So he goes looking for another battery, puts it in and gives it a jump, and the Check Engine light comes on!! I mean, c'mon. So they run a free diagnostic on it to tell me that it was "nothing" and they shut it off. Shady.

Anyway, the car is near empty so I go fill it up and am about to get on the freeway when I notice this "click click click" when I'm turning right. "/sigh" I think, and I call the place back and they say they'll have someone look at it. I drive it back and they say it's the right axle!! They say they "won't put any more money in it" and if I want to get it fixed, it'll be $150. ARGH, I didn't want a car with a broken axle! So I got my money back and drove home, thinking it wouldn't be smart to buy a car that I'm immediately replacing things on. AND I'm out the $@##!* $50 it cost me to fill the car up!

None of my family members can get their shit together enough to co-sign for me on anything. They've never had it together enough to do that because they're completely irresponsible and can't help their own kid get a start in the credit world.

So now, I may have someone I know who can co-sign for me on a loan as a huge favor with them sticking their neck way out for me, but it may be a choice between college or this f'ing car payment now! I just want to finish college but I know, given the choice, I'll have to pay the car payment. Freaking sucks. What a crappy day.

[Orlion]

Yeah, cops can be jerks sometimes... I keep thinking I'll get ticketed because I've been parking in the same part of the street for the past couple of weeks... I think they might suspect I'm wiping the chalk off of my tires, which I am not (at the moment ), I've just been really lucky.

I think you made the right decision, Kaydene. You may feel the stress now, but few things suck more than an unreliable car. Things will work out eventually.

I'm knee-deep in calculus and chemistry right now... I wish I could just take the Physical Chemistry exam all ready and be done with it! After that, it's a final research paper for my english class, and then there will be time enough at last!.... so long as my glasses stay on my face...

[Kaydene]

Thanks, Orlion. I think things are looking more manageable this morning. I suppose they usually do.

[Cameraman Jenn]

GUESS WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL AND BLUE AND RUNNING LIKE A CHAMPION AND PARKED IN MY KITCHEN RIGHT NOW?????



IF YOU GUESSED MY MOPED YOU WOULD BE CORRECT!!!

[aliantha]

Yay for the moped!