How often do you avoid the doctor?

[SomeRandom]

So at the moment with the current rise in the cost of living right now, folks are becoming anxious about budgeting needs. Spending a lot more on basic groceries have caused some to deliberately cut down on medicine, Doctor visits etc. (Likely those on the private system specifically, everyone else are probably just heeding the national calls to only go to the doctor/hospitals for dire emergencies due to our medical staff being a little bit too overwhelmed at the moment.)

But even after the increase, the medicinal costs still pale in comparison to what I’ve heard from my American brethren. At least I think so.
So I’m curious, if you don’t mind. Have you ever avoided the doctor due to a fear of the cost?
How much did your last visit cost you, if you don’t mind disclosing.
Ever wanted to go to a specific doctor due to them being cheaper only to find they’ve gone on holiday?
And what was you last visit like?
Serious? Frivolous? Dire? A last resort?

My last visit to the docs was of my own stupid making and honestly kind of dumb overall.
I had just recently got a piercing at the top of one ear and accidentally (read drunkenly) put on an extra backing onto said earring. Well I wake up the next morning only to find to my horror that said earring has sunken through my cartilage.
So I race over to my family GP, tell the nurse at the reception and they manage to find a GP who happened to come in early that day. Had to get a tetanus shot and got a weeks worth of antibiotics to be safe. I think it was 12 - 14 bucks AUD all up.


What about you?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

How much did your last visit cost you, if you don’t mind disclosing.

$0. (Insurance)

And what was you last visit like?
Serious? Frivolous? Dire? A last resort?

Usually it's pretty routine for me to go. So it's not really like they're going to discover something seriously wrong with me, since I don't space my visits out years apart.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I had a gall bladder surgery with complications and they needed two technicians to deal with it. Costed me $10,000 out of pocket even with insurance. The real kicker when you have insurance isn't usually family care, ent, pt, or counseling. It's specialists. I took a long time to get an autism diagnosis because it's spendy.

 

[SomeRandom]

I had a gall bladder surgery with complications and they needed two technicians to deal with it. Costed me $10,000 out of pocket even with insurance. The real kicker when you have insurance isn't usually family care, ent, pt, or counseling. It's specialists. I took a long time to get an autism diagnosis because it's spendy.

Whoa!!

 

[Stevicus]

So at the moment with the current rise in the cost of living right now, folks are becoming anxious about budgeting needs. Spending a lot more on basic groceries have caused some to deliberately cut down on medicine, Doctor visits etc. (Likely those on the private system specifically, everyone else are probably just heeding the national calls to only go to the doctor/hospitals for dire emergencies due to our medical staff being a little bit too overwhelmed at the moment.)

But even after the increase, the medicinal costs still pale in comparison to what I’ve heard from my American brethren. At least I think so.
So I’m curious, if you don’t mind. Have you ever avoided the doctor due to a fear of the cost?
How much did your last visit cost you, if you don’t mind disclosing.
Ever wanted to go to a specific doctor due to them being cheaper only to find they’ve gone on holiday?
And what was you last visit like?
Serious? Frivolous? Dire? A last resort?

My last visit to the docs was of my own stupid making and honestly kind of dumb overall.
I had just recently got a piercing at the top of one ear and accidentally (read drunkenly) put on an extra backing onto said earring. Well I wake up the next morning only to find to my horror that said earring has sunken through my cartilage.
So I race over to my family GP, tell the nurse at the reception and they manage to find a GP who happened to come in early that day. Had to get a tetanus shot and got a weeks worth of antibiotics to be safe. I think it was 12 - 14 bucks AUD all up.


What about you?

Last time I went to the doctor was for a borderline case of pneumonia (just before the pandemic hit). I went to urgent care and paid $50 copay for that, then a $30 copay for a follow up with my PCP. Prescriptions (antibiotics and an inhaler) cost about $60-70. And I have insurance, but it's the crappy kind of insurance that working people get.

So, no, I don't really go to the doctor unless I sense it's something serious. Too expensive.

This is America after all. Only the lives of the wealthy are those that matter. I would suspect that's part of the reason many people roll their eyes when they hear someone in power talk about the value of human life.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Have you ever avoided the doctor due to a fear of the cost?

I have, particularly after I turned 18 and had no insurance at all and the couple times I've had private insurance since.

How much did your last visit cost you, if you don’t mind disclosing.

$75 USD to go to either my therapist or primary care doctor. My biggest single expense was a surgery (bilateral carpal tunnel release) that cost $500. And I've had a hundred some dollar bills here, a couple hundred dollar bills there.

 

[SomeRandom]

I have, particularly after I turned 18 and had no insurance at all and the couple times I've had private insurance since.

$75 USD to go to either my therapist or primary care doctor. My biggest single expense was a surgery (bilateral carpal tunnel release) that cost $500. And I've had a hundred some dollar bills here, a couple hundred dollar bills there.

Oddly enough I think that’s what many private health insurance companies cost over here (yearly payments.)
Crazy

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I rarely avoid the doctor. I have several conditions, and without regular visits and meds, I either would not be alive, or would be very sick most of the time.

Insurance is pretty good, I rarely have copays, except on meds. That may be changing shortly, though...

EDIT to include: Do have monthly deductions for insurance for both medicare (from Social Security) and insurance (from state retirement)...forgot about that...goes out before I see the money deposited...

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Oddly enough I think that’s what many private health insurance companies cost over here (yearly payments.)
Crazy

Oh, here we pay that out of pocket AND THEN we pay more out of each and every paycheck (often not less than a hundred or two dollars for ONE person).

 

[JustGeorge]

Since I got state insurance, I don't pay. Before I had state insurance, I had to pay in full. I let my wisdom teeth rot and would let UTIs go to the point where I had blood in my pee before I'd finally go in. I couldn't pay the bills, they'd go to collections, I'd get sued, etc.

Now when I avoid the doctor, its because I can't find anyone to watch the kids so I can go.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I will try to avoid till I feel there is a need to go to them. I have not needed them except for a heart situation some 8 years ago which cleared quickly or an eye infection which has taken a long time. I avoid dentists (though my son-in-law and grand daughter, both, are dentists, the latter completing her Masters program) because of their drill.

 

[SomeRandom]

Oh, here we pay that out of pocket AND THEN we pay more out of each and every paycheck (often not less than a hundred or two dollars for ONE person).

So you have fees from the insurance
And then you pay fees on top of that?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

So you have fees from the insurance
And then you pay fees on top of that?

Yup. We pay out of our paychecks and then pay again at the provider and pharmacy.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

So you have fees from the insurance
And then you pay fees on top of that?

Just remembered, when I had no health insurance I was fortunate enough that my sister could call me in antibiotics when I got sick, and this MidWest supermarket chain (Meijer) was providing certain generic antibiotics for free to help keep people healthy back in the days before the ACA. Without that I just would have had to have roughed it every time I got sick.

 

[SomeRandom]

Yup. We pay out of our paychecks and then pay again at the provider and pharmacy.

That’s insane
I’ll never again complain about the price of antibiotics/medicine here ever again

 

[exchemist]

So at the moment with the current rise in the cost of living right now, folks are becoming anxious about budgeting needs. Spending a lot more on basic groceries have caused some to deliberately cut down on medicine, Doctor visits etc. (Likely those on the private system specifically, everyone else are probably just heeding the national calls to only go to the doctor/hospitals for dire emergencies due to our medical staff being a little bit too overwhelmed at the moment.)

But even after the increase, the medicinal costs still pale in comparison to what I’ve heard from my American brethren. At least I think so.
So I’m curious, if you don’t mind. Have you ever avoided the doctor due to a fear of the cost?
How much did your last visit cost you, if you don’t mind disclosing.
Ever wanted to go to a specific doctor due to them being cheaper only to find they’ve gone on holiday?
And what was you last visit like?
Serious? Frivolous? Dire? A last resort?

My last visit to the docs was of my own stupid making and honestly kind of dumb overall.
I had just recently got a piercing at the top of one ear and accidentally (read drunkenly) put on an extra backing onto said earring. Well I wake up the next morning only to find to my horror that said earring has sunken through my cartilage.
So I race over to my family GP, tell the nurse at the reception and they manage to find a GP who happened to come in early that day. Had to get a tetanus shot and got a weeks worth of antibiotics to be safe. I think it was 12 - 14 bucks AUD all up.


What about you?

Obviously in the UK this issue never arises. Private medicine is used for speed, to avoid the wait for non-urgent procedures (in my case the last time was getting some moles removed, which I paid to get done.). Here the issue is trying to get an appointment because the docs are so busy after the Covid restrictions.

 

[SomeRandom]

Obviously in the UK this issue never arises. Private medicine is used for speed, to avoid the wait for non-urgent procedures (in my case the last time was getting some moles removed, which I paid to get done.). Here the issue is trying to get an appointment because the docs are so busy after the Covid restrictions.

Yeah same here really. No one cares about the cost here
But recent world events have strained our recourses right now. So we have to prioritise

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

My son-in-law is a GP, however when he needs to see a specialist himself he usually goes privately for cash. The biggest advantage is that he can choose the one best suited to the problem. Usually within a few days.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Obviously in the UK this issue never arises. Private medicine is used for speed, to avoid the wait for non-urgent procedures (in my case the last time was getting some moles removed, which I paid to get done.). Here the issue is trying to get an appointment because the docs are so busy after the Covid restrictions.

And perhaps the main issue here is possibly underfunding of the NHS as a whole so that it is crippled in certain areas - waiting times for ambulances, waiting times to get an operation, long distances to nearest hospital where procedure can be undertaken, etc. - and where there presumably is a solution but few (politicians) willing to carry this out. Now about those tax cuts.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Three words; National Health Service.

Granted, it’s not in the best of health itself after 12 years of a conservative government, and two years of Covid, but no one in my family has ever had to shell out for private health care, and we’ve all been well taken care of up till now.

Thank you, Aneurin Bevan.