So I just got charged $278 for the privilege of talking to a doctor and some nurses for 20 minutes, so they could advise me to schedule a procedure I already asked for. That's roughly 1/8th of my monthly paycheck that I didn't need to spend.
THIS IS WHY PEOPLE FUCKING HATE HEALTHCARE IN THIS COUNTRY. I spent an hour and a half sitting around, after my scheduled appointment time, for these professionals to bilk me out of my money. I asked my primary physician for this procedure. He recommends a consult with specialists. These specialists bill me so they can tell me I'm going to need the procedure I fucking asked for. How is this not some giant fucking game to extract money from people in the name of "good health."
So let's see. That's $500, minus my insurance, divided by the actual amount of time these people spent addressing my problem. That comes out to......WAY TOO MUCH FUCKING MONEY FOR THE PIDDLY SERVICE YOU JUST RENDERED ME.
Surgery? Fine, I can understand that costing thousands of dollars. Specialized equipment, special skills, what have you. Your fucking opinion is worth several hundred dollars an hour? FUCK YOU. And FUCK YOU for making me wait more than an hour for the handful of minutes it took to tell me what I already fucking knew. Jesus christ, I should have just said "No to the consult, schedule the procedure or jump into a fucking fire."
Seriously, if this is the reality of having insurance and going through the medical system like a normal, tax paying citizen, then fuck it all. Why should I pay money into a system when all it does is cost me money? A system where they're ethically obligated to treat you anyways? Is it any wonder people just go to the emergency room when something is wrong, and just avoid consults, premiums and the whole fucking thing altogether?