# Global Fees - What the Heck **URL:** \ **Category:** Insurance\ **Tags:** type-1, type-2, insurance, type3c\ **Created:** [April 23, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312 "2019-04-23T14:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elver](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/elver/32/8772_2.png) [@elver](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/elver)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 12:04am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/41 "2019-04-26T00:04:54Z")
> [@Jim\_YYC](#): > > Banff and Canmore also have excellent hospitals now - top rated orthopaedics surgeons Thanks @Jim_YYC! I will keep that in mind next time I go North. šŸ˜„ ---
**Author:** ![Nickyghaleb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nickyghaleb](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Nickyghaleb)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/42 "2019-04-26T14:28:39Z")
> [@Chris](#): > > Those only sort of exists. No one actually pays that amount, but it is good to bill that amount. That way the hospital can inflate the amount of charity care they are doing to support their non-profit status. Time did a great article on this: Without having read the article, which is dumb because it might all be in there, is this true of ALL of the ridiculous prices in a hospital bill? The $16 bandaid, the $22 sugar free jello??? I will read the article, I just canā€™t yet. Iā€™m sure itā€™s very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Nickyghaleb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nickyghaleb](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Nickyghaleb)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/43 "2019-04-26T14:44:38Z")
> [@Aaron](#): > > Soā€¦ Health Care varies from Province to Province. Thank you for this response! Iā€™ve only ever heard ā€œslowā€, but this actually makes it seem pretty similar to what we see here. > [@Aaron](#): > > If it is not an emergency then time can take a little bit of time. I actually think that piece was the most concerning of allā€¦ because thereā€™s an implication of _determination_. Itā€™s not that we canā€™t wait for stuff here, because certainly we can, but we also are able to have some control over the course of action. And as soon as I say thatā€¦ I realize how ignorant it sounds. My family pays a lot of money for insurance which is how we find ourselves with a choice. We havenā€™t always had that. Regardless, I wonder what falls through the cracks when something that really needs attention fails to be identified as an emergencyā€¦ I guess that was a big concern of mine, and it sounds like it might be legitimate. > [@Aaron](#): > > You can expect to wait anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours šŸ™‚ it depends how busy the clinic is. Thatā€™s pretty much every appointmentā€” scheduled or not. > [@Aaron](#): > > For instance when my type 1 son was diagnosed, we had an endo visit in 2 days and then we have regular appointments scheduled every 3 months. So then they definitely get some things right. Iā€™m glad to hear they took care of him so fast. > [@Aaron](#): > > The last MRI I had (for pain / non-emergency) took a month to get scheduled but it was like 3am so I had to loose some sleep. I remember you talking about that. Kind of thought you were kidding about the 3am part. > [@Aaron](#): > > the rich getting awesome and fast health care and the poor getting treated poorlyā€¦ I will not go into that. So I wonā€™t either, but Iā€™ll just drop in that it sounds about what we do here. And then wonā€™t go into it. Spent a couple of days in Canadaā€¦ waited for a ferry. The ferry wait time was a very passionate topic. šŸ¤£ And there was a storm coming! A very exciting and scary time. šŸ˜ƒ Thanks again for the response. That was an excellent description. ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/44 "2019-04-26T15:30:09Z")
Yes, this is exactly why everything is inflated. When you canā€™t figure out why someone would charge $100 for something and then accept a $3.00 payment for that bill, this is why. The Time article is a bit old, but explains all this pretty clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Nickyghaleb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nickyghaleb](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Nickyghaleb)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/45 "2019-04-26T19:04:43Z")
> [@Chris](#): > > The Time article is a bit old, but explains all this pretty clearly. Aaaand I _still_ havenā€™t read it. But that hasnā€™t stopped me from walking around all day wondering why. šŸ˜ ---
**Author:** ![elver](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/elver/32/8772_2.png) [@elver](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/elver)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/46 "2019-04-26T19:25:53Z")
> [@Nickyghaleb](#): > > Aaaand I _still_ havenā€™t read it. But that hasnā€™t stopped me from walking around all day wondering why. šŸ˜ Because you have been focused on singing the Beatles song ā€œLucy in the sky with diamondsā€ā€¦ Not much time for anything else after thatā€¦ Lol ---
**Author:** ![Aaron](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/aaron/32/1454_2.png) [@Aaron](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Aaron)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/47 "2019-04-26T23:08:55Z")
> [@Nickyghaleb](#): > > Regardless, I wonder what falls through the cracks when something that really needs attention fails to be identified as an emergencyā€¦ I think this happens everywhere. I saw a news story about this yesterday in a different province. - BUT is this the failure of the healthcare system or did these people have a crappy doctor who wouldnā€™t listen to them or an good doctor having a bad day or were the symptoms really hard for a great doctor to diagnose? I think that a lot of the problems can be traced to the doctor or the patient but people like to blame the ā€œsystemā€ instead of the root cause. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_YYC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jim_yyc/32/9553_2.png) [@Jim\_YYC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jim_YYC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/48 "2019-04-27T00:09:10Z")
> [@Aaron](#): > > I saw a news story about this yesterday in a different province. I saw that too Nova Scotia - Canada _A tear-filled plea from a woman who believes her cancer was missed for years because she didnā€™t have a family doctor is proof of a system ā€œin crisis,ā€ a Nova Scotia doctor says. The province says itā€™s working on it._ [N.S. doctors say cancer patientā€™s plea shows system ā€˜in crisisā€™](https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/n-s-doctors-say-cancer-patient-s-plea-shows-system-in-crisis-1.4397315) ---
**Author:** ![Aaron](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/aaron/32/1454_2.png) [@Aaron](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Aaron)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/49 "2019-04-27T01:11:54Z")
That was the one. I understand her frustration but was it the ā€œsystemā€ to blame os is it easy for patients and doctora to blame a systemā€¦ Canada looks pretty good for access to family doctors. ![Screenshot_2019-04-26-18-05-51](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/3/33d3254e077974536bac4c26439e38ca36544dd0.png) ---
**Author:** ![TravelingOn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/travelingon/32/1583_2.png) [@TravelingOn](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TravelingOn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/50 "2019-04-27T04:48:48Z")
> [@Nickyghaleb](#): > > No, itā€™s an annual fee. They call it ā€œboutique medicineā€ or ā€œconcerige medicineā€ here. Itā€™s ridiculous. We lost a possibly good GP to it. He decided to go that route because he thought heā€™d be able to pay his staff more and thus hire better staff. The ones he had were atrocious. ---
**Author:** ![Jen](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/jen/32/4777_2.png) [@Jen](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Jen)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/51 "2019-04-27T16:59:07Z")
> [@Nickyghaleb](#): > > Regardless, I wonder what falls through the cracks when something that really needs attention fails to be identified as an emergencyā€¦ I guess that was a big concern of mine, and it sounds like it might be legitimate. My experience pretty much matches @Aaronā€™s. Iā€™ve had appointments for doctors and procedures made in under a week if it was thought to be an emergency, or had to wait several months if itā€™s not an emergency. When I first got referred to my gastroenterologist, my GP wrote ā€œincreasing difficulty swallowingā€ on the referral. The gastroenterologistā€™s office saw that and immediately thought cancer. I had an appointment and a gastroscopy (endoscopy) within a week. Of course, at my first appointment the gastroenterologist was relieved to learn that this had been going on for years and was not a sudden-onset thing. We still went ahead and did the scope a couple days later. In regards to someone missing something thatā€™s really an emergency, Iā€™m not sure what sort of thing you are thinking of. Iā€™m not sure if itā€™s true, but Iā€™ve read about how people in the US go to emergency instead of a GP for health problems sometimesā€¦ Here, people seem to go into the right channels more often, or at least from what I have seen as a patient. Here you can choose to go to your GP, your specialist (if applicable), a walk-in clinic, an urgent care centre (there arenā€™t many, but itā€™s more urgent than a clinic but less urgent than emergency), or go to emergency. In emergency, Iā€™ve waited anywhere from nothing (they wouldnā€™t even let me sit down) to four hours (for a toe that needed stitches). Everything is covered through taxes, so I think in general, people are more willing to go to emergency, for example, if they feel something really serious is going on. I canā€™t count the number of posts Iā€™ve seen in Facebook groups that say things like, ā€œIā€™m having these symptoms, do you think theyā€™re serious? I donā€™t have insurance so canā€™t go to a doctor or the ER.ā€ Which I just find crazy (as in totally outside my realm of experience). Even if you are unemployed or homeless here you can walk into a clinic or emergency and get treatment (among many other health services, and many prescriptions dependent on province). ---
**Author:** ![kalle](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/kalle/32/8754_2.png) [@kalle](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/kalle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/52 "2019-04-27T19:14:56Z")
Thanks for sharing that article! It was long but very worthwhile read. It helps an outsider like me understand whatā€™s going on in the US. ---
**Author:** ![kalle](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/kalle/32/8754_2.png) [@kalle](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/kalle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/53 "2019-04-27T19:44:00Z")
Iā€™ve always thought about not having a regular doctor as the normal situation. From my point of view, a regular doctor is for old peopleā€¦ and diabetics šŸ˜† Joking aside, our system is based on heavy electronic documentation of all the care decisions that take place instead of more personal relationships. Most younger people go for many years without seeing a doctor as long as there are no issues, but that changes with age or chronic conditions. Seeing that chart is eye-opening for me. Is it generally considered better to have a single doctor? ---
**Author:** ![TravelingOn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/travelingon/32/1583_2.png) [@TravelingOn](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TravelingOn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 8:08pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/54 "2019-04-27T20:08:41Z")
> [@Jen](#): > > US go to emergency instead of a GP for health problems sometimesā€¦ I think many people I know wind up there _often_ because they canā€™t get into their GPā€™s office. Even worse if theyā€™re on Medi-Cal (state provided healthcare) because thereā€™s no clinic here. Itā€™s a bummer. Honestly people whoā€™ve got the state provided healthcare or who are homeless - at least in my area - just go in and get care. Itā€™s the people whoā€™ve got high deductible insurance who wonā€™t go in. ---
**Author:** ![Nickyghaleb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nickyghaleb](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Nickyghaleb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/55 "2019-04-27T20:40:00Z")
> [@kalle](#): > > From my point of view, a regular doctor is for old peopleā€¦ and diabetics šŸ˜† Donā€™t you hate that? šŸ¤£šŸ¤£ > [@kalle](#): > > Is it generally considered better to have a single doctor? Everywhere I go, the recurring question is ā€œdo you have someone to manage all of this?ā€ Which isā€¦ do you have a primary care physician? I have my endo, and she is my coordinator, if you will, yet there are one million things she canā€™t help me with. For instance, when I needed a script for physical therapy, I couldnā€™t go to her for it. I had to go to a _Pain Specialist_ who gave me 6 minutes to tell my story, which put so much pressure on me I forgot to ask for the script, which when I called the office back to tell them I needed one and forgot to ask, I was told to make another appointment to be assed for the need to get a script. I lay out $35 for a specialist. It can take hours to get through these appointments, and thatā€™s anywhere from just shameless to criminal for him to insist I see him again, but thatā€™s life in the American medical system. There are truly amazing things in itā€” amazing doctors, amazing tests, amazing surgeries and careā€¦ itā€™s all in there, but youā€™ve got to weed through all the criminal, shameless, shady stuff, of which thereā€™s plenty. As far as whether I have a primary care physician, I refuse to go that route. Iā€™m in better hands doing my own research. šŸ˜ And thanks, @Jen, for your detail, too. Itā€™s really interesting and not at all what I pictured in my mind. You have it right about the treatment of the insured vs the uninsured. I remember going to the emergency room when I was 16 years old from a basketball tournament I was playing in in Texas. My sister was with me, and she had no idea what my insurance status was either. So we sat in the waiting room for four hours (I had separated my cartilage from my rib cage and was in a good deal of pain), and in the time I sat there, a young Latina woman came in who had been stabbed in the stomach. She sat next to me in the waiting room for well over an hour. While we sat side by side, an elderly woman came in, fully insured (as determined by myself from what I could gather through her check-in conversation šŸ‘€), and she was ushered right back. She was being seen for her fingersā€¦ which she had closed in the car door. I know not everyone will agree with my assessment of the system, but Iā€™ve been down in it, and Iā€™ve experienced what Iā€™ve experienced, and Iā€™ve gotten everything from amazing care from doctors who are _listening and thinking_ to care that is just shy of criminal. _If_ it were shy at all. ---
**Author:** ![kalle](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/kalle/32/8754_2.png) [@kalle](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/kalle)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/56 "2019-04-29T06:20:57Z")
> [@Nickyghaleb](#): > > Iā€™m in better hands doing my own research. Thatā€™s the way I feel about it too. Even though I see the same people at the same clinic regularly, thatā€™s still only a couple of hours per year. I donā€™t see how they could possibly remember my specific situation among many other patients. They do have all the written documentation, though. I think the doctors around here are really good at reading up on it before an appointment so they can give the impression that they know each patient personally. Itā€™s actually a fairly convincing illusion šŸ˜„ It seems crazy to me that you should have to ask a pain specialist for a prescription. Arenā€™t they supposed to suggest a medication and provide a script for it? It sound like they just found a problem and decided not to treat it. ---
**Author:** ![Nickyghaleb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nickyghaleb](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Nickyghaleb)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312/57 "2019-04-30T00:33:02Z")
> [@kalle](#): > > I think the doctors around here are really good at reading up on it before an appointment so they can give the impression that they know each patient personally. Itā€™s actually a fairly convincing illusion šŸ˜„ Iā€™d take that in a heartbeat. In an effort to fake it, theyā€™d actually readā€”and try to rememberā€”something about you. Iā€™d take it. I walk into an appointment and sometimes spend the first 8 minutes ruling out diabetes as a cause. Like I actually answer questions like _any history of diabetes in your family_? Beyond my own I wonder? > [@kalle](#): > > It sound like they just found a problem and decided not to treat it. Could be. I think they just want more money. [Previous page](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/global-fees-what-the-heck/7312.md?page=2)