I fell off my ebike and broke my collarbone. In the immense pain and fear I was in I went to emergency clinic that forwarded me to an ER. I received no care at this ER and only sat in a bed for 4 hours before they discharged me. I’ve been refreshing my claims page for my government subsidized insurance for abt a month waiting for the other foot to drop. I have to pay $620 dollars in copays I don’t have. How is the American healthcare system so broken? Also why would any doctor recommend going to an ER? I will also loose my benefits if my premium rates rise since Trump and Congress want to give tax breaks to the ultra wealthy. I knew the system would come for me eventually, there is no escape.
I want to take a slightly different track than talking about how awful the US healthcare system system is (and I can and do rant at length about it since I’m a former healthcare worker). One rare but significant outcome of fractures is that because bone shards are really sharp, they can sometimes nick or sever your veins or arteries. Part of keeping you “under observation” was to make sure you were in a place to get care at the speed you would need in the case this happened to you. Doctors (especially EM doctors) are trained to consider the worst case possible outcome and mitigate that.
Hey thank you for your comment! I was treated really well by staff and doctors during my visit, no hate on the medical profession. The nurse who was assigned to my room even encouraged me to look into a healthcare professional after I told her I was unemployed. Thank you for your service! Healthcare is not an easy profession especially since covid hit the US. But fuck private insurance that shit can implode for all I care