Healthcare in the U.S. is so very broken, it’s not OK.
I never hear friends in other countries complain that they have to literally beg for any of their healthcare.
I’m trying to secure a specialist. They probably don’t even have to see me more than occasionally. I’ve called every provider on my insurance’s list they sent. I’ve called multiple times. I’ve begged. I’m so so so upset. Not for the first time, I’m crying over this. In a fit of frustration, I called my insurance yesterday and said I couldn’t get an appointment and asked if there was anyone else I could call. They told me they had a service where they would just find a doc in my area, seeing new patients, and would find out their appointment availability and that they’d call me within 3 days with a list. I felt instantly better. They called today–love them for calling. I gushed at how wonderful they were on the phone. They had 2 docs and availability info on both. Sounded really promising.
I called the first (closest and with best availability) and the VM was weird so I didn’t leave any info beyond wanting an appointment, name, phone number. Then I saw on their website that they prefer email even for making appointments, weird, but OK. So I emailed. I got a response back right as I was heading into a work meeting. I was distracted as a result. Anyway, they’re not accepting new patients at this time (WTF?), they will only do the first visit in person so they won’t do those now (ALL OF MY OTHER DOCS EVEN THE OLD ONES DO TELEHEALTH, all of them). The email made it clear that their practice operates a little oddly and if I needed/wanted anything else, i could bugger off. Oh but he guesses he could give me a tentative appointment for when shelter in place restrictions are somewhat lifted. It sounded like my insurance was going to call these providers and confirm all of this, so what gives?! I then left VM for the other provider just now asking for an appointment. I don’t have high hopes.
I guess I don’t know how to beg for healthcare properly? I feel like they’re getting their money from my co-pay and insurance, shouldn’t that be enough? WTF!!!!
The provider I’m trying to get access to is a psychiatrist. In America, with very, very good health insurance, you literally have to beg, fight, bribe, or I don’t even know what to get behavioral health care. If I were suicidal, I’d be dead already, and not a single psychiatry office would care at all. I’m not, not that any of them have asked. My therapist can’t diagnose and can’t prescribe. At least I have something.
I hear this. Every word. It’s literally impossible to get care in a timely fashion and almost as hard to get care at all! I went to a clinic after being sent by my doctor and they sent me away BECAUSE I HAVE INSURANCE? It’s crazy and unfair and to tell a depressed or anxious person to “wait” is like signing their execution order. The best therapy is to journal your feelings. Keep it up, it will help. Internet hugs.
@kaleidoscope-eyes Hi there. Thanks so much for the note. It’s so nice to feel like I’m not alone in this. Thanks so much!
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Wow, blessing in disguise. Oh, how lucky you are.
https://vimeo.com/83452367
If you want to learn about psychiatry from an old veteran guinea pig, I’m more than willing and able. We’ll start here, a medical term made somewhat well-known courtesy of psych victims: iatrogenic.
@elcreature Yeah. I mostly just need a diagnosis and then my PCP is willing to help after that. I had no idea this would be basically impossible. I haven’t the bandwidth to watch your video at the moment,but I will. And I’ll look up that term. I’m so frustrated.
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Random reader here….
Would it have been any easier if your GP referred you to someone? That is how it’s done here in Canada and I have had many referrals and go t all the help I needed.
@jaythesmartone Hi Jodie. Thanks. Our healthcare system is so broken (can y’all just annex the west coast of the US please?). Anyway, my insurance doesn’t work that way for mental health (everything else I have to get referrals and wait to see if the insurance blesses them and lets me see a specialist, etc). For mental health, they provide a list and you can call anyone, no referral needed and such. This sounds easy and actually to get a therapist, it wasn’t bad. I gave up after calling nearly every psychiatrist on the list, called the insurance and they offered to find me one. They did and I got an email from him saying basically that I can bugger off. I think the current plan is to call my GP once their office opens today and ask for a new plan to handle this.
@apexbloom
Can you switch companies to like AARP? I have seen commercials on TV and they seem to have more then the others but then do you need to be a certain age to qualify for the insurance companies? By the way I could never understand how the medical system there is so horrible and how they don’t care if you live or die. There are a teenager who had diabetes and his parents couldn’t afford his insulin and he had to take it every other day and eventually he died and from what I heard the government didn’t care one way or the other. No one should have to decide weather to get their medication or eat or live for that matter. I am so sorry it’s so hard to feel “normal”
@jaythesmartone Our healthcare system sucks. It’s actually not the insurance at this point (they’ve been amazingly cool). It’s that psychiatrists are a bunch of jerks apparently and they don’t see new patients. Our healthcare system here needs a massive overhaul. I’d gladly pay more in taxes if everyone could just see a doctor. This seems like it should be a matter of basic compassion. Many Americans don’t agree with me in the slightest about this which I don’t understand at all.
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jesus…that’s awful. 🙁 nothing worse than when you’ve finally gotten up the courage/energy to start looking for help, and you get stonewalled like that. i don’t know how you americans manage. up here in canada, the worst i had to deal with was long wait lists. but i at least had the promise of help to come…
@pantheress Yeah. I hear ya. The worst of it is the huge number of Americans who are deluded into thinking our healthcare system is somehow superior. Maybe if you’re so filthy rich you can pay in cash with no insurance for everything. I have great insurance and it’s a relief (because I’ve had bad insurance), but it’s still way too hard. After a long cry and a long venting bit of writing this morning offline, I’m going to call my PCP back. It took years and multiple PCPs to get up the courage to do this. It’s been a slap in the face but I realized that a portion of it could be handled by a different specialist and maybe that would help. I regularly talk to friends in Europe and they can’t even fathom my country’s healthcare system. I would really like us to move to a system like most other countries. I’d gladly pay more taxes for no healthcare premiums and for everyone to be able to go to a doctor.
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