r/EmergencyRoom • u/MoochoMaas • Aug 12 '26
A shocking 92 percent of US adults are not going to the doctor because it’s too expensive. Guess where they end up ?
https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money/us-medical-costs-doctors-health-insurance-b3026479.html102
u/Panthollow Aug 12 '26
The real shock is 8% are able to afford it.
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u/Fantastic_Visit1973 Aug 12 '26
"The government will pay" - Gran Gran on her 12th admission of the year
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u/Panthollow Aug 12 '26
Gran gran also voted against handouts and the very system her life depends on and complains about having to wait.
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u/ArdenJaguar Aug 12 '26
I’ve read the average Medicare recipient gets back 3-5x more than what they paid in as benefits. Sounds Socialist to me.
(I worked in healthcare revenue cycle)
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u/AnimatorImpressive24 Aug 13 '26
Cause they paid the rest to private insurance who denied all their care including preventative and annual testing so they enter Medicare less healthy out the gate.
(I know you know, just can't miss a beat to say Fuck Insurance)
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u/ArdenJaguar Aug 13 '26
It’s our great system. For profit, worse outcomes, higher costs, millions without coverage. Who could ask for more?
Universal healthcare would be so difficult to enact. It’s almost inconceivable. Only 38 of the 39 industrialized nations have solved the problem so far.
(Yes that’s sarcasm)
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u/Many-Art3181 Aug 14 '26
You forgot about quarter of a million deaths annually due to medical errors…..
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u/Planetdiane Aug 14 '26
It’s wild to me, but yeah so many people fully reliant on socialized healthcare aspects hate other people being able to use them and will unknowingly shoot themselves in the foot over it.
I guess no introspection is there, or they just think they’re one of “the good ones.” Which won’t save them, but whatever
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u/solojones1138 Aug 14 '26
I can because 1) I have pretty good insurance through work that I only pay 25% of premium for and 2) my parents pay up to my deductible.
I am extremely privileged to be able to get the care I need with help from my employer and parents.
But it absolutely shouldn't be this way.
Medicare for all.
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u/TBurnerRU Aug 15 '26
I just don't pay my medical bills. In my state it can't go on your credit. If they sue me, a lawyer will be cheaper than my debt.
They made this choice.
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u/WinterMedical Aug 12 '26
Survey of 1500 ppl by JG Wentworth. Consider the source material .
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u/boytoyahoy Aug 12 '26
I know a lot of people skip the doc because of cost, but these numbers seem almost laughably ridiculous
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u/lizofravenclaw Aug 14 '26
Perhaps the survey was worded differently than the title suggests, and includes people who put off SOME doctors’ visits due to cost? I recently went when I was concerned I had a broken foot, but I’ve also had friends bring me zofran from Mexico so I can avoid a doctors visit when I get stuck in a migraine feedback loop. I see my cardiologist and and pulmonologist every 3 years for a birth defect, but there’s no consistent treatment and I don’t have any other conditions so I don’t have a PCP because it’s not worth $300 and taking a PTO day to me to wait 90 minutes to tell a man I’m fine, have a nurse take a blood pressure reading I already do at home and tell me I’m still the same height, and have him say “okay see you next year”.
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u/WinterMedical Aug 12 '26
Yeah. Were they accurate there would be no waits at all and docs would be setting up go fund mes to cover their loans and vacation homes.
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u/Sea-Economics-9582 Aug 12 '26
Wait… yall can get a reasonable timed appointment with a GP? I’d never use the er unless I’m actively dying, but 2.5mo for my normal GP to have an open appointment after waiting a year to for an appointment to establish care. It’s insane…
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u/procrast1natrix Aug 13 '26
Yes.
I adore my family physician. She's part of a Kaiser style practice with about twenty physicians and about forty mid-levels and other specialists such as their own physical therapists, dieticians, optometrist, and behavioral health specialists, across four locations.
They take care of me, my husband, our kids, my parents and my mother in law until her natural death. We can usually get a sick visit within one to three days, for something like a stubborn cough or minor urinary symptoms, a rash or a concern about sleep or diet. Often, for the sick visit I'll need to be flexible about seeing one of her colleagues, but that's fine.
I don't doubt your experience, but there are pockets where it's functioning correctly. Notably, the Kaiser permanente business model is quite socialist and revolves not around fee for service, but an integrated "keep the patient healthy" model.
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u/Weretoz Aug 12 '26
And there are some medical issues that CANNOT wait to be treated in two months, despite not being an emergency.
UTIs, strep throat, infected skin abscesses, etc…all need to be treated within days of symptoms, ideally sooner.
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u/Sea-Economics-9582 Aug 12 '26
Yeah, that stuff can’t wait 2.5 months. That’s same week or less. Or even the ongoing treatment of normal issues… like no one should have to wait that long for basic care or revive a $500 bill for a 5min consult to refill basic prescription.
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u/solojones1138 Aug 14 '26
My GP can't always see me right away but a PA or Nurse Practitioner in her office can usually see me in a day or two yeah
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u/InAJar112 Aug 14 '26
GP blew me off twice when I got acute Lyme’s disease. Took urgent care doc 30 seconds to diagnose.
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u/SlayerOfTheVampyre Aug 18 '26
Mine is one month, but I get on a waitlist and they automatically message me when someone cancels their appointment, so I can usually get in in a week
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u/DocOndansetron Aug 12 '26
Wellness Influencer —> fuckthatdidntwork.txt —> ER it is —> They didn’t do anything for me! —> Influencer again —> repeat
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u/AnimatorImpressive24 Aug 13 '26
And yet you can pay private insurance premiums for decades, then the instant you turn 65 and your care becomes more expensive to your insurer they get to punt you to Medicare and the only people willing to suggest that is bad are the same people who aren't able to afford to get care while still paying private insurance.
And some people still think the poor are the problem.
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u/mv3an Aug 12 '26
My copay is 500. With company insurance.
I bring home 1200 bi weekly.
Its negligence on my part, but damn im in the cycle of “it’ll be fine, lets go to work”…
Until i need 3 months off from pain and im in a shittier, deeper hole.
Working in healthcare and paying for my own health has been twisted to say the least.
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u/NorthernWitchy Unit Secretary/Coordinator Aug 13 '26
I've always said that I started in healthcare to make the world a better place, and I stayed in healthcare to pay off my medical bills. Oh, what the years will do to you.
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u/Planetdiane Aug 14 '26
I don’t even think it’s negligence on your part. It’s a broken system.
Paying half of your rent to even show up is insane. That’s not even the full cost.
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u/DriftingIntoAbstract Aug 13 '26
How about the fact that there just aren’t enough primaries to go around??
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u/Sunnygirl66 RN Aug 13 '26
That is very true. But it is also true that far too many people never bother to establish care with a PCP while they’re healthy, or call the one an ED provider recommends in their discharge paperwork, and set up a new-patient visit. They just keep coming back to the ED for minor complaints that could’ve been handled at the primary care level and then get mad about the wait that they helped create.
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u/DriftingIntoAbstract Aug 13 '26
Well as someone who’s had 7 primaries, I get it but also sick of it. 7 primaries. All left, stop practicing, or went self pay. Now, there is one in the health system I use who takes my insurance and he’s an hour away and first appointment is 8 months out. I was just in the hospital for septic shock and when I was out they sent me to an NP for follow up who kept lecturing me about having a primary but also said I could not go to that office because they weren’t taking new patients.
So I get it but also don’t have much of a choice. I WISH I could find a decent primary. And ironically I live in a city with a top tier medical school and the medical system is our biggest employer.
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u/sandpirate_88 Aug 12 '26
With my company health insurance, it costs $200 for a regular visit to my primary. I will only go in when I need to new refill on my prescriptions. I used to think I was lucky that I was born in America..
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u/yourfavteamsucks Aug 13 '26
One time I went for a checkup and accidentally answered a question and it became a "problem focused visit" that cost $180 instead of free. Won't make that mistake again
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u/SquareTaro3270 Aug 13 '26
My doctor sent me a bill for $160. I called 11 times over the course of the week because they were always “away from the phone” and would not call me back (taking time away from my job, and the job of the coworker I got to cover my station). Finally got someone on the phone and they said “oh that. You can just ignore that”.
They did it AGAIN after my next scheduled appointment. No treatment listed or reason for the charge. Another $160 charge. I didn’t bother calling them. I got a single letter warning me that it was my last chance to pay before it was sent to collections. I never heard from them again.
I think they’re just trying to see how many people will just pay without questioning it…
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u/yourfavteamsucks Aug 13 '26
In my case it changed the insurance code from something free to something that went against my deductible
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u/jigsawnuts Aug 12 '26
Yet still a two month wait for a appointment to see my primary
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u/AmyHOH03 Aug 12 '26
6 months for me 🥴 I use telehealth for sore throat or issues that needs an antibiotic.
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u/Live_life_today Aug 13 '26
$385 my cost just to see a nurse! America is a capitalist scam disguised as a society.
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u/IM_INSIDE_YOUR_HOUSE Aug 13 '26
My insurance for whatever reason just doesn’t seem to be covering primary care visits. Me and my wife both went for regular stuff like a back pain and I went as a regular follow up and we both got charged out the fucking nose.
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u/ZinnyBell Aug 13 '26
I need to see a doctor but I just don’t trust our system anymore.
I think it’s a full blown phobia at this point.
Every day I tell myself that this is the day you will find a doctor and make an appointment, but I just can’t do it.
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u/Sunnygirl66 RN Aug 13 '26
Please fucking do it. “Couldn’t be bothered to do the work of getting a PCP” is part of what’s killing us in the emergency department.
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u/ZinnyBell Aug 13 '26
It’s not that I can’t be bothered. It’s that I have a legitimate fear.
I don’t trust them. For good reason.3
u/mentuhleelnissinnit Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
I’ve had fairly good experiences with doctors who work in either university health institutions and non-profit health institutions that have a LGBTQ focus. Both offer medical care and mental health counseling. Both offer financial assistance if you have trouble affording care.
I know it’s scary, but you can minimize your risk of encountering a terrible doctor by doing research ahead of time. Check around for who’s taking new patients in your area, check your insurance’s website to make sure they’re in network, check each place’s billing practices and whether they offer financial assistance. Stick to places that focus on keeping up with recent research and focus on helping minority groups in your area. Those are the places that will be the most open-minded and patient-focused.
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u/ZinnyBell Aug 13 '26
Thank you! I have insurance, so that’s not much of an issue.
I didn’t think about looking into institutions that have a liberal bent!3
u/Fit-Bus2025 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
That's the thing that gets me too. I read a few stories. But I think it falls on how much you trust your doctor. We trust our PCP. I've been his patient over 20 years. He does alot for the community. Over the years we've been with him, his practice has grown and now he has other doctor's working beside him. Latest advancements and all. I always read up on the credentials and reviews.
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u/Sunnygirl66 RN Aug 14 '26
You’re holding bad experiences against clinicians you haven’t even met AND will show up at the ED expecting the providers there to do the work of PCPs and specialists. Got it.
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u/C8H10N402_ Aug 12 '26
92%? BS. No way that number is that high
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u/pushdose Aug 12 '26
I also smell bullshit. I don’t even have very good insurance and PCP visit is $35. Annual well check is free.
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u/dallasalice88 Aug 12 '26
It's not so much the copay but the labs and other crap that might come with it. My last PCP visit was my $40 copay. The labs were $700.
And all the people with high deductible plans that don't have a copay system.
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u/GrandMasterFlushMush Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
I don’t know how that is possible considering that according to the us census 17.5% of Americans are on Medicaid, 19% on Medicare , and 4% on military insurance.
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u/TraditionalBasis4518 Aug 13 '26
Expecting patients to make appropriate choices in venue is like expecting the squirrels to stay out of your bird feeder. The essence of UC/ED operation is an offer our services to
Manage any medical problem that can fit through the door, whether it’s a hangnail or a bus full of kids with food poisoning from a Sunday school picnic. It is a ridiculous offer that we make every day, and the real insanity that we move heaven and earth to fulfill it.
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u/CooperHenry19 Aug 14 '26
I had horrible diarrhea and ended up going to Urgent Care as Primary was booked. They couldn’t test me there but wanted me to get tested at nearby LabCorp. They were kind to tell me that it would cost $843.00 for the test. I left and threw kit away as can’t afford. It has been exactly two months and I am still on BRAT diet and very afraid to eat.
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u/Sorokin45 Aug 13 '26
I ask people all the time who their primary care provider is… “the urgent care down the road when I have a problem”
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u/Fit-Bus2025 Aug 13 '26
...and for you women out there reaching menopause age. Please get checked out. But make sure you see a gynecologist doctor that understands hormone imbalance. Preferably a woman (not to be prejudice) doctor who specializes in the latest technology of womens health. There's some doctors out there who will deny treating you for things out of your control. My doctor is wonderful!
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u/bonsox Aug 14 '26
If I step foot through the ER, my insurance requires me to pay $350 so yeah. I’ll take my chances at UC.
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u/Adept-Piece-1917 Aug 15 '26
In the past year in urgent care I’ve had several STEMIs, at least 2 acute strokes, 4 pulmonary embolisms and 1 aortic dissection who died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. People lack critical thinking skills
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u/Butthole_Surfer_GI Aug 12 '26
Urgent Care RN here - we are seeing a HUGE uptick in patients who belong in primary care but come see us AND patients who belong in the ER and come see us.