Don't sick and/or get accident if you don't have money

[Carols Clucks]

Quote:
Doesn't places like Walgreens give those types of shots/vaccinations?

Yes some do, we tried a CVS and called Costco. CVS suggested we try a few more since they were not doing them and Costco was about to close, we had spent several hours.

But, don't you think after stepping on a seriously rusty/gross nail and being an elderly lady her doc might have wanted to take a look?

 

[Matthew3590]

Quote:
Doesn't places like Walgreens give those types of shots/vaccinations?

Yes some do, we tried a CVS and called Costco. CVS suggested we try a few more since they were not doing them and Costco was about to close, we had spent several hours.

But, don't you think after stepping on a seriously rusty/gross nail and being an elderly lady her doc might have wanted to take a look?

Sounds like a lazy doc or he had extreme faith in her immune system. But getting a new doc that is more involved with elderly patients will most likely be the best route to pursue.

 

[desertdarlene]

Gee, that's a lot of hassle just to get a tetnus shot. I got mine at CVS recently and I think it wasn't that expensive. I pick up fishing line at the lake and one time, a rusty hook cut me, so I thought it would be safe to get one just in case. Plus, we're having a pertussis outbreak where I live, so I got the combination shot with the new pertussis vaccine.

I don't know why a doc couldn't just look at your mom's foot and give her a shot. It can't cost them that much, especially if medicare reimburses them for part of it.

 

[chickened]

That is Medicare for you and people want the government to run/regulate the entire system. I had a simular issue with my father and I just took him to my doctor and he got what he needed and I just paid for it.
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[herfrds]

I stepped on a rusted piece of metal. went right through my shoe and into the arch of my foot. I went to the convient care in town. Got my tetnus shot right there. No problem no hassle. The doc on call tried to tell me it was already infected and you could see the red lines going up my leg.
My socks are ribbed so it leaves these little red line on my legs.

 

[rhiannon]

Quote:
Wow, I want to live in AZ. if that is your definition of poverty. In my area of the county, that is considered middle class.

 

[welsummerchicks]

"India should have plenty of money" (due to outsourcing).

That's a commonly enough held idea here in the US, but - well - you're wrong, and I find your remark about India incredibly upsetting - let me explain how. Note, I don't expect you to agree or change your mind. However, it makes me feel better to say this -

That money is not heading toward about 75-85% (or by some accounts, even more) of the population of India. The poor. The poor in India aren't like the poor in America (in general). There isn't really a whole lot of 'trickle down' effect from wealthy corporations or outsourcing. There are people who are just living in, well, a very, very different India from that.

India may have the 'world's largest middle class'(of any single country) and it may have a lot of rich people, but there are a lot of Indias.

The situation of the poor even varies. In some cities they have access to a lot of services. In other areas, no.

There are still a great many people in India, who are a million miles away from benefitting from that outsourcing money, or getting any of those jobs. Of course it is even very highly debated if anyone who even GETS those jobs really benefit from them, there are very serious problems with those jobs, but that's another story. So is the future of outsourcing to India, but....that's another story too.

In India, poor people CAN get medical care from the government, and I believe it is free if the person's income is low enough.

And that is why Indian people often come to our country and are appalled that anyone is ever turned away from a hospital.

Providing medical care to the poor has always been an extremely important issue in India, ever since independence and the government has made great efforts to provide it.

However, there are problems with that service, and a great many people wind up going without very, very basic medical care. They may not be able to afford a bus, train or rickshaw to get to the clinic, and they may not be able to walk to the clinic (in their condition, or even when not in their condition). There can also be social reasons why people go without care. In the backward areas I as in these were acute problems.

For example, my friend has epilepsy because of childhood meningitis. All of the children in his village died in that meningitis epidemic. He was the only one that lived. When I was there, a child broke her leg. The parents were afraid that the doctors would amputate it(evidently they were terrified of what the doctors at the clinic would do), so it took considerable discussion on our part to make it happen. If we had not been there, I don't think the child would have gone to the doctor. I think the leg would have healed very slowly but I doubt work or marriage would have been possible.

Just for fun, I went to one of the poor type clinics for a given complaint and got treatment, so that I would see it first hand. I also went to a private doctor, and a hospital, to compare them. It was an eye-opener. At one doctor that dealt with the poor, the doctor (or perhaps a nurse or something, I don't know) were set up on the sidewalk with a little table. There was a line stretching for several blocks. People waited for hours. The doctor briefly examined about 90% of the people and told them there was nothing wrong with them. Next. Sometimes he gave people a single antibiotic tablet.

In the family I stayed with, the mother, the wife, and the aunt all died from untreated disease. The wife died of meningitis. The mother died of heart disease. The aunt died from bladder cancer. Several women died while having babies, and a man died when he got hit by a truck. Ambulance? EMT? What? He died. Treatment for developmental disabilities? Mental illness? Well, that's another story too.

There are very, very good hospitals in India. In fact, a great many people now go to India for 'medical tourism' - they get top notch surgery for bargain rates in India. But these are not hospitals that treat the poor.

Like I said there are many Indias.

I know that you think such a statement is really very clever, but what you don't understand is that you are talking about real people, that actually exist, and get sick, and die.

 

[SourRoses]

Am I the only one who noticed the op clearing this up.... that they live in a country in Asia....

 

[ChicksterJo]

I went to a doctor's clinic in the Philippines and an ultrasound cost me about $2. The whole visit cost me less than $4. Of course to anyone living in that country 160 pesos would be a lot for a 15 minute visit. However in the US a 15 minute visit could easily cost tens of dollars, if not hundreds or even thousands. My boyfriend had to get a breathing treatment done for an asthma attack but they managed to slip in some X-rays that would eventually increase the bill to $900. He only needed the breathing treatment because he has a history of asthma. Padding the bill sounds great to them, but when people can't pay the bill then they start getting angry. Of course, then they send a letter stating they'd like to cut the bill in half...why didn't they do that in the first place?!

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:

As cheap as tetanus shots are, I would do the same thing. I got strep throat while I was out of town on business. When it got so bad I couldn't swallow anymore I went to a Walgreens walk in Doctor. I had to wait about 1 hour for 3 people ahead of me, but I had stuff to do and it went quickly enough. They had 2 small rooms. The first room was a nurse assistant type person that took my vitals and what drugs I used. Then I went to the other room and she was a PA. They did a quick strep test and the script was ready by the time I had my shirt back on. Cost 97.00 including the quick strep test. They billed BCBS and I was done. Easy peasy. Sure beat going to the ER.

Now when my DW's horse dumped me 4 weeks ago because of my stupidity I went to the ER. They did cat scans and charged BCBS 8900.00. BCBS paid 4000 and I paid 1000. First example I didn't need an insurance company. Second example I did. To be fair, I didn't get hurt on the horse except for very painful bruised ribs, but I could have been badly hurt and died. Turns out I wasn't. If I wasn't insured I would have not gone to the ER and just taken the chance I was ok. So that was really a case of unneeded expense. If I would have had a dropped lung and no insurance and stayed home I would be dead. The Dr at the ER spent about 3 minutes talking to me, the x-ray techs about 15 minutes with the cat scans, nurse about 15 minutes setting up an IV. I laid in the bed for about 3 hours. Cat scan of head, chest and abdominal area. No idea what it actually cost the hospital.

If I was still a young man I probably would have forgone the ER trip even if I had coverage. I've taken hard falls before. It felt like I had cracked some ribs though and I was afraid I had torn my rotator cuff again. They didn't even check the rotator cuff because there was no life threatening issues involved with it, just a lot of pain. So I guess if you tear your rotator cuff you just live with it if you don't have insurance, since the only way to fix it involves an expensive surgery.

BTW Squishy. I think everyone figured out that the OP is from an un named country in Asia. Like most threads it either goes off topic into related topics or dies.