Sue's Blog - Some assembly required.

Ouch

My neck has been hurting the last couple of days.
I should have been able to use the neck stretching appliance that was given to me by the physio clinic.
I say should have because I had to send it back.
The insurance wouldn't cover the rental of it. They started sending me bills for hundreds of dollars.
So, back it went.
You should never knock the NHS because you don't realise how brill it is until you haven't got it.
The health care system here is ridiculous.
Health insurance costs an absolute fortune and then when you need something they say "Oh that isn't covered" and send you a big bill.
Or, if you are sent for a test for something they will say it is only partly covered and send you a big bill.
It gets worse.
If you have an existing condition ........they won't cover you at all.
So, if you need tests, doctors or hospitals it will cost you thousands of dollars.
An English friend of mine was very poorly last year and was in hospital for weeks. She then had to have rehab and ongoing treatment.
People find it hard to believe that over here, she and her husband would have lost everything.
Even with insurance they would have had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bills and would have lost their house........everything.
Plus there is no way she would have been able to get any insurance afterwards.
Nightmare.
A friend of ours, here, had a heart attack a couple of years ago.
He was in hospital for a while and needed surgery.
Afterwards........he had to declare bankruptcy as his hospital bills were more than $500, 000.
We pay a lot in insurance but we still have to pay on top for any doctor visit.
We are not allowed more than 2 preventative procedures a year.......or we have to pay.
By preventative I mean blood tests, mammogram etc.
The bills are amazing....they list everything and everybody you see. All have to be paid.
I went to the doctors a while ago because I had a dodgy ear.
She sent the nurse in to syringe them.
They sent me a bill for the nurse and the procedure of syringing my ears.
Philip had one ear syringed and the bill was $300.

Another friend of mine is diabetic.
She pays a fortune for insurance and still has to pay $500 a month just for her insulin etc.
I think she only gets any insurance because she already had it before she developed diabetes.

So, if any of you ever get cross with the NHS please remember that some places, like here, you literally can't afford to be sick.

It really is a nightmare at times.
Rant over.......coo......that was all brought on by my bad neck.
Sorry about that chaps.

posted by Sue Banks @ 2:23 PM