21% of Americans put off a Drs visit because of money

[brasty]

I have just been reading research into the finances of US citizens. It is a massive piece of research, with few surprises. But I was surprised at how many people said they had put off a Drs visit because of money. Either because they had no insurance to cover it, or could not afford the co pay.
Now some of these visits would have been for routine things that were fine to put off. But some may have been for early indicators of illnesses such as cancer, and putting off a visit may have major consequences.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/northern-ireland-dup-theresa-may-jeremy-hunt-nhs-cuts-secret-whistleblower-austerity-a7810066.html%3Famp

Looks like TM has found how to fund that 1billion.

and she said insurance is instant denial, then they have to dispute the denial, then it might go through. It's not a quick system.

I live in America and our healthcare is one of the things I hate about it here... and we have a good income with "good" healthcare. It is complete pants.

Don't do it Britain, it really really sucks here.

It's not a quick system. Which is how a relative of ours ended up using up all his money (he was formally very wealthy) when he had cancer. Family members were having to pay for things in the end, he had literally run out of money.

The thing is, when you have cancer, you have to pay. You'll die otherwise. Bearing in mind that dead people are fairly 'cheap' for insurance companies and you are too sick to sue then, and it takes too long. So if they string you along refusing for long enough the problem you goes away.

I think the people who want the American style system here dont realise how bad it is, and think only poor people will be affected. They also believe that will never be them.

www.thedoctorstv.com/articles/3128-woman-with-large-facial-tumor-undergoes-life-changing-surgery

But is that not what we do here... but with dentists?
I can't afford the £40 odd pound to see a dentist at the moment and so not going, despite broken teeth and bad toothache etc... so when I eventually do go... it will be a complete disaster in there...
Probably very similar scenario... you may say £40 isn't much... but it may as well be £1M if you don't have it...

Socksey I sort of get what you're saying and I know when left long enough, broken or damaged teeth can be bad but it's not like aggressive cancer or if your child has been run over by a car and you need to take them to A&E or they will die but you can't afford to or switching off a loved one's life support because you can't afford to keep it on for any longer

I think we should charge for visits and if you need medication then its free.

that will just put people off from seeing the GP until the problem really goes south. Likely then treatment will cost more, and people will be miserable. So, I don't think that's a good idea.

However, no shows must be annoying. I wouldn't be opposed to an annoying but payable fine of 10-20 pounds for no shows.

I live in Ireland and I have put off going to the doctor before because it costs @€50.
Some people of social welfare or low earners have medical cards which makes docs visits free. In my experience they are much more likely to go regularly.

I am on a fb group for parents of children with asthmatic children and it's scary the amount of them who are based in America who are struggling to cover the costs for basic drugs and medical treatment for their children.

I can understand this statistic financially. However, in my experience, Americans are much more likely to go to the doctor for a minor illness than Brits, who tend to get on with it more. This (ie the US) is a heavily medicated nation.

Opposite problem here. I couldn't get an appointment for 3 months (yes, three months) and when I finally saw the GP I was referred to and at the hospital within 34 hours. Seems to be different reasons in different countries for delayed medical attention.

I have seen the GP twice in 15 years! Many thanks you don't need to bother the doctor with. Far too many people in the UK go in at the slightest thing - no wonder it costs we few tax payers an absolute fortune and then you move to the missed appointments. Even if we did not charge if we had a big charge for those who do not show up by the exact time of the appointment that might be a good start.

Charging would need every GP office to have payment systems installed with the appropriate equipment, training for receptionists, charges to banks, licences for software, accountants etc etc. It's not a cost neutral option that just brings in a nice bit of dosh.

I lived in the States for a bit and had one illness where I avoided the doctor because of costs (and ended up with pleurisy because of delayed treatment) and dh had a very large bill for an ENT visit that his insurer refused to pay because they decided it was a pre-existing condition and the NHS didn't count as an insurer (we could have fought this and probably would have won but taking on a large well funded bureaucracy is very hard work) . He also was given prescriptions for some quite inappropriate treatment, along with samples of the same medication from a visiting pharma rep. Oh and our friends seemed to be taking their children to the doctor for every little sniffle. Was a bit strange and the medical system was one reason we were very glad to leave.

I don't thin it would be too complicated. You book on line with a card and it is only charged if you do not show up. Surgeries could use paypal.

I have a chronic back issue that started when I lived in the US, and it carries on 20 years later, because there was no way I could afford to pay £15 per week to see a specialist to sort it. I was lucky that was my only problem...i was in my 20's and healthy, so I didn't see a Dr unless absolutely necessary....i just didn't have room in my budget for Dr co-pays. The kicker was that I was a teacher with 'excellent' health insurance! Moving to the UK was the best decision I ever made, and I have to say that health insurance is the #1 reason I never want to live in the US again.
I am terrified that the UK will privatise like the US...i just don't understand how anyone can think that system is better...because in comparing the 2, the UK is leagues above, even with some of the issues surrounding it.

The other problem with charging for missed appointments is that sometimes the problem isn't the person missing the appointment. We have only missed one appointment and that was because we weren't notified about it.

Lucy and people who don't have access to the Internet? Or a bank account? Or have a bank account but not a debit card?

I can only imagine it like dentistry as poster mentioned upthread. We rarely go to the dentist, I know that's bad. But it's too expensive.

I can't imagine a system where we would pay for appointments. We rarely go anyway, but would be put off. I went once last year for checking out a mole. 2 years before, checked a lump under armpit.

I would never not turn up though, can't believe people cannot cancel an appointment. It's just courteous.

I love the NHS. It's amazing. I do wonder how it can be managed better though.

Charging would need every GP office to have payment systems installed with the appropriate equipment, training for receptionists, charges to banks, licences for software, accountants etc etc. It's not a cost neutral option that just brings in a nice bit of dosh

Admin could consist of emailing a an invoice with payment instructions after each appointment, and maintaining a blacklist (for future appointments) of those who were unacceptably in arrears.

That's what my plumber does. (His wife does his admin.) If a one-man-band plumber can manage to take payments, I don't think a GP practice with a turnover of several hundred thousand to a million or three is going to struggle.

could consist of emailing a an invoice with payment instructions after each appointment, and maintaining a blacklist (for future appointments) of those who were unacceptably in arrears.

And then what? Refuse people treatment because they can't afford the bills?

I lived in the States for a bit and had one illness where I avoided the doctor because of costs (and ended up with pleurisy because of delayed treatment) and dh had a very large bill for an ENT visit that his insurer refused to pay because they decided it was a pre-existing condition and the NHS didn't count as an insurer (we could have fought this and probably would have won but taking on a large well funded bureaucracy is very hard work) .

I have read some articles to suggest your situation typical, and the suggestion was that a lot of money could be saved in the US healthcare system by simply funding GPs more.

The trouble is putting off healthcare can be incredibly expensive. In the US, it leads to increased A&E visits (because that's often the only place people can receive free treatment) and if I recall correctly an A&E visits costs the healthcare system between 2-3 a GP visit.

There is no point in introducing a payment scheme, unless people who do not pay are barred from using the service in the future. The reality is we are not going to bar parents from taking their kids for treatment, because they have not paid for past treatment. Then others think, well why should I bother paying then?
It only works in the US because people are happy to accept that some do not get treatment. And A &E will only deal with real emergencies, and refuse to treat anything else.

Not surprised at all I pay €60 in Ireland for a visit to my gp and have plenty of times waited to see how bad things got before going to gp on the upside never an issue getting an appointment. Here under 6s are free (that's only a recent phenomenon) over 6s pay. It is means tested so if you are on benefits or of low income you can get a medical card which gives you free gp visits and prescriptions or gp card which gives you free gp visits. A high percentage here have health insurance. Prices no where near what you pay in the states. We pay about €1500 a year to cover 2 adults and 3 kids