State of the healthcare system in America: Let's discuss why it's failing

Brandon Newman95 said:Look, I’m telling you, I should have stayed hospitalized for those two weeks. I don't care who anyone thinks is "more urgent" than me. I have just as much right to a bed as anyone else. And please, spare me the lecture about how certain people—like addicts or alcoholics—are taking up space. We all know damn well there are "available" beds if they want them to be. There are plenty of doctors around, too, unless we're talking about psychiatrists—and yeah, maybe we're trailing behind the rest of the world on that one. If I had stayed those two weeks, I would’ve totally justified the cost. First off, to my employer, then to my primary care doctor and the specialists. Sorry, Mr. Know-it-all, but as someone whose employer (or I personally) pays into Medicare and social security—and let me tell you, it's not a small amount—I have a right to be admitted. They only find time for everyone when it suits their schedule and their whims. I’ll just go get my tests done privately, and then the hospital can try to ignore the results or claim something else entirely. Besides, we all know how the game is played: someone works privately and has a little "arrangement" with a specific hospital, and suddenly they're being fast-tracked to the front of the line. It's an open secret. And don't even get me started on the ER. They definitely bill overtime. They run CT scans during the afternoon and night shifts, so don't even try to convince me otherwise. I was stuck in the internal medicine ER because of blood clots in my legs, and sure enough, late in the evening—after 7 PM—they were running a CT scan. Not for me, obviously, but for some other patient. The media loves to sensationalize everything, but that's a different story. Instead, they'd rather just cut costs on actual people. Half of my tests were paid for out of my own pocket. It feels like it's in everyone's interest to just have fewer people getting help. I bet there are fewer empty beds than the journalists claim; they should spend more time looking at the actual state of the US healthcare system instead of chasing headlines. I'm the one paying for the beds, the water, the electricity, and all the other overhead in this system. Last year alone, I spent well over... $1000 I mean, I don't even know how much more of this we can take. We're talking about private stuff, all kinds of things, and even when it went through the DB—it was being handled within six weeks. Seriously? Couldn't that have been knocked out in two weeks? It would've been way simpler and honestly just better.

1. Emergency patients and non-emergency patients do not have equal rights—and that goes for you just as much as anyone else.
2. There aren't enough doctors, and I know that firsthand—because if labor laws were actually respected, a huge chunk of the time the ER wouldn't even be running because there'd be nobody left to work. Everyone would have already maxed out their legally mandated hours for the week, month, or year.
3. You have a right to be hospitalized, sure, but it isn't up to you to decide when or where that happens.
4. CT scans run 24/7, 365 days a year, when there's a suspicion of an emergency. For routine screenings (meaning everyone not classified as an emergency case), they only run during regular business hours. I'm not trying to "convince" you of anything—I'm just stating how things are set up.
5. Yes, it could have been resolved faster and better, but if they actually fulfilled every single right that patients demand, you’d still be waiting for years—even with private providers—because you simply cannot grasp how many patients are constantly claiming they have a right to this and that...

Jacob Fox6 said:I can't help but feel like we're slowly losing our grip on being a social welfare state... everyone just wants to pivot toward private companies because they're faster and more efficient, and honestly, that’s just such a classic American principle... what blows my mind is how the US keeps trying to model its healthcare after the American system, which is widely known for being totally unsupportive of the people, and the biggest irony here—we're chasing an example that is actually trying to fix itself, like how America is working to reform its system and build up social medicine while we're basically throwing ours away...

We have some truly brilliant specialists in our medical field... doctors who haven't even graced a TV screen or a radio show once, yet they perform their jobs perfectly well. Of course, this whole mess in healthcare is incredibly demotivating for them, and all patients seem to know how to do is shout about their rights. Sure, there are mediocre people among both patients and doctors, but that’s where the State needs to step in by ensuring decent working conditions for doctors and proper care for patients. People don't even know anymore which insurance they have or what's actually "covered," so a green light has basically been given to private providers. On one hand, it's not all bad since competition can end up being better for the patient in the long run, but looking at the reality of it, it's also pretty bad, and that's the exact reason why patients are fleeing to private clinics in the first place...

It seems like every system has its expiration date and that change happens in cycles.
In any system that lasts a long time, too many parasites start to settle in—they dig their roots in so deep that the system stops functioning for its actual purpose. They simply become an end unto themselves, and eventually, the whole thing collapses from within.

Back in the 1990s, we started moving away from socialism, and now we are heading straight toward capitalism.
Social rights were handed out like there was no tomorrow, and increasingly, people are taking advantage of them without any justification—fake veterans, fake disability claimants, people retiring early for no reason, fake emergency patients, fake social cases... free healthcare, free education for everyone regardless of how little sense it makes when someone spends ten years in university (there are probably plenty more that don't come to mind right now).
I constantly hear people shouting about "our rights"... but honestly, look at the reality. How many of you are renters, students, or pupils? Or on the flip side, how many of you are the ones renting out apartments or condos and paying taxes on that income? If a landlord actually paid his fair share of taxes, he'd have less profit, and by that same capitalist logic, he'd just raise the rent to compensate. In the end, instead of $667 paying, say, $800 monthly rent, you'd be stuck with even higher costs.
It's funny, isn't it? We always fight tooth and nail for the rights that benefit us, yet at the same time, we all seem perfectly happy with those other "rights" remaining totally unregulated.

Kate Collins67 said:It seems like every system has its expiration date and that change happens in cycles.
In any system that lasts a long time, too many parasites start to settle in—they dig their roots in so deep that the system stops functioning for its actual purpose. They simply become an end unto themselves, and eventually, the whole thing collapses from within.

Back in the 1990s, we started moving away from socialism, and now we are heading straight toward capitalism.
Social rights were handed out like there was no tomorrow, and increasingly, people are taking advantage of them without any justification—fake veterans, fake disability claimants, people retiring early for no reason, fake emergency patients, fake social cases... free healthcare, free education for everyone regardless of how little sense it makes when someone spends ten years in university (there are probably plenty more that don't come to mind right now).
I constantly hear people shouting about "our rights"... but honestly, look at the reality. How many of you are renters, students, or pupils? Or on the flip side, how many of you are the ones renting out apartments or condos and paying taxes on that income? If a landlord actually paid his fair share of taxes, he'd have less profit, and by that same capitalist logic, he'd just raise the rent to compensate. In the end, instead of $667 paying, say, $800 monthly rent, you'd be stuck with even higher costs.
It's funny, isn't it? We always fight tooth and nail for the rights that benefit us, yet at the same time, we all seem perfectly happy with those other "rights" remaining totally unregulated.

On the contrary, I pay for everything—living expenses plus tuition.

Kate Collins67 said:1. Emergency patients and non-emergency patients do not have equal rights—and that goes for you just as much as anyone else.
2. There aren't enough doctors, and I know that firsthand—because if labor laws were actually respected, a huge chunk of the time the ER wouldn't even be running because there'd be nobody left to work. Everyone would have already maxed out their legally mandated hours for the week, month, or year.
3. You have a right to be hospitalized, sure, but it isn't up to you to decide when or where that happens.
4. CT scans run 24/7, 365 days a year, when there's a suspicion of an emergency. For routine screenings (meaning everyone not classified as an emergency case), they only run during regular business hours. I'm not trying to "convince" you of anything—I'm just stating how things are set up.
5. Yes, it could have been resolved faster and better, but if they actually fulfilled every single right that patients demand, you’d still be waiting for years—even with private providers—because you simply cannot grasp how many patients are constantly claiming they have a right to this and that...

1.) Emergency vs. non-emergency patients? Please. There are so many actors out there who always need something—they get priority at the ER without any issues. Meanwhile, someone else actually needs urgent help.
2) Maybe there aren't enough doctors, but look at how many of them work privately while being tied to the hospitals, and we all know how those "waiting lists" really function.
3) Yeah, sure, if I consider myself "treated within two weeks"—it would have cost the US healthcare system three times less.
4) You won't convince me that CT scans aren't available 24/7, 365 days a year. I know because I was at the hematology ER at 8 PM, and some people were getting brain CT scans right then.
5) We know all too well how "waiting lists" work, how people push through using connections or "knowing a guy," and how private clinics push patients forward if they find something. And we know certain private clinics have contracts with Medicare and partner with major General Hospitals. Don't even get me started on how they handle "available beds."

Brandon Newman95 said:1.) Emergency vs. non-emergency patients? Please. There are so many actors out there who always need something—they get priority at the ER without any issues. Meanwhile, someone else actually needs urgent help.
2) Maybe there aren't enough doctors, but look at how many of them work privately while being tied to the hospitals, and we all know how those "waiting lists" really function.
3) Yeah, sure, if I consider myself "treated within two weeks"—it would have cost the US healthcare system three times less.
4) You won't convince me that CT scans aren't available 24/7, 365 days a year. I know because I was at the hematology ER at 8 PM, and some people were getting brain CT scans right then.
5) We know all too well how "waiting lists" work, how people push through using connections or "knowing a guy," and how private clinics push patients forward if they find something. And we know certain private clinics have contracts with Medicare and partner with major General Hospitals. Don't even get me started on how they handle "available beds."

Some people on this forum act like they’re better than everyone else.
Just read one thread above and you'll see women constantly asking how much a hysteroscopy costs at a private clinic. Why? Because they can't legally get it done at the General Hospital. Mostly, it's women with polyps. Women suffering from heavy bleeding. They end up having several poorly performed curettages in a matter of days, and then they're sent home while still sick because they didn't live near the hospital.
Yesterday, I spoke with a woman for whom this was her sixth curettage. She’s constantly paying out of pocket for private care, had a hysteroscopy, and has a polyp that is destroying her life. They won't allow her the actual surgery; they just keep calling her back for more curettages until she feels like she's at her breaking point.
Why is this happening to women? Why just more curettages? And when the bill goes out, I bet they definitely list "anesthesia" as a service provided.
Why isn't a final solution found for these women? Why not just remove the uterine tissue? These are women in their early 50s dealing with constant bleeding and zero quality of life. Are we waiting for someone to pay a larger bribe before things move along? This isn't cosmetic surgery; why are these women being put through such misery?

And there are empty beds everywhere; it’s unnatural.
Almost every patient ends up paying for everything regardless of their supplemental insurance. They pay for meds just to avoid chasing down prescriptions. They pay for dentists regularly. They pay for breast ultrasounds. They pay for gynecological ultrasounds and never even see a bill from the private clinic. Hysteroscopies are paid for because the General Hospital refuses to use their equipment. Why?
And when you finally get stuck because of a serious illness, they don't even know how to treat it. That's when you realize you've been screwed, because you learn that every single procedure is essentially a cash grab. This applies to almost every cancer case.
It makes me wonder what we are even paying for. What kind of "basic package" is this? Something forced upon us, followed by a recovery where you can't even get your gynecologist to pick up the phone. That's the reality on the ground.

In America, you can only guard your health and prevent disease if you have a high salary—and even then, only if you aren't using it to feed an entire family. Everything else is just empty talk. There isn't money for the basics, let alone for serious illnesses.

@ruggedscout91

Back in 2005, I was at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. I happened to be sharing a room with a woman who was a general practitioner herself—she had been sent back in for yet another D&C in such a short span of time. The doctors let her stay in the room for a bit to recover while waiting for someone to pick her up.
I remember it vividly: the doctor stood there in front of everyone in the room and flat-out recommended she just have the surgery to get rid of it once and for all, specifically because of those constant D&Cs and the heavy bleeding she was dealing with. He looked at her and said, "Colleague, you should at least realize that your uterus is in such a state that it's basically acting like a sponge, soaking up poison that’s slowly killing you in agony. Let us fix this; it's the only way you'll save yourself."
Obviously, how things turn out depends heavily on which doctor you happen to end up with, but it also says a lot about the woman carrying the issue within her.

Angela Wright said:@ruggedscout91

Back in 2005, I was at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. I happened to be sharing a room with a woman who was a general practitioner herself—she had been sent back in for yet another D&C in such a short span of time. The doctors let her stay in the room for a bit to recover while waiting for someone to pick her up.
I remember it vividly: the doctor stood there in front of everyone in the room and flat-out recommended she just have the surgery to get rid of it once and for all, specifically because of those constant D&Cs and the heavy bleeding she was dealing with. He looked at her and said, "Colleague, you should at least realize that your uterus is in such a state that it's basically acting like a sponge, soaking up poison that’s slowly killing you in agony. Let us fix this; it's the only way you'll save yourself."
Obviously, how things turn out depends heavily on which doctor you happen to end up with, but it also says a lot about the woman carrying the issue within her.

That woman has been suffering for a long time, even in a major city like Los Angeles, and despite having a referral for hospital treatment, she hasn't succeeded. Her gynecologist refuses to give her a referral for uterine surgery and even insists she will have periods for a long time to come. The woman is 53 years old and completely desperate.
As usual, everything in the US healthcare system is problematic unless it's a life-threatening emergency. For anything else, you have to guess, hope, or pull strings just to avoid ending up with some incompetent hack who can barely sew a wound. Unfortunately, that's the reality. We didn't invent this situation; people are just afraid to talk about it openly rather than whispering behind closed doors.
Luckily, I ended up needing surgery for fibroids myself, and I can't imagine enduring anything more than a basic exam or an ultrasound down there. Yet, so many women continue to suffer...
Or perhaps it's just my way of looking at it: maybe they withhold the ultimate solution to prevent losing a potential patient—or rather, a customer—from the white coats. Why would they want her coming back to her regular gynecologist or the General Hospital constantly? It’s likely just business.

ruggedscout91 said:Some people on this forum act like they’re better than everyone else.
Just read one thread above and you'll see women constantly asking how much a hysteroscopy costs at a private clinic. Why? Because they can't legally get it done at the General Hospital. Mostly, it's women with polyps. Women suffering from heavy bleeding. They end up having several poorly performed curettages in a matter of days, and then they're sent home while still sick because they didn't live near the hospital.
Yesterday, I spoke with a woman for whom this was her sixth curettage. She’s constantly paying out of pocket for private care, had a hysteroscopy, and has a polyp that is destroying her life. They won't allow her the actual surgery; they just keep calling her back for more curettages until she feels like she's at her breaking point.
Why is this happening to women? Why just more curettages? And when the bill goes out, I bet they definitely list "anesthesia" as a service provided.
Why isn't a final solution found for these women? Why not just remove the uterine tissue? These are women in their early 50s dealing with constant bleeding and zero quality of life. Are we waiting for someone to pay a larger bribe before things move along? This isn't cosmetic surgery; why are these women being put through such misery?

And there are empty beds everywhere; it’s unnatural.
Almost every patient ends up paying for everything regardless of their supplemental insurance. They pay for meds just to avoid chasing down prescriptions. They pay for dentists regularly. They pay for breast ultrasounds. They pay for gynecological ultrasounds and never even see a bill from the private clinic. Hysteroscopies are paid for because the General Hospital refuses to use their equipment. Why?
And when you finally get stuck because of a serious illness, they don't even know how to treat it. That's when you realize you've been screwed, because you learn that every single procedure is essentially a cash grab. This applies to almost every cancer case.
It makes me wonder what we are even paying for. What kind of "basic package" is this? Something forced upon us, followed by a recovery where you can't even get your gynecologist to pick up the phone. That's the reality on the ground.

In America, you can only guard your health and prevent disease if you have a high salary—and even then, only if you aren't using it to feed an entire family. Everything else is just empty talk. There isn't money for the basics, let alone for serious illnesses.

Look, at the major city hospitals, private clinics just issue receipts however they feel like it.
It all depends on who you happen to run into. We end up paying for everything. I know how it is in the smaller towns.

Kate Collins67 said:It seems like every system has its expiration date and that change happens in cycles.
In any system that lasts a long time, too many parasites start to settle in—they dig their roots in so deep that the system stops functioning for its actual purpose. They simply become an end unto themselves, and eventually, the whole thing collapses from within.

Back in the 1990s, we started moving away from socialism, and now we are heading straight toward capitalism.
Social rights were handed out like there was no tomorrow, and increasingly, people are taking advantage of them without any justification—fake veterans, fake disability claimants, people retiring early for no reason, fake emergency patients, fake social cases... free healthcare, free education for everyone regardless of how little sense it makes when someone spends ten years in university (there are probably plenty more that don't come to mind right now).
I constantly hear people shouting about "our rights"... but honestly, look at the reality. How many of you are renters, students, or pupils? Or on the flip side, how many of you are the ones renting out apartments or condos and paying taxes on that income? If a landlord actually paid his fair share of taxes, he'd have less profit, and by that same capitalist logic, he'd just raise the rent to compensate. In the end, instead of $667 paying, say, $800 monthly rent, you'd be stuck with even higher costs.
It's funny, isn't it? We always fight tooth and nail for the rights that benefit us, yet at the same time, we all seem perfectly happy with those other "rights" remaining totally unregulated.

I'm mostly on the same page as you...
Personally, I'm not really a fan of any specific political system or ideology... I'm just a student living on a tight budget... whenever I need to go get some medical tests done, I simply can't afford to miss class because my school schedule is so intense, so I just end up going to a private clinic. But why? Just because the US healthcare system is set up such that I have to lose at least two days just to get an appointment scheduled...

Both socialism and capitalism had their pros and cons... since socialism collapsed, I don't see any reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater just for the sake of this relatively new American capitalism, which seems to be starting to crumble itself given this massive economic crisis...

Honestly, it’s starting to get really annoying here in the States how people always try to find excuses for certain systems instead of just taking the best parts of everything to actually look out for the well-being of our people. I just want to be able to see a doctor without losing an entire year waiting for tests to get a diagnosis, or having to drop several thousand dollars on private doctors because I literally cannot afford to skip school...

I sign off on everything else you mentioned... I just wanted to add my two cents regarding those systems, which, whatever you call them, are totally overwhelming me...

Jacob Fox6 said:I'm mostly on the same page as you...
Personally, I'm not really a fan of any specific political system or ideology... I'm just a student living on a tight budget... whenever I need to go get some medical tests done, I simply can't afford to miss class because my school schedule is so intense, so I just end up going to a private clinic. But why? Just because the US healthcare system is set up such that I have to lose at least two days just to get an appointment scheduled...

Both socialism and capitalism had their pros and cons... since socialism collapsed, I don't see any reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater just for the sake of this relatively new American capitalism, which seems to be starting to crumble itself given this massive economic crisis...

Honestly, it’s starting to get really annoying here in the States how people always try to find excuses for certain systems instead of just taking the best parts of everything to actually look out for the well-being of our people. I just want to be able to see a doctor without losing an entire year waiting for tests to get a diagnosis, or having to drop several thousand dollars on private doctors because I literally cannot afford to skip school...

I sign off on everything else you mentioned... I just wanted to add my two cents regarding those systems, which, whatever you call them, are totally overwhelming me...

Dear Jacob Fox6, what you wrote refers exclusively to the poor organization of healthcare. They throw away the positive aspects of the old system, yet they fail to offer new solutions—or worse, they offer alternatives that are even more inefficient and expensive.
The population hasn't increased nearly as much as the bureaucracy. The number of specialist offices is higher, and the amount of medical equipment far exceeds what we had in the previous era, yet it's harder than ever to actually get service or book an appointment. How does that make sense?
My husband went to his dentist after 14 years for a cleaning and some follow-up work based on a private agreement. It was all out-of-pocket $67 costs. Medicare plus supplemental insurance equals $67 for dental work? No one asked him why that same dentist has been collecting fees from the government for him for 14 years. I also go to the dentist every 15 years for a checkup (my teeth are fine), and if I need a filling, it's immediately $17, and that was five years ago.
No one asked me where the money went when I was 11 either. My coverage just rolls along automatically.
That is how it works across the board.
Every preventive measure I take, I pay for entirely out of my own pocket. I don't even bother carrying my health insurance card lately, because who cares?
There you have it. That is our socialized healthcare: where the hardest part is actually getting an appointment or seeing a provider at all. Later on, God knows what else a person has to endure just to survive. In this system, being critically ill is the only recognized category; everything else is treated like a game with no rules.

ruggedscout91, everything you just said is the absolute TRUTH.

So, what am I even supposed to say about this "brilliant" new healthcare reform for the hospitals in the city? It’s completely disconnected from reality—just like how T-Portal is reporting it and how they played it on the news. Honestly,
meritas, >, and > were right to be skeptical.

Hey everyone, if you’ve ever struggled with a poorly written term paper where the whole presentation is linked somewhere else... I totally get it. Some of the connections made sense to me, but others? Honestly, they felt completely nonsensical...

I haven't had the luxury of sitting down to dig through the entire legislative program yet—all I've managed to scrape together from snippets on TV and whatever I've stumbled upon online—so it’s honestly hard to say for sure.

If you want my personal take? I think we actually need fewer state-run public hospitals than we have right now.
In my view, the real priority should be consolidation—bringing people and resources together into more efficient hubs rather than having everything scattered everywhere.
As for the proposal to scrap those supplemental insurance subsidies for about 360,000 people... well, I can see how that would be a logical next step in a restructuring, though I'm not necessarily jumping on the bandwagon for or against it just yet.

I can't shake this nagging feeling that what they're presenting to us is nothing more than a carefully staged show for the public. In reality, there's likely some much heavier, more significant shifts happening behind the scenes—changes that I can't even begin to pinpoint the direction of from where I'm standing.

It’s a whole lot easier to "shut down" hospitals in a place like New York City—everything is right there, just a quick subway ride or a short drive away.
But if—and when—the government starts looking at cutting hospitals scattered across different states, they’re going to run into a massive wall of resistance and confusion. Why? Because you can't just hide behind logistics there; you'd actually have to physically shutter the doors. At first, they'll probably try to play it smart by just closing off specific departments—just enough to see how much the public can swallow before people start losing their minds.

Casey Palmer5 said:Hey everyone, if you’ve ever struggled with a poorly written term paper where the whole presentation is linked somewhere else... I totally get it. Some of the connections made sense to me, but others? Honestly, they felt completely nonsensical...

Exactly my point.

Kate Collins67 said:I haven't had the luxury of sitting down to dig through the entire legislative program yet—all I've managed to scrape together from snippets on TV and whatever I've stumbled upon online—so it’s honestly hard to say for sure.

If you want my personal take? I think we actually need fewer state-run public hospitals than we have right now.
In my view, the real priority should be consolidation—bringing people and resources together into more efficient hubs rather than having everything scattered everywhere.
As for the proposal to scrap those supplemental insurance subsidies for about 360,000 people... well, I can see how that would be a logical next step in a restructuring, though I'm not necessarily jumping on the bandwagon for or against it just yet.

I can't shake this nagging feeling that what they're presenting to us is nothing more than a carefully staged show for the public. In reality, there's likely some much heavier, more significant shifts happening behind the scenes—changes that I can't even begin to pinpoint the direction of from where I'm standing.

If anyone caught what Dr. Ostojica-kaz was saying yesterday, he basically said he started building a house and ended up tearing it down to the foundation.
First off, eight of these hospitals are in the metro area, and then there's eight more elsewhere. When you pay for supplemental coverage abroad, you actually get decent extra services and a real shot at quality care. But here? They stay silent about doctors working private practices while also pulling shifts at the hospital.
We're headed straight for strikes, massive "rationalization," and mountains of useless paperwork. Quality of service is going to hit zero.

My experience with the US healthcare system has been nothing short of tragic. At 16, I was diagnosed with a prolactinoma—a pituitary adenoma. To confirm the diagnosis from my gynecologist, who refused to jump to conclusions without exploring every possibility, we needed an MRI of the pituitary gland immediately. My blood work showed positive results for sex hormones and a tenfold increase in prolactin levels. We needed that scan right away so I could start treatment and prevent long-term consequences. However, when we called the General Hospital, they told us to call back in a month just to schedule an appointment. I called back a month later, only to be told I might get a slot in November. When I first scheduled, they were telling me FEBRUARY!!! I was stunned, completely in shock at how long I’d have to wait for a diagnostic test that was absolutely essential for starting my therapy. I had no choice but to go private, and it cost me over $667. It turns out the General Hospital shares one of its two MRI machines with a private clinic, which uses it every afternoon from 2 PM to 8 PM, while the public hospital only gets access for four hours in the morning from 8 AM to 12 PM!!! What kind of absurdity is that? A state-run hospital and a private clinic sharing the same equipment, where you wait nine months in the public sector, but if you pay up, you can use that exact same machine within a week!!! I recently read a story about a woman in the same situation; she had to wait months at the General Hospital, whereas the private clinic could see her immediately if she paid. She somehow managed to beg the private clinic to see her for free because she couldn't afford it. But did anyone ask if my family had an extra $667 lying around for this scan??? Of course they found the money; anything for my health.
The second thing eating at me is that our glorious American bureaucracy won't fund medications that aren't on their approved list. The only one that *is* on the list is intolerable and causes severe side effects. During a clinical trial for a different medication, I actually fainted before they could discharge me. The drug dropped my blood pressure so low they couldn't even get a reading, and I had to receive a 2-liter IV infusion. They could barely find a vein to administer it. Despite all that, the department head refused to approve funding for an alternative medication. His logic? "You're young, you'll get used to it eventually." But I have to take this medication for the REST OF MY LIFE, just in varying doses!!! So, for four years now, I've been paying for it myself and importing it from abroad. In the meantime, my doctor moved from public practice to a private practice, and naturally, I followed him because he knows my case better than anyone and can finally give me his full attention. But that costs money, obviously. It’s depressing that if you want quality care, you have to pay extra for it. It’s also heartbreaking how they treat children; there should at least be some concern for them, if not for anyone else. Before I started treatment, I was just a typical 15-year-old who hadn't had a period in a year, and people kept telling me it was normal for my age to have an irregular cycle. It wasn't until they realized it wasn't going to fix itself that I saw a gynecologist, who figured everything out. But those who were supposed to ensure I received proper treatment once the diagnosis was confirmed failed me through sheer negligence, indifference, and total apathy.

Paul Long6 said:ruggedscout91, everything you just said is the absolute TRUTH.

I can't say I agree with everything being said here.
I see my dentist regularly, twice a year—and yeah, naturally, it's all covered by my insurance.
They clean off the tartar once a year.
The occasional filling here and there.
I haven't had to shell out a single cent (I have supplemental coverage through my provider, though I haven't bothered showing the card).
So, how is it that she’s stuck footing the bill for dental work while I get it for free?!

Hey Jason Nelson64, just so you know, Medicare actually reimburses you if you had to pay out of pocket for a screening because the US healthcare system couldn't get you in within a month...