Boy am I glad

[Dave's Not Here Man]

We have the best healthcare in the world. Only a 2 month wait to see a PCP. Suck it UK and Canada!

[minx]

Hey now, don't forget that after that 2mo wait, there'll be more waiting to get tests to see what's actually wrong.

Friend who's a bus driver has been complaining of pain that radiates down her back to her leg. Two trips to urgent care - 'Lie down and rest - take some Advil"
One trip to the ER 'You need to see a doctor - we're not giving you painkillers (despite the fact that she specifically said she drives a bus and can't take any opiates)'
Finally gets into a specialist - we can't do an MRI until you've done PT for 3 months or your insurance won't cover the MRI.
Still in extreme pain, and now on LWOP because she can't sit up long enough to do her bus route.
After a month, the PT tells her that it's not going to help - specialist's office argues with insurance for a week and gets her an MRI
Disc in her lower back is basically gone completely. They're going to try steroid injections before surgery so insurance won't complain.

But tell me how our care is the best in the world again. (Oh yeah, we won't mention the doctor's bills she's going to have to pay after all this crap)

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I don't know if I mentioned it but we got picked up in the Medicaid expansion. Unfortunately, we had no choice to be enrolled otherwise we would have chosen to stay with Kaiser because we were already well established with our doctors, got pretty damn good care overall, and my wife really liked her neurologist even though he was booked out anywhere from 2 months on as well. Oh, and they had 90% of everything right there in one place including most specialists, lab, some radiology, urgent care, and pharmacy. The premium did go up by over $100 from last year but I would've paid it for the sake of continuity. However, if we lived in NVA, there's a medicaid plan that is partnered with KP and I was once told that we could choose that plan so I was kind of stoked about that only to find out a short time later we're not in the NVA region. So we switched to Aetna, and the doctors that participate who aren't named Muhammed Ali Akbar El Haji Sheik that work out of those primary care places popping up everywhere like used car lots.... breathe.... are all at least 2 months for a "new patient" appointment. Good thing neither of us have a serious chronic disease right?

[minx]

Could be worse - you could have United HealthCare - better off dead IMO.

Yeah, you can 'keep your doctor' as long as your doctor takes your health insurance, or you can afford to pay out-of-pocket. Oh, and as long as your employer doesn't switch insurance plans, you don't have to switch employers, your spouse doesn't leave you, you don't have to leave the area unexpectedly....should I go on?

And I am really sorry that it's a 2 month wait. I now live in fear of my doctor's deciding to retire, because it's a total crap shoot as to whether I'll be able to find someone new who's decent.