family health "care" rant

[pinkytoe]

Pardon my rant...we are currently watching health care decisions play out with family members - our infant twin granddaughters and the other end of the spectrum, DH's elderly mother. In both cases, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of over-doctoring and thus increased expenses for all of us. The twins, born a month preemie, but very healthy have had the following: CT hip scans, proton pump drugs for acid reflux (babies do spit up occasionally), physical therapy and now helmets because the back of their heads are slightly flattened from laying on their backs as advised. MIL is now on her umpteenth trip to the ER or hospital this year for dizziness and has had multiple CT scans, X-rays and is on at least eight medications (which is probably what causes the dizziness). She literally visits some sort of doctor every week to have something or other checked. And then my own recent medical experience of mild flank pain and urinary issues - I was immediately sent by an internist for multiple tests including CT scan. Then sent to urologist who ordered another CT scan - this time with contrast and finally a cytoscopy. He said all was perfectly normal and when I asked what about the flank pain and pointed to the area, he said "oh, that's not your kidney. Most likely muscle strain." So, after being in a state of panic for two months and $1000 poorer, it was all for nought. Just really flustered with the state of medical care these days as it doesn't make any sense.

[JaneV2.0]

But it makes money!
Yeah--I know, I'm a huge cynic.

[iris lilies]

When I make a post on forums similar to this sentiment, I am resoundingly slapped upside the head to be reminded how lucky I am to have all of these healthcare options and who do I think I am to complain and oh yeah way to be not empathetic to others. And I can just can my white privilege rant.


But I hear ya, OP.

[Teacher Terry]

You can definitely go down the rabbit hole with health care. That’s also happening to our pets if not careful.

[sweetana3]

Elderly mother in law is going thru the decision process to figure out what to do about her heart issues. She is 86 and was recently diagnosed with a serious genetic heart issue and has probably just had a silent heart attack. Doctor has said her heart is worn out. So how far does she take various procedures? This is the conundrum.

She did decide that due to her quality of life, she would let them do two procedures to try and reduce the afib and then to see if there were any correctable issues doing a heart cath. After that, if nothing changes, this new tired state may be her new normal.

[iris lilies]

You can definitely go down the rabbit hole with health care. That’s also happening to our pets if not careful.

Yesterday I had two healthcare appointments, one for me, one for my dog.


My own bill was $108. My dog’s bill was $384.


He goes to a specialist skin doctor. He is nine years old. I talked to her about the future of his medication because she said she has seen it stop working. We discussed an alternative medicine she has and that sounds good if it is needed. I told her That he is near the end of his life and I will not be making extensive new tests and etc at this point.

Her reaction to that was “oh come now,let’s not say that!” anout the end of his life.

He is a 9 year old bulldog with a compromised immune system, poor circulation, and who knows what else internally. At this point every day with him is a gift. I wish she respected that because that is the REAL issue, his gift of Life.

[catherine]

Medical technology has definitely made decisions around healthcare agonizing.

Regarding elderly parents: When my MIL fell ill in VT and we took her to a community VT hospital, they encouraged us to look at the big picture. They offered, and would have performed surgery if we had insisted, but they gently suggested that we let nature take its course, which we did, and my MIL died two days later. But do we second-guess ourselves from time to time? Yes.

Regarding furry friends: When my dog got cancer, our vet offered us the option of going for inpatient diagnostics at a high end pet hospital to better evaluate her prognosis and treatment options. They offered, and would have given her, chemotherapy, which may have extended her life a few weeks, and I'll admit we were tempted, but in the end all we got from the fancy high-end pet hospital (with superb boutique customer service) was a huge bill. And she died two weeks later.

There are so many options these days, and the medical community rightfully feels they are not doing their jobs if they don't at least offer what's available.

[pinkytoe]

The cynical me says that human doctors see what your insurance will cover. If it's top-notch, they will fire away with tests, etc. I know that when I make an appt, the first question is what insurance do you have.

[catherine]

The cynical me says that human doctors see what your insurance will cover. If it's top-notch, they will fire away with tests, etc. I know that when I make an appt, the first question is what insurance do you have.

Some procedures are profit centers for doctors, but not many, unless they do them themselves, in their practices. Many things they don't get reimbursed much, if anything, for.

They ask about insurance for your benefit as well as the ease or difficulty with which they may have to fight for you. They are well aware that out-of-pocket costs are skyrocketing, but frankly, simply knowing what insurance you have doesn't give them a clue as to what will get covered in most cases. They only ask so they know what hoops they'll have to jump through to get it approved.

It's probably human nature to be more liberal with tests that will be covered by insurance but I know that doctors care about what you can afford. They tell me that all the time.

ETA: I guess my suggestion would be to be transparent with the doctors. Tell them you only want tests done if they definitely feel the test(s) will shed light on your issue.

[Teacher Terry]

Vets have gotten really pushy and greedy. As much as I love my dogs they have a limited life expectancy. We have spent a lot of money on therem. My 13 yo big dog had a fast growing tumor on its leg which was where his leg bent so I had to do surgery or he wouldn’t be able to walk and he was still in good shape. Our vet practice is big and my favorite 12 up Maltese had congestive heart failure and was on a ton of medications. Then she had a few strokes. The vet who I didn’t know tried to tell me if I apparently bunch of money on tests he could save her. Now I am arguing with him and insisting she be put to sleep which I didn’t want to do. He was trying to take advantage of my grief.