This list could also be called, Reasons I am Glad to Live in a World of Modern Medicine.
Pediatrician
Family practice doctor
Obstetrician
Gynecologist
ENT
Many nurses and PAs
ENT surgeon
Radiation Oncologist
Cardiologist
Cardiac care nurse
Pediatric urologist
Gastroenterologist
Ultrasound technician
X-ray technician
MRI technician
CAT scan technician
Phlebotomist
Pediatric surgeon
Pediatric neurologist
EEG technician
EKG technician
Psychiatrists
Pediatric Psychiatrists
Licensed therapists
Anesthesiologists
Pharmacists
All of those for a family of six that is basically healthy. It is possible that some of the things we consulted these professionals for would have resolved on their own without intervention, but some of these interventions were life saving. Without medical intervention I would likely be dead by now, slowly choked to death by a throat tumor. Howard might not have survived his myocarditis in 1999, or his C Diff infection in 2013.
The only point I have here is that I am extremely grateful for modern medicine and I would really like to be able to continue to afford preventative care which allows us to stay well and lets us be contributing members of society. I don’t know what 2018 will bring on the healthcare front. I don’t know how much of my income will have to go toward premiums (in 2017, it’ll be about 25%) I don’t even know if I’ll have the option to purchase a healthcare plan at all. I will be pleased with any political party which delivers affordable healthcare that allows me to see the listed specialists as I need to. I will be angry at any party which makes seeing doctors more difficult and more expensive.
For now I guess I should be glad that the current round of testing and appointments will likely be concluded before the end of the year so that they can go on this year’s deductible instead of the much higher one for next year.
I sympathize with your worries, and I hope that you and yours have good health.
I’ve lived in another country the last 30 years and have been very puzzled by everything we hear about the American health care system; your post has helped me understand. From an outsider perspective, it makes no sense at all that you pay so much for health care and that political parties are involved–at the federal level, even!. It doesn’t have to be that way and it wasn’t that way 30 years ago. We paid less than 5% of our income to the HMO and political parties simply were not in the picture. What went wrong?
The “what went wrong?” question has a hundred answers, some of which conflict. To me the biggest part is that involvement of insurance companies. We don’t need a healthcare model that is based on risk analysis. The focus should be on helping people become healthy and stay healthy.
I agree it makes little sense.
Amen to the insurance company involvement!!!