# The cost of healthcare....



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I've been very blessed and fortunate in my life to have not had many occasions to go to the doctor or hospital. Ditto for my family. Back when I was much younger and really struggling I would go to my buddy, a vet, for things like stitches, broke finger, etc. I didn't have insurance, couldn't afford it. Now with the exorbitantly high cost of health care, I can't afford NOT to have it....my BCBS insurance was about 2k a month, I switched to USAA (underwritten) and now pay 1.5k a month, with a 5k deductible. 
So yesterday I thought what the hell...I'm going to see a dermatologist, seems I've been having this itching and rash for about 8 months now, just won't go away, tried about all I could without breaking out the old "foxfire" books and perusing its pages for a different remedy. So I call the dermatologist and make an appt. can't see me for a week....wth...a week and a day to be exact.....did I mention this stuff itches like crazy at times...drives me crazy. Reluctantly I set appt. go to the appt and get seen by a PA, appears to have a lot of "irons in the fire" checks me out....all of 15 min....maybe....gives me a script for some creme that's in a tub, starts with a T. Well, two weeks in and this stuff, while eliminating the itching for a period of time, doesn't do anything for the rash. So yesterday I'm itching still, been almost three weeks, in the meantime, my son had a similar rash and went to his dermatologist in another town. They gave him Permethrin in a creme. That's right, permethrin, cleared it up within a 2 week period of time. His is identical to mine so I'm thinking, I'm going back to see my dermatol.....er....PA. Walk in the office yesterday about 1:30 to see if they would prescribe me some permethrin.....well no they can't ....the PA needs to see me again. "Lets see when we can make you an appt". No, I'm here right now, lets make said appointment for right now, shouldn't take but a minute. She hem-haws around whispering to others in the office.....so I tell her, look either he gets me some Permethrin or I'll go take a flea tick shampoo bath....doesn't really matter to me, I'd prefer not to smell like dog shampoo, but whatever it takes, dipped at the vet, hell I'm open to anything....thought about a Ivermectine casserole for supper. So they agree to take me back....same room, same PA....he does his little scrapes and says "I find no reason to give you Permethrin" but I'm going to give it to you anyway....wth...why didn't we just do this to begin with? The girl at the office want to know if I want to pay my "balance".... Sure, my balance is $85.... That's after insurance paid they're part.
So off I head to the pharmacy, permethrin creme, 4oz is $97....you've got to be kidding me, gonna need two applications at least, one tube is one application. My insurance paid $12 tho, thank God for that.....

So this little decision to go to the dermatologist cost me/my insurance company $429 office visit, $69 for first creme, $200 next creme, and not sure if I'll get a bill for the second visit or not, probably will....so I'm at about $700 for a rash that is easily controlled by Permethrin.....

It's no surprise that our healthcare is out of whack, I'm beginning to think that this is what they had in mind when they talked about a "service industry" years ago when our manufacturing base left us, we will service you until you die.....or until health coverage lasts...at that time we will all jump off like a bunch of fleas.....and it didn't take nary a dose of Permethrin to get shed of em.....


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Just think how economical and efficient it will be once the government gets their tentacles fully intwined in what's left of our healthcare profession.

These idjits that still think the ACA is the best thing to happen to this country have obviously never spent any time personally dealing with the IRS or city hall.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

A vet here in my area just got thrown in jail for treating people.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Teslan said:


> A vet here in my area just got thrown in jail for treating people.


My friend I'm sure would have been in trouble as well. I can tell you he was deft with the stitches, hardly any scars whatsoever. I have been known to take amoxicillin that was prescribed for my lab....only because I ran out of my own for a weekend....use to keep amoxicillin in the cabinet. Another time I had a buddy that was hunting with me, a urologist, seems the scope came back and bit me.....hey, it was a brand new gun and I have never shot it without the leadsled and it was damn near dark....<disclaimer...anyway, we run down to his office and he stitches me up......thankful....obviously, that he was with me that day, just wish I'd a invited the vet that day as his work was better lol


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## kyfred (Dec 23, 2009)

I know someone who bumped his head and cut it pretty good. His neighbor was a nurse and he got her to look at it. She cut the hair away from the cut then cleaned it and had him to push the skin together while she put a bead of super glue on the cut. He said it burned like fire when she put the super glue on the cut but it sealed and held the cut together instead of doing stitches. LoL no trip to the dr and he bought her a tube of super glue


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Yeah Fred, I know what you mean....oldest son layed his finger open and they told him at the emergency room it would be about $2 grand for services. He left and got some super glue and butterflies at the drug store and fixed it himself....left a rather attractive scar....he says its becoming. 

Regards, Mike


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> Another time I had a buddy that was hunting with me, a urologist, seems the scope came back and bit me.....hey, it was a brand new gun and I have never shot it without the leadsled and it was damn near dark....<disclaimer


That's what you get for trying to hold a spotlight in one hand and the rifle with the other. Did you get him? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Vol said:


> Yeah Fred, I know what you mean....oldest son layed his finger open and they told him at the emergency room it would be about $2 grand for services he left and got some super glue and butterflies at the drug store and fixed it himself....left a rather attractive scar....he says its rather becoming.
> 
> Regards, Mike


I've done that, have also used electric tape as it sticks better than that "sterile" crap. I'm pretty good at it though, a few healed better than the one time I ever had stitches in an actual hospital.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> That's what you get for trying to hold a spotlight in one hand and the rifle with the other. Did you get him? :lol: :lol: :lol:
> 
> Regards, Mike


Yes I did, a nice 8 pt with dark heavy horns but not a hint of brow tines....I've never had that happen before, always shot my trusty ruger .308 m77 international for 20+ years.....Leupold scope....never a problem, could see the bullet hit. Like wallets, some thing's are better to let the person that's actually going to be using it to purchase it....my wife, bless her heart, felt compelled to buy me a new deer rifle for Christmas about 3 yrs ago....lets a buddy of mine go pick it out....mistake, he's got a good case of the ....well....bigger is better theory....
Now don't get me wrong, it's a helluva nice gun, little too nice for me as I hunt primarily out of climbing stands, but because of that I always liked my 18" barrel ruger, very handy and at 7# lightweight....so knowing this he picks out a Browning A-bolt, short octagon barrel, lightweight, beautiful engravings, beautiful wood...just a very good looking gun, topped off with a 4X14 ziess......and when you fire it, you'll probably be meeting that ziess up close....problem with the gun?.....270 win mag....it will get your attention, so much so that I had the trigger worked on to bring the trigger pull down to 1.5 lbs....now I have no idea when the damn thing is going off so as not to flinch....my finger goes on the trigger when I'm ready to twitch off a round....otherwise I couldn't handle it, would get large groupings with standard 3.5 lb pull....problem really was the twilight conditions and the fact that the buck had walked to within 30yds of my stand....I crawled up on the scope without realizing it....I realized it real quick after that, blood running everywhere. I can tell you after having shot a few with it, I ain't seen a bullet hit yet....as a matter of fact, I have a hard time even knowing if I hit the deer, by the time I get it back into position, I really have no idea which way the deer went until tracking.....good thing is, effective range is about 500 yds for me, was about 350-400 with the .308, during the rut, I like to get as high as possible and cut as much ground as possible, it helps with that, but it's definitely a trade off. Ima slow learner, took me a box of CXP to figure out I didn't need CXP in that caliber, hydrashok work just fine, and 200fps slower, meaning less punishment....but not much


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

mlappin said:


> I've done that, have also used electric tape as it sticks better than that "sterile" crap. I'm pretty good at it though, a few healed better than the one time I ever had stitches in an actual hospital.


Have fixed alot of borderline cuts with electrical tape and a piece of tissue, best to use super 33 by 3M, it'll stay for days, have to cut it off....


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Our healthcare in the future is going to be horrible. The keep your doctor is a complete lie. The wife's cardiologist chose early retirement over dealing with all the red tape, loopholes and general BS that Obamacare is bringing.

A lot more people might be going the electric tape route in the future.

Speaking of vets doing no-no's. I've never bought heart worm pills for any of our dogs ever, our vet when we still had the dairy turned us onto this, works very well but is not labeled for canines. Ivomec takes care of heart worms and about any other worm they can get. I have an aunt that breeds australian shepards, it's all she's ever used. She gets lucky and her dogs will take pills, she gets empty gell caps from a pharmacy and places the ivomec in them, none of our dogs will do pills. Peanut butter, butter, cheese, hamburger etc. they figure it's in their and spit em out. So instead I've been mixing there dose in a very small amount of chocolate milk. Some claim use it straight, others claim 1cc to 9cc's water then give 1cc per ten pounds body weight. My aunt uses it straight, but some dogs (especially collies or shepard's) are more sensitive then others to the active ingredient so I've been cutting it in half with water then giving 1cc per 10lbs body weight. A little bottle of the stuff lasts forever. We do it once a month while the aunt claims every six weeks is sufficient. It will also take care of any heart worms the dog already may have. Kills any larvae and the adult heart worms die off eventually.


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