Wayy OT: Emergency Room / Insurance

I don't expect almost anyone to agree with me here but considering I haven't slept and was in excruciating pain all night I need to ***** about this.

First off...I love how a Dentist says they have 24 hour emergency appointments, yet don't pick up their ****ing phone when you call them, nor do they call you back within their operating hours when you've left a message on both the office and emergency line.

So when I tried to fall asleep and just as I dozed off and my pain went from about 10 to 100, I decided it wasn't worth waiting and went to the ER.

I know people have their strong positions on this ****, I don't expect sympathy but...it is ****ing AMAZING how horrible you are treated at a hospital when you have no insurance. The Doctor couldn't have possibly given less of a **** if I was about to die or not. I actually kind of have insurance because of school and **** but I don't know the first thing about it...but they just assumed I didn't and it was just horrible how apathetic they were.

It's not even as if it was packed, I was the only person in there at that point. Bottom line is, these Dr's look at you and just assume they're not getting paid so they could give a **** less about you. Hippocrates would be disgusted if he saw the way in which people basically see his oath as an unfortunate circumstance as opposed to the underlying altruism that is being a doctor.

**** !!

edit: chalk my bad grammar up to complete lack of sleep and narcotic pain killers. :nod:

If you have chronic tooth-ache, I feel for you dude. It's easily the worst pain known to man. I think I would rather go ten rounds with Lennox Lewis than have toothache.

Anyway, the medical system in the US is so jacked. I don't get how the world's leading power, can't make health care free. Or at the very least, very cheap.

Take a crap load of painkillers and drink plenty my friend.

If you have chronic tooth-ache, I feel for you dude. It's easily the worst pain known to man. I think I would rather go ten rounds with Lennox Lewis than have toothache.

Anyway, the medical system in the US is so jacked. I don't get how the world's leading power, can't make health care free. Or at the very least, very cheap.

Take a crap load of painkillers and drink plenty my friend.

It's worse than a chronic toothache, it's an flat out infection that came out of no where and spread from my upper left jaw into the roof of my mouth and sinuses within 12 hours. Not only was I in pain from my teeth but I had a massive pressure head ache (like someone squeezing my brain) and on top of it I could feel the blood building up in my sinuses.

And I am nice and doped up on pain killers right now, probably the only thing holding me together right now.

What did you have done that is causing the pain? I would say to just go to a different dentist today. If you were willing to drive up by me, my mother is a hygienist and I could see if they could get you in one day soon...let me know. In the meantime, take one Advil and one Tylenol every four hours.

EDIT: Just read the second post of yours. What resolve did they give you?

It's worse than a chronic toothache, it's an flat out infection that came out of no where and spread from my upper left jaw into the roof of my mouth and sinuses within 12 hours. Not only was I in pain from my teeth but I had a massive pressure head ache (like someone squeezing my brain) and on top of it I could feel the blood building up in my sinuses.

And I am nice and doped up on pain killers right now, probably the only thing holding me together right now.

Mate, that sounds awful. Speedy recovery!!

So what happens next? Need anything removed/operated on?

Here's a thread on the politics board that might interest you:

Health Insurance in America is a immoral scam
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=535493

What did you have done that is causing the pain? I would say to just go to a different dentist today. If you were willing to drive up by me, my mother is a hygienist and I could see if they could get you in one day soon...let me know. In the meantime, take one Advil and one Tylenol every four hours.

EDIT: Just read the second post of yours. What resolve did they give you?

Basically all of my molars are ****ed. I could have sworn an Ortho told me when I was younger I had a calcium deficiency to my back teeth (but I don't even know if that's possible). My front teeth are all fine but my molars wear out at the bottoms and then just fall apart like an ice shelf. The fact I have an underbite doesn't help, but even using prescription toothpaste it never helped. So all of them are in horrid shape, plus I predominantly eat meat, so they get worked like a mofo.

But basically my "adult molar" in the back is ****ed and I can't get behind it to brush because of my jaw so I guess somehow in the last 24 hours an infection developed and just went nuts in my face (okay that's sick. hahah). Thankfully, although sadly, the tooth in front of it is basically just all root now, flat against my gums, so when I was tonguing it while laying on that side of my face, the **** actually drained out and I feel worlds better now.

I know it's a mess and makes me sound like a total scum bag, but it was all beyond my control. haha. I appreciate the offer though dude, really. :D

Here's a thread on the politics board that might interest you:

Health Insurance in America is a immoral scam
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=535493

haha yeah...but to me, ALL insurance is a scam. Think about car insurance, you pay and pay and pay, no accidents nothing, then you get into one and you gotta pay 500 dollars or more deductible to have the car fixed and they often jack up your premium too.

If I honestly didn't have truly honest endeavors of making this world a better place, I'd probably try and start my own insurance firm just to make bank. :laugh:

haha yeah...but to me, ALL insurance is a scam. Think about car insurance, you pay and pay and pay, no accidents nothing, then you get into one and you gotta pay 500 dollars or more deductible to have the car fixed and they often jack up your premium too.

If I honestly didn't have truly honest endeavors of making this world a better place, I'd probably try and start my own insurance firm just to make bank. :laugh:

There's a big discussion in the middle about emergency rooms and how they aren't supposed to turn away people and how they never treat people like crap. There was one poster (I think Dr. Fire was the name) who claimed that even if you went in with a hangnail and no insurance, they'd help you. Blah blah blah.

Anyways, I hope everything turns out well (or better at least) with your teeth. I don't envy your situation.

Damn dude, that sucks. What hospital was this?

Also, keep in mind, that it may not just be because you didn't have insurance, but it's just that the people there suck. Good piece of advice I learned a few years ago: Don't assume malice when apathy or stupidity can easily explain it.

If you're in school still, depending on how old you are and the type of insurance your folks have, you are still covered under their policy. Plus, if I remember correctly, your school has to offer some type of student policy and it's usually dirt cheap.

Hope you feel better dude

There's a big discussion in the middle about emergency rooms and how they aren't supposed to turn away people and how they never treat people like crap. There was one poster (I think Dr. Fire was the name) who claimed that even if you went in with a hangnail and no insurance, they'd help you. Blah blah blah.

Anyways, I hope everything turns out well (or better at least) with your teeth. I don't envy your situation.

Well their Hippocratic oath they have to take to be Dr's basically says they have to help anyone and everyone in need of medical attention no matter what. So yeah they have to...but that's why they treat you like garbage, you're not helping buy more Lex's and BMW's for their ugly ****ing kids. You're not paying for the country club membership, expensive scotch bottles and 70 inch HDTV's.

No, not every Doc cares about all that ****...but when you look in the parking lot at the hospital, you'll see a good portion do.

Thank you though, things are better now that I'm ****ed up and got some antibiotics (plus the drainage that happened). Hopefully this'll be the end of it and I won't need to go waste money I don't have on extractions.

Hopefully this'll be the end of it and I won't need to go waste money I don't have on extractions.

Sorry to hear about the pain and problem however it probably a matter of time before there is a repeat so do the extractions ASAP.

Sorry to hear about the pain and problem however it probably a matter of time before there is a repeat so do the extractions ASAP.

Yeah I've had other problems with it but this is the first real serious one. It's definitely inevitable but that **** is way too expensive for me right now.

Damn dude, that sucks. What hospital was this?

Also, keep in mind, that it may not just be because you didn't have insurance, but it's just that the people there suck. Good piece of advice I learned a few years ago: Don't assume malice when apathy or stupidity can easily explain it.

If you're in school still, depending on how old you are and the type of insurance your folks have, you are still covered under their policy. Plus, if I remember correctly, your school has to offer some type of student policy and it's usually dirt cheap.

Hope you feel better dude

It was Perth Amboy. I dunno what the **** it's called anymore so, I'll just go by city. haha. It's like Raritan Bay Robert Wood Johnson blah blah blah at Perth Amboy.

Yeah I mean granted that could be the case, but this also isn't the first time I've gone to an ER and been treated like ****. In fact my case this morning was worse than what I previously went for...but the doctor at JFK treated me like I wasn't even human. She wouldn't say a word to me, she'd only like the PA talk to me, she jammed the ****in ear scope in my ear so hard it bled, and she walked out without saying a word and sent the PA back to deal with me.

On the other hand (I left this out) although being pregnant helps, all of the people during my sons birth treated us like gold, because my girl does have insurance. They're not necessarily correlated at all but I've seen the opposite end of the spectrum from my experiences. It's not like I'm a dick either...I was in agonizing pain and couldn't see straight from the head ache and I was still trying to be upbeat and joke a little bit. Still a total **** to me.

Damn dude, that sucks. What hospital was this?

Also, keep in mind, that it may not just be because you didn't have insurance, but it's just that the people there suck. Good piece of advice I learned a few years ago: Don't assume malice when apathy or stupidity can easily explain it.

If you're in school still, depending on how old you are and the type of insurance your folks have, you are still covered under their policy. Plus, if I remember correctly, your school has to offer some type of student policy and it's usually dirt cheap.

Hope you feel better dude
That is more likely accurate. ER docs are generally salaried by the hospital, so it terms of their earnings it doesn't matter if you have insurance or not. It certainly matters to the bottom line of the hospital, but it won't affect the doctor. It's not like a private practice where the doctor gets money for each patient/procedure.

Well their Hippocratic oath they have to take to be Dr's basically says they have to help anyone and everyone in need of medical attention no matter what. So yeah they have to...but that's why they treat you like garbage, you're not helping buy more Lex's and BMW's for their ugly ****ing kids. You're not paying for the country club membership, expensive scotch bottles and 70 inch HDTV's.

No, not every Doc cares about all that ****...but when you look in the parking lot at the hospital, you'll see a good portion do.

Thank you though, things are better now that I'm ****ed up and got some antibiotics (plus the drainage that happened). Hopefully this'll be the end of it and I won't need to go waste money I don't have on extractions.
It doesn't really (the Hippocratic oath is actually way outdated, one part of it actually says you won't perform surgery, because that wasn't part of what a physician did way back when), but EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) does. If you walk into an ER and need medical treatment, even if you can't pay them one single cent, they have to treat you.

How "nice" they are does just depend on the doctor, when I've spent time in the ER I haven't noticed any difference in how the attendings act towards patients with/without insurance (then again, I'm a medical student in Newark, and at our hospital the norm is for patients to not have insurance).

That said, I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience in the ER.

That is more likely accurate. ER docs are generally salaried by the hospital, so it terms of their earnings it doesn't matter if you have insurance or not. It certainly matters to the bottom line of the hospital, but it won't affect the doctor. It's not like a private practice where the doctor gets money for each patient/procedure.


It doesn't really (the Hippocratic oath is actually way outdated, one part of it actually says you won't perform surgery, because that wasn't part of what a physician did way back when), but EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) does. If you walk into an ER and need medical treatment, even if you can't pay them one single cent, they have to treat you.

How "nice" they are does just depend on the doctor, when I've spent time in the ER I haven't noticed any difference in how the attendings act towards patients with/without insurance (then again, I'm a medical student in Newark, and at our hospital the norm is for patients to not have insurance).

That said, I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience in the ER.

Yeah, I've never actually read, word-for-word, the oath, but I was under the impression that is what it entailed. But I actually did forget about the surgery part because now that you mentioned it I do remember that being part of it. I learned it historically not actually medically so it was just a quick reference, nothing significant.

But I mean I didn't expect people to be nice (like the pregnancy example) but you can tell when someone flat out doesn't even give a **** and that's what this was. Meanwhile when my girlfriend came back to heat up my son's bottle everyone's all "aww" and being all nice to her. Then they come into the room with me like "blah sign this."

I guess I also shouldn't overlook that upon being asked my religion, when I responded "Atheist" the Dr. kinda gave me this look. It's retarded but people actually get offended when you say that, so you never know.

Either way it was a horrid experience and since I've been uninsured not the first or even second. Even regular physicians. When I went to one to get my hernia diagnosed they were just like "yeah you have one...no insurance, no operation, so...take care now. If you ever feel extreme pain there rush to a hospital because you have about 45 minutes to live if it strangulates."

Eh whatever, at least they gave me some painkillers. I guess I can't complain about that.