Had A Trip To The Hospital? I Got A Question...

Your ER experience doesn't sound that bad. I would expect six to eight hours. I haven't been to the ER since I was a child, but I've heard a lot of stories.

I did have cancer last year and I'm insured, but I still owe thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills. I don't even know how much. The bills won't ever stop because now I have to go to the doctor every few months for check ups. I have brothers who won't go to the hospital unless it is completely necessary. We grew up in a poor family that couldn't afford medical bills. I had strep throat and didn't go to the doctor until a week had gone by that I hadn't been able to eat. I went about two weeks with a broken wrist before going to the doctor. My brother laid on the couch for about a week and almost died from appendicitis, then finally he had to be rushed to the hospital.

I'd love to move to Canada for the free healthcare... I don't think my wife would let me though.

I think compounding the wait problem in the States
is the fact that
(at least in PA anyway)
if you are receiving any type of assistance,
(welfare, healthcare, etc.)
the gov't will pay for ER visits, but not doctors' appts.
So people tend to head to the ER for colds and such,
rather than making an appt to see a doctor.
-D

To break it down-
Diabetic neuropathy + small cut on foot = deep bone infection I didn't know about
Which eventually stops hiding inside the bone and spreads quickly.
So 3 days on an insulin and antibiotic IV to get my blood sugar low enough for surgery.
Surgery 1 to remove a toe.
Surgery 2 to take the foot.
Every heart test imaginable to try to figure out why my heart rate was almost double what it should have been. (at least I know now that there's nothing immediately wrong with my ticker)
Then a week at home before I get overly brave and try to go outside (in the rain on uneven ground) and fall on my stump, ripping all the stitches and staples out.
Surgery 3 to clean it out again and tie up all those lose arteries that were flopping around squirting blood everywhere. (which 3 different ER doctors didn't feel qualified to perform, so they had to call in a vascular surgeon.)

So, yea, without that 40K I'd be dead. No complaints here. I was surprised it was so cheap to tell the truth.

Remember, that was with insurance. I've no doubt they paid a couple hundred thousand more.

Just like your threads.

Holy shit. That's horrible.

I think you mean "just like your MOM!"

Ain't that the fuckin' truth?!

I can't tell you how many times a month I take people to the ER that should be going to a general practicioner. An upset stomach with nausea, weakness and loss of appetite is a fucking stomach virus.....not an emergency

I was just in a bike accident a little over a month ago. I have to say my experience was surprisingly good. I landed in an ER in Greenwich Village at around 2 in the morning on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. I would have expected (if I could have thought straight at the time) to wait for hours, but they saw me right away. I guess it could have been PRock's busted head theory (my face looked all busted up and I had been unconscious and wasn't making a whole lot of sense and generally didn't really know what the hell was going on), but I think I was just lucky to catch them on an especially slow Saturday.

I had an initial evaluation, 1 trip for a CT scan, 2 more trips for X-Rays, and a doctor following up with me after all that (the damage was just a concussion and a couple of cracked ribs), and I was in and out in about 3-4 hours. I also had a follow-up with my doctor a couple of weeks later. The whole thing has only cost me about $40. I'm pretty happy with my insurance right now--the actual cost was almost $10,000.

Broke my collarbone a couple of years back. Three-hour wait in A+E; half of which was because they needed the A+E nurses for a guy who'd got cement dust in his eyes.

Eww.

I didn't complain.