The Cost of Deduction
Apparently it costs $1,012 USD to determine that you don’t have bile salts in your blood (to rule out cholestasis).
Or was that the premium for being seen by an OB/Surgeon over in Labor & Delivery at St Luke’s, as it’s listed on this insurance claim item?
Oh, but wait a minute — I never actually spoke to or even SAW a doctor that day. It was all nurses.
Better yet: the next nurse I talked to, which happened to be on the phone, called me to say that my blood test results were back, and I’m “slightly anemic”. No mention of the bile test results, until I told her that was the whole point of the test.
Super. I’m still itchy, losing a lot of sleep, and not a single medical professional has been able to keep my file straight or give me advice beyond “have you tried cortisone cream”. And they’re charging me hundreds of dollars for it.
Fuck this noise.
Well, try free health-care instead. Over here in the UK, you are given an appointment to see a GP or maybe a specialist. You check in early on the day of the appointment. You wait nearly an hour or two after your appointment time… sometimes more. You are eventually seen by a doctor and 15 min later be told you can try this drug or that drug. horray! for being a pharmaceutical guinea pig.
I’d rather be tested, pay for the tests, and be told ‘ I don’t know.’ than ‘Try this. I might not tell you now that it may have horrendous side effects or permanently damage your body in some way you never thought possible, but if you come to me later telling me you’re sick all the time after taking this particular dug, I might suggest you try this other drug instead.’
It does suck they are lying about the breakdown in price. At least it is something you can contest.