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No question, just thought I'd share a recent experience for discussion/contemplation. Yesterday morning my very clumsy pre-teen broke her pinky toe when she snagged it on a dresser while running from the bathroom to her bedroom. This wasn't a small, just tape it together broken toe - it was sticking out at about a 20 degree angle from the rest of her foot and the toenail was facing sideways instead of up (in case you like visuals!). For the first time ever, we did a virtual doc visit, which normally have a $25 copay but are currently free to help curb medical facility congestion. Was super easy, short wait time and was nice to have a "do you think we need to bother the doc with this or should we wait and see" reassurance before heading in. She recommended we go in but said a walk in clinic that has x-ray facilities would be fine. Went to our nearest walk-in clinic only to find that they have shut down their walk in clinics across the metro and instead are redirecting non-emergency patients to their primary care physician or the hospital for emergencies. Since our primary care physician doesn't do x-rays we headed for the hospital. On the drive there, I'm already beginning to calculate the increased cost of this situation knowing I'm now going to have a $500 co-pay instead of $25. X-rays confirm toe is broken and dislocated, they do a numbing injection, attempt to reset it and then recommend we follow up with an orthopedic surgeon next week. This morning, ortho calls and says they looked at the x-rays and they need to see her ASAP today. Take her in ($50 specialist co-pay), they x-ray again and say she needs surgery and it's scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7 at an outpatient surgery center. Appt was 36 minutes long. Tomorrow we'll head in to have a pin inserted ($500 co-pay), in 4 weeks she'll need it removed ($500 co-pay) and after that a final follow up with the ortho ($50 copay) and possibly physical therapy ($50/visit). Overall looking at a minimum of $1,600. For a pinky toe. Feel like it would have been less expensive to remove it (joking).
Observations
-This year we were moved from a HDHP to a PPO plan. I like the predictability of the costs. Under my old plan it would have been anyone's guess what our emergency room visit would have cost as we would have not had a day of co-pay but we'd be billed for the visit, the pain meds, the x-rays, the numbing injection, the reset and who knows what else. I'm guessing this PPO is saving us a couple thousand dollars.
-People being treated for COVID-19 will receive financial relief from treatment expenses, but those being impacted by non-emergency facility closures will not. In our case, being forced to go to the emergency room cost us an extra $475. I'm thankful we can afford that unplanned cost, as I imagine there are many who can't.
-I'd much rather have taken DD to a walk in clinic not treating COVID patients than to have to go to the hospital. While I realize hospitals are being extra cautious, it just seemed unnecessary from a time and cost perspective. Spent 3.5 hours at the ER for this whole process yesterday.
-I wonder if the staff from these closed facilities have been redeployed to support the increased traffic at the hospital facilities. From our visit, we only encountered 4 staff during our visit - receptionist, first lady who checked us in, our RN and the doc. There was no one in the waiting room and we did not see any other patients in the facility while we were there.
Observations
-This year we were moved from a HDHP to a PPO plan. I like the predictability of the costs. Under my old plan it would have been anyone's guess what our emergency room visit would have cost as we would have not had a day of co-pay but we'd be billed for the visit, the pain meds, the x-rays, the numbing injection, the reset and who knows what else. I'm guessing this PPO is saving us a couple thousand dollars.
-People being treated for COVID-19 will receive financial relief from treatment expenses, but those being impacted by non-emergency facility closures will not. In our case, being forced to go to the emergency room cost us an extra $475. I'm thankful we can afford that unplanned cost, as I imagine there are many who can't.
-I'd much rather have taken DD to a walk in clinic not treating COVID patients than to have to go to the hospital. While I realize hospitals are being extra cautious, it just seemed unnecessary from a time and cost perspective. Spent 3.5 hours at the ER for this whole process yesterday.
-I wonder if the staff from these closed facilities have been redeployed to support the increased traffic at the hospital facilities. From our visit, we only encountered 4 staff during our visit - receptionist, first lady who checked us in, our RN and the doc. There was no one in the waiting room and we did not see any other patients in the facility while we were there.
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