More fun with the medical industry

RaceBannon

Made my third attempt to get some blood drawn this morning. They still tried to stick me with the insured price at 500$ extra because of some mystery stamp my doctor claimed to be unaware of. Hilarity ensues as the two offices exchange phone calls and my doctor's office says they have never heard of the stamp. Except I told them three times I need it and told the office babe this is now the 4th time. She starts whining about something so I hang up on her and tell the blood guys they both have earned a BBB complaint and I'll pay the fucking full price to get it done.

And I'll write you up on Yelp

This old fuck knows about Yelp?

5 minutes later I get the 200$ price and they take the blood. The tech is telling me he is just a pawn in the game of life and I say aren't we all? I thanked him for his service.

NOC but health care delivery needs to be fixed.

UW_Doog_Bot

God help me if I write the whole story of dealing with the wife's previous allergist office where apathy, incompetence, and ignorance all went to retire. I miss my doctor and my PPO that I was told I could keep. At least we are now at a competent practice it's just that we've gotta drive to across LA for services.

dflea

Engaging with the health care industry in any capacity is an exercise in frustration and rage for me.

It was never enjoyable, but now it's simply excruciating.

MikeDamone

UW_Doog_Bot said:

God help me if I write the whole story of dealing with the wife's previous allergist office where apathy, incompetence, and ignorance all went to retire. I miss my doctor and my PPO that I was told I could keep. At least we are now at a competent practice it's just that we've gotta drive to across LA for services.

I bet if we wen’t do single payer we’d see a huge uptick in customer service and competence.

BearsWiin

Quest Diagnostics will do it for much less than whatever you're med people will charge you. I just googled quest for Temecula and found four locations

Several years ago complained to my doc that they were charging too much ($280) for standard CBC/lipid panel/whatever, and that Quest down the street would do it for $112. Doc admitted that they send their blood samples to Quest anyway, so they were charging $168 extra to draw the blood and take it down the street. More, actually, since the $112 from Quest was to draw the blood too in addition to testing. Another doc told me it was in my interest to get blood drawn with them instead of Quest because they would be inputtting the data directly into their files, and they could then easily make pretty graphs to show me how my numbers changed over time. So they were justifying a 150% markup for data entry.

RaceBannon

BearsWiin said:

Quest Diagnostics will do it for much less than whatever you're med people will charge you. I just googled quest for Temecula and found four locations

Several years ago complained to my doc that they were charging too much ($280) for standard CBC/lipid panel/whatever, and that Quest down the street would do it for $112. Doc admitted that they send their blood samples to Quest anyway, so they were charging $168 extra to draw the blood and take it down the street. More, actually, since the $112 from Quest was to draw the blood too in addition to testing. Another doc told me it was in my interest to get blood drawn with them instead of Quest because they would be inputtting the data directly into their files, and they could then easily make pretty graphs to show me how my numbers changed over time. So they were justifying a 150% markup for data entry.

That's great because I was at Quest in Temecula

Thanks for the hot tip

BearsWiin

RaceBannon said:

BearsWiin said:

Quest Diagnostics will do it for much less than whatever you're med people will charge you. I just googled quest for Temecula and found four locations

Several years ago complained to my doc that they were charging too much ($280) for standard CBC/lipid panel/whatever, and that Quest down the street would do it for $112. Doc admitted that they send their blood samples to Quest anyway, so they were charging $168 extra to draw the blood and take it down the street. More, actually, since the $112 from Quest was to draw the blood too in addition to testing. Another doc told me it was in my interest to get blood drawn with them instead of Quest because they would be inputtting the data directly into their files, and they could then easily make pretty graphs to show me how my numbers changed over time. So they were justifying a 150% markup for data entry.

That's great because I was at Quest in Temecula

Thanks for the hot tip

Try one of the other ones

RaceBannon

BearsWiin said:

RaceBannon said:

BearsWiin said:

Quest Diagnostics will do it for much less than whatever you're med people will charge you. I just googled quest for Temecula and found four locations

Several years ago complained to my doc that they were charging too much ($280) for standard CBC/lipid panel/whatever, and that Quest down the street would do it for $112. Doc admitted that they send their blood samples to Quest anyway, so they were charging $168 extra to draw the blood and take it down the street. More, actually, since the $112 from Quest was to draw the blood too in addition to testing. Another doc told me it was in my interest to get blood drawn with them instead of Quest because they would be inputtting the data directly into their files, and they could then easily make pretty graphs to show me how my numbers changed over time. So they were justifying a 150% markup for data entry.

That's great because I was at Quest in Temecula

Thanks for the hot tip

Try one of the other ones

The 200 bucks isn't the issue, the 700 was. I went to three of the four on my three trips. My doctor and his office were more to blame anyway

But again, thanks for the tips

BearsWiin

You could just go without

you've lived long enough

RaceBannon

This is my first contact with the medical industrial complex in decades

I'm pretty healthy in general but they got their hooks in me on blood pressure

DerekJohnson

RaceBannon said:

This is my first contact with the medical industrial complex in decades

I'm pretty healthy in general but they got their hooks in me on blood pressure

The inevitable result of daily squabbling with Hondo

2001400ex

DerekJohnson said:

RaceBannon said:

This is my first contact with the medical industrial complex in decades

I'm pretty healthy in general but they got their hooks in me on blood pressure

The inevitable result of daily squabbling with Hondo

I laff.

BearsWiin

DerekJohnson said:

RaceBannon said:

This is my first contact with the medical industrial complex in decades

I'm pretty healthy in general but they got their hooks in me on blood pressure

The inevitable result of daily squabbling with Hondo

lifestyle choice

RaceBannon

HH is a stress relief. Hondo is a speed bag

ApostleofGrief

almost the entire health industry is a big scam. They spend most of their time making up new diseases for people to worry about. If all you do is not smoke, keep your weight down, exercise, stay off drugs and heavy drinking, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, that means everybody here (we?) needs the fucking scam!

One thing that does work: cataract surgery.

MikeDamone

ApostleofGrief said:

almost the entire health industry is a big scam. They spend most of their time making up new diseases for people to worry about. If all you do is not smoke, keep your weight down, exercise, stay off drugs and heavy drinking, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, that means everybody here (we?) needs the fucking scam!

One thing that does work: cataract surgery.

If we’re bashing heavy drinking, I’m out.

PurpleThrobber

MikeDamone said:

ApostleofGrief said:

almost the entire health industry is a big scam. They spend most of their time making up new diseases for people to worry about. If all you do is not smoke, keep your weight down, exercise, stay off drugs and heavy drinking, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, that means everybody here (we?) needs the fucking scam!

One thing that does work: cataract surgery.

If we’re bashing heavy drinking, I’m blacking out.

We homeys.

dflea

ApostleofGrief said:

almost the entire health industry is a big scam. They spend most of their time making up new diseases for people to worry about. If all you do is not smoke, keep your weight down, exercise, stay off drugs and heavy drinking, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, that means everybody here (we?) needs the fucking scam!

One thing that does work: cataract surgery.

Get the fuck outta here. Only an asshole who hasn't had a serious health issue in their life would say something this fucking stupid.

ApostleofGrief

dflea said:

ApostleofGrief said:

almost the entire health industry is a big scam. They spend most of their time making up new diseases for people to worry about. If all you do is not smoke, keep your weight down, exercise, stay off drugs and heavy drinking, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, that means everybody here (we?) needs the fucking scam!

One thing that does work: cataract surgery.

Get the fuck outta here. Only an asshole who hasn't had a serious health issue in their life would say something this fucking stupid.

True

LebamDawg

MikeDamone said:

UW_Doog_Bot said:

God help me if I write the whole story of dealing with the wife's previous allergist office where apathy, incompetence, and ignorance all went to retire. I miss my doctor and my PPO that I was told I could keep. At least we are now at a competent practice it's just that we've gotta drive to across LA for services.

I bet if we wen’t do single payer we’d see a huge uptick in customer service and competence.

Thanks - I just blew funny stuff out my nose

CirrhosisDawg

RaceBannon said:

This is my first contact with the medical industrial complex in decades

I'm pretty healthy in general but they got their hooks in me on blood pressure

High blood pressure due to food and drinking choices not recommended by the healthcare industry and hidden from the wife?

I solved that problem two years ago.

I haven’t gone to a doctor since. Problem solved.