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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by throwaway38575061@lemmy.world to c/mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world

She literally called me at the time of the appointment to tell me she can't see me. She was so apologetic, but was like "I absolutely can treat you, but I'm not allowed by your insurance". Fuck this country.

Update: I went to urgent care. Before leaving home, I called to be sure they would accept my insurance (Aetna). They said yes.. After arriving for my appointment, they told me they do not accept my insurance. I will simply leave without paying.

Final Update: I can understand that that differences in physical biology demand different attention. That's not what I'm complaining about. It's the way it's set up. I was told that at my appointment. Why not just refer me to a specialist? The website could've even just referred me to urgent care (yes, my insurance requires a primary care physician's referral for urgent care, according to the urgent care facility). But, no, their goal is to obfuscate and irritate until the patient gives you and pays out-of-pocket.

I was able to receive care at a cost I could not afford. I won't discuss what I had to do to "find" the money to pay for care and prescriptions. That being said, the condition I was diagnosed with was more serious than a simple infection, and I'm glad that I saw a doctor. I need further treatment and just hope I can get insurance to cover any of it.

If you're an American reading this, please consider ways to get involved in organizing in support of Medicare For All in your community. Here is one resource I have found. We don't need to live like this. We deserve better. Stay safe and healthy, friends.

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[-] average650@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

That's more than mildly infuriating....

[-] BurnTheRight@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There is a cause and there is a solution for our disgusting system.

Conservatives (including neo-liberals) serve corporations, not citizens. If we can marginalize conservatives (including neo-liberals), then we can have nice things like the other 31 developed nations on earth.

This cannot improve while conservatives (including neo-liberals) have power in our nation's government. Period.

[-] dan@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago

I think you're just supposed to die now...

[-] throwaway38575061@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I don't believe I can afford to, though. 😓

[-] axtualdave@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

My friend, you need to do two things --

One, get treated. It seems you've visited urgent care. They are "real" doctors and, assuming the hospital or clinic the urgent care is associated with is well-staffed and stocked, should be able to get your sorted today. Be sure to get any prescriptions you need filled on-site, if possible, before you leave.

Two, review your healthcare plan. While the Affordable Care Act mandated certain minimum coverages several things happened since that allow people to purchase plans that do not conform to the ACA mandates. On those so-called "catastrophic" plans, insurers can deny or decline to cover all sorts of things. Patients often simply shop by monthly premium cost and don't check coverages. Make sure your health plan is ACA-compliant, and, if not, look into a way to get covered by a compliant plan.

If it IS ACA-compliant, then treating a UTI, even in a male, is covered. You may be selecting providers that are not in-network, or do not have the proper staffing to treat this fairly rare condition, though. It may be worth a visit to your primary care provider if you can't get something like CVS or another "Doc in a Box" to treat it.

[-] sputtersalt@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Are you sure this isn't just a CVS thing? It says the same thing for me and I know my insurance covers UTIs for everyone. Maybe try an urgent care?

[-] DRx@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

This is correct… there is 2 things to remember here

  1. CVS only has nurse practitioners, nurses, or pharmacists that are doing the screening, and must refer for certain cases
  2. There are 2 types of UTIs….
  • complicated and uncomplicated
  • Men ALWAYS have a complicated uti due to the anatomy of where the uti is located
  • women can have either, these NPs are only allowed to treat UNCOMPLICATED UTIS and must refer all complicated cases to a physician.

FYI it has nothing to do with insurance

[-] justhach@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The entirely of modern America could be summarized with "Mildly Infiruating", tbh.

It is utterly baffling to me how the US has not figured out nationalized healthcare. Literally every other developped nation in the western hemisphere has at this point.

Its crazy that a politician could come out and say "my number one priority is to ensure that every American has access to healthcare, paid for by the state", and would instantly be villified by like half the country.

[-] throwaway38575061@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

A handful of bastards at the top are making unfathomable amounts of wealth at the cost of the lives and future of the country. A majority of the country is in support of nationalizing health care. I've even met conservatives who agree. It's these sick fucking parasites who won't allow us to have it.

All the fuckers writing the laws have socialized healthcare. It's the untouchables who don't.

[-] golamas1999@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

The covid national emergency is declared over. Potentially up to 15 million people will lose Medicaid expansion. Florida already kicked off 600,000 people. An 87 year old who had a daily care taker lost access even though they were qualified after the cut. A 7 year old boy will now die because they took access to his leukemia treatment. About half the people still qualify but they are making everyone reapply.

My dad some how affords stupidly expensive healthcare. Premiums are $4,000 a month. ER copay is $1000. ER deductible is $18,400 per family. My mom is now on a medication that costs $1400 a day. With other meds her medication is $15,800 a month for the rest of her life (she is 59). With insurance it goes down to $28 She has had $100,000 in medical bills. She has some super rare condition. Our insurance said one of the out of network doctors was covered. My mom verified multiple times. Now they don’t want to cover that doctor so we are stuck with a $25,000 medical bill. My mom says she will put it on the lowest amount a month for the rest of her life.

In other words if my dad couldn’t afford this insurance she probably would be dead now or in a few months.

Crazy is that we are all Canadian and if we lived there we could go on OHIP plus extra insurance for a few hundred bucks a month. For those who say Canadian’s have wait times, so do we. The difference is you will be seen and will not go medically bankrupt or denied care because you are too poor.

The excuse is that Canadians come to America for better doctors with lower wait times. They do. But when you realize they come to the States they don’t have long term insurance. Meaning they pay out of pocket. So it’s wealthy Canadians that can afford insanely high prices.

All my family in Canada says my father is pissing away money. He is.

God Bless American Healthcare! /s

TLDR Doug Ford can sod off and go to hell.

[-] Sunrosa@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Because the healthcare industry makes money. A shitload of money. Why would they "fix" that? The problem is the fact that it is an industry.

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[-] Uriel238@lemmy.fmhy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

I can't help but wonder what happens to girls 15 and under when they get UTIs. Insurance company says sucks to be a girl?

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Probably.

We knowingly vote for this shitty health care system every two years, so why would they ever change?

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[-] Voran@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

What the hell? Was someone drunk when they drew up that policy?

[-] arin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Too much cocaine

[-] Sans_outside@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Should have just said that you identify as a woman, probably solved. /S

But in all seriousness that's just terrible. Everyone no matter if your a man or woman should be treated equally.

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[-] porkins@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

You are presuming that it is a UTI and and coding it wrong for insurance purposes. Do a visit for something more generalized that is covered like abdominal pain and doctor will know how to code it properly for insurance.

[-] elenmirie@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Gawd, I know it happens more often in women but my husband had a nasty recurring UTI for a few months - they absolutely took it seriously and treated him! WTF, I hope you manage to get treated. ETA: UK

[-] gerowen@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I had one a while back and it was literally just a round of antibiotics. It's not some invasive, complicated procedure that only affects women. That insurance is stupid.

[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well you see, every dollar spent on care is one less dollar shareholders get, so...

[-] tigaente@feddit.de 4 points 1 year ago

That's disgusting if you ask me.

Also, you have to be 18+ for getting a contraception appointment. I guess teens in the US are also having sex like teens in other parts of the world and would very much need access to contraceptives, right?

[-] throwaway38575061@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Correct, they sure are. And abortion rights are under attack. Those teens won't even have a chance.

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[-] CynAq@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

The extreme profit oriented business culture of the US combined with the human nature of bandwagons make these sort of disgusting practices possible.

Corporations are justified, by default, in anything they can do to increase profit, and will do so until there's enough public backlash to negate the amount of profit that practice makes.

The public backlash is tied to the social momentum the idea has. Because profitability is the default idea to be promoted, you can't say something like "don't do this obviously profitable thing because it's bad for people" unless there's enough people around you who'll get on the bandwagon. If suddenly some influential person or a critical number of schmucks say the opposite, then everyone is defending the corporation's, not only the right, but the duty to be profitable.

It's an unpleasant way to live, really, but people are creatures of habit and won't easily go against the culture they grow up in.

[-] bumbly@readit.buzz 4 points 1 year ago

This is why mens' rights activists exist. Unfortunately, just like the feminist movement, they were invaded by psychopaths.

[-] haxguru@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Are the people in the comments bots or real people? It's too good to be true that so many people have switched to Lemmy!!

[-] SomethingBurger@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Everyone on Lemmy is a bot except you.

[-] Alpagu@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

We are bots😃

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[-] lhx@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Yea it will. Just not at a minute clinic. You need to go to an actual urgent care or primary care doctor.

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A lesson I learned the hard way is the only way you can tell what your insurance actually covers is to read the fine print. The insurance company service reps can't be relied upon and the medical office reps just make up an answer if they don't know. Nor can you be sure the coverage statement from the insurance company is right wen they finally send it. That's wrong a significant percent of the time too.

[-] SchrodingersDude@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

BREAKING: Men do, in fact, pee

[-] riodoro1@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

The most developed country in the world ladies and gentlemen.

I hope they don’t catch you op.

[-] SomethingBurger@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Most powerful. The most developed is arguably in Europe, probably one of the Nordic countries.

[-] Midnitte@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

It's a good thing we have private insurance in the US. You have the freedom of choice! (/s)

Can you visit a general practitioner for treatment? It'll take a lot longer... but I would imagine they can give a prescription - even if it's not covered.

[-] Lurch@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

This is a CVS thing and not an insurance provider issue. If you go to an in-network provider, they will treat your UTI.

Two years ago I passed a kidney stone, that led to a UTI, and then sepsis. My insurance treated me without blinking. In fact, the only out-of-pocket costs I paid, was a $50 co-pay for the ER/hospital stay, and $8 co-pay for my aftercare antibiotic.

[-] fne8w2ah@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Aww man you poor sods. In any other civilised country that wouldn't be so much of a worry. 😭

[-] Alpagu@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I'm living in Turkey. All health care is free.

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[-] FuzzyDoublePumper@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Hypothetically, in an emergency situation, you could get fish antibiotics from your local pet store. Not the best idea but an untreated infection isn't good either.

[-] doink@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Have you since received treatment? Bad news, men don't really get UTIs.

When I had it, it was because of kidney stones.

[-] Navi1101@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Penis owners can absolutely get UTIs, but since the urethra is much longer, they're less likely to develop into bladder infections.

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this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
270 points (100.0% liked)

Mildly Infuriating

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