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[HealthFilter] How much does the average no complication birth cost?

gnash — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:59:17 -0800

Had a beautiful baby girl a few months ago. Previous baby due to excellent insurance cost exactly $0. This baby, with crappy Aetna insurance close to $4k. This is after deductible, and using a doctor that was non-preferred (which we paid more for) I am still puzzled how I ended up getting charged this much. Anyway I got to thinking. Why is my out of pocket cost $4k for a birth with no complications? Why is the total cost for this birth $17 - $18k? Some detail:
Pomosin (sp?)
Epidural
Misc pain killers
2 nights stay post birth
4 - 5 hours labor @ hospital, less than an hour for the "all hands operation"
Cord blood draw

My question - what was the total cost for YOUR kiddo's birth (or your friends)? Is this really what it costs nowadays for what is, for the most part, an incredibly routine procedure?

Bo Knows . . .

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:22:19 -0800

Health Mystery Solved. I have been given a diagnosis of avascular necrosis. My general practitioner relayed these results to me after she saw my MRI results. On Friday I meet with an orthopedic surgeon. Please help me prepare. What questions should I be sure to ask? My gp described the damage as 'fairly advanced' or something.
In addition to questions to ask, I would love to hear anecdotal experiences from mefis directly affected by this.

Short of total hip replacement, (THR), what are the cutting edge effective treatments? If THR plays out as the only/necessary option how was your experience?

Since first being told that my pain was unrelated to a muscle strain/tear I feel as good as I have in 18 months. I can't really explain it but, even without the pain management meds I was prescribed, I know walk with a nearly indiscernible limp and actually feel pretty good. I am otherwise healthy and, according to the chart on the wall, I am within 4lbs of my ideal weight.

I am now a 40yo single, straight male with no kids. I have no family in California where I have called home for 22 years. I was medically discharged in 1990 and have been granted coverage at the Veteran's Administration hospital in my community. Without exception, the care I have received there has been kind, thoughtful and genuine.

Help me prepare for my meeting on Friday and for possible outcomes in the near(?) future.

I'll dust off hiplegpain@gmail.com if anyone would like to contact me directly. Thank you.

How to get treatment for depression without income or health insurance?

jnnla — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:14:14 -0800

I suspect I am suffering from Depression and I have no health insurance or current source of income - how do I get help? Three months ago I quit my high-paying job due to extreme job dissatisfaction, and with the job, I also lost my employee sponsored health care. I have since missed the deadline to file for COBRA (I live in California).

As a result I am currently unemployed (by choice) and without health care. I am 26 years old and am extremely fit and healthy physically (gym 3x at least per week), but mentally I suspect that I am suffering from depression.

I was diagnosed with depression as an 18 year old, but overcame it and within a year and a half became happy and healthy again.

Within the last two years, however, I have felt "flat," and I feel the familiar pangs of depression - a general all-encompassing apathy, constant anxiety and intrusive negative thoughts, as well as the random urge to cry or hole myself away in my bed. My omnipresent negative emotions and worries, I feel, prevent me from reaching my potential. These feelings partly led to my decision to quit my job, which was only exacerbating my condition. I committed to take time off for a few months to work on personal projects, explore other possible career paths, and to try to handle my negative feelings. I have saved up money (quickly running out) in order to facilitate this plan.

I would like to see a therapist and get a diagnosis, as well as schedule regular therapy sessions. In my normal state I am a very vibrant and social person, who has a zest and love for life - and I would very much like to have that person back and get him working again...but I feel I need treatment.

QUESTION:
So...what is an unemployed person without health insurance to do? How do I go about getting help? I can afford CHEAP health insurance for a few months (100-150 dollars per month). I have looked into Tonik, and am going to give them a call but it is unclear to me whether they have mental health coverage - furthermore, should I be mentioning my condition when calling health insurance companies or will that get me denied or put me in a waiting period for treatment? I assume my options are to see a therapist of my choice out of pocket or to buy health insurance and have them foot the bill for an in-network shrink. In the meantime are there any free or state-sponsored options I can look into? Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated!

How can an injured homeless person expect to be treated at a hospital?

Sully — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:13:37 -0800

How can a homeless person who has been injured (stabbed, for instance) expect to be treated at a U.S. city hospital with no money or health insurance? Surely they wouldn't let him bleed to death? And if they do turn him away, what are his options?

Please help me feel better about what happened at the E.R.

jay dee bee — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:57:26 -0800

I am trying to resolve some angry and anxious feelings I’m having about emergency medical care my husband received this weekend. Very long story inside. Over the past week, my husband had a few bouts of chest tightness and lightheadedness. He is an otherwise healthy and fit 30-something male who is under a lot of stress from work right now. Last Friday after lunch, he felt lightheaded and dizzy and almost passed out. After an hour or so of laying down, he felt better and continued working. His chest felt intermittently tight, but no sharp pains, so he did not go to the doctor.

After a full night’s sleep on Friday night he woke up Saturday morning still feeling chest tightness and some lightheadedness, so I took him to the local Urgent Care Center. He was given an exam and an EKG, which the doctor said was “abnormal” and “showed signs of a heart attack.”

Side note: I felt at the time that something was off about the diagnosis, but who am I to second guess a doctor when she says your husband’s life is as risk at that very moment? For example, every time he mentioned “tightness” they interpreted that as “pain” – which they ended up focusing wholly on – and they basically brushed off the lightheadedness.

Anyway, due to this “abnormal” EKG, husband was rushed in an ambulance to the Emergency Room at a nearby hospital. As you can imagine, considering we drove ourselves to the Urgent Care Center just fine, and he wasn’t feeling all that bad, this caused a bit of a freak out. Husband was shaking with nerves, and the whole situation was quite alarming. He was placed on oxygen, given some spray under his tongue, hooked up to an IV, the whole works.

Upon arriving at the ER to meet my husband who had arrived via ambulance, I learned that the EMTs in the ambulance did an EKG that showed zero abnormalities. Then the doctors at the ER did another EKG, which was also totally normal. All this time his blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen levels were just fine. The ER doctor consulted with a cardiologist and their suspicion was that the Urgent Care doctor had one of the EKG sensors on backwards, which essentially read the heart backwards, therefore showing “permanent damage” that, if true, would have shown up on future EKGs (which it did not). They also did further blood tests that showed everything was 100% normal.

After many hours of waiting, he was declared totally fine and discharged with instructions to rest and see his regular doctor. That’s it.

Now I am struggling with two main things:

1. I am feeling very angry that the error of the first doctor led to a whole circus of unnecessary events. Is this par for the course in health care and do I need to just get over it? Is it their job to overreact to everything because they are extraordinarily risk-averse to under-reacting? Do I need to file this under “better safe than sorry” and just move on? (As you can tell I am having a hard time with this…)

2. I am feeling very anxious about what kind of bill we are going to receive for all of this. My husband has good health insurance (PPO) but I have no idea what or how much will be covered, what the total cost may be, and if the insurance company will bill us for a lot of it because most of it ended up being totally unnecessary. I imagine the ambulance alone costs a small fortune. Am I just supposed to wait around in anticipation a five-figure bill to drop in my mail slot any day?

My husband and I have been lucky to be in good health and we have virtually zero experience with hospitals, health care, insurance billing, etc. I’m not sure if I should simply be grateful that we have health care at all and get over my negative feelings, or if I have a right to be angry. I am also worried sick about how much this whole circus is going to end up costing and I am trying to prepare for the worst. I would appreciate any advice, either concrete (perhaps I could call the insurance company?) or anecdotal (something that either validates my feelings or puts them in perspective).

To be clear, we are taking his health seriously, and he has an appointment with his primary care physician tomorrow. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is REALLY wrong with him and how to address it.

We have not talked to our families (or anyone) about this because we don’t want to alarm our parents and frankly, I’d really like to just forget about it. The whole thing was just frightening and rather embarrassing.

Thanks in advance for your advice and answers.

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes?

mintchip — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:06:55 -0800

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes? What would be some ideas for changes to the existing US health system to save money and improve outcomes? For example, ways to better manage chronic disease, reduce medical errors, reduce duplicate tests, etc.

I'm interested in new ideas as well as ones that have been proven to work in other countries but could be "hacked" to fit the convoluted system we have here in the US.

Groin/Hip Strain/Sprain

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:11:13 -0800

YANMD: Self-diagnosed high-groin sprain. Chronic for more than six weeks, further aggravated when I tripped in the airport today. It seems that the negative stress of catching myself completely tweaked it. 39yo Caucasian male When in a seated position I can’t lift my foot off the ground. The pain extends into front, even outside of my hip. I can extend the lower leg. The pain seems to go down my leg, especially the inside. With my feet in front of me it is painful if I try to bring my knees together or apart. Lifting my leg with my hand and moving it is not as painful but neither is it pain-free.

I am not in a po$ition to see a physician and after similarly exacerbating this lingering injury last week it felt significantly better after a third day of rest. I’m not sure what a physician could do for me. But, this feels worse than last week.

Although I ride my bike as a sole means of transportation <40 miles a week I don't believe it is a 'sports' injury.

Would heat or ice help?
To what degree might I be danger of permanent damage?
What type of exam would could best diagnose the problem?

Email at hiplegpain@gmail.com

Thank you.

maternity leave questions

Snoogylips — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:36:35 -0800

I am working as a home health aide in a private home and need some information about maternity leave. Details inside. I will be having a baby in the fall. I have worked in this for this great family since fall 2007. My paycheck comes from a company but the family of my client is considered my Supervisor. When I called the company to find out what the policy on maternity leave is they said to check with my supervisor. In the past with my supervisor I have scheduled regular sick or vacation days ahead of time, but they waited til the last minute to schedule backup. The supervisor is aware of the due date and has been for a long time now. I have verbally agreed that I would stay working for them as long as I could up to the very last minute if possible. I will return after maternity leave, but I might choose to extend it. My main concern is what if I decide a few days before birth that I am unable to work. I’m mainly worried that there will be no back up for me and might have to work. How do I go about discussing this further with the super visor? Do I need to get it all in writing? How do I find out how long of maternity leave I am entitled to here in Texas? Is there anything else I need to be concerned with? What about FMLA? Any other information that I might need to know?

How to advocate for and aid a desperately ill, uninsured man in California?

Scram — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:36:17 -0800

How to advocate for and aid a desperately ill, uninsured man in California? Posting this for a friend:

His older brother is in his mid 40s, single, lives with their father. He has no insurance, and has previously been in good health. On 12/23 he began complaining of flu symptoms. On 12/26, after two days of Nyquil and Theraflu, he claimed to feel better. But the next day, 12/27, he was found in bed in soiled sheets. He was carried into the ER in Alhambra, CA, where he was found to have liver and kidney failure. He was immediately put on life support, and is now on a respirator as well.

The ill man has $30,000 in his checking account (his bill is already more than that). No one can access these funds, and the hospital is eager to receive some payment ASAP. His relatives need to obtain power of attorney, to access his funds and to be able to make decisions about his care. There is no will and no former spouse.

His brother is in the process of getting him on Medi-Cal retroactively. What else can he do, who else can he call, to help his brother in this crisis?

Please advise. We will pass any suggestions along to our friend immediately.

Appendages O' pain

cashman — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:16:25 -0800

How to treat possibly broken fingers and toes? Not going to a doctor. Please avoid suggesting that.

I'm pretty sure I broke or tore something in my pinky. It's been weeks now, but it got all swollen right after, and turned black & blue. The swelling has mainly gone down (I iced the crap out of it), but is focused in the knuckle area, on the inside (touching my ring finger). I can move it all around with almost no pain. But if I try to, say, grasp a handful of change, OUCH!OUCH!OUCH!OUCH!.

I was buddy taping it at first, and that just seems to have little to no effect. I wonder if it isn't a break, but some kind of torn ligament. Should I still be icing it? Or putting heat on it (and how am I supposed to get heat on my pinky knuckle)?

Separately, I have pretty much the same questions about the "ring toe". Same deal except little swelling, but there was the black and blueness. Taping seems to make this one worse too.

How do you treat these injuries on an ongoing basis - icing? heat? Taping? I know it will take 8+ weeks to fully heal, if not longer - I'm just wondering how to best treat it while it heals. Buy a splint from a drug store? What?

Can't afford x-ray/doc's visit. I also read prior questions and didn't find sufficient information. Please help. Thanks!

Where should I go and what do I need to learn to speak?

skjønn — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:21:23 -0800

What African language should I learn and how should I go about it? Background:
*********************************
I am currently in school and I will be finished in about two years. I am studying to be a midwife (direct-entry CPM). I am also rigorously self-studying basic village style "Where there is no doctor" style health-care.

After I graduate and take the NARM and finish my certifications, I am absolutely certain that I wish to travel to Africa. I know it may sound grandiose, but my dream is to go to severely impoverished places and set up (eventually self sustaining) clinics where I will train locals. I want to spend at least five years in Africa moving from place to place.

I'm a local activist right now, and I have become semi-disillusioned about working for already established groups and I would like to do this entirely on my own so I can do it exactly how I want to. Thankfully, I come from a well-monied family and I have many connections from my current activism so I am sure I will be able to fund this on my own.
*********************************

Where in Africa should I start planning and preparing to go? I want to go to a place where
a)the clinics I plan to set up will be needed
b)the resources I will need to learn the native tongue are available in the states. I want to start learning the language now so I am at least semi fluent when I arrive
c)I don't expect to be completely safe and I accept the higher risk of injury/death I'll be taking, but I'd like to go somewhere where the political situation is stable enough that the work I do will be able to take hold and won't live in fear 24/7.

At this point, based on my own research, I'm about to start studying Swahili. Basically, I just wanted to check and see what the hive mind thinks since I don't really know as much as I'd like to about Africa.

What's wrong with Granny?

socrateaser — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:19:15 -0800

My mom went to visit my 96 year old grandmother in the nursing home today and found her slumped over in the wheelchair, drooling, clammy and unresponsive. The nursing staff said this had happened before (we were not informed then). They didn't think she had stroke, only possibly that her blood pressure had dropped. However, it was within normal limits when they got her back into bed. She was able to say "no", when asked if she was in pain. The only medication she is on is aricept. Aside from her age, what would cause her to lose conciousness like this?

Dealing with the no-health-insurance lifestyle?

YoungAmerican — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 11:21:13 -0800

Have any tips for living (in the US) without health insurance? I'm 25, reasonably healthy, don't do anything particularly risky, and I don't have any health insurance. Does anyone have any tips for the health-insurance-less? For those with very limited resources, what's the best way to spend health care money, or get free or low-cost care that isn't awful? Is there care I absolutely need to get regularly?

If it matters, I live in LA, and my income is below $15K/yr.

Psych Counseling for uninsured?

andrewyakovlev — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:21:24 -0800

I'm trying to help out a friend /wout health insurance who needs some psych counceling in NYC. I remember hearing about something attached to a college, where it was $25 or $50 an hour. Any info?

How do I get rid of my bumpy, icky eyelids?

AthenaPolias — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 20:07:46 -0800

GPC (Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis) - have it? Know much about it? Tell me. I was recently diagnosed with GPC. I'm in the not-so-weird-but-uncomfortable position of having this diagnosis handed to me by an optometrist who I've only seen twice before, so I don't know how much I can trust diagnostic capabilities or willingness to find any fitting solution for me (for the record, though, he seems fantastic, if a bit blase about this disease.. condition... whatever it is). From my online research I seem to have the traditional setup for it - dry eyes, years of contact wearing (soft disposables for 13 + years), gritty feeling, some of the bumps even feel-able through my eyelid if I touch it... etc.

My doctor's summation is: once you have it, you always have it, and we can hope that switching to a different type of lens might help, but if not you'll either need to stop wearing lenses for 6 months or so, or for good. Now - this is NOT ok with me, as I loathe (say it with me: loathe) wearing glasses. His attitude of, "well, you've got it, that's how it is," doesn't sit terribly well with me. He's put me on Patanol, an anti-allergy eyedrop, twice a day to see if that will alleviate the symptoms (he says that, since the condition can mimic an allergic response, some patients find these drops help) - it's been two weeks and it doesn't really help much at all.

So, I'm down to about a month now with this condition in flare-up mode. I'm wondering what the real deal is with GPC - is it really something that never goes away? Is there anything he's not suggesting that I can do? And why, in gods name, after 13 years am I suddenly unable to really wear lenses when I've had no problems at all in the past?

(Oh, one other thing - the first time I saw this guy he switched my lens brand - I'd always worn Acuvue - wondering if the new fit of these lenses (they're a slightly different shape and size) could have contributed to this?)

Health care plans?

BrodieShadeTree — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:55:27 -0800

Please help a small business owner find an insurance plan that covers maternity and isn't 700 a month. What have you used? In AZ, if it helps.

Looking for urgent care clinic in LA...

Space Kitty — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 11:46:37 -0800

Where do you go for medical care when you have no health insurance? Looks like the chest cold I've been fighting for a week is turning into something more serious. It's Sunday, I'm in Los Angeles, and I have no health insurance. Googling gives me all kinds of local urgent care clinics, but I'm hoping someone here has actual experience with a place and can make a personal recommendation? My lungs thank you in advance.

Please don't recommend the emergency room or county hospital. If you've been there, you know what I mean.

Impact of a sick person in a health care plan.

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 13:19:44 -0800

In a small company's health care plan (HMO), if a person has a lot of expensive claims, does it push up the cost of the plan? I am thinking of joining a very small (under 20 people) company. However, I have a disease that requires lots of expensive drugs a month and I just had a 5 day, $78,000 jaunt in the hospital. I don't want to join and push their med premiums through the roof. Does it go up every year anyway? Would they be penalized? I'd be esp. interested from HR/benefit people. Thanks!

How do I work with Medical Professionals to receive the best possible care?

weston — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 18:57:10 -0800

Medical Professionals and Savvy Patients: what advice can you give for working with Doctors most effectively? If I'm not satisfied, should I look for new doctors, or revise my approach, or both? I sometimes find myself very frustrated with visits to the doctor's office. I often feel like I'm not being educated about my health, and that a diagnosis given is merely a quick guess, rather than a well-tested hypothesis. I don't see tests run that I'd often think would be of interest, and see tests run that don't make sense to me. I end up with unanswered questions and sometimes feel unsatisfied that a course of treatment is truly addressing the problem.

To illustrate with an example: several years ago when I was suffering terribly from mysterious abdominal pain, I was given a treadmill test to see if it could be cardiovascular related, when at the time I considered myself in good shape from regularly running, hiking, and biking (the treadmill test bore this out). I was given Nexium on the assumption it might be acid reflux (no go). Meanwhile, it took a year to find a doctor who thought that running a battery of tests on stool sample might be an interesting idea, where I thought this would have been obvious thing to do -- the illness *felt* intestinal, and so looking at what intestines produce seemed reasonable (though they found nothing).

I think through these experiences I've become a bit more insistent and pushier,
but it's still a lingering issue. Sometimes when I ask more questions, I've gotten jargon that I feel is designed to test whether or not I'm really ready to talk about physiology/biology on the doctor's level, and discourage further questions. Sometimes when I've tried to guide attention to theories I've been considering, I've found the matter dismissed without much explanation, or glossed over in the hurry that seems to be inherent in a doctor's office.

I understand from my own working experiences in technology that sometimes it's difficult to explain things to clients who don't have the first idea of the field. I'm also empathetic to the demands of time. But it's my health, and I'm gearing up to check out several new and lingering issues, and I want to do better at working with health care professionals to get things right.

Are there practices I can adopt that will help better exchange between my doctors and I? Any kind of self-education that can improve things without making me a hypochondriac? Is this a simple assertiveness issue? Or if I find myself feeling uncomfortable or not listened to, is that a sign I simply need to shop around more to find doctors on my wavelength and care I'm content with?

US Public healt system

selfsck — Tue, 05 Apr 2005 19:00:14 -0800

I've had this argument with a friend of mine today on the United states public health services, we both disagree and i turn toward metafiler for an answer. my conception of the way it works it that if you don't have any coverage or work insurance or any way to cover for the bill you don't get treated...final ! his point was that people can allway acces "public" hospital and get treated for free, the truth must be in between our two vision, would anyone care to comment the way it works to our free health cared canadian ass ? regards, selfsck

Voice Care

jeremias — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 04:32:06 -0800

I'm in a profession where I am often speaking loudly *all* day, are there any good remedies for taking care of my throat/voice? I've found lots of tips on the web but am having a hard time distinguishing the worthwhile from the useless.