Doctors and the Medical System RANT (Page 2)

Don't understand this statement...it's been 100% effective for me so far in my 28 years of practicing it....

Does your gym have a nutritionist?  They could at least go over your food journals with you and see if there are any red flags, (you're definitely keeping food journals, right?). That does not cost a prohibitive amount - probably right around the cost of a race entry fee.  The one at my gym was only $40 dollars a visit for the first visit and $25 for the follow up and she gave me some excellent advice and tools to use.   Simple stuff, but very effective.

Amen...my Dr. absolutely hates insurance companies...I have had to go back to him several times because medication he wanted to prescribe was not covered...as it is right now, even though I have insurance I cannot afford the co pays...so I just can't go to the Dr.

Wait... now I'm confused...

you're on birth control?

For what it's worth (and getting back to the OP)... 

My youngest child is a "failure to thrive" baby.  He sees a plethora of specialists, most of whom we have to wait 6-8 weeks to see and all of whose services our insurance covers.  We also regularly see a nutritionist to the tune of $150.00 per visit.  It is frustrating that this is medically necessary yet is an out of pocket expense.  However, we have found working with the nutritionist to be extremely beneficial and opt to continue on with it. 

Many times it is possible to work with a nutritionist once or twice to analyze what's going on and create an action plan.  You can then choose to continue with follow up visits on a schedule that works for you and sometimes the follow-up visits ar less expensive.

As previously mentioned in another post, if you do choose to go to a nutritionist, do your homework as like with anything else, there are good and bad out there.  We found ours by going to the children's hospital in Atlanta and talking with nurses about their experiences with various on call RDs and nutritionists.

Good luck!

Once again, I have to stress a main reason WHY the rates are going up. I'm the Director of Surgical Critical Care at my VA and I see first hand the millions of health care dollars spent on patients that will never get better.  As a society (and not completely as select individuals) we have lost a lot of personal responsibility for our own health. The sampling here at BT is absolutely awful, because for the most part we are go getters and take care of ourselves. For every phoenixazul who takes care of her diabetes, there are 300 people with bad diabetes who do nothing. 

  The effect of this is that we have people living longer and longer with more severe disease that medical science is allowing us to treat semi effectively. People are living longer with chronic illness and we can keep them alive in ICUs for months after their fate is determined. When you combine that with America's infantile ability to deal with death, you have a recipe for massive expenditures at the end of life.  This drives health care costs up and up (among other things). 

  Your health care is a product like any other. It will and will not cover certain things whether you are aware of the coverage or not. If you want health care that will have increased coverage (nutrtionist, e.g.) you will need to pay for it (either out of pocket or through higher premiums). 

  If you think it's bad now, wait until we have a form of nationalized health care.  While I'm now for it (even just a few months ago I was against it), a nationalized health care system is going to have a TON of exclusions. Since there will likely then be a market for supplemental private insurance, you'll have to pay for premium coverage over whatever taxes won't take care of for you.

  On the other end, we need to come to terms with end of life issues here in the States. If I tell patient's families that their loved one has a 10% chance to live if we continue buit a 90% chance of a long ICU stay and subsequent death, what do you think most of them pick?  Even AGAINST the living wills of the patient (Schiavo anyone?).  Until we come to terms with death in our society, this problem will impact all of our health care costs. 

I understand that seeing a nutritionist (or other specialist) does cost $$

BUT insurance will pay 100% for getting my stomach stapled (can't remember the exact name of the surgery right this minute) which includes major surgery, recovery time, counseling, etc. etc.  and costs $$$$$.  This is because I fall into the "morbidly obese" category.

It just yanks my chain that something that would be relatively inexpensive compared to the surgery option would not be covered.  I agree with reasonable and so on - but there just seems to be a major flaw here somewhere.

FWIW, I also agree with the end-of-life, terminal illness issues in this country.  Don't really have a solution, but it's quite clear that it does affect all of us.