UnitedHealth CEO shot
This was just precautionary diagnostic. Not even an actual problem/condition/etc. imagine if I needed other things done or the ultrasound revealed a real problem. Even once I meet my deductible, I’m still on the hook for 20%. Imagine if I needed some kind of treatment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Eff this place & it’s “healthcare”
I had to have a pelvic ultrasound a few weeks ago. Since I had not yet met my deductible, it cost me about $1200 out of pocket. The total cost for the Ultrasound - $4700I have #humblebragged on here before about this, but recently had an experience here in Thailand last weekend that really drove home for me (again) how broken the American healthcare system is.. Last week i hurt my ribs when i took a bad fall while playing tennis with a young guy , yes it made me feel ancient .. after a few days of trying to tough it out, i had many people here, including a woman im seeing who is a registered nurse, cardiac & thoracic, telling me “you need go hospital”… the culture here is different; in the US, most people seem to put off going to the doctor as long as possible , whereas here people will go to the hospital for the seemingly most minor things.. so I went to one of the large hospitals here in Bangkok, the same one id gone to last year when i had what i thought was covid, just to rule out a fracture or something internal.. upon entering the ER, with no wait on a Sunday around lunchtime, i had a nurse taking my vitals and asking me questions in almost perfect English.. in another 5 minutes, i was meeting with a doctor, an Internist i believe but im not sure, it all happened so fast lol.. he sent me for X-rays and- good news- it was nothing serious, no fracture just a contusion (bruise).. he prescribed a painkiller and a muscle relaxer, and then i went to check out.. at the moment i have no employer health insurance policy, so i am self-insuring.. i wondered if the X-rays would push the cost of the visit up to something more expensive and familiar to me like what id experienced in hospitals back home in America.. i pulled out my credit card, and the cashier told me that my grand total for the ER visit, the consultation with the physician, the X-rays and the meds- came to 3600 baht.. or about $105 US dollars.. i gladly paid it, and it reminded me of one of the major reasons i decided to relocate out here .
All of this in a place that more resembled a Four Seasons than a medical facility
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This was just precautionary diagnostic. Not even an actual problem/condition/etc. imagine if I needed other things done or the ultrasound revealed a real problem. Even once I meet my deductible, I’m still on the hook for 20%. Imagine if I needed some kind of treatment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Eff this place & it’s “healthcare”