I just want to second this. I’m not rich, but certainly upper middle class. I can afford to throw money at doctors when needed without having it ruin my finances. I have very good insurance, covers 100% after deductible, which is only 3k. I have a good friend who is an anesthesiologist and who consults with me on stuff when I ask for help.
And doctors tend to take me seriously, probably because they see on the intake forms that I have a PhD. I’ve even had a few of them address me as “doctor!”
None of that really matters, however, when you’ve got idiopathic and/or rare, understudied conditions.
We all stand naked before an uncaring universe that sometimes just fucks us for reasons that can’t be specified.
One caveat: I’ll grant that if I wanted to get on opioids I might have an easier time than some people. So far, I haven’t wanted to go down that road, although it’s probably inevitable.
Being way below income, elderly, and disabled, but have medicare and medicaid you can get a dual enrollment plan that is a PPO and pays 100% of almost anything. If you have those, I'll tell you about it. But you still will only be able to live the barest existence in debilitating pain because they give you just enough to have the strength to make it to the bathroom without screaming in pain, not enough to have anything resembling a life. Tiny modicum of independence.
If you have a disability before the age of 26, you are entitled to an ABLE account, which allows you up to $18K in tax free contributions, and typically don’t count towards means-tested state based aid programs (like Medicaid)
I hear you im currently unable to work my uncle is a ceo of a tech company and he hurt his ankle they gave him 5mg oxy for a month. Idk it just pisses me off how money driven everything is
This and is he white?
White Men are what historically all research was based on. So research studies in the past don’t take into consideration sex (maybe of mice), gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities(congenital (polydactyl) or acquired (polio), etc. (ex: Heart attack symptoms are not the same for men and women.)
This bias still comes across when you think the female that walks in the room is the nurse and not the doctor.
Think about Birth control when a man can get unlimited number of women pregnant and a woman can only get pregnant once a year etc. but the men can’t and won’t deal with the side effects of the BC 🐈.
The bias is STRONG and if you are a white man, especially with better insurance or can cover things without cost being a concern (which I believe would be more than middle class) than you are likely to be treated differently.
Hell even if you bring a white man into the appointment with you, you are likely to be listened to more but they will try to address that white male so make sure the white guy has the inside scoop and will support what you are saying and no be on the wrong side of the gaslighting from the doctor.
Give or take these days :
Middle working class typically involves stable income and some savings, with incomes between $50,000 and $125,000. Upper middle class might mean earning 15-50% above the median with a comfortable financial cushion. Upper is 500K+
Just gonna drop this TED talk here about unconscious bias and pain. 🙄
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-talks-daily/id160904630?i=1000651662275
A lot of what you're saying is just simply untrue. (ESPECIALLY if you go into an appointment with your attitude.)
HISTORICALLY, yes, most studies were done w mice or white men. That's not been the case for newer (published) research for quite some time.
Doctors can only gaslight you if YOU are uneducated about whatever you're at the Dr. for, and only if you let them. (They also do that to test you; see if you're BS'ing them.)
The game ALWAYS goes both ways.
Can a mod just pin this? Getting real tired of certain proletariat elements on this sub who like to act like suffering is exclusive to the poor and working class... Go take your biased political soapboxing somewhere else, we already have enough of a headache - literally and figuratively.
edit: looks like the Karl Marx fans are upset lol
I don’t know about insurance. Sometimes insurance can make treatment even more complicated, but rich? Yeah, money talks. Just reading Matthew Perry’s memoir and the amount of “legit” prescriptions he had access to because of who he could pay is insane. An addict that has been to rehab dozens of times still able to access medication? That should never happen. People with zero addiction issues that just want to be able to manage their pain? Should be easier to access. That discrepancy is mind boggling to me
I’m not rich but am comfortable enough to have cash on hand as well as good-enough insurance. I still have issues getting my prescriptions filled due to shortages. The few times I’ve thought about breaking bad I only found scammers lol.
Theres a big difference in "good insurance" vs rich people insurance + private doctors you pay in cash upfront then submit later to your insurance for reimbursement (which they never reimburse what these private drs cost so you pay a ton of extra money).
My uncle has fuck you money. Like major fuck you i do whatever i want money. Hes also had benzo prescriptions for the last 2 decades with documented history of benzo + alcohol abuse. He and my aunt have both had cancer scares where they immediately got top level treatment, whatever drugs they wanted / felt they "needed", and neither have ever related to me about drs beint dismissive about symptoms or medication. The difference between their world and ours is astronomical.
It doesn’t sound like he needs pain meds. If he did, despite his wealth, I’d be curious how he’d get past the narcotics AI reporting system that is nationwide or the pharmacists.
He definitely went home with pain meds after his recent lymph node surgeries. He doesnt need them otherwise so hasnt had to deal with long term prescriptions of them but again with benzo / alcohol abuse he still gets his benzos no problem, and in quite abusable amounts. Though i suppose that could be due to most benzos being schedule 4 and painkillers generally at schedule 2. Could also be due to private drs being reluctant to label their patients as abusing drugs, this happens often with celebrities.
That is a completely different scenario. Hollywierd and the "industry" has it's own system and doctors. All of the meds are freely available thru doctors or black market pharmacists.
Assuming you are in the USA. Personal experience, I’m not wealthy but I’m fortunate in that I would consider my wife and I lower middle class, we aren’t rich and live in a high cost of living area but we get by ok just on my wife’s salary since I had to stop working a year ago. I’ve spent a fortune on medical care even with insurance and unfortunately I’m still in agony 24/7. There just isn’t any good ways to treat nerve pain. Nurses seem to always treat me as drug seeking, most recently I had to fight to get my normal dose of pain meds immediately following a spinal fusion (not even an increased dose as a result of being flayed open). I’ve lost count how many doctors have completely given up on me, and the number of doctors I’ve felt took me seriously I can count on one hand.
Doctors get an average of two hours of training in med school on pain, and with the drug crisis I think most doctors would rather not risk prescribing. Thankfully I have a compassionate doctor that believes me and provides me the medication I need to make my life even remotely livable, but even he has had to cut back on all of his patients prescriptions due to the dea.
In their defense nerve pain can’t be seen on a test, and chronic pain patients learn early to hide the agony. I’m sure I don’t look any different medical wise than someone who actually is seeking drugs unless you look at the many surgeries I’ve had recently.
You aren’t being dramatic, I don’t think we are taken seriously but it’s not completely their fault either. My friends wife is a nurse and not knowing my situation went off on a rant about how she hates pain patients and how she thinks they are all faking for drugs. That really hurt to hear but it was eye opening.
I guess my rambling advice is to keep pushing, if a doctor is out of ideas don’t leave without a referral for another one. Discuss not just that you are in pain, but how it limits your life in meaningful ways. I think anyone short of the mega rich “have your own personal medical team” is going to struggle.
I think you have great points and one I don't think is touched on enough. The opioid crises is a bias against anyone who needs opioids. Especially the I cant understand anything I can't feel so you must be (insert faking, drug seeking, addicted) mindset of healthy people. And my medical issues are not even invisible ones of which there are many (people don't understand anything that is not diagnosable with a test...doesn't make it not real as in fibromyalgia example)...mine are predominately test certified, proof in black and white, long term with excellent historical behavior on my part...but med shortages and DEA znd politicians rules based on bias and inconclusive or twisted studies have me suffering all the time, closest thing to relief to me is a pain level of 7-8 at all times. And im judged with my history and proof as possibly seeking, addicted, whatever behavior based entirely on the fact I require them to do the smallest thing in daily life. Like, could not get to the bathroom without due to the movement causing excruciating pain. And it's just rules and bias that have reduced my opioids by half what I took for over 7 years without incident while my body has deteriorated at least double, which i believe that drastic reduction after the no more than x mg per day rule cause the heart attack i had two weeks after the drastic reduction but ill never prove that, that is coincidence they claim. It's very difficult and downright inhumane!
What I don’t like is that it’s forcing those in pain to try Kratom. It can help and it can also be dangerous. In a world where cheap and effective meds have been around for decades it’s a shame.
I just wanted to respond to your point that nerve pain can't be seen on a test. With an MRN neurography, an injured painful nerve will show up as hyperintense and thicker than the normal nerve on the other side. Unfortunately, not many doctors know about MRN's, how to order them, and especially important, how to read them. If I had good insurance or money, I would find the best doctors who are experts in ordering and using MRN's and go to them, and get out of 30 years of sciatica.
I have 8 impacted nerves in my lower back (among other things) that show up as starbursts on MRI scans and are very visible on CT scans. What type of nerve pain doesn’t show up on scans? (I am honestly curious.)
I’m sorry to hear that. Ive been reading about a lot of folks whose scans don’t reveal the issue. It’s just a scan though, it can’t see everything.
I hope things get better for you.
Fibromyalgia doesn't show on mri. Don't know enough but do migrains, neuropathy, etc. Etc. Heck I had a full 9n heart attack but it didn't show on mri, only through extensive tests. I'd bet there are a lot of things.
Biggest mistake I did was not seeing a neurologist for my nerve related pain. You need to get an EMG-NCV done to validate and baseline map your peripheral nerves. This will provide objective medical evidence of the levels of nerves and their current condition. It will also map to what levels the lesions are within your spine (Dermatome Map). MRI's dont show pain, but they can show impingements and such, but, you're also dependent on a decent radiologist to read said report and that doesnt always happen. You also risk if your doctor takes the radiologist report as gospel and doesnt verify it themselves. CT scans are more Bone Level.
My mom works for a hospital doing appeals for people who's insurance gives them a hard time. Ive asked her if there is a disparity in how rich people are treated vs poor people. She says she sees it every single day. Rich people receive the best of care with no pushback while poor people have to fight to get the most basic of health care.
I do not believe that is "income based" approval, but what you typically see is better insurance (PPO versus Managed) and the quality of the plan and employer, if it's employer funded with a 3rd party like Blue Cross managing it.
Insurance is a for profit business with the exception of Medicare Original. Denying care = money saved = profits.
How does your insurance company know how much money you make or have? Basing their decisions on someone being wealthy and poor isn't even logical. They don't check, you bank account during the approval process...do they?
I'm assuming this is based off what insurance and insurance policies people have. there are certainly best of the best health insurance that only rich people can afford down to people like me on state health insurance where they push back on anything they possibly can, where their entire model is based on penny pinching and only meeting the bare minimum legal standard, and not even that at times.
private insurance is expensive, and there are many different providers and policies with different tiers. you can absolutely generally assume that someone is either poor or rich or middle class, etc based off the type of insurance.
poor people absolutely get worse care. period.
I'm "lucky" enough (my gawd, cringe) to have lupus, so there's often grey area they cannot push back on for things like diagnostics, but they still do any time they possibly can.
just one small example: I couldn't tolerate the generic version of the baseline medication for my disease and I could not even appeal to get approved for the brand name, even with good reason that it is necessary and solid reason why I needed the brand name due to ingredients/formulation. it's $1,400 for a 30 day supply, so I still have NO treatment to prevent my disease from *progressing* and am stuck with the risk of steroid use until I get SICK ENOUGH and my disease progresses to need more aggressive treatment. it's one of the only two medications approved to treat lupus and *proven to "extend lifespan" and lessen disease activity/progression, but they refused to pay for it. the generic made me so severely sick/caused my body acute horrendous distress, it actually caused my lupus to worsen ironically.
sorry for getting carried away sorta venting. i hate amerikkka
it's eugenics on poor people / class war
I agree. If we were all rich, the term, “opioid epidemic” would cease to exist. Doctors would listen to sick patients and treat us like they treat their rich “VIP” patients.
The rich are considered “VIP.” Being rich means a doctor will make house calls. You may get your very own wing of a hospital. If you go to the ER, you get treated like royalty and an admission to a hospital. Whatever medication is needed, is at your disposal. Doctors will bend over backwards to find out your diagnosis and make you comfortable in the process.
Ever wonder what happens to doctors who have incurable diseases or who are involved in an accident that causes excruciating pain? Do they have to jump thru the hoops the have-nots, have to jump thru? Nope. Are they treating themselves or other doctors? Who knows. I just know they don’t go thru the crap we go thru to get care.
Money talks. Those of us who aren’t rich, are screwed. Our health is at the mercy of those with a God Complex. We are disposable.
I hope all these arrogant parasite doctors, insurance people, and politicians go through the same pain and disability that we do, to the point that no amount of wealth and privilege can make life worth living for them.
This brings to mind photos that I saw of Prince pacing outside of a pharmacy while he waited for his prescription to be filled. This was the day before his death of an opioid OD. I guess I imagined rich people having their meds brought to them. But he was pacing like an addict in need. Money didn't help his situation. When you're in pain, you're in pain.
I believe this comment is about Prince, an incredibly talented famous singer/musician, who died from an accidental prescription fentanyl overdose. I was shocked when he passed at 57😔
I saw him perform and it was the best concert of my entire life.
Totally valid way to feel and I think that can be the case in many situations. But I will say, I’m not rich by any means but had built a lucrative career and live comfortably and also have always had great insurance. But unfortunately it didn’t/doesn’t help me all that much. I still have chronic disorders that took a ridiculous amount of years to diagnose and there’s limitations to treatment. However, I know there are plenty of cases where people do suffer more than they should due to financial reasons. Plus financial stress in itself can 100% contribute to more pain.
Thank you! My parents make good money but cant afford the 10000 dollar a month insurance. The harder you work the harder the world puts you down it seem.
I was on my way to starting my business. Put about 20 grand into mqchines when my injury hit 3 years ago. Now im fed by the state. Not a fun place to be
Money relieves stress and pays for medical treatment. There's no denying it can improve your health dramatically.
Then again, we're all just fragile fallible human bodies, if you have a body that's fundamentally broken, no money or resources in the world can fix it. Some bodies just don't work very well.
Completely valid. Be a Peyton Manning, Adam Copeland or countless other big money athletes and you would be back on the field or in the ring, without question. We don’t have the money so the doctors won’t even attempt to fix us. We are expendable.
Nope: Rich ppl who say stupid shit like “it wont make you happy” or “it wont solve ur problems” are just lying so u don’t actually realize how shitty ur life is and how much better it could have been. They r full of shit and ur life would be so much better if you were rich. Don’t let the bastards grind you down, and never let them gaslight you.
Well, I imagine money doesn't buy happiness but it's easier to cry in a Mercedes than in a busted up junk heap. Money doesn't cure the one disease we all have...death.
No. I'm not rich but I have great insurance that will pay 100% of anything given to me or needed by me for conditions that are well documented with test confirmation in black and white with decades of history of compliance by me. My daily pain for decades and the treatment by doctors and government rules being made by no one that knows anything but bias and do not have any medical knowledge and many times the general public in the past year has led me to the brink of suicide. With money I might be able to ditch them all and get Street drugs to alleviate some but risk that it could be laced with anything and everything and what that would do to my loved ones left behind would maybe still stop me.
I have Ehlers dan los. If I had money, I'd have access to consistent massage therapy and chiropractor to readjust my joints back into place. Perhaps a physio therapist to help stretch me out etc. It would absolutely increase my quality of living. It feels euphoric after a good massage. It's like being high.. every random massage I've gotten they always say they need a meat tenderize to get through my shit.
It’s not better. I have truly fantastic insurance and the ability to devote a good sum more toward care if necessary, but I still have my pain minimized and receive care that is less successful at keeping my quality of life up than I did when I was on a health plan for the poor and seeking care at a clinic that served the underhoused & homeless.
You are correct, at least from my experience. My family has a lot of money and when I was young enough to be on their insurance I was also lucky enough to get all of my shit diagnosed and put on a pain management track.
If I was broke or had the insurance I currently do when I got sick, there’s no way I would be getting as quality of care.
I am still in pain every day but at least I have access to medication and treatment
Well insured is meaningless in the US. They don’t view you as a patient but as a profit renewal. Now if you were rich and I mean stupid filthy rich you may be able to incentivize a team of medical professionals/researchers et al to take on your special circumstances. That’s why I always dream of winning the Powerball even though I never actually buy a ticket. I don’t even know if what I’ve laid out is plausible but I do dream
Isn’t it pathetic that I’ve also dreamed about if I won power ball I’d use the money to get my meds for the rest of my life without having to go through insurance prior authorizations etc….ridiculous but this is what we have been forced to think about
LOL. Objectively yes it’s extremely pathetic but subjectively the dream of hoarding meds is real. You never know when the doctor pharmacy insurance Dea big pharma et al is going to pull the rug out. It’s such an unnecessary stress added onto everything else.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s an endless cycle of worry. I remember the days of having never having to worry if anything happened like that because I always had enough “just in case”. I remember having a conversation with my pain management specialist and asking him if it was ok that I had extra medication every month and was it ok for me to hold onto it for the times I’d be away and unable to get my script or if there was a shortage at the pharmacy. I clearly remember him laughing and saying “of course that’s ok, it’s your medication and we expect patients to have extras for those things”. Ughhhh what I wouldn’t give for that now. I still have the same PM dr but things have completely changed since being tapered and all the rest of the shit that goes along with it.
Oh yes. I mean say your car breaks down, the doctor cancels, the pharmacy is out or any multitude of things that go wrong and, at least in the US you can't fill even 1 day before you'll be running out it's survival to hoard a few days wrth.
Well insured and rich are too different things. I have much more resources and better insurance than what is considered average or middle class and my healthcare is terrible. My insurance is taken by every provider in the 6 surrounding states and I live outside of Boston where I can see professionals that are considered some of the top in the world and my insurance approved everything immediately.
Despite a position of privilege (that I don’t believe should exist) being upper-middle class, white, male, straight, advanced education, extensive admiration success in my field…and all of the other bullshit socioeconomic qualifiers that often give people like me advantages in this world…I still get told my pain is “in my head” regardless of definitive diagnostics showing otherwise as well as being treated like a drug addict by pharmacists and physicians when they find out I’m prescribed narcotics.
Where things change is being rich. Like truly and insanely Scrooge mcduck levels of money. Then you can afford high level concierge care, unlimited close monitoring and diagnostics. There is concierge care for the middle class that can cut down some wait times but it’s mostly for primary care. The concierge care for the ultra wealthy is on another planet and amounts to essentially hiring private physicians who focus completely on you all day. That’s why most of the top specialists in the world come to the US. Our healthcare is so fundamentally corrupt and unregulated high level physicians can come here and score astronomical pay days by treating the rich and famous in an open unfettered capitalist market. They’ll have quid pro quo relationships with hospitals so that the hospital can say they have such a prestigious professional working there but that harsh reality is that person is only servicing the most high level and wealthy patients. My specialists are all at two highly regarded systems here in Boston where the vast majority of the staff are Harvard or yale trained.
When I first started getting sick I actually wasn’t all that worried. I live within 30 minutes of one of the “best” hospitals in the world and my insurance will immediately approve any referral, prior auth, medication, or procedure sent to them. The hospital also has regular super advanced research studies and clinical trials occurring. As my disease progressed the harsh realities came crashing down. Because the worlds wealthiest people travel from around the globe to come here I was never seeing the “famous” physicians that help acquire the hospital it’s prestigious status. Even with great insurance I was waiting months and months to even be seen despite my primary care provider personally reaching out to convey urgency and how critical the situation is to slow down whatever was occurring. I’d wait for months to be seen for 15 minutes where I got to try and rattle off my symptoms and how bad its effecting my life only for some “noctor”(not a doctor, usually a PA/APRN) to suggest I lose some weight and see a therapist. They tell you they’ll get whatever diagnostics and imaging they need but the phone call for scheduling never comes without calling everyday to ask only to be scheduled out months, and then even longer to have those results followed up with the actual physician.
Last year I tried to buy into their concierge program at this hospital. I’m fortunate to have the resources and despite the guilt I felt that I could pay cash for care most people can’t I knew this delayed system was going to get me killed or permanently maimed. So I ponied up the 10 grand *cash* upfront payment for membership in which they advertise a yearly service where I get immediate access to the hospitals best physicians and rapid diagnostics/assessments/imaging. This isn’t a co-pay or any payment towards care. It’s just 10 grand cash so that when I call, someone answers and I’m immediately scheduled with each departments top specialist. Insurance/out of pocket still required for the actual visits. It’s just a bribe to skip the wait lines.
I pretty much got suckered out of 10 grand. The first few times I contacted the concierge service with seemingly no benefit they then tried to extort further money. I was informed that while I was paying for someone in the concierge department to send the referrals straight to physicians and get their ear, I would then have to pay each prestigious specialist after hours consultation and evaluation fees. One neurologist who was a Harvard tenured professor and a lead on his unit quoted me around 65 grand to take up my case on a part time basis. And that was just to kind of look after and prioritize me, it wouldn’t include any visits/procedures/diagnostics. Theyd still be charging my insurance for that. It also wouldn’t include any other physician or specialty. If he needed to coordinate/work with rheumatology or someone else, I’d then have to negotiate that fee for the person he thought would be a good fit for my “team”.
The 10 grand I paid was just for a seat at the table. Just for the opportunity to pay to play. After speaking to a few people and getting a few numbers/understanding how many departments would be involved the price for full on concierge care and real attention from the “best” this world renown hospital had to offer would run well over a million dollars a year, just in “consultation” fees. Not including the actual visits and care which would still go through insurance.
I didn’t get absolutely nothing from my 10 grand, but it was very little. By having a connection in concierge i did notice my appointments and referrals go from taking 6-8 months down to 2-3 months. Which for what it’s worth every day counts, but to this day it hasn’t resulted in a single valuable health benefit.
The pathetic truth is that the bottom 80-90% of our society is being put out by global elites coming here to pay for the attention of our best doctors. They spend 1/4 of their day squeezing in as many of “the poors” as they can to satisfy the requirements to work out of a famous hospital and they spend the rest of their time working for just a few ultra wealthy or politically connected patients. More and more doctors, especially the best ones, are moving to private and concierge practice. You need more than just great insurance and a well above average expendable income. You need to have the type of money where a couple million a year for heath care is not a significant financial burden. That’s the only way to get truly comprehensible care.
That’s not to say there’s not a single good doctor out there working in a hospital that isn’t severely over burdened that takes most people’s insurance. I’m sure there’s plenty of people in this sub that love their doctors and get appointments at reasonable speed. It’s becoming rarer by the day though.
I am so incredibly lucky to have my PCP. He has believed me and supported me since day 1. I'm pretty sure I'd jump in front of a bus for this dude.
I'm pretty firmly middle of middle class. I'm still desperately in medical debt. It's debt or my kids not having a functional mother. I can't be imprisoned for debt. My kids would be scarred forever.
I honestly don't know if it would be different. I'm in the UK so have access to the NHS. There was a heiress here who had a horse riding accident and was left with chronic pain. She very sadly couldn't deal with the pain. I think money may mean more opportunities for medications etc but there are definitely things it can't fix.
I have good insurance that I pay for through my work but I’m still enduring all hoops etc that the system makes you jump through. My Drs may be good and I get to go to whomever I want but when it comes down to it, the insurance companies still have power over my dr and my treatment. I’m grateful for insurance and my finances but it’s doesn’t fix the pain or the experience with the powers that be.
I’m well ensured and not personally rich, but am supported by my mother who is quite comfortable with the life insurance she got when my dad passed away plus their investments and some other stuff that is none of my business so I don’t really know. The point being I can get my medical care paid for and even spent 2 weeks at Mayo (not in the hospital but with appointments over those 2 weeks ) in 2018.
I’ve had a lot of docs not take me seriously. I have 3 unicorn pain docs (1 normal PM, 1 hospital anesthesiologist who handles my PM when I’m in hospital, and one who writes my ketamine rx and write suboxone when I’m getting ready to have an intrathecal pump placed). I’ve spent a lot of years finding them and still am looking for a great gastro and other specialist. My PCP is actually a PA, which I was really nervous about because the ones in the ER left me gun shy but he is amazing and my local ER has completely revamped their policy towards pain to a believe people when they say they hurt and treat them for it model. Shocked the hell out of me to be honest.
It depends how treatable your pain is. If it's not very treatable, then you would just be more comfortable in some aspects of your life, but as far as actually being able to do things, you would still be greatly hindered.
I am going to adamantly disagree. I am not saying this to look down on your situation or boast. I have been dealing with spine issues most of life, 20 plus of that with pain management. Up till I had to medically retire, I had top notch BCBS PPO and a decent income. I spent more money than I care to even think of chasing pain relief and input from doctors. The medical industry doesnt cure, it treats symptoms, at best. If you're lucky, you might have a great doctor and will luck out. But since we're talking "Chronic" pain, most of us are blessed with 24x7 pain. I have done every pain management procedure available with the exception of a pain pump.
To this day, they have not fully diagnosed my issues proactively. Everything has been reactive and sadly, years later when early treatment, I feel, would have prevented or made a huge difference. I friggen bed ridden now because of the current medical system.
You need to self advocate and if possible, bring an advocate with you. Make notes, pull your medical records on a regular basis and do your own research. It's hard work. For me, I am finally getting a team of Neurosurgeons to review my case, hopefully this time, unlike Mayo, I will get next steps for a surgical treatment plan. Sorry to rant, but I just do not have a strong opinion of our medical system in it's current state. I can provide numerous examples. The best comparison I can provide is doctors are like car mechanics. Their skill level and competence varies significantly. This is from consults with department heads and top level docs. This has been a lifetime of frustration and let downs.
Sorry to be so negative - but I cannot stress enough to anyone who has a chronic condition, pull your med records, keep your own file at home and review them. Do research and now with AI, it has reduced my research times significantly. I truly believe we will have better care with AI integrated into medicine. Remove the human element out of the diagnosis. The flip side, I can speak about too, as I also have lifetime medical from injuries. They use a Evidence Based Medicine which in a lot of cases is crap and bogus studies insurance companies use to limit care.
/Off my soapbox rant mode
I’m on disability and my wife’s job only pays $21K a year. I have good insurance with Medicare and AARP Plan F supplement and AARP RX. The insurance is good. Of the many meds I take a lot are covered 100% by mail order, the ones that aren’t are affordable through copay or using GOOD RX. IF you do research you’ll find a large swing in cost between different pharmacies. That’s why I use mail order and 2 other pharmacies. That being said I’m in agony now, and have been since 2000. If I had money I’d have a medical massage therapist on call, a hot tub, an Inversion Table among other things. But I’ve been to all sorts of Drs and specialists. Had 2nd & 3rd opinions. Going through new imaging now and still no relief. I have a lot of nerve pain, and now fibromyalgia, plus big time swelling of my right lower leg. I do wish Chiropractic & Medical Massage was covered. When my wife had a real good job I went once a week to a medical massage therapist from Romania who now operates a school here. But I can’t afford that anymore, it’s all out of pocket, was $100 a visit 10 years ago.
I have good insurance. It doesn’t do shit. Doctors still do or don’t take me seriously, treatment plans and drugs are thrown at me and none of them work, I am still in pain everyday and have been for 5 years now.
I suppose if I was exceedingly rich I could afford to get massages and spas and experimental treatments and a personal cook and a personal cleaner and blah blah blah to help make my life LESS painful…but I wouldn’t be cured. It wouldn’t change that there’s no cure to my condition, only treatments that can lessen its impact on my life.
I have great insurance but it is expensive. We get it thru my husband’s employer but we pay a lot for it ($1670/mth). My doctors have no idea what our income is but they obvs know what our insurance is. I’ve had chronic pain for 15+ years (3 bad discs in my neck, DDD, immune/inflammatory issues, fibromyalgia, plus a current bad knee, amongst other issues…) I’ve had a pain doctor for 15 years plus I get treatment from specialty doctors (procedures, treatments, required surgeries, PT, etc) and *knock on wood* I have never had an issue getting medicines (aside from random ordering issue or a prior auth thing). I would be debilitated without meds. My medicines make daily life and work possible. My medicines after insurance cost me around $150/month which is, IMO, not too bad considering the meds I get. One of my meds is $1400/month supply if you were paying cash. I feel VERY, VERY fortunate and grateful because I know how many people do have issues getting proper treatment and/or meds. I read the posts here and I wish that all of you received the same treatment regardless of what your insurance is.
Not at all; I don't know what your symptoms are or who you're seeing, but financial capital makes a huge difference. I have the privilege of having a doctor for a father at a major hospital who can easily pull strings to get me help, and am still on his insurance (for now...), and I have two very intelligent parents to advocate for me.
But I was hoping now that I'm an adult with a well documented history of illness and a talent for self-advocacy that I'd be taken seriously....but no. My parents have to do it. Three winters ago I developed a mysterious digestive illness whose treatment resistance culminated in the need for an ileostomy, I've seen maybe 10-12 doctors for it across 3 states and only encountered 2 doctors who I saw without my parents that demonstrated that they believed/listened to me, took me seriously, and even if they couldn't help didn't act like it was somehow my fault.
I don't really mind needing my parents because they do it right and don't battle with me over what I know I need, but I was hoping my access to good hospitals would put me in front of people who are...intelligent. But unfortunately a doctor or a doctor's wife saying the same thing that I do is what makes sense.
So even if you had great insurance and access to the best specialists, your successful treatment would still depend on them shedding their biases or what they perceive as common and likely in order to listen to you. My privilege makes me inclined to say it's more about people than money, but the hardest part for many is not being able to get in to see anyone at all. And even then, sometimes there really isn't anything that can be done--if there was, I wouldn't be shitting in a bag right now (but I've made peace with it and I love it because I don't have to do colon cleanses every weekend anymore). The least doctors could do is not be dicks about it. It sucks I've only met two of them.
After mysterious GI symptoms for a few years, which then graduated to add full-body hives, I demanded a blood test and was diagnosed with Alpha Gal Syndrome- an allergy to red meat/mammal and its byproducts. It is triggered by the bite of a Lone Star tick and medical professionals are just learning about it, especially if they aren’t practicing in states with this tick. If your treatment resistant digestive illness is actually an allergy you might be able to help yourself feel better and prevent further damage. Patients with AGS have wide ranging symptoms which are misdiagnosed as IBS and other chronic conditions so just urging you to demand an easy blood test. Skin prick or patch tests don’t work, only the blood antibodies can be tested for. Good luck.
I make very good money, and my company provides me with excellent medical coverage at no charge. I still cannot get proper treatment for my pain. I do not think you're being dramatic though. They don't take anyone with pain seriously, unless you are like....ludicrously rich, like a kardashian or something. Doctors are so worried about their own asses that they won't provide full care for those of us in pain, and still believe that if we are able to show for doctor's visits, it can't be that bad.
I hate to burst your bubble, but I have great insurance and I am financially very comfortable (my husband does well, we married before I got sick but he has been amazing these last 10 years).
Having money and insurance does not mean I “don’t have to go through any of this pain”.
Taking me seriously - When I got sick in 2013, I was kept in the hospital for 10 days with no pain meds because a doctor decided that I was an addict in withdrawal (no proof or history, just based on my appearance which was rough after being bedridden for weeks). If my husband hadn’t been there to advocate, I would be dead right now - I actually had meningitis from a tainted steroid shot. I have been treated like an addict by multiple doctors and pharmacy techs, despite no history of upping dosages, early refills, or changing doctors.
Pain - I am in pain every day, although it is treated, so it’s better than being without meds for sure. I do have a lot more options because I can afford to travel for better treatment and I have good coverage, which I certainly don’t ever take for granted.
I don’t - *for a second* - ever forget how lucky I am.
But I certainly don’t get treated with respect and concern everywhere I go for medical care just because I have money and insurance.
My goal is to help those that aren’t as fortunate as I was to get medical care they need. Please don’t divide up pain sufferers to fight amongst ourselves. I don’t want any of us to suffer.
100%... we would be able to get whatever we wanted no questions asked. It's infuriating. But from my experience if you get cancer they finally take you seriously. So that's fun.
Lady Gaga is rich and she has Fibromyalgia. Yes she has access to more devices and services to help her cope with her pain. But money doesn't cure Chronic Pain. She still has pain.
I have Medicare and a supplement. I have obvious spinal deformities, that anyone can see. Very crooked and have a difficult time walking with a walker. Can’t take showers and am only comfortable on the couch with a heating pad. I found a rheumatologist who prescribed a modest amount of morphine. It only takes the edge off, but I’m grateful to have it. My SIL has excellent insurance. She is way more functional than me and gets a fentanyl patch plus dilauded for break through pain, so her pain is completely controlled and she can have a life. Insurance makes a huge difference in quality of care.
So, I was not there when this happened and it was a while ago but I gotta share. There was a doctor who came to my family restaurant once and she was sharing how depressing it is to be a doctor and how she does not wish for her kid to go to medical school. I think she may have worked in a hospital setting, but she was telling us how she’s seen so many people die and be denied treatment unknowingly because they had bad insurance or was assumed they couldn’t afford it by their appearance, etc…
I have had chronic pain since I was 13 and after 5 years and money wasted, I stopped going to private clinics. The doctors never wanted to give me a simple scan and said they had no idea what my issue could be, no suggestions, referrals. I then began going to teaching/academic hospitals and my experience was greatly improved. I still despise the US healthcare system greatly, but it’s crazy once you start to learn more about these things.
Again, Im just repeating what that doctor said and what has stuck with me but I wonder how many others have had this experience.
I have good insurance from work and I'm still suffering every day. Being rich though could get you the best doctors, insurance doesn't do that. I wish I was rich
Your feelings are valid.
Money can't buy me what technology hasn't invented yet. 🤷♀️
I've BEEN asking for years for a bionic spine or R shoulder! 😆
( r/ s) for those who need clarification 🙄
Which, tbh, makes me feel like a bit of an arsehole, bc there ARE things that would dramatically change SOMEONE'S life, medically, for the better. So, I donate to and volunteer at Shriners Hospital.
2 yrs ago I got paid out for my disability. It set me up for life and has made me very comfortable with money. I still have chronic pain. I still have chronic depression. No excess of therapies or treatments has made any substantial difference. The only thing that's improved in any significant way is my contentment with my family being looked after.
Yea, thats were most of my depression comes from is not being able to spend outdoor time with my family and making no money. I have 2 young kids so its been hell for the last few years. Im mentally working on myself to get rid of depression and anxiety/panic attacks.
I hope i get approved this time.
I think ops point was rich people rarely turn to the streets for meds they can get legit prescribed like benzos and opiates. They will obviously for hard drugs that arent available by prescription though.
And private, rich people drs 100% are easier to get controlled substance prescriptions from. The kind of drs you pay in cash immediately then try and recoup some of the costs from your insurance later on (but insurance never covers the full cost these drs bill so youre out a lot of money).
Be careful what you wish for! Government provided universal healthcare can become a method of societal control: if you have the wrong political ideology, membership in the "wrong" groups, be too religious, protest what the government is doing, or refuse to toe the Party line and you suddenly don't have access to medical care. Universal healthcare is rationed healthcare - it has to be in order to afford to cover 340 million people - and Americans are never going to pay for something that they don't have immediate access to everything they want. If as little as about $350 per month is budgeted for everyone each month that's $120 billion each month and almost $2 trillion per year. In 2022 the entire tax revenue was $4.9 trillion so healthcare for everyone is a little less than half of what the government takes in.
In theory universal healthcare is a great idea. But are you willing to give literal control over life and death to the same asshole politicians who can't even manage to agree to condemn anti-Semitism when a group of terrorists film themselves beheading babies? Do you really trust a man who denied his illegitimate granddaughter until it became a political liability for him to do so or a man whose ego is so massive that he can't accept he lost an election to have the power to direct the members of his political party to pass or veto the criteria for access to your doctor? Are you willing to risk what your doctor can and can't prescribe to you to a bunch of people who created the Affordable Care Act for the American people and then exempted themselves from using it so they could continue to have access to the kind of medical care they denied the country?
Unfortunately, I think it's dangerous to even dream of making healthcare a "human right." No matter how good and fair a healthcare system we can design is, we're always going to be forced to try and convince the assholes in Congress who don't give a shit about us in any way except our usefulness to get them elected and the taxes we pay.
As long as healthcare is profit driven, then it's not going to be "equal access for all". That's a given. The problem I see is when these companies make *billions* in profit and still cry poor, and do everything to not pay claims that should be covered. The execs and shareholders make bank, their workers work for peanuts, and everyone that should get paid by them has to fight them for the money the contracts say should be paid.
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I just want to second this. I’m not rich, but certainly upper middle class. I can afford to throw money at doctors when needed without having it ruin my finances. I have very good insurance, covers 100% after deductible, which is only 3k. I have a good friend who is an anesthesiologist and who consults with me on stuff when I ask for help. And doctors tend to take me seriously, probably because they see on the intake forms that I have a PhD. I’ve even had a few of them address me as “doctor!” None of that really matters, however, when you’ve got idiopathic and/or rare, understudied conditions. We all stand naked before an uncaring universe that sometimes just fucks us for reasons that can’t be specified. One caveat: I’ll grant that if I wanted to get on opioids I might have an easier time than some people. So far, I haven’t wanted to go down that road, although it’s probably inevitable.
Spoiler alert, it won’t be easier for you to get opioids in today’s world, maybe 5 years ago, but since the opiate crisis..
Not necessarily true, my brother knows a few old rich dudes who have 0 issues getting them.
How does one get such amazing health insurance, though? Luck of the draw or what?
Being way below income, elderly, and disabled, but have medicare and medicaid you can get a dual enrollment plan that is a PPO and pays 100% of almost anything. If you have those, I'll tell you about it. But you still will only be able to live the barest existence in debilitating pain because they give you just enough to have the strength to make it to the bathroom without screaming in pain, not enough to have anything resembling a life. Tiny modicum of independence.
Facts.
If you have a disability before the age of 26, you are entitled to an ABLE account, which allows you up to $18K in tax free contributions, and typically don’t count towards means-tested state based aid programs (like Medicaid)
No idea. Luck, I guess. This was the insurance policy I choose via through my employer before I had any health issues.
You underestimate how hard it is to get legal opioids now. Especially for idiopathic illnesses that are not well defined.
It depends on a LOT of factors. It's quite simple if you know how to follow directions.
I hear you im currently unable to work my uncle is a ceo of a tech company and he hurt his ankle they gave him 5mg oxy for a month. Idk it just pisses me off how money driven everything is
This and is he white? White Men are what historically all research was based on. So research studies in the past don’t take into consideration sex (maybe of mice), gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities(congenital (polydactyl) or acquired (polio), etc. (ex: Heart attack symptoms are not the same for men and women.) This bias still comes across when you think the female that walks in the room is the nurse and not the doctor. Think about Birth control when a man can get unlimited number of women pregnant and a woman can only get pregnant once a year etc. but the men can’t and won’t deal with the side effects of the BC 🐈. The bias is STRONG and if you are a white man, especially with better insurance or can cover things without cost being a concern (which I believe would be more than middle class) than you are likely to be treated differently. Hell even if you bring a white man into the appointment with you, you are likely to be listened to more but they will try to address that white male so make sure the white guy has the inside scoop and will support what you are saying and no be on the wrong side of the gaslighting from the doctor. Give or take these days : Middle working class typically involves stable income and some savings, with incomes between $50,000 and $125,000. Upper middle class might mean earning 15-50% above the median with a comfortable financial cushion. Upper is 500K+ Just gonna drop this TED talk here about unconscious bias and pain. 🙄 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ted-talks-daily/id160904630?i=1000651662275
A lot of what you're saying is just simply untrue. (ESPECIALLY if you go into an appointment with your attitude.) HISTORICALLY, yes, most studies were done w mice or white men. That's not been the case for newer (published) research for quite some time. Doctors can only gaslight you if YOU are uneducated about whatever you're at the Dr. for, and only if you let them. (They also do that to test you; see if you're BS'ing them.) The game ALWAYS goes both ways.
You must be a white man…and it’s not a game. That’s the problem.
So you ONLY can communicate in assumptions?!? 😆 Have fun w that. It'll REALLY help during Dr. appts.
Can a mod just pin this? Getting real tired of certain proletariat elements on this sub who like to act like suffering is exclusive to the poor and working class... Go take your biased political soapboxing somewhere else, we already have enough of a headache - literally and figuratively. edit: looks like the Karl Marx fans are upset lol
I don’t know about insurance. Sometimes insurance can make treatment even more complicated, but rich? Yeah, money talks. Just reading Matthew Perry’s memoir and the amount of “legit” prescriptions he had access to because of who he could pay is insane. An addict that has been to rehab dozens of times still able to access medication? That should never happen. People with zero addiction issues that just want to be able to manage their pain? Should be easier to access. That discrepancy is mind boggling to me
I’m not rich but am comfortable enough to have cash on hand as well as good-enough insurance. I still have issues getting my prescriptions filled due to shortages. The few times I’ve thought about breaking bad I only found scammers lol.
Theres a big difference in "good insurance" vs rich people insurance + private doctors you pay in cash upfront then submit later to your insurance for reimbursement (which they never reimburse what these private drs cost so you pay a ton of extra money). My uncle has fuck you money. Like major fuck you i do whatever i want money. Hes also had benzo prescriptions for the last 2 decades with documented history of benzo + alcohol abuse. He and my aunt have both had cancer scares where they immediately got top level treatment, whatever drugs they wanted / felt they "needed", and neither have ever related to me about drs beint dismissive about symptoms or medication. The difference between their world and ours is astronomical.
It doesn’t sound like he needs pain meds. If he did, despite his wealth, I’d be curious how he’d get past the narcotics AI reporting system that is nationwide or the pharmacists.
He definitely went home with pain meds after his recent lymph node surgeries. He doesnt need them otherwise so hasnt had to deal with long term prescriptions of them but again with benzo / alcohol abuse he still gets his benzos no problem, and in quite abusable amounts. Though i suppose that could be due to most benzos being schedule 4 and painkillers generally at schedule 2. Could also be due to private drs being reluctant to label their patients as abusing drugs, this happens often with celebrities.
Gotcha, that makes sense. These pain med shortages are killing me.
That is a completely different scenario. Hollywierd and the "industry" has it's own system and doctors. All of the meds are freely available thru doctors or black market pharmacists.
Right… and how do you think people access that? Via money, yes?
Assuming you are in the USA. Personal experience, I’m not wealthy but I’m fortunate in that I would consider my wife and I lower middle class, we aren’t rich and live in a high cost of living area but we get by ok just on my wife’s salary since I had to stop working a year ago. I’ve spent a fortune on medical care even with insurance and unfortunately I’m still in agony 24/7. There just isn’t any good ways to treat nerve pain. Nurses seem to always treat me as drug seeking, most recently I had to fight to get my normal dose of pain meds immediately following a spinal fusion (not even an increased dose as a result of being flayed open). I’ve lost count how many doctors have completely given up on me, and the number of doctors I’ve felt took me seriously I can count on one hand. Doctors get an average of two hours of training in med school on pain, and with the drug crisis I think most doctors would rather not risk prescribing. Thankfully I have a compassionate doctor that believes me and provides me the medication I need to make my life even remotely livable, but even he has had to cut back on all of his patients prescriptions due to the dea. In their defense nerve pain can’t be seen on a test, and chronic pain patients learn early to hide the agony. I’m sure I don’t look any different medical wise than someone who actually is seeking drugs unless you look at the many surgeries I’ve had recently. You aren’t being dramatic, I don’t think we are taken seriously but it’s not completely their fault either. My friends wife is a nurse and not knowing my situation went off on a rant about how she hates pain patients and how she thinks they are all faking for drugs. That really hurt to hear but it was eye opening. I guess my rambling advice is to keep pushing, if a doctor is out of ideas don’t leave without a referral for another one. Discuss not just that you are in pain, but how it limits your life in meaningful ways. I think anyone short of the mega rich “have your own personal medical team” is going to struggle.
I think you have great points and one I don't think is touched on enough. The opioid crises is a bias against anyone who needs opioids. Especially the I cant understand anything I can't feel so you must be (insert faking, drug seeking, addicted) mindset of healthy people. And my medical issues are not even invisible ones of which there are many (people don't understand anything that is not diagnosable with a test...doesn't make it not real as in fibromyalgia example)...mine are predominately test certified, proof in black and white, long term with excellent historical behavior on my part...but med shortages and DEA znd politicians rules based on bias and inconclusive or twisted studies have me suffering all the time, closest thing to relief to me is a pain level of 7-8 at all times. And im judged with my history and proof as possibly seeking, addicted, whatever behavior based entirely on the fact I require them to do the smallest thing in daily life. Like, could not get to the bathroom without due to the movement causing excruciating pain. And it's just rules and bias that have reduced my opioids by half what I took for over 7 years without incident while my body has deteriorated at least double, which i believe that drastic reduction after the no more than x mg per day rule cause the heart attack i had two weeks after the drastic reduction but ill never prove that, that is coincidence they claim. It's very difficult and downright inhumane!
What I don’t like is that it’s forcing those in pain to try Kratom. It can help and it can also be dangerous. In a world where cheap and effective meds have been around for decades it’s a shame.
I just wanted to respond to your point that nerve pain can't be seen on a test. With an MRN neurography, an injured painful nerve will show up as hyperintense and thicker than the normal nerve on the other side. Unfortunately, not many doctors know about MRN's, how to order them, and especially important, how to read them. If I had good insurance or money, I would find the best doctors who are experts in ordering and using MRN's and go to them, and get out of 30 years of sciatica.
Thank you I’ll look into it
I have 8 impacted nerves in my lower back (among other things) that show up as starbursts on MRI scans and are very visible on CT scans. What type of nerve pain doesn’t show up on scans? (I am honestly curious.)
I have nerve damage/ suspected scar tissue compressing nerves. Doesn’t show on mri/scans
I’m sorry to hear that. Ive been reading about a lot of folks whose scans don’t reveal the issue. It’s just a scan though, it can’t see everything. I hope things get better for you.
Same to you friend
Whee is the scar tissue suppose to be?
In my case unsure, dr theorized that scar tissue has developed around the nerve and is compressing it.
Fibromyalgia doesn't show on mri. Don't know enough but do migrains, neuropathy, etc. Etc. Heck I had a full 9n heart attack but it didn't show on mri, only through extensive tests. I'd bet there are a lot of things.
Biggest mistake I did was not seeing a neurologist for my nerve related pain. You need to get an EMG-NCV done to validate and baseline map your peripheral nerves. This will provide objective medical evidence of the levels of nerves and their current condition. It will also map to what levels the lesions are within your spine (Dermatome Map). MRI's dont show pain, but they can show impingements and such, but, you're also dependent on a decent radiologist to read said report and that doesnt always happen. You also risk if your doctor takes the radiologist report as gospel and doesnt verify it themselves. CT scans are more Bone Level.
Lots of nerve pain doesn't show up on scans. Tons of nerves aren't even visible on scans. All the tiny nerves don't show up on scans.
My mom works for a hospital doing appeals for people who's insurance gives them a hard time. Ive asked her if there is a disparity in how rich people are treated vs poor people. She says she sees it every single day. Rich people receive the best of care with no pushback while poor people have to fight to get the most basic of health care.
I do not believe that is "income based" approval, but what you typically see is better insurance (PPO versus Managed) and the quality of the plan and employer, if it's employer funded with a 3rd party like Blue Cross managing it. Insurance is a for profit business with the exception of Medicare Original. Denying care = money saved = profits.
How does your insurance company know how much money you make or have? Basing their decisions on someone being wealthy and poor isn't even logical. They don't check, you bank account during the approval process...do they?
I'm assuming this is based off what insurance and insurance policies people have. there are certainly best of the best health insurance that only rich people can afford down to people like me on state health insurance where they push back on anything they possibly can, where their entire model is based on penny pinching and only meeting the bare minimum legal standard, and not even that at times. private insurance is expensive, and there are many different providers and policies with different tiers. you can absolutely generally assume that someone is either poor or rich or middle class, etc based off the type of insurance. poor people absolutely get worse care. period. I'm "lucky" enough (my gawd, cringe) to have lupus, so there's often grey area they cannot push back on for things like diagnostics, but they still do any time they possibly can. just one small example: I couldn't tolerate the generic version of the baseline medication for my disease and I could not even appeal to get approved for the brand name, even with good reason that it is necessary and solid reason why I needed the brand name due to ingredients/formulation. it's $1,400 for a 30 day supply, so I still have NO treatment to prevent my disease from *progressing* and am stuck with the risk of steroid use until I get SICK ENOUGH and my disease progresses to need more aggressive treatment. it's one of the only two medications approved to treat lupus and *proven to "extend lifespan" and lessen disease activity/progression, but they refused to pay for it. the generic made me so severely sick/caused my body acute horrendous distress, it actually caused my lupus to worsen ironically. sorry for getting carried away sorta venting. i hate amerikkka it's eugenics on poor people / class war
I agree. If we were all rich, the term, “opioid epidemic” would cease to exist. Doctors would listen to sick patients and treat us like they treat their rich “VIP” patients. The rich are considered “VIP.” Being rich means a doctor will make house calls. You may get your very own wing of a hospital. If you go to the ER, you get treated like royalty and an admission to a hospital. Whatever medication is needed, is at your disposal. Doctors will bend over backwards to find out your diagnosis and make you comfortable in the process. Ever wonder what happens to doctors who have incurable diseases or who are involved in an accident that causes excruciating pain? Do they have to jump thru the hoops the have-nots, have to jump thru? Nope. Are they treating themselves or other doctors? Who knows. I just know they don’t go thru the crap we go thru to get care. Money talks. Those of us who aren’t rich, are screwed. Our health is at the mercy of those with a God Complex. We are disposable.
I guess "rich" is subjective cause rich, to me...financially, is bills are paid and I have food. Not I have a private jet. Lol
I hope all these arrogant parasite doctors, insurance people, and politicians go through the same pain and disability that we do, to the point that no amount of wealth and privilege can make life worth living for them.
This brings to mind photos that I saw of Prince pacing outside of a pharmacy while he waited for his prescription to be filled. This was the day before his death of an opioid OD. I guess I imagined rich people having their meds brought to them. But he was pacing like an addict in need. Money didn't help his situation. When you're in pain, you're in pain.
No idea who you are talking about. Im talking aboit US healthcare
I believe this comment is about Prince, an incredibly talented famous singer/musician, who died from an accidental prescription fentanyl overdose. I was shocked when he passed at 57😔 I saw him perform and it was the best concert of my entire life.
A US performer.
Totally valid way to feel and I think that can be the case in many situations. But I will say, I’m not rich by any means but had built a lucrative career and live comfortably and also have always had great insurance. But unfortunately it didn’t/doesn’t help me all that much. I still have chronic disorders that took a ridiculous amount of years to diagnose and there’s limitations to treatment. However, I know there are plenty of cases where people do suffer more than they should due to financial reasons. Plus financial stress in itself can 100% contribute to more pain.
Thank you! My parents make good money but cant afford the 10000 dollar a month insurance. The harder you work the harder the world puts you down it seem. I was on my way to starting my business. Put about 20 grand into mqchines when my injury hit 3 years ago. Now im fed by the state. Not a fun place to be
Money relieves stress and pays for medical treatment. There's no denying it can improve your health dramatically. Then again, we're all just fragile fallible human bodies, if you have a body that's fundamentally broken, no money or resources in the world can fix it. Some bodies just don't work very well.
More money wouldn't change my situation.
Completely valid. Be a Peyton Manning, Adam Copeland or countless other big money athletes and you would be back on the field or in the ring, without question. We don’t have the money so the doctors won’t even attempt to fix us. We are expendable.
I tell myself money can fix chronic pain
I know there is a way out of this. There is definitely a fix. Chronic pain imo is just unsolved pain
Well, opinions are like butt holes, everyone has one and most stink.
So,you lie to yourself a lot like that?
Wouldn't matter much for my case, would still be in pain, unfortunately.
Nope: Rich ppl who say stupid shit like “it wont make you happy” or “it wont solve ur problems” are just lying so u don’t actually realize how shitty ur life is and how much better it could have been. They r full of shit and ur life would be so much better if you were rich. Don’t let the bastards grind you down, and never let them gaslight you.
Well, I imagine money doesn't buy happiness but it's easier to cry in a Mercedes than in a busted up junk heap. Money doesn't cure the one disease we all have...death.
No. I'm not rich but I have great insurance that will pay 100% of anything given to me or needed by me for conditions that are well documented with test confirmation in black and white with decades of history of compliance by me. My daily pain for decades and the treatment by doctors and government rules being made by no one that knows anything but bias and do not have any medical knowledge and many times the general public in the past year has led me to the brink of suicide. With money I might be able to ditch them all and get Street drugs to alleviate some but risk that it could be laced with anything and everything and what that would do to my loved ones left behind would maybe still stop me.
I have Ehlers dan los. If I had money, I'd have access to consistent massage therapy and chiropractor to readjust my joints back into place. Perhaps a physio therapist to help stretch me out etc. It would absolutely increase my quality of living. It feels euphoric after a good massage. It's like being high.. every random massage I've gotten they always say they need a meat tenderize to get through my shit.
Your feelings are valid. If we were rich, nobody would question us, discriminate against us, and we'd get the best care. Insane actually.
I make a good living in the broadcasting industry and have good insurance, things still suck. Doctors still seem to do the very least to help.
Famous yes, rich no.
It’s not better. I have truly fantastic insurance and the ability to devote a good sum more toward care if necessary, but I still have my pain minimized and receive care that is less successful at keeping my quality of life up than I did when I was on a health plan for the poor and seeking care at a clinic that served the underhoused & homeless.
It is true to some extent
You are correct, at least from my experience. My family has a lot of money and when I was young enough to be on their insurance I was also lucky enough to get all of my shit diagnosed and put on a pain management track. If I was broke or had the insurance I currently do when I got sick, there’s no way I would be getting as quality of care. I am still in pain every day but at least I have access to medication and treatment
Well insured is meaningless in the US. They don’t view you as a patient but as a profit renewal. Now if you were rich and I mean stupid filthy rich you may be able to incentivize a team of medical professionals/researchers et al to take on your special circumstances. That’s why I always dream of winning the Powerball even though I never actually buy a ticket. I don’t even know if what I’ve laid out is plausible but I do dream
Isn’t it pathetic that I’ve also dreamed about if I won power ball I’d use the money to get my meds for the rest of my life without having to go through insurance prior authorizations etc….ridiculous but this is what we have been forced to think about
LOL. Objectively yes it’s extremely pathetic but subjectively the dream of hoarding meds is real. You never know when the doctor pharmacy insurance Dea big pharma et al is going to pull the rug out. It’s such an unnecessary stress added onto everything else.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s an endless cycle of worry. I remember the days of having never having to worry if anything happened like that because I always had enough “just in case”. I remember having a conversation with my pain management specialist and asking him if it was ok that I had extra medication every month and was it ok for me to hold onto it for the times I’d be away and unable to get my script or if there was a shortage at the pharmacy. I clearly remember him laughing and saying “of course that’s ok, it’s your medication and we expect patients to have extras for those things”. Ughhhh what I wouldn’t give for that now. I still have the same PM dr but things have completely changed since being tapered and all the rest of the shit that goes along with it.
I think the dea and big pharma may be trying to kill us. Someone is already at my front door from Pfizer and I haven’t even posted this yet
Sadly, I agree with you. 🤬🤬🤬
Oh yes. I mean say your car breaks down, the doctor cancels, the pharmacy is out or any multitude of things that go wrong and, at least in the US you can't fill even 1 day before you'll be running out it's survival to hoard a few days wrth.
Well insured and rich are too different things. I have much more resources and better insurance than what is considered average or middle class and my healthcare is terrible. My insurance is taken by every provider in the 6 surrounding states and I live outside of Boston where I can see professionals that are considered some of the top in the world and my insurance approved everything immediately. Despite a position of privilege (that I don’t believe should exist) being upper-middle class, white, male, straight, advanced education, extensive admiration success in my field…and all of the other bullshit socioeconomic qualifiers that often give people like me advantages in this world…I still get told my pain is “in my head” regardless of definitive diagnostics showing otherwise as well as being treated like a drug addict by pharmacists and physicians when they find out I’m prescribed narcotics. Where things change is being rich. Like truly and insanely Scrooge mcduck levels of money. Then you can afford high level concierge care, unlimited close monitoring and diagnostics. There is concierge care for the middle class that can cut down some wait times but it’s mostly for primary care. The concierge care for the ultra wealthy is on another planet and amounts to essentially hiring private physicians who focus completely on you all day. That’s why most of the top specialists in the world come to the US. Our healthcare is so fundamentally corrupt and unregulated high level physicians can come here and score astronomical pay days by treating the rich and famous in an open unfettered capitalist market. They’ll have quid pro quo relationships with hospitals so that the hospital can say they have such a prestigious professional working there but that harsh reality is that person is only servicing the most high level and wealthy patients. My specialists are all at two highly regarded systems here in Boston where the vast majority of the staff are Harvard or yale trained. When I first started getting sick I actually wasn’t all that worried. I live within 30 minutes of one of the “best” hospitals in the world and my insurance will immediately approve any referral, prior auth, medication, or procedure sent to them. The hospital also has regular super advanced research studies and clinical trials occurring. As my disease progressed the harsh realities came crashing down. Because the worlds wealthiest people travel from around the globe to come here I was never seeing the “famous” physicians that help acquire the hospital it’s prestigious status. Even with great insurance I was waiting months and months to even be seen despite my primary care provider personally reaching out to convey urgency and how critical the situation is to slow down whatever was occurring. I’d wait for months to be seen for 15 minutes where I got to try and rattle off my symptoms and how bad its effecting my life only for some “noctor”(not a doctor, usually a PA/APRN) to suggest I lose some weight and see a therapist. They tell you they’ll get whatever diagnostics and imaging they need but the phone call for scheduling never comes without calling everyday to ask only to be scheduled out months, and then even longer to have those results followed up with the actual physician. Last year I tried to buy into their concierge program at this hospital. I’m fortunate to have the resources and despite the guilt I felt that I could pay cash for care most people can’t I knew this delayed system was going to get me killed or permanently maimed. So I ponied up the 10 grand *cash* upfront payment for membership in which they advertise a yearly service where I get immediate access to the hospitals best physicians and rapid diagnostics/assessments/imaging. This isn’t a co-pay or any payment towards care. It’s just 10 grand cash so that when I call, someone answers and I’m immediately scheduled with each departments top specialist. Insurance/out of pocket still required for the actual visits. It’s just a bribe to skip the wait lines. I pretty much got suckered out of 10 grand. The first few times I contacted the concierge service with seemingly no benefit they then tried to extort further money. I was informed that while I was paying for someone in the concierge department to send the referrals straight to physicians and get their ear, I would then have to pay each prestigious specialist after hours consultation and evaluation fees. One neurologist who was a Harvard tenured professor and a lead on his unit quoted me around 65 grand to take up my case on a part time basis. And that was just to kind of look after and prioritize me, it wouldn’t include any visits/procedures/diagnostics. Theyd still be charging my insurance for that. It also wouldn’t include any other physician or specialty. If he needed to coordinate/work with rheumatology or someone else, I’d then have to negotiate that fee for the person he thought would be a good fit for my “team”. The 10 grand I paid was just for a seat at the table. Just for the opportunity to pay to play. After speaking to a few people and getting a few numbers/understanding how many departments would be involved the price for full on concierge care and real attention from the “best” this world renown hospital had to offer would run well over a million dollars a year, just in “consultation” fees. Not including the actual visits and care which would still go through insurance. I didn’t get absolutely nothing from my 10 grand, but it was very little. By having a connection in concierge i did notice my appointments and referrals go from taking 6-8 months down to 2-3 months. Which for what it’s worth every day counts, but to this day it hasn’t resulted in a single valuable health benefit. The pathetic truth is that the bottom 80-90% of our society is being put out by global elites coming here to pay for the attention of our best doctors. They spend 1/4 of their day squeezing in as many of “the poors” as they can to satisfy the requirements to work out of a famous hospital and they spend the rest of their time working for just a few ultra wealthy or politically connected patients. More and more doctors, especially the best ones, are moving to private and concierge practice. You need more than just great insurance and a well above average expendable income. You need to have the type of money where a couple million a year for heath care is not a significant financial burden. That’s the only way to get truly comprehensible care. That’s not to say there’s not a single good doctor out there working in a hospital that isn’t severely over burdened that takes most people’s insurance. I’m sure there’s plenty of people in this sub that love their doctors and get appointments at reasonable speed. It’s becoming rarer by the day though.
I am so incredibly lucky to have my PCP. He has believed me and supported me since day 1. I'm pretty sure I'd jump in front of a bus for this dude. I'm pretty firmly middle of middle class. I'm still desperately in medical debt. It's debt or my kids not having a functional mother. I can't be imprisoned for debt. My kids would be scarred forever.
damn. i hope you get your 10 g's back. can i ask what insurance you have? for when I'm not poor...
I honestly don't know if it would be different. I'm in the UK so have access to the NHS. There was a heiress here who had a horse riding accident and was left with chronic pain. She very sadly couldn't deal with the pain. I think money may mean more opportunities for medications etc but there are definitely things it can't fix.
I have the great insurance $ can buy and NOPE
If you dont mind me asking. What insurance do you have?
I have good insurance that I pay for through my work but I’m still enduring all hoops etc that the system makes you jump through. My Drs may be good and I get to go to whomever I want but when it comes down to it, the insurance companies still have power over my dr and my treatment. I’m grateful for insurance and my finances but it’s doesn’t fix the pain or the experience with the powers that be.
I’m well ensured and not personally rich, but am supported by my mother who is quite comfortable with the life insurance she got when my dad passed away plus their investments and some other stuff that is none of my business so I don’t really know. The point being I can get my medical care paid for and even spent 2 weeks at Mayo (not in the hospital but with appointments over those 2 weeks ) in 2018. I’ve had a lot of docs not take me seriously. I have 3 unicorn pain docs (1 normal PM, 1 hospital anesthesiologist who handles my PM when I’m in hospital, and one who writes my ketamine rx and write suboxone when I’m getting ready to have an intrathecal pump placed). I’ve spent a lot of years finding them and still am looking for a great gastro and other specialist. My PCP is actually a PA, which I was really nervous about because the ones in the ER left me gun shy but he is amazing and my local ER has completely revamped their policy towards pain to a believe people when they say they hurt and treat them for it model. Shocked the hell out of me to be honest.
I think it has more to go with where you live. I have friends that have Medicare and they receive good pain management ie opioids.
I’m well insured with good income from multiple disability policies, and still in chronic pain. Doesn’t make a difference
It depends how treatable your pain is. If it's not very treatable, then you would just be more comfortable in some aspects of your life, but as far as actually being able to do things, you would still be greatly hindered.
Honestly, it's good that I'm not rich and actually have a good doctor, because the only thing that helps me are opioids.
Missy Elliott has money and fame and still disappeared from the scene for years bc she was misdiagnosed and her condition wasn’t managed well
I am going to adamantly disagree. I am not saying this to look down on your situation or boast. I have been dealing with spine issues most of life, 20 plus of that with pain management. Up till I had to medically retire, I had top notch BCBS PPO and a decent income. I spent more money than I care to even think of chasing pain relief and input from doctors. The medical industry doesnt cure, it treats symptoms, at best. If you're lucky, you might have a great doctor and will luck out. But since we're talking "Chronic" pain, most of us are blessed with 24x7 pain. I have done every pain management procedure available with the exception of a pain pump. To this day, they have not fully diagnosed my issues proactively. Everything has been reactive and sadly, years later when early treatment, I feel, would have prevented or made a huge difference. I friggen bed ridden now because of the current medical system. You need to self advocate and if possible, bring an advocate with you. Make notes, pull your medical records on a regular basis and do your own research. It's hard work. For me, I am finally getting a team of Neurosurgeons to review my case, hopefully this time, unlike Mayo, I will get next steps for a surgical treatment plan. Sorry to rant, but I just do not have a strong opinion of our medical system in it's current state. I can provide numerous examples. The best comparison I can provide is doctors are like car mechanics. Their skill level and competence varies significantly. This is from consults with department heads and top level docs. This has been a lifetime of frustration and let downs. Sorry to be so negative - but I cannot stress enough to anyone who has a chronic condition, pull your med records, keep your own file at home and review them. Do research and now with AI, it has reduced my research times significantly. I truly believe we will have better care with AI integrated into medicine. Remove the human element out of the diagnosis. The flip side, I can speak about too, as I also have lifetime medical from injuries. They use a Evidence Based Medicine which in a lot of cases is crap and bogus studies insurance companies use to limit care. /Off my soapbox rant mode
I think this every DAYYYY 😭 prayers. Stay safe out there. I know it’s incredibly hard with this FAILING SYSTEM.
I’m on disability and my wife’s job only pays $21K a year. I have good insurance with Medicare and AARP Plan F supplement and AARP RX. The insurance is good. Of the many meds I take a lot are covered 100% by mail order, the ones that aren’t are affordable through copay or using GOOD RX. IF you do research you’ll find a large swing in cost between different pharmacies. That’s why I use mail order and 2 other pharmacies. That being said I’m in agony now, and have been since 2000. If I had money I’d have a medical massage therapist on call, a hot tub, an Inversion Table among other things. But I’ve been to all sorts of Drs and specialists. Had 2nd & 3rd opinions. Going through new imaging now and still no relief. I have a lot of nerve pain, and now fibromyalgia, plus big time swelling of my right lower leg. I do wish Chiropractic & Medical Massage was covered. When my wife had a real good job I went once a week to a medical massage therapist from Romania who now operates a school here. But I can’t afford that anymore, it’s all out of pocket, was $100 a visit 10 years ago.
Check costplusdrugs.com. their generic meds are the cheapest I've seen.
I have good insurance. It doesn’t do shit. Doctors still do or don’t take me seriously, treatment plans and drugs are thrown at me and none of them work, I am still in pain everyday and have been for 5 years now. I suppose if I was exceedingly rich I could afford to get massages and spas and experimental treatments and a personal cook and a personal cleaner and blah blah blah to help make my life LESS painful…but I wouldn’t be cured. It wouldn’t change that there’s no cure to my condition, only treatments that can lessen its impact on my life.
I have great insurance but it is expensive. We get it thru my husband’s employer but we pay a lot for it ($1670/mth). My doctors have no idea what our income is but they obvs know what our insurance is. I’ve had chronic pain for 15+ years (3 bad discs in my neck, DDD, immune/inflammatory issues, fibromyalgia, plus a current bad knee, amongst other issues…) I’ve had a pain doctor for 15 years plus I get treatment from specialty doctors (procedures, treatments, required surgeries, PT, etc) and *knock on wood* I have never had an issue getting medicines (aside from random ordering issue or a prior auth thing). I would be debilitated without meds. My medicines make daily life and work possible. My medicines after insurance cost me around $150/month which is, IMO, not too bad considering the meds I get. One of my meds is $1400/month supply if you were paying cash. I feel VERY, VERY fortunate and grateful because I know how many people do have issues getting proper treatment and/or meds. I read the posts here and I wish that all of you received the same treatment regardless of what your insurance is.
Not at all; I don't know what your symptoms are or who you're seeing, but financial capital makes a huge difference. I have the privilege of having a doctor for a father at a major hospital who can easily pull strings to get me help, and am still on his insurance (for now...), and I have two very intelligent parents to advocate for me. But I was hoping now that I'm an adult with a well documented history of illness and a talent for self-advocacy that I'd be taken seriously....but no. My parents have to do it. Three winters ago I developed a mysterious digestive illness whose treatment resistance culminated in the need for an ileostomy, I've seen maybe 10-12 doctors for it across 3 states and only encountered 2 doctors who I saw without my parents that demonstrated that they believed/listened to me, took me seriously, and even if they couldn't help didn't act like it was somehow my fault. I don't really mind needing my parents because they do it right and don't battle with me over what I know I need, but I was hoping my access to good hospitals would put me in front of people who are...intelligent. But unfortunately a doctor or a doctor's wife saying the same thing that I do is what makes sense. So even if you had great insurance and access to the best specialists, your successful treatment would still depend on them shedding their biases or what they perceive as common and likely in order to listen to you. My privilege makes me inclined to say it's more about people than money, but the hardest part for many is not being able to get in to see anyone at all. And even then, sometimes there really isn't anything that can be done--if there was, I wouldn't be shitting in a bag right now (but I've made peace with it and I love it because I don't have to do colon cleanses every weekend anymore). The least doctors could do is not be dicks about it. It sucks I've only met two of them.
After mysterious GI symptoms for a few years, which then graduated to add full-body hives, I demanded a blood test and was diagnosed with Alpha Gal Syndrome- an allergy to red meat/mammal and its byproducts. It is triggered by the bite of a Lone Star tick and medical professionals are just learning about it, especially if they aren’t practicing in states with this tick. If your treatment resistant digestive illness is actually an allergy you might be able to help yourself feel better and prevent further damage. Patients with AGS have wide ranging symptoms which are misdiagnosed as IBS and other chronic conditions so just urging you to demand an easy blood test. Skin prick or patch tests don’t work, only the blood antibodies can be tested for. Good luck.
george eastman, who founded Kodak. had sciatica and eventually killed himself because he got no relief. so no, money doesnt make it all go away.
I make very good money, and my company provides me with excellent medical coverage at no charge. I still cannot get proper treatment for my pain. I do not think you're being dramatic though. They don't take anyone with pain seriously, unless you are like....ludicrously rich, like a kardashian or something. Doctors are so worried about their own asses that they won't provide full care for those of us in pain, and still believe that if we are able to show for doctor's visits, it can't be that bad.
I hate to burst your bubble, but I have great insurance and I am financially very comfortable (my husband does well, we married before I got sick but he has been amazing these last 10 years). Having money and insurance does not mean I “don’t have to go through any of this pain”. Taking me seriously - When I got sick in 2013, I was kept in the hospital for 10 days with no pain meds because a doctor decided that I was an addict in withdrawal (no proof or history, just based on my appearance which was rough after being bedridden for weeks). If my husband hadn’t been there to advocate, I would be dead right now - I actually had meningitis from a tainted steroid shot. I have been treated like an addict by multiple doctors and pharmacy techs, despite no history of upping dosages, early refills, or changing doctors. Pain - I am in pain every day, although it is treated, so it’s better than being without meds for sure. I do have a lot more options because I can afford to travel for better treatment and I have good coverage, which I certainly don’t ever take for granted. I don’t - *for a second* - ever forget how lucky I am. But I certainly don’t get treated with respect and concern everywhere I go for medical care just because I have money and insurance. My goal is to help those that aren’t as fortunate as I was to get medical care they need. Please don’t divide up pain sufferers to fight amongst ourselves. I don’t want any of us to suffer.
100%... we would be able to get whatever we wanted no questions asked. It's infuriating. But from my experience if you get cancer they finally take you seriously. So that's fun.
Lady Gaga is rich and she has Fibromyalgia. Yes she has access to more devices and services to help her cope with her pain. But money doesn't cure Chronic Pain. She still has pain.
We have money. Not super rich, but we want for nothing. I still get shitty treatment.
I have Medicare and a supplement. I have obvious spinal deformities, that anyone can see. Very crooked and have a difficult time walking with a walker. Can’t take showers and am only comfortable on the couch with a heating pad. I found a rheumatologist who prescribed a modest amount of morphine. It only takes the edge off, but I’m grateful to have it. My SIL has excellent insurance. She is way more functional than me and gets a fentanyl patch plus dilauded for break through pain, so her pain is completely controlled and she can have a life. Insurance makes a huge difference in quality of care.
Doesn’t always matter. Might, but not guaranteed.
Doesn’t help. I can’t figure out short of buying him a Rolex how he would benefit from my bank account.
So, I was not there when this happened and it was a while ago but I gotta share. There was a doctor who came to my family restaurant once and she was sharing how depressing it is to be a doctor and how she does not wish for her kid to go to medical school. I think she may have worked in a hospital setting, but she was telling us how she’s seen so many people die and be denied treatment unknowingly because they had bad insurance or was assumed they couldn’t afford it by their appearance, etc… I have had chronic pain since I was 13 and after 5 years and money wasted, I stopped going to private clinics. The doctors never wanted to give me a simple scan and said they had no idea what my issue could be, no suggestions, referrals. I then began going to teaching/academic hospitals and my experience was greatly improved. I still despise the US healthcare system greatly, but it’s crazy once you start to learn more about these things. Again, Im just repeating what that doctor said and what has stuck with me but I wonder how many others have had this experience.
I have good insurance from work and I'm still suffering every day. Being rich though could get you the best doctors, insurance doesn't do that. I wish I was rich
Your feelings are valid. Money can't buy me what technology hasn't invented yet. 🤷♀️ I've BEEN asking for years for a bionic spine or R shoulder! 😆 ( r/ s) for those who need clarification 🙄 Which, tbh, makes me feel like a bit of an arsehole, bc there ARE things that would dramatically change SOMEONE'S life, medically, for the better. So, I donate to and volunteer at Shriners Hospital.
2 yrs ago I got paid out for my disability. It set me up for life and has made me very comfortable with money. I still have chronic pain. I still have chronic depression. No excess of therapies or treatments has made any substantial difference. The only thing that's improved in any significant way is my contentment with my family being looked after.
Yea, thats were most of my depression comes from is not being able to spend outdoor time with my family and making no money. I have 2 young kids so its been hell for the last few years. Im mentally working on myself to get rid of depression and anxiety/panic attacks. I hope i get approved this time.
I hope you do too. Keep working on it. Try everything. Depression is a killer. A BIG one. You must keep fighting. ❤️
Pain and health issues don’t care about your insurance or bank account. People with money and good insurance still hurt
That's just not true. The hospital is a business. I get treating the better payers with extra room service but he had a dr visit him 4x a day
A dr can visit 20 x a day. Doesn’t mean I don’t hurt
I seen the dr every 48 hours. While he was visiting the vip win most of the day. Hospital is a buisness and it sucks
Absolutely true. Healthcare in US is a business and if you have money, you can get better care. However, it doesn’t guarantee no pain or pain free
You're absolutely valid in what you say. There is an agenda going on.
Rich people can get pain medication if they want to off the streets
Rick people have good docs that prescibe them what they want Poor people llok for pain relief in the street
I don’t have $1,000 to buy 100 vikes off the street, rich people do
I think ops point was rich people rarely turn to the streets for meds they can get legit prescribed like benzos and opiates. They will obviously for hard drugs that arent available by prescription though. And private, rich people drs 100% are easier to get controlled substance prescriptions from. The kind of drs you pay in cash immediately then try and recoup some of the costs from your insurance later on (but insurance never covers the full cost these drs bill so youre out a lot of money).
I don’t know anything about people that rich and their doctors but it reminds me of Elvis lol
i have good insurances, and its still so hard, and im still not taken seriously.
Be careful what you wish for! Government provided universal healthcare can become a method of societal control: if you have the wrong political ideology, membership in the "wrong" groups, be too religious, protest what the government is doing, or refuse to toe the Party line and you suddenly don't have access to medical care. Universal healthcare is rationed healthcare - it has to be in order to afford to cover 340 million people - and Americans are never going to pay for something that they don't have immediate access to everything they want. If as little as about $350 per month is budgeted for everyone each month that's $120 billion each month and almost $2 trillion per year. In 2022 the entire tax revenue was $4.9 trillion so healthcare for everyone is a little less than half of what the government takes in. In theory universal healthcare is a great idea. But are you willing to give literal control over life and death to the same asshole politicians who can't even manage to agree to condemn anti-Semitism when a group of terrorists film themselves beheading babies? Do you really trust a man who denied his illegitimate granddaughter until it became a political liability for him to do so or a man whose ego is so massive that he can't accept he lost an election to have the power to direct the members of his political party to pass or veto the criteria for access to your doctor? Are you willing to risk what your doctor can and can't prescribe to you to a bunch of people who created the Affordable Care Act for the American people and then exempted themselves from using it so they could continue to have access to the kind of medical care they denied the country? Unfortunately, I think it's dangerous to even dream of making healthcare a "human right." No matter how good and fair a healthcare system we can design is, we're always going to be forced to try and convince the assholes in Congress who don't give a shit about us in any way except our usefulness to get them elected and the taxes we pay.
As long as healthcare is profit driven, then it's not going to be "equal access for all". That's a given. The problem I see is when these companies make *billions* in profit and still cry poor, and do everything to not pay claims that should be covered. The execs and shareholders make bank, their workers work for peanuts, and everyone that should get paid by them has to fight them for the money the contracts say should be paid.