Comment by Alupis
2 years ago
What are you imagining it should be?
You can see your doctor pretty much freely within the US for nearly any reason. This idea you cannot see your doctor in the US, or that you receive treatment from nurses or administrators is simply not true.
> insurances and especially hospitals
You may be confused, because some doctors operate private practices, while others choose to work for large hospital organizations. Private practices may be more akin to what some people's idea of a doctor should be. Most insurance plans offer a selection of hospitals and doctor networks, allowing you to chose the style and type that works best for you.
In all cases, you can see your doctor if needed, with very little lead time if any.
> You can see your doctor pretty much freely within the US for nearly any reason.
Sorry, as someone who knows multiple people in various parts of the US healthcare system, this is pretty laughable. At the very least, we have different definitions of 'freely'.
Most of the urgent care clinics near me, for example, no longer accept patients without appointments. ER wait time is several hours, and you will owe hundreds if not thousands of dollars after unless you have _very_ good insurance.
> This idea you cannot see your doctor in the US, or that you receive treatment from nurses or administrators is simply not true.
Not from administrators, but nurses yes. Many clinics will only have a RN on duty large parts of the time. There are also systems where you can set up telehealth appointments, but a lot of the time they will be with a nurse and not a doctor.
> In all cases, you can see your doctor if needed, with very little lead time if any.
My parents have been trying to address some conditions they've developed, in one case, pretty serious. There's a several month lead time on their appointments to deal with this.
There are large parts of the US where private practices are very rare and the major care provider organizations have multi-month waits for both primary care and specialists. As I understand the overall trend is towards longer wait times but it is significantly worse in some cities than in others. Where I am, for example, it is around six months to get an appointment with some fairly common specialists... and that's a mid-size city with a university hospital and everything. My former primary care doctor only had availability about three months out, but I am fortunate enough to have found a small private practice that has far fewer patients per provider... at the cost that I pay a large annual practice fee to be a patient.
I think this is pretty uneven across the country but it is definitely far from guaranteed that you can see a doctor on demand with a short lead time. I have heard of similar problems pretty much throughout the central region of the country. In an attempt to alleviate the situation a number of states have programs where they pay subsidies to providers in areas with longer wait times, but this turns into a complex billing system and states often can't afford enough to really make a big difference.
In some ways the private insurers are doing some good here, as several offer "patient concierges" that will do things like try to find a provider for you that's accepting new patients. But in a recent experience that involves calling every two weeks and being told they still can't find any availability, for a couple of months.
I’m happy for you that you have been served so well. However that is not the case for everyone, and your dismissal of others’ experience is so strong and condescending to the point that you sound like a real jerk. Other people report a lot of problems with their healthcare. You should listen to them, as they have very little incentive to lie.