For a long time now (probably since I moved to Florida), I have had nothing but complaints about the medical industry and doctors in general. In fact, finding a good doctor is a major trial. Well, that trip took a sharp turn the other day, and lead on an interesting, yet disappointing journey.
One of the people I worked on a few days ago was very much into energy. We talked about a lot of things during the session, including healthcare. He told me of this doctor that is not only trained in western medicine, but is also into energy and a lot of natural, holistic methodologies as well as acupuncture and other eastern medicines. I was given her number and gave her a call.
We talked for a while, and I got a good feeling about what she does and that she does take the time to listen to her patients. She seems very kind and very interested in a patient’s problems. We talked about the level of care I used to get from my doctor in Maryland, and how little of that is given by the doctors here. She said that healthcare in Florida is really in the dark ages.
Now, the big drawback to seeing this doctor was that she does not take insurance. Her rate is $250 an hour which is due at the time of the visit. Now, one can file a form with their insurance company to get reimbursed, but it is considered ‘out of network’ and is only reimbursed at 40% to 60%. But the key is that one has to have the money now.
I can very much understand her thinking. She does not want any insurance company telling her how to practice medicine. That seems to be a big problem as the doctors will only do what the insurance companies let them. This is why a lot of doctors will only do a small examination and call it a complete physical.
Another issue is that the insurances don’t pay for tests that should be done to help one stay healthy. Both my wife and I have a family history of diabetes. Neither of us have it, but it has occurred in our families. To test for diabetes, doctors will do urinalysis. The insurance my wife gets through her work is Blue Cross / Blue Shield. They don’t pay for urinalysis. So, if we want a test that should be standard given our family histories, we have to pay for it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we have health insurance as healthcare is unaffordable without it. But when they don’t cover certain basic things, I really start to wonder.
Since I couldn’t afford to see this person I was referred to, she recommended a few others that she thought were good doctors, ones that would do a good and complete job. I called several, and ran into problems. One that advertises on the back cover of Natural Awakenings does not take insurances. A western trained doctor (and the doctors in the office with her) was another that was referred. After 15 calls over two days that ended in a busy signal, I finally got through to see that they are not taking new patients. I tried the last one that practiced both forms, but she does not take insurance. They will however fill out the forms for the patients, but it is still cash up front.
I know that doctors charge a lot of money, and that the $20 co-pay I give them for any office visit is only a percentage of what they charge for an hour. But I (like many others) do not have $200 to pay for an office visit at any doctor. Without insurance, healthcare is unaffordable. But most insurance companies seem like they would rather pay for the big ticket items (like open heart surgery) rather than pay for the little things (like annual physicals) to keep people healthy so they won’t need the major operations. Somehow, this is truly screwed up.
Years ago, when I lived in Maryland, I stayed with one doctor, or doctor’s office until I was forced to change, and that change came rarely. There was the family doctor that I grew up with, until he retired. (He even made emergency house calls.) Then there was the doctor I went to when I was working, and decided I should be having annual checks on my health. When their practice moved too far away, I changed to another doctor. (I actually knew this person. We had worked at a theater for part time jobs while in college.) So, in all the time I was in Maryland, I went to three different doctors (and I won’t say how many years that was).
I have been in Florida for almost 10 years now. During that time, I have had eight different doctors. That’s right, eight, count-em eight doctors. The first one I went to had so little time to spend with me that a complete physical involved checking to see if I could breathe, seeing if my heart was beating, and that I could read en eye chart. When this doctor didn’t have time to check my chart and told me to do some exercises that would have hurt me more than I was hurting already (I had a pulled tendon in my shoulder), I changed doctors. I found another doctor, that I thought was good, but that one moved from the practice before a year was up. This one also had time issues. I remember going in for an office visit with two problems and being told that I might have to come back for the second as they only had fifteen minutes that they were allowed to spend with me. My next doctor was pretty good, but her staff people were idiots. It would take them upwards of three weeks to schedule tests that were needed now.
When I left them, I went to the Mayo Clinic as we had their health insurance. The doctors were good, and if one needed a test, they scheduled it immediately. My first doctor there left and I ended up with a second. But when Mayo decided they would stop carrying their health plan, we could no longer go there as most insurance companies wouldn’t pay their rates.
That lead me to the place I now go. The first doctor that I had been seeing retired. I really didn’t think this one was as thorough as they should have been. The next one there was not thorough at all and would not explain anything. The one I see now is a physician’s assistant, but thoroughness is not something they do. (Like I have said before, doctors don’t want to see a patient naked, and they don’t want to touch them. This, I believe, is the key reason why so many are making bad diagnoses. This leads to lawsuits, which leads to higher malpractice insurance which leads to higher insurance rates and lesser coverage. Stop this merry-go-round, I want to get off.) This is why there are a lot of people looking at Reiki and various other alternative means to help them with their health.
You have to understand that back in Maryland, a complete physical was just that. One got undressed completely and put on a gown. The doctor would check everything. They would even have the patient stand and open their gown so they could see the entire back of the body. This told them whether the spine was straight or curved. (A curved spine is a problem called scoliosis. I see a lot of that in my clients. In fact, I feel that the amount of medical training we got in school was because we are now making up for things that doctors don’t do and spotting problems for them.) In Florida, most doctors that I have gone to don’t even have the patient take off their shirt. If they don’t look at the body, they don’t know what is going on.
I have not been happy with my current doctor now for some time. And after almost 10 years, I am looking for my ninth doctor. If that number isn’t scary, I don’t know what is.
I think it is good that doctors are realizing that they care enough about medicine to tell the insurance companies where to go. I also think that it is good that doctors are finally looking at alternative methods of healthcare. But the problem is that the cost is too high. What we need is good, affordable healthcare. I feel that if one finds good healthcare, it is generally not affordable, and that if one finds affordable healthcare, well, you get what you pay for.
I really didn’t want to make this a rant, but I guess it has been. The key of it is that there are doctors that care, as I have found. But one also needs to be able to afford their services. Hopefully that will come together, and soon.