12-20-2016, 03:26 PM
(12-20-2016, 02:15 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I know, I'm just saying that I wasn't aware of it because we did nothing that involved the deductible. My wife knew because she's the one that reads over our policy every year.
The deductible could affect medical treatment without you even knowing. That will probably vary from one provider to another. Some believe medical treatment shouldn't be dictated by the ability to pay, but rather the patient's medical condition. Basically, everyone is entitled to the same quality of medical care regardless of ability to pay. A billionaire with pneumonia gets the same quality of care as a Medicaid recepient with pneumonia. Other's believe if the patient can't afford the treatment, you're not doing them any good.
As an example, the billionaire has excellent health insurance and has alredy met his deductible or the deductible doesn't matter because he is a billionaire. The provider may be more likely to order a chest xray or other ancillary tests depending upon the patient. Whereas with a patient who may not be able to afford the cost of a chest x-ray or ancillary testing or even the treatment itself, the provider may write a prescription for an antibiotic to treat a suspected pneumonia when it is actually a bronchitis and the antibiotic is useless and a complete waste of money. Or the provider may write a Rx for a cheaper, but potentially less effective antibiotic due to cost. Or vice versa, the provider may write a prescription for a very expensive antibiotic because it treats a wide range of bacterial causes of pneumonia fearing the patient will be lost to follow up. A provider may send that patient to get an chest x-ray which the patient doesn't get because they can't afford it and the pneumonia gets worse and they eventually go to the ER and are admitted which significantly increases their medical costs which they couldn't already afford. Or the provider may offer the patient an option of immediate antibiotic treatment for a suspected pneumonia warning the patient if it is bronchitis the money spent on the antibiotic is wasted, or close follow up with treatment as indicated which means more office visits and co-pays and lost work and lost wages. When offered options some patients have told me, "Well, you're the doc. You tell me." Some of them got pissed off at me when I offered them a choice. Then there is my favorite, picking the least shitty option out of a list of shitty options. ("You need to go to the ER now because your oxygen level is 86%." "I'm not going. Give me a Z pack.")
