While this still won’t cover emergencies (which I understand are the main problem, but there’s realky no fix to it outside of the inadviseable route of attempting to self-learn emergency medicine) ALL AMERICANS HERE should really look into Direct Primary Care practices.
They do not work with insurance, and instead charge a monthly fee, usually around $100/mo, that grants you either unrestricted, or significantly less restricted access to your doctor, various types of labs and tests, and tests requiring outsourcing, like MRIs, that aren’t covered under that monthly bill are usually significantly cheaper than your copay under insurance.
It’s gaining popularity since medical practitioners are becoming burnt-out and unmotivated under their cut-throat for-profit corporatized practices prioritize rotating through patients at a stupid-fast rate, overtesting everyone, and keeping minimum staff on hand to maximzie profits.
Because there’s no insurance involved and everything is out of pocket, depending on your life situation, it may be more or less feasible. If you can afford it though, I highly recommend it.
ETA: And for expensive medications, please see if the substance you need is on CostPlusDrugs. In spite of being rich, Mark Cuban started that service to provide affordible medicine.
Thank you for this message. I agree, and this is what my family has had for about 16 years. $250/month for a family of 3 with 2 adults well over 50. Everything about it is great, and they deliver my prescription to my home.
While this still won’t cover emergencies (which I understand are the main problem, but there’s realky no fix to it outside of the inadviseable route of attempting to self-learn emergency medicine) ALL AMERICANS HERE should really look into Direct Primary Care practices.
They do not work with insurance, and instead charge a monthly fee, usually around $100/mo, that grants you either unrestricted, or significantly less restricted access to your doctor, various types of labs and tests, and tests requiring outsourcing, like MRIs, that aren’t covered under that monthly bill are usually significantly cheaper than your copay under insurance.
It’s gaining popularity since medical practitioners are becoming burnt-out and unmotivated under their cut-throat for-profit corporatized practices prioritize rotating through patients at a stupid-fast rate, overtesting everyone, and keeping minimum staff on hand to maximzie profits.
Because there’s no insurance involved and everything is out of pocket, depending on your life situation, it may be more or less feasible. If you can afford it though, I highly recommend it.
ETA: And for expensive medications, please see if the substance you need is on CostPlusDrugs. In spite of being rich, Mark Cuban started that service to provide affordible medicine.
That’s actually really good to know I was debating whether COBRA was worth it
Thank you for this message. I agree, and this is what my family has had for about 16 years. $250/month for a family of 3 with 2 adults well over 50. Everything about it is great, and they deliver my prescription to my home.