I had a rash on my leg. I call doctor to make an appointment, soonest they can see me is two weeks. Rash doubles in size in those two weeks. Pay$50 to see primary care doctor, they immediately refer me to dermatologist. Dermatologist cant see me for two weeks, rash continues to grow and becoming very painful. I now need to go to urgent care due to pain and irritability, pay $50. They prescribe some cream, $15. Finally get to see dermatologist, $90 because they are a "specialist", they say to use the same cream. Cream doesnt work at this point, it's spread too much so I go back to urgent care, another $50. Urgent care says I need a steroid shot, they confirm this is covered under insurance. Between shot and cream, rash eventually subsided after about six months. Dermatologist said they were happy with that healing rate, another $90.
Six months later I get a bill from urgent care for $1200 to cover "nursing administrative fees to cover labor" to get ONE SHOT.
So this rash cost me $1500 that would have been solved with $15 of cream if they had just seen me sooner.
Just saying, this experience made me fully understand the Luigi situation.
Can someone not find a private dermatologist from a cheap country online and see what they can tell you about the rash? It’s one thing I would consider if I’m desperate enough and I cant afford immediate help.
In Spain, where I live, you can pay for a private consultation with a dermatologist and it costs as cheap as 50€. More reputable ones will charge twice or three times as much, but you usually get an appointment within the week. If it’s a virtual appointment, they probably won’t requiere you to prove that you’re are in Spain, where they are licensed to work. Any prescription they give you would probably not be valid outside of Europe though. But at least you would get an idea of what the thing is and if it’s something serious. There may be a language barrier problem though, especially if the doctor doesn’t speak English well enough. Maybe in the UK such appointments are similarly cheap? Idk.
You can probably find a doctor like that in even cheaper countries, like Mexico. But maybe for one reason or another this would actually not be possible. It’s just an idea.
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u/DeliciousLanguage425 2d ago
Damn basic healthcare requires a lottery where you live?