High insurance deductible causes Joe to nurse a broken wrist with shots of tequila thru the night

[Liberal_in_LA]

No jobs, no insurance: hard times for young adults
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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Already the least likely of any age group to have coverage, adults in their 20s face brutal job searches and more time uninsured because of the recession. Nearly 30 percent, 13.2 million, were uninsured in 2007, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based research center. Many young adults work entry-level jobs without insurance and, despite new laws in some states, they're eventually too old to stay on their parents' policies.

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When this age group buys insurance, they often opt for cheaper monthly premiums with high deductibles. But those deductibles, paid out of pocket before coverage kicks in, can lead them to avoid care, experts say.

Joe San Roman, 26, of Agoura Hills, Calif., nursed a broken wrist with shots of tequila through the night so he wouldn't have to pay for an emergency room visit. He's insured, but has a $1,500 deductible. He waited until morning when he could get treatment in a visit to his doctor's office. :wow:

"I didn't want to have to drop $1,500," he said.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/21/national/a125705D96.DTL&type=jobs#ixzz0M1NaoCWb

[Hello_Kitty]

1. But..but...but...those are the uninsured free rider deadbeats

Who are causing everyone's premiums to go up! Whaddya mean the only policies they can afford are bullshit high deductible catastrophic "coverage"?

Oh wait...a DUer recently told me it's because they spend too much money on cell phones and computers and cable. :eyes:

[Warpy]

2. I hopped around on a broken ankle all weekend

waiting for an urgent care center to open up at 7:30 AM Monday morning.

I can't drink, so I just had to tough it out.

That's what being uninsured or underinsured means.

[northernlights]

3. I nursed a broken rib with...

nothing last winter, because there's really not anything they can do about them anyway.

Same thing years ago with a fractured sternum that the er doctor missed.

Hurt like an sob, can't really inhale for weeks, can't sleep for weeks, getting dressed, getting up, laying down, rolling over...all serious pain.

But I kept my 4.0 in microbiology and chemistry through it all. And I'm not a kid anymore...55, unemployed, uninsured, being financially ruined a piece at a time...:shrug:

[tech3149]

7. I think most of us have similar experiences

When I was in my twenties I had to jump through a car window and broke a rib. It's been an ongoing problem for the last thirty years. Every time I exert myself too much, it pops and I get to spend a week or two with severe chest pains. Six years ago I jumped off a stump while trying to pull the roots loose. This stupid SOB landed flat footed with a straight knee. Guess what? I trashed my heel and tore up most of the ligaments attached. Both of these happened while I was uninsured and I knew there was no use seeking medical treatment. I could have spent a small fortune and had no better results than taking care of it myself.

Those were my choice and I don't feel bad about them. It would have been nice to have an option but it is what it is and it ain't what it ain't.

The one that frosts me is after passing out at a club gathering two years ago, I had the privilege of an ambulance ride to the emergency room. After more than $3K for the transport, EKG's, chest Xray's, blood work, and who can remember what all else, the only thing they can tell me is I must have been dehydrated. I've said for years that whatever your profession, what you learn in the classroom is only the beginning of what you need to know. In fact, I think it would probably be about 10%.

I try not to think ill of the medical profession but I do think they have lost the skill of diagnosticians from following the textbook training and thinking that's all there is.

It might be that my mother was a nurse or my profession required diagnosing problems when I could only see the symptoms, I figure if you spend 6 or 8 years learning your profession, you should be able to get at the cause of the problem not just treat the symptoms.

[northernlights]

9. I'm in med lab tech training right now

and just finished my first year of pre-med sciences. Physiology is phenomenally complex. Life is simply an amazingly intricate, ongoing interaction of biochemicals, with billions of chemical reactions taking place in any given instant. And there is far more we don't know than do. In 6-8 years of training, you're just scratching the surface of understanding.

[kegler14]

4. If Joe had gone to an emergency room

it probably would have taken all night to do anything about the wrist. A broken wrist doesn't rank too high on the triage list. Maybe he would have gotten a painkiller earlier, but maybe not.

[glitch]

5. Smart move, wish I'd done that. ER $3000 for no treatment, an appointment for treatment 2 days later

for my broken wrist. Unless you are at risk of dying you should avoid ER. IMO.

[Quantess]

6. I'm more surprised that this made the news.

This really isn't that shocking or uncommon.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. It's shocking to me.

[Quantess]

10. These stories are not surprising to me anymore.

The stories are still terrible as ever, and still a shameful reflection on our nation, but so common that it's almost expected.

I injured my knee badly 3 months ago (sports injury), but I have no insurance. So, I just got out the crutches, and iced, elevated, and rested my knee. It took about 3 weeks before I could walk without crutches, and if I had insurance, I would have taken everyone's advice and gotten a CT scan or an MRI to see if I needed surgery. But obviously that would all add up to a lot of money that I don't have. I figured I would take the chance that my knee would recover on its own. Months later, I can finally jog short distances and take long walks without knee pain, but I still don't know whether I'll need surgery in the future to fix whatever soft tissue was injured.

The guy in the story had insurance, but I can see why he waited for an appointment. I would have done the same.