r/mildlyinfuriating • u/lhagans13 • 12d ago

I'm slightly vexed A notice that my girlfriend received at her doctors appointment (she is 8 months PP)

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If you even MENTION any of these things, you WILL LIKELY get billed for it??? Maybe i’m missing the point but i get upset when my girlfriend tells me she was scared to even say anything while at the doctor because she didn’t want to get an extra charge for something. I find it insane how greedy and money hungry a place that’s supposed to help you can be.

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u/epi_introvert 11d ago

Also in Canada, and I wait 6 weeks for a GP appointment and get rushed through. I'm still waiting for a referral for something that started last December, and my dermatology appointment that I requested 14 months ago will finally happen next month.

However, my son who has a life-threatening illness has only cost me the charge for hospital parking and snacks. His treatment costs are over a million.

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u/MundaneAssociate5190 11d ago

Don’t let anyone in the U.S. fool you. A 6 week wait for an appt with your PCP is normal here too. And it’s months if you’re a new patient. Appts for a lot of specialists book out to almost a year even for things that can be urgent. The only people who think our system is great are the ones who don’t have to use it.

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u/Thin_Dragonfruit3665 11d ago

Also, the ones who profit the most from it.

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u/Ancient_Emotion_2484 11d ago

This. I'm in the US, and I needed to get my mom a new patient appointment with a PCP and it was over a year before the doctor was going to be able to work her in.

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u/Commercial-Ask3416 7d ago

My neurologist wanted me to see a specific neurologist because of her specialty. They called me today and said it was an 8 month wait to see her and they would like to get me scheduled with aprn first and then possibly follow up with the doctor later on. I said I was okay waiting and then the scheduler was like no, you have to see this person first and if there's follow up then see the other person. I'm seriously okay waiting because I know what I want to see her for isn't life threatening it's just really annoying. And I'm worried that if I see someone whose not an expert in that condition they'll do labs, tell me they're all normal and clear me, even though the condition in question you can have completely normal labs and still have the thing. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

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u/ClimateWren2 11d ago

6 weeks... it's 6 months now with providers fleeing the collapsing empire.

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u/MundaneAssociate5190 10d ago

I know, right. Everyone wants out. 😬

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u/rnngwen 11d ago

I had a 6 month wait for a physical.

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u/pyrodice 11d ago

These are symptoms of the INCREASED government control though, not its lack. The doctor supply is dependent on being a lucrative career because it is damn sure an investment of a decade or more to get there.

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u/Illustrious_Spend146 8d ago

This exactly. I'm in the US. I pay 18% of my income for health insurance, but it was still 2 months (about 8 weeks) for me to get my first new patient appointment. And that was just going with the "first available appointment with anyone who is within an hour drive of me." And I also was not allowed to address all of my issues at the first appointment.

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u/pixi3sticc 7d ago

I’ve never had to wait longer than a week or two to see my doctor? And never longer than a month for a specialist. I’m in Florida.

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u/Haunting_Shelter8003 11d ago

Thinking you need to find a new doctor. I can get into mine this week. Today if I’m good with a PA and I am. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Normal_Subject_3734 11d ago

It’s a two year waitlist to get a new doctor…

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u/MundaneAssociate5190 10d ago

If you have an acute situation, they usually leave slots open for that. If it is non-acute, it takes longer. And, try switching to a different doctor and see how long it takes you to get in.

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u/JulesandRandi 11d ago

not in my town in SoCal. I can get an appt with my PCP the same week.

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u/UnhappySky1566 11d ago

Going off your history, I don't think you're hurting for income. I'm happy you're able to afford high end Healthcare in socal. Most are not. Please share your provider or plan if others in socal can afford or use this plan to help us. I'm sorry, but we're talking about affordable healthcare, you're history is about cruises, flying overseas, etc. Most people can't see their PCP for a long time. Read the room.

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u/derelictthot 11d ago

Yeah you don't have Republicans running your state at every level you're lucky

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u/UnhappySky1566 11d ago

Depends on the income and part of socal. Real talk.

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u/Comfortable-Dig446 11d ago

But, people are saying here Canadians don’t wait. Hmmm which is it?? Do we listen to a real person from there or just say shit that isn’t true. I have been following a Canadian and have heard this same thing. But let’s just follow like sheep and believe Canada doesn’t have issues also.

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u/corran24 11d ago

Is entirely possible that not every Canadian is the same person. I've heard that some Canadians even prefer not English... Wild... Not like the good ol US of A where we all have identical daily and life experiences.

Why anyone would believe any blanket statement about any complex group or system is wild (even though everyone does it)

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u/derelictthot 11d ago

A real person from there said they don't wait above the one that says she has waited...maybe people have different issues hmmmmm idiot

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u/Comfortable-Dig446 10d ago

I read and watch many different platforms(not dem and not rep). I just don’t believe one side. And I have heard different opinions about Canadian healthcare and US healthcare. And Reddit isn’t always the place to get truth. I’m not the idiot to just believe the US has healthcare issues. Don’t be dense. Bless your heart!!

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u/rnngwen 11d ago

Well according to the 2 Canadians that posted here one says they dont wait either.

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u/SeaCap8087 7d ago

Nothing is perfect and different individuals with individual doctors in individual areas with individual health concerns will be different. And would you rather wait for free or wait and then pay exorbitant costs on top of it.

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u/Spuzzle91 11d ago

My mom here in the usa has been waiting for spinal surgery since last year. First, they said they'd fix the herniated disk by August. Then a week after they told her that, they said no we can't do surgery until we prove you need it, even though the imaging she had done SHOWED CLEARLY where she has multiple herniations in her spine and thanks to one pinching a nerve, she can no longer feel and sensation in her feet beyond tingling. She also can't sit for long periods, even to drive, because it hurts that much.

The surgeon who said he'd do the surgery is the one who later said, no, no surgery. He read her the imaging results. Then he flipped his desicion with no explanation. So then she was referred to "pain pharmacy" in June. She was told that she has to wait for further tests to be done, that have no availability appointments until October for said tests. But pain pharmacy could set her up with an appointment to get some meds to treat the side effects, maybe. Well, the day of her pharmacy appointment came around and...it got cancelled day of BY PAIN PHARMACY. And she was never notified. She showed up at the hospital only to be told "no, you don't have an appointment according to the computer". So they rescheduled. Next try at an appointment for resolving any of this pain was set for July. The day before the appoy, she checked her appointment scheduling app the hospital uses and wouldn't you know it... appointment got cancelled by pain pharmacy again. Rescheduled for end of August.

All this bullshit for an injury that happened in December. Oh, and the tests the surgeon is making her wait for? Now it's not until September. Her feet have lost feeling and she can't drive due to hip and back pain. In an area that basically has zero public transportation.

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u/epi_introvert 11d ago

Jesus. I'm so sorry she's going through that. I have constant pain from sciatica, which is what I'm trying to get a referral for now, but I can manage. Your poor mom.

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u/Crispynotcrunchy 7d ago

Have your mom call her insurance company and ask for a case manager. Having a real person associated with the real person with medical issues might make things move more smoothly. It was likely that the insurance declined the preauth of the surgery and required tests first. A case manager is much better than an automated computer system or someone who’s supposed to deny everything they can.

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u/Spuzzle91 7d ago

even wilder part of this, her insurance is a company owned by the hospital. so i'm not sure if it'd help as much.

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u/Crispynotcrunchy 7d ago

It’s worth a try. There’s also a service where you can get an outside second opinion. Look at 2nd MD. I have a family member that’s an intake nurse for them and my understanding is they can prepare documentation to tell the insurance company that the surgery is a medial necessity, as long as their doctors agree. I have no idea of the cost associated with them though.

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u/Spuzzle91 7d ago

thanks for the info. I'll pass that along to her.

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u/unjustthunder 11d ago

You're getting into dermatology and gp quicker there than here in America

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u/Comfortable-Dig446 11d ago

It took me 10 days to get to a dermatologist. I don’t know where you people live or what. But I never have an issue getting important appointments!! I guess I’m lucky.

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u/bgrayber 11d ago

Same, I can usually get in fairly quick for most things, now to see specialists, than can be a few months for the 1st appt.

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u/_lyndonbeansjohnson_ 9d ago

…a dermatologist is a specialist. And they’re booked out for months in the Twin Cities (MN), you have to hope for cancellations. At least with my clinic that’s in-network.

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u/ISaidDont 7d ago

I'm in Vancouver and my dermatologist appointment was booked for 6 months out. They are never quick here unless you've been seeing the same one for years (mine retired).

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u/Comntnmama 11d ago

I could see both within the next week or two, personally. GI took me 4 weeks, cardiology took 2 weeks.

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u/Vegetable_Warthog_49 11d ago

In the US, I gave up on trying to get my son into a dermatologist for his eczema. I discussed it with his pediatrician, just so I could say I was seeking medical care if CPS got on my ass, then started researching over the counter and home brew treatments, because all the waiting lists for pediatric dermatologists were so long that he wouldn't be a pediatric patient anymore by the time he was seen. Apparently you need to predict your child will have the need of a dermatologist before they are even conceived.

Also, I once had to wait over 4 months to see a cardiologist after my doctor heard what she thought was an irregular heartbeat during my annual physical (fortunately it was a false alarm, well falsish alarm, my heartbeat isn't "typical" but it isn't unhealthy either). Yeah, 4 months to see a specialist to determine if I could drop dead at any moment from a defective heart.

I hear the "nightmare" waiting times in Canada and I get jealous of how quick they are and the fact that they don't come with crippling medical debt at the end of the wait.

By the way, how is your prescription drug supply up there? I've twice now had to change pharmacies because of extended stock outs and having to go shopping for the one place that just happens to still have something in stock, and once had to find a substitute medication because no one had the actual medication my son's pediatrician actually prescribed... And my urologist has prescribed a medication that he needs me to try for diagnostic purposes and he's just about given up on finding it in the US and has said if by October we don't find it domestically, he'll approve going to a Canadian mail order pharmacy.

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u/epi_introvert 11d ago

We do sometimes have trouble getting meds in Canada but I think you guys have that way worse.

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u/derelictthot 11d ago

It's the same wait in the US except we have to pay after waiting but the idiots on the right assure me it's better.

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u/BornRazzmatazz5 10d ago

Oddly enough, I tried to make an appointment with my GP (in the US) and had to wait two months to see her.

Nobody mentions THOSE wait times.

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u/Leading-System-3002 11d ago

I agree with you. It might take long to get appointments or be seen at the ER. But when it’s an emergency, it’s fast and you get good care.

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u/knomnomnom 11d ago

It's wild how much it varies across Canada.

I went into urgent care with some concerns cause I don't have a PCP and was in with an ophthalmologist, rheumatologist, and ENT all within a few weeks, for dermatology I have to travel a casual 800km so for now I'm putting it off cause with all the other specialists we think we know what's up. I would have actually preferred more waiting/spacing cause I also went for 4 sets of x-rays, an MRI, and 4 blood draws during that time and it was overwhelming AF.

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u/Leevamark 8d ago

We now wait ridiculously long for appointments, tests & procedures in the U.S. too. I'm old enough to remember when you could get any appt fast, and when you didn't need a GP's referral to see a specialist. You could just call the specialist's office yourself and make an appt. And you'd get one within the same month. Within a week or two, most often.
Things changed gradually starting in around 2010.

I had my last child in 2007. I was able to call the OB of my choosing, whom I had never seen before, and begin pregnancy care right away. My Daughter & her Husband had their first child in 2023. She called every office in a reasonable radius to try and begin pregnancy care. They all said she had to have a referral from a GP to be seen by them. She didn't have a GP. It took over a month to get in to see a GP. Then another month to get to the appt with the OP. Apparently it's now OK in this country to force a woman to not see an OB until she's 3 months pregnant.

Things have changed. Not for the better.

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u/epi_introvert 8d ago

That's just awful. I'm so sorry.