This question was of “will you pay for extra anesthesia” was owing to the chance that the anesthesiologist wasn’t in network. So what if the answer is no, like what the hell is that. This is a nightmare and this is why so many people don’t bother going to the doctor.
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Ridiculous! I had a medical procedure yesterday that required general anesthesia and nurses were fine with letting me leave with my escort giving me no extra strength tylenol. I had to explain that when I get home my pharmacy will be closed. My escort a white woman had to insist they give me the ibuprofen before I left.
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We really have to work on universal health care. This is going to kill people, so great to be able to write kill because we are not on FB. Thank you for engaging in the space.
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Anesthesiologists are also, rarely in network. They are generally classified as Independent Contractors by the hospital.
There are some ways around this. You can request a Nurse Anesthetist who is an actual employee of the hospital.
When my ex broke his ankle years ago, we had no insurance, even though I am a nurse and I worked for a doctor’s office (in pediatric orthopedics no less). The physician i worked for agreed to do his surgery pro bono, but of course hospital fees would still apply. Because we did not have insurance, we would have had to put down a 5k payment for the surgery, which was 100% necessary to maintain the integrity of his ankle and his ability to walk. (It was a gnarly injury, one I had just learned about in my practice literally a week prior). We got around this by concocting a scheme that on a certain day when we already did not have a full afternoon schedule, my ex would enter through the emergency room with a complaint of “increased pain” in his ankle.
All this to fix a really bad injury that would have crippled him if he did not have the surgery, and even with it, he lives with constant pain and a limp. A NECESSARY surgery for a LIFE CHANGING injury.
I am so grateful I worked for a fantastic and kind doctor who worked with us to do the surgery. I hope that after I left that practice, he used my case as an example as to why it was so important for them as an employer to provide lower cost, more accessible health insurance to their workers.
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That’s important info, because what the hell. That should be illegal, after we get rid of the fascist we are fixing that next, because they asked the person this, literally five minutes before surgery. I would think that would be something brought up during the consult stage.
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It absolutely should be brought up during the consult stage. And there’s a reason why they don’t do it. Because maybe you will back out and the surgery is necessary, OR they want your money (probably a little from column a, a little from column b).
If you did not sign it or there was a down payment required (which can be another fun surprise for patients) financial services will descend upon you with a lot of confusing jargon and paperwork setting you up with some sort of payment plan or perhaps Care Credit, which is a helpful but high interest credit card for medical bills only.
When we reform the US, for profit healthcare has to go, immediately. Single payer, universal healthcare like every other rich nation on the planet.
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