Accidents, injuries, and illnesses are unpredictable and they can occur within the blink of an eye. If an unpredicted injury, accident, or illness occurs after-hours, you won’t have instant access to your family physician. And, depending on the severity of the problem, you will have to rationally decide what actions are needed to help with pain, sickness, or other symptoms you are experiencing. When people experience an accident or injury, in most cases their first thought is to head to the emergency room. However, going to the ER for certain injuries may not be the best solution available. Urgent cares and walk-in clinics are health care facilities that operate similarly to a primary care or physician's office. The only difference is that no appointments are necessary and extended hours, making it more convenient. Urgent cares are meant to treat non-life threatening injuries and illnesses that need prompt medical treatment. Emergency rooms, on the other hand, should be reserved for conditions that may be life threatening like chest and heart pain and other severe injuries and illnesses. Trying to …show more content…
In addition, urgent cares generally have lower copayments than an ER. Most insurance companies consider urgent care facilities as primary care, so the copayments will generally be in the $25-$50 range. ER copays are much higher and some insurances may require members to pay a coinsurance for their ER visits, which could end up putting a dent in your wallet. In addition, you could receive medical attention from an ER and not have your insurance cover your visit. Emergency rooms are required to help everyone, no matter if they have insurance or enough money to cover the bill. Insurance also have the power to decide what services are and aren’t covered, which could end up leaving you out of
The challenges that all acute care hospitals and facilities faces are the demand for highly specialized services has increased. The US population is constantly aging and the elderly tend to need more acute care services. Because many people lack health insurance, they tend to use emergency rooms in the hospitals as their source of care. The increase demand in acute care prompted hospitals to expand their facility
Luckily, urgent care centers are a much more affordable alternative to ER visits for non life-threatening illnesses. Typically speaking, a trip to an urgent care center will cost one-fourth the price of the same trip to an emergency room.
...rd any insurance. It isn’t affordable. If making under a certain amount Medicaid is a huge safety net, but anything over that very small amount there are few options. Some places offer discounts, but it is best ask upfront how much a visit will cost. There are take care clinics in Walgreen’s and possibly CVS (that are popping up all over the city, YAY!) that typically cost less than a conventional doctor visit. On the down side, they only treat a limited number of ailments. I have never been to urgent care, but they are an alternative and could possibly be less costly than an emergency room visit or doctor visit. Pharmacies have started the $5 and $10 list, so that many people can afford a large variety of medications. Even pharmaceutical companies offer coupons for certain meds. There are resources, but some are elusive and some just aren’t affordable.
A positive aspect of this mechanism is that it adds in a middle man, controlling and regulating insurance, minimizing risks of adverse selection for both the insurance company and the customer. When insurance is distributed by private companies, adverse selection occurs and companies refuse insurance to high risk groups and institute costly underwriting practices to others (Heath, 123). In addition to preventing adverse selection, this insurance mechanism provides all individuals with the basics of care. As of 2011, it was reported that 100% of the Canadian population was covered under the public health insurance (Nationmaster). Unfortunately, the public insurance mechanism has
Another downfall to HMO coverage is selective-contracting. This is a process where hospitals deny treatment to patients because their...
Before Obamacare was passed, millions of Americans were uninsured, suffering and dying prematurely each year from lack of health insurance. Insurance companies could deny anyone for pre-existing illnesses, drop them when they get sick, or stop treating them when they touch annual or life-time perimeters. Over 60% of bankruptcies were associated with medical expenses, several of these people had insurance. Insurance companies have no limits on raising premiums. Preventative measures and wellness visits were not adequately covered (Mowrey, 2013).
Many people with terminal illnesses rely on their health insurance to help with paying for the many surgeries and treatments, but some insurance companies refuse to pay for the medical bills because the treatments weren't covered in the contract the customer signed. Well, that's what they claim. If clients started costing the insurance company too much, they decide that the client did not need to stay in the hospital anymore and they stop paying for the doctors and the bills. According to Bonnie Drew, a victim of a rare disease, the insurance companies can dictate what the doctors can and cannot do. She says Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company sent her home from the hospital to die.
Later, another panel member argued that the purpose of health insurance is not to insure everyone. It should be provided to only cover catastrophic health conditions. Today, not only does health insurance cover catastrophic events, but also there are limits on the amount of out-of-pocket health care costs for essential health care (The White House, 2016). Also, most out-of-pocket costs have been eliminated for preventative care (The White House,
In most states, insurers may deny applicants coverage. They often try to impose either a permanent or temporary condition that puts a limitation on your coverage. Some may even charge a higher premium based on your health status, your occupation, and other personal characteristics. Institute 2009). For those people who consider themselves self-employed who want to buy their own private health insurance, it can be twice as expensive as that that is being offered through employers.
Timeliness in medical care can be of the utmost importance. Letting things progress can result in a slippery circle, where a minor infection, untreated end up being life threatening. With increased damage caused by neglecting health care, or waiting on a health care provider, the physical damage, and costs associated increase, often exponentially.
Appendix 3. Urgent and Emergency care is a service providing life-saving care (Keogh Review). According to the Francis Report (2013), high mortality rates among patients admitted as emergencies to Stafford Hospital, showed evidence of inadequate care which lead to a full investigation. As a result, medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh was asked by the Prime Minister David Cameron to conduct a complete review of the NHS urgent and emergency care system. It highlighted five key elements for change to ensure success: 1.
“47 million U.S. residents have no health insurance, and the numbers keep growing. America’s workers struggle to pay higher premiums, deductibles and co-payments. Working families are experiencing increases in the costs of health insurance, more out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits and skyrocketing prices for prescriptions, forcing many to delay getting needed medical care or words“(2012). The video Sick Around America introduced many issues with the United States health care system. The biggest problems in the United States is medical underwriting, if you lose your job that provides health insurance, you lose the health insurance.
This concept was a hard one to grasp. For my interview summary papers, I decided to interview my preceptor over the health care and different insurance policies. One thing that was brought up was the requirements on the insurance policies constantly changing. It could be one way the first day but then they add more information that will eliminate several people from getting that insurance. There are medical insurance companies that provide help for people who are do not make enough money but they often will deny people service due to making too much money.
Even the insurance if you follow the rule you can get full coverage for all
Commonly throughout most countries of the world, citizens of the society at large establish the system for Emergency Medical Services. In the case that the public is not willing or capable of summoning such a service, the country often finds other emergency services, businesses, or the government and authorities who act to employ a system. In other parts of the world, the emergency medical service additionally takes on the role of transporting patients from one medical facility to an alternative one. This occurs with some frequency because once a patient is analyzed and provided care at the immediate hospital; it may be more appropriate for a variety of reasons the patient needs to move to another facility. As one can see, the relat...