Making lemonade from molehills

[annekat]

I may have bitten off more that I can chew, Anne, but...we'll see.

Al

Well, you obviously can't do it alone. But with the right connections and your proactive demeanor.......

Anne

[mishb]

I so wish we had hospitals, like what you guys have ........ in Australia.

Don't get me wrong, we have some amazing hospitals that are world class and highly recognised especially in organ transplant, trauma and also research.

I go to one of the top hospitals in Melbourne and am very happy with the specialists that I see, but we see them all on different days, weeks or even different months.
We don't have a set 2 or 3 days where everything is done and you see specialist as required.
The only time this happened for me was in April when they put me in a ward for 4 days to run a bundle of tests etc.

I wonder how much it would cost for an Aussie to come up to, let's say Mayo or to Sangye's Dr Seo - for differing/2nd/3rd opinions.
.......maybe a tattslotto win is in order

I know things kind of suck over there with your health care insurances, medical costs etc. but to an outsider, the attention you get at the major hospitals seems so cool.

Am I wrong in thinking this .......probably some will disagree with the care they receive, but still I only know from what I read on here.

Take care all

[annekat]

I so wish we had hospitals, like what you guys have ........ in Australia.

Don't get me wrong, we have some amazing hospitals that are world class and highly recognised especially in organ transplant, trauma and also research.

I go to one of the top hospitals in Melbourne and am very happy with the specialists that I see, but we see them all on different days, weeks or even different months.
We don't have a set 2 or 3 days where everything is done and you see specialist as required.
The only time this happened for me was in April when they put me in a ward for 4 days to run a bundle of tests etc.

I wonder how much it would cost for an Aussie to come up to, let's say Mayo or to Sangye's Dr Seo - for differing/2nd/3rd opinions.
.......maybe a tattslotto win is in order

I know things kind of suck over there with your health care insurances, medical costs etc. but to an outsider, the attention you get at the major hospitals seems so cool.

Am I wrong in thinking this .......probably some will disagree with the care they receive, but still I only know from what I read on here.

Take care all

Well, I'm no expert on hospitals here, but I think there are a great many U.S. citizens who have no access to the top hospitals and centers such as those where Wegs patients receive the kind of specialist care you mention. The reasons are geographical location, lack of money to travel, lack of good health insurance, if any, etc. Not that other hospitals and doctors around the country aren't good, they just can't or don't offer that degree of specialization or service. If Wegs weren't so rare, I imagine it would be different. I also think the 2 or 3 day workup with different doctors is probably rare no matter what the disease, unless you are in there for a bunch of tests or need to be there for critical care. I'm sure others will have things to say from more personal experience and knowledge than I have.

Anne

[Al]

I so wish we had hospitals, like what you guys have ........ in Australia....

Pluses and minuses, Michelle, pluses and minuses. You can get good care (up to the limits of the state of the art, of course) in the US, but you do need to be lucky or devious (or both) in geography, your insurance (or at least choice of careers), and the medical team you assemble. Then there is the issue of actually receiving the good care that is possible. A strong advocate is desirable, but sick people often have a hard time being their own advocates, and outsourcing advocacy is usually prohibitive.

I don't know the ideal solution. I hope I, or somebody, can come up with one. Maybe, just maybe, we can design something....

Al

[mishb]

Don't get me wrong we have excellent hospitals and excellent health cover.

It is compulsory to have health insurance if you earn over 80k (I think) and with health ins you get to choose your hospital and choose your doctor but you still have a deductible on top of the annual premium you pay.
For everyone else that doesn't have health ins, we have Medicare and you don't pay for the hospital or any tests etc but there is always a waiting period to get in for elective surgery, consultants etc. but all in all, works out fine. Both have there faults but I guess they all do.

I was just curious as to what it would cost someone like me (from overseas) to visit one of your hospitals. The JHU's, Mayo's etc that do have the big teams. they just sound amazing.

[ArlaMo]

I was just curious as to what it would cost someone like me (from overseas) to visit one of your hospitals. The JHU's, Mayo's etc that do have the big teams. they just sound amazing.

My bill at Cleveland Clinic last year was about $8,000 (US). That included an extensive visit with Dr. Langford and another half hour visit with her after all the testing, labs, chest CT, a visit with an ENT plus a tracheal endoscopy, a visit with a pulmonologist plus breathing tests....I think that's about it. Obviously doesn't include travel costs. Cleveland Clinic is not a covered hospital/network for my health insurance so the costs are probably what someone outside of the US would pay. Cleveland Clinic also has a very generous assistance program that helps those who can't pay the whole bill.

[delorisdoe]

My bill at Cleveland Clinic last year was about $8,000 (US). That included an extensive visit with Dr. Langford and another half hour visit with her after all the testing, labs, chest CT, a visit with an ENT plus a tracheal endoscopy, a visit with a pulmonologist plus breathing tests....I think that's about it. Obviously doesn't include travel costs. Cleveland Clinic is not a covered hospital/network for my health insurance so the costs are probably what someone outside of the US would pay. Cleveland Clinic also has a very generous assistance program that helps those who can't pay the whole bill.

I dont even know what to say to that. I have been taking my visits with specialists for granted. wow.

[annekat]

My bill at Cleveland Clinic last year was about $8,000 (US). That included an extensive visit with Dr. Langford and another half hour visit with her after all the testing, labs, chest CT, a visit with an ENT plus a tracheal endoscopy, a visit with a pulmonologist plus breathing tests....I think that's about it. Obviously doesn't include travel costs. Cleveland Clinic is not a covered hospital/network for my health insurance so the costs are probably what someone outside of the US would pay. Cleveland Clinic also has a very generous assistance program that helps those who can't pay the whole bill.

Well, $8000 doesn't sound so bad considering that the bill on paper for my overnight stay in our comparatively rinky-dink local hospital was around $7500. Not that I have any complaint about the service I received there. And I am on a state-sponsored health insurance plan for low income people (which may be eliminated soon, BTW, if more tax dollars don't become available), so the amount was reduced significantly by contract with the plan, and I had to pay about $360 of that. That amount covered the room & meals, a CT scan of my lungs, blood work, nebulizer treatments, IV antibiotics, a few other things like Tylenol at inflated prices, and being overseen by an excellent internist who suggested I might have Wegener's based on the CT scan results. My septum biopsy and diagnosis occurred later with my ENT doc. I was lucky not to have had serious enough symptoms for an extended hospital stay.

Sounds like you got more for not much more money, considering your insurance didn't cover it, and minus the "room" and all it's attendant inflated services. Also, the financial assistance for those who qualify is a great thing.

Anne
Olympia, Washington

[delorisdoe]

Well I had 5 days in hospital in june. At $7500 a night I do think the food should be better. I am still in shock over all of this

[annekat]

Well I had 5 days in hospital in june. At $7500 a night I do think the food should be better. I am still in shock over all of this

Well, remember, the $7500, if I had had to pay it, included the CT scan and bloodwork (cultures and such), IV and nebulizer meds, etc., not just the room. I'd have to find the bill for the itemizations of everything. It was a private room. I totally agree about the food, it pretty much sucked. I was thinking the long consultations with Dr. Langford that ArlaMo got were probably worth more in themselves than the private overnight room I got. I don't blame you for being shocked, however, coming from a system of nationalized health coverage.

Anne