The "I Can't Believe There's No Abortion Thread" Part Deux: Electric Boogaloo

[Kepler]

You would think Moss being on a show like Handmaids Tale would make her think twice about being a Scientologist...but alas she defends the cult still.

Programming is deep.

Is Moss one of the ones who is second gen nutbar? Like with other religions they almost never get free.

[Handyman]

Programming is deep.

Is Moss one of the ones who is second gen nutbar? Like with other religions they almost never get free.

Not that I can tell but who knows. Probably one of the ones who joined to help her career...

[Kepler]

Not that I can tell but who knows. Probably one of the ones who joined to help her career...

Yeah, she is, I looked it up.

As with Christianity or anything else, if it's jammed into your skull when you're a child it is almost impossible to ever get rid of it. It will haunt you, if not as superstition, then as a villain to attack. Carlin never got over it, and he was more sensible than most.

[dxmnkd316]

Are you talking copay or actual billed cost? Because MRIs can cost several thousand, depending on like a zillion things. They are so expensive that CMS requires the use of a decision support tool that's been approved by ... some AMA-like governing body. This went into effect in 2019 so under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. Several private payers adopted it as well as a cost-saving measure.

At the time, billed cost since I hadn't hit my deductible.

I had two MRIs twice. With and without contrast. Each was about $1,500 for the pair.

[leswp1]

Wait, how much is expensive? I think the ultrasound was the cheapest of the scans I had done when I had my medical scare. I could have sworn it was under $200. The CTs and MRIs were all north of that. The MRIs were like $700 a pop.

For some women coming up with even something under 200$ is not easy- beyond the actual cost of the scan there can be a bill for radiology read, missing work- unpaid, transportation and a host of other hidden costs. This is hard enough when they they only have one but financially impossible if you are talking about doing multiple scans.

Many women who are uninsured are working multiple PT jobs (no benefits) so it can be a logistical nightmare to juggle getting the appointment, dealing with them getting time off from both or more jobs, transportation, dealing with the kids who often are shuttled from one relative to another between jobs...

Many of the reasons women can't see their way to continuing a pregnancy- everything is one complication away from everything crashing down financially.

[leswp1]

At the time, billed cost since I hadn't hit my deductible.

I had two MRIs twice. With and without contrast. Each was about $1,500 for the pair.

This can depend on what is scanned and also where the scan is happening. Best example= we had an independent radiology center that did x-rays, mammos, etc. They had a contract with the local PHO (Physician Hospital Organization) so by proxy with all the insurances, to do Mammos at a set rate (somewhere around 250)

Mass General took over the site and didn't let people know this happened. They kept calling women to come for their annual screen. They were out of network. Mass General's agreement with insurances was to bill 800$ for the same services. The explanation for such a disparity was they were a teaching and research based hospital and this was part of the way they funded themselves.

Women were getting wacked with bills for going out of network. Some of the insurances paid but then docked the hospital the extra money from their reimbursement. I used to tell the uninsured pts to call around to get the best rate. This of course was a pipe dream. ALthough it is a law they reveal prices they never give a straight answer.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

At the time, billed cost since I hadn't hit my deductible.

I had two MRIs twice. With and without contrast. Each was about $1,500 for the pair.

That’s a very average cost here fyi on a typical ****ty *** employer plan

[dxmnkd316]

That’s a very average cost here fyi on a typical ****ty *** employer plan

That's a normal amount until I hit my deductible then it's 20% until OOP max. That's pretty typical for insurance.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

That's a normal amount until I hit my deductible then it's 20% until OOP max. That's pretty typical for insurance.

Well, yes.

[dxmnkd316]

For some women coming up with even something under 200$ is not easy- beyond the actual cost of the scan there can be a bill for radiology read, missing work- unpaid, transportation and a host of other hidden costs. This is hard enough when they they only have one but financially impossible if you are talking about doing multiple scans.

Many women who are uninsured are working multiple PT jobs (no benefits) so it can be a logistical nightmare to juggle getting the appointment, dealing with them getting time off from both or more jobs, transportation, dealing with the kids who often are shuttled from one relative to another between jobs...

Many of the reasons women can't see their way to continuing a pregnancy- everything is one complication away from everything crashing down financially.

Agree and fair point. But that wasn't my original point. My point was that if im a doctor and someone requests one knowing it's $200, then I'd be hard pressed to say no.

[dxmnkd316]

This can depend on what is scanned and also where the scan is happening. Best example= we had an independent radiology center that did x-rays, mammos, etc. They had a contract with the local PHO (Physician Hospital Organization) so by proxy with all the insurances, to do Mammos at a set rate (somewhere around 250)

Mass General took over the site and didn't let people know this happened. They kept calling women to come for their annual screen. They were out of network. Mass General's agreement with insurances was to bill 800$ for the same services. The explanation for such a disparity was they were a teaching and research based hospital and this was part of the way they funded themselves.

Women were getting wacked with bills for going out of network. Some of the insurances paid but then docked the hospital the extra money from their reimbursement. I used to tell the uninsured pts to call around to get the best rate. This of course was a pipe dream. ALthough it is a law they reveal prices they never give a straight answer.

Yes. Shop around is very good advice. I wanted to know if I had cancer and was at going to die so I went with the hospital and didn't care about costs. Only who had an opening the next day :-P

[leswp1]

Agree and fair point. But that wasn't my original point. My point was that if im a doctor and someone requests one knowing it's $200, then I'd be hard pressed to say no.

I had a visceral reaction to this comment. Medicine is not Burger King. The direct to consumer ads have given people the impression that they should be able to request tests (treatments, meds) like they were ordering coffee esp if they are willing to pay out of pocket. I would have no problem saying no. Most Providers should have no problem saying no. If they don't then there is a problem with their ethics.

A Provider's job is to consider if there is a medical reason to recommend a test (tor treatment, or course of action). They also need to think of what the plan is if you do a test- You never do something without considering what you will do with the results. This is one of the first things you learn as you start ordering tests. You can be in a world of pain if you end up with incidental findings that make you do further testing even if there are no symptoms. You have to defend why you ordered the test to begin with and you get to deal with how much of a work up is necessary= the trade off between too much with incurred cost or too little and get your a55 sued.

Ordering unwarranted tests to is a waste of resources. We have limited medical resources- machines, staff, space- with limited accessibility in most areas. Just because people can afford it is not a reason to be doing tests on a whim because people want them.

If the person is looking to see if there is an abnormality with the pregnancy the capture rate would be very low having an U/S early. In most cases those tell you how many embryos are implanted and not a whole lot more except where it is in the uterus.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I had a visceral reaction to this comment. Medicine is not Burger King. The direct to consumer ads have given people the impression that they should be able to request tests (treatments, meds) like they were ordering coffee esp if they are willing to pay out of pocket. I would have no problem saying no. Most Providers should have no problem saying no. If they don't then there is a problem with their ethics.

A Provider's job is to consider if there is a medical reason to recommend a test (tor treatment, or course of action). They also need to think of what the plan is if you do a test- You never do something without considering what you will do with the results. This is one of the first things you learn as you start ordering tests. You can be in a world of pain if you end up with incidental findings that make you do further testing even if there are no symptoms. You have to defend why you ordered the test to begin with and you get to deal with how much of a work up is necessary= the trade off between too much with incurred cost or too little and get your a55 sued.

Ordering unwarranted tests to is a waste of resources. We have limited medical resources- machines, staff, space- with limited accessibility in most areas. Just because people can afford it is not a reason to be doing tests on a whim because people want them.

If the person is looking to see if there is an abnormality with the pregnancy the capture rate would be very low having an U/S early. Those tell you how many embryos are implanted and not a whole lot more except where it is in the uterus.

Well said. Exactly right

[dxmnkd316]

I had a visceral reaction to this comment. Medicine is not Burger King. The direct to consumer ads have given people the impression that they should be able to request tests (treatments, meds) like they were ordering coffee esp if they are willing to pay out of pocket. I would have no problem saying no. Most Providers should have no problem saying no. If they don't then there is a problem with their ethics.

A Provider's job is to consider if there is a medical reason to recommend a test (tor treatment, or course of action). They also need to think of what the plan is if you do a test- You never do something without considering what you will do with the results. This is one of the first things you learn as you start ordering tests. You can be in a world of pain if you end up with incidental findings that make you do further testing even if there are no symptoms. You have to defend why you ordered the test to begin with and you get to deal with how much of a work up is necessary= the trade off between too much with incurred cost or too little and get your a55 sued.

Ordering unwarranted tests to is a waste of resources. We have limited medical resources- machines, staff, space- with limited accessibility in most areas. Just because people can afford it is not a reason to be doing tests on a whim because people want them.

If the person is looking to see if there is an abnormality with the pregnancy the capture rate would be very low having an U/S early. In most cases those tell you how many embryos are implanted and not a whole lot more except where it is in the uterus.

Except when the state starts to threaten to murder you because of religious zealotry. That's a pretty good effing reason.

Edit: WHich, again, was my entire point, the context of which seems to have been lost in the several posts since then. I'm not talking about randos wanting a pregnancy test or weekly pictures of their precious chicken nugget.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Oh noes, more white women affected by these laws

https://twitter.com/jessicavalenti/s...mOQH4I4lvxxMdw