Laura's ICU Visit

[molucca]

Laura is doing well. She'll go for an MRI next week.

Overall, it appears that the visit cost about $84,000.

It is good to have insurance. Ours has a 2 million limit. So, we have used about half in the last couple of years. 30% is still significant.

I really don't know haw the rest of the world survives.

Rich

[handrawn]

Good news Rich - I hope it all goes well

[zaphodeist]

Good news Rich I was saying a similar thing to my doctor the other day, how it annoys me when people knock our National Health Service when in other parts of the world medical care has to be paid for by the patient, if it's available at all that is!

[Burpee]

So good to hear that Laura is doing well.

Here in the USA there's Medicare and Medicaid and public aid. Those of us with insurance pay premium prices at hospitals to cover the cost of those who are treated without insurance. My good friend is a radiographer at a local non-profit hospital and she says they treat people without insurance (who never pay) all the time...gang members, the indigant, etc.

The people who work, have homes but no insurance are the ones who are suffering here. Good people who pray that they never get ill. Our friends Linda and Dave were like that. He had an attack that turned out that his kidneys were in his groin area instead of in his back and he was passing stones. The stones were removed free of charge at a Chicago teaching hospital because of his rare condition but they incurred $15,000 before it was figured out what was wrong. I'll also add that he quit his job and got one that gave him insurance after that. Good thing because he ended up with open heart surgery and it was covered by insurance.

My greatest concern is what foreigners have told me. Maria from Romania told me that you have to pay $10,000 to be moved to the front of the line for surgery if you have a traumatic condition. My dentist's brother lives in the UK and he had to wait 6 months to have his colon cancer operated on.

[wizard509]

I'm glad to hear Laura is doing well Rich.
I know ICU is expensive and I'm glad you have insurance.
Blessings to you both.

[zaphodeist]

...My dentist's brother lives in the UK and he had to wait 6 months to have his colon cancer operated on.

That's one of two major problems with the NHS [National Health Service] - waiting lists. That is, since Thatcher turned the NHS into a lot of 'trusts' that had to balance the books and Blair [Tony Thatcher as I call him ] merrily kept the status quo. There are private options for the well-off or those who can afford insurance, however plans are afoot to open up more private care facilities for NHS patients. For now, it's still free treatment at the point of access, a concept that is taken too much for granted here. As you say, your friend had a $15,000 debt before having anything done [glad he has insurance now ]. The amount of treatment I've had in the past nearly 7 years would've bankrupted me without the NHS and any insurance would be running out no doubt in a few years! The other major problem is that the system is used as a political football: no one wants to incur voter-rage by getting rid of it but no one wants to sort out the funding

[ginger44]

Very pleased that all's going well.