Our prescriptions were running out, so it was time to see a doctor. Would we have to wait for weeks, spend hours in the waiting room, be officiously treated by a harassed doctor with her hands full from treating the hypochondriac hordes clamouring for freely dispensed health care?
Uh, no. We called a couple of days ago and got new patient appointments right away at a walk-in clinic in our neighborhood. We walked in to a nice building right on Danforth (a lively street in Greektown) which had its mission statement on a plaque in the open, windowed entry stairwell:
The Albany Medical Clinic will be the model of an independent primary care medical practice. We will continually strive to implement new and expanded services, which will result in the following advantages for our patients:
- having access to a locally-based, seamless system of primary and specialty care, and,
- having access to comprehensive on-site ancillary services.
We will achieve a size and stature, and have an array of services available, that will result in us being the medical clinic of choice for people in our community for the majority of their healthcare needs.
Sounds good. Up the stairs to check in, where there was a pharmacy and a dentist's office, among other services. No waiting. A nice person and 5 minutes later, we were upstairs in the doctor's waiting area. Approximately 1 minute later, our pleasant, calm doctor (a young man recently moved here from Montreal) invited us to come, separately or together, into the office. We went in together, and each conversed at length with the doctor about our respective maladies (what fun!) and the alternatives for treating them, made a decision on these scores, and got an initial check-up. The doctor was thoughtful, informed, and in no hurry whatsoever to get rid of us. We then took our prescriptions to the pharmacy downstairs, waited about 10 minutes, paid a reasonable amount (we'll get reimbursed when our official insurance comes through... though it's worth noting that the standard base-line insurance doesn't automatically come with prescription coverage. No doubt prescriptions are covered for those below a certain income threshold), and were on our merry way.
By way of comparison with health care in the States, Benj waited a month to get a new patient's appointment after moving to Ithaca, and to get my first prescription in Ann Arbor I had to sit in the waiting room at the University of Michigan clinic for almost an hour. In fact, I can't remember ever not having to wait for some extended period of time to see a doctor in the states. And once in the exam room, the person I had most contact with wasn't the doctor, but rather a nurse or nurse practitioner, who asked most of the questions and performed the general check-up, with the doctor showing up for a 5 or 10 minute diagnostic denouement. And our health insurance was supposed to be elite! Free market health insurance -- don't believe the hype.
UPDATE: Reader RA sends along the following story:
A friend of mine [in Santa Monica] sought a medical appointment for some unusual skin growths on her face and back through Kaiser Permamente. She was told it would take four months to get an appointment. She didn't want to wait so she saw a dermatologist outside her HMO and discovered she had skin cancer. $5,000 (out-of-her-pocket) later, she's fine, but obviously not happy with her medical coverage.
And here are several remarkable stories about experiencing socialized medicine as a visitor in France, courtesy of philosopher Alva Noë:
When I lived with my family in Paris a couple of years ago we had a couple of medical run ins. My son August, then 2, stepped in a glass of Miriam's hot tea (left on the floor) and scalded himself. Our neighbors recommended that we take a cab cross town to the hospital in Paris best known for handling children. We were admitted at the emergency room right away; after a lengthy and thorough preliminary examination in a private room by a nurse, August was examined by a physician. Agu (as we call him) was cleaned, bandaged, prescribed and we were sent back to the front desk. People at the desk were a bit embarrassed about the fact that they would have to charge us for the visit but they were confident our American insurance would reimburse us. They behaved as if it were unseemly to make us deal with payment. And then they gave us the bill. Under 30 Euros! I kid you not. I was too embarrassed to tell them that it was not worth my trouble to request a reimbursement of a fee so small!
And that happened another time as well: August developed a rash on his face. We found the name of a pediatrician with a practice in the neighborhood. We phoned the office. The phone was answered by the doctor herself. Yes, come around in an hour. We entered an unattended room, a waiting room. A few minutes later the doctor came out and took care of us. Again, 27 Euros TOTAL.
One last story: I too ran out of a prescription. I rang up a local doctor and explained, to the doctor, who came to the phone, in my terrible French: I wonder if there is some way I could get a prescription filled through your office. The doctor invited me over right away. On my arrival he squeezed me in between appointments. Sat with me for five minutes and wrote me out a prescription. That simple. That straight forward. AND he refused payment!!!
So there you have it.
Indeed. And so the bilking of America continues...
-- Jessica Wilson
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