Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has published lists of questions you should consider before, during and after an appointment with your doctor.
“You can make sure you get the best possible care by being an active member of your health care team. Being involved means being prepared and asking questions. Asking questions about your diagnoses, treatments, and medicines can improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of your health care. Taking steps before your medical appointments will help you to make the most of your time with your doctor and health care team.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
“You can choose from several different types of Primary Care Practitioners:
Family practitioners — doctors who have completed a family practice residency and are board certified, or board eligible, for this specialty. The scope of their practice includes children and adults of all ages and may include obstetrics and minor surgery.
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
Not so! You can be in a hospital bed for several days without actually being admitted with personal financial consequences.
The New York Times article “ noted: “ But it turns out that even though you are receiving treatment in a hospital bed, you may simply be under observation, and technically are still an outpatient. That can cost you money if you are covered under Medicare, the federal health plan for older Americans.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
The Associated Press vignette noted: “MIAMI — The first thing Michelle Pool did before picking a plan under President Barack Obama’s health insurance law was check whether her longtime primary care doctor was covered. Pool, a 60-year-old diabetic who has had back surgery and a hip replacement, purchased the plan only to find that the insurer was mistaken.”
“Pool’s $352 a month gold plan through Covered California’s exchange was cheaper than what she’d paid under her husband’s insurance and seemed like a good deal because of her numerous pre-existing conditions. But after her insurance card came in the mail, the Vista, California resident learned her doctor wasn’t taking her new insurance.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
Choosing not to buy health insurance as required by Obamacare will result in IRS penalties withheld when you file your income tax returns. But you will still get billed by your doctor, the ER and the hospital – which could affect your credit rating, and in the case of an expensive emergency hospital admission put you into enormous long term debt if not bankruptcy.
The NPR published FAQs on “Understanding The Health Insurance Mandate And Penalties For Going Uninsured.” For example:
“Do I have to carry health insurance? Yes, just about everyone is required to have insurance as of Jan. 1, 2014, or else they’ll be liable for a tax penalty. That coverage can be supplied through your job (including COBRA or a retirement plan), public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid or the VA, or an individual policy that you purchase.
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
If you are not certain who is treating you, ask!!!
We are familiar with M.D. and D.O. (physicians). Many other clinicians are called doctor such as your dentist (D.M.D.), podiatrist (D.P.M.), optometrist (O.D.) and chiropractor (D.C.).
Read this from the New York Times:
“‘Hi. I’m Dr. Patti McCarver, and I’m your nurse,’ she said. And with that, Dr. McCarver stuck a scope in Ms. Cassidy’s ear, noticed a buildup of fluid and prescribed an allergy medicine. It was something that will become increasingly routine for patients: a someone who is not a physician using the title of doctor. Dr. McCarver calls herself a doctor because she returned to school to earn a doctorate last year, one of thousands of nurses doing the same recently. Doctorates are popping up all over the health professions, and the result is a quiet battle over not only the title ‘doctor,’ but also the money, power and prestige that often come with it.”
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The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has published lists of questions you should consider before, during and after an appointment with your doctor.
