![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/6f\/Orthopedic_cast_Vincent%27s_Gips_Arm.jpg\/600px-Orthopedic_cast_Vincent%27s_Gips_Arm.jpg\")
\u201cMrs. \u2014\u2014\u2013, your [12 year old] son just fell. \u00a0It looks like he dislocated his elbow. \u00a0You\u2019d better pick him up; do you want us to call the ambulance in the meantime?\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, as it happens, the hospital is close to home, and I didn\u2019t think an ambulance was necessary (and I was secretly hoping that the counselor was exaggerating), so I hopped in the car, picked him up \u2014 and, well, they weren\u2019t exaggerating. \u00a0Off to the hospital we went.<\/p>\n
This is suburbia, so when we arrived at the hospital, we pulled up in front of the ER, and within minutes were in an examination room, with the nurse settling my son in the hospital bed, positioning the arm in the least painful way, getting an ice pack, and, a few minutes later, had whisked him off for X-rays. \u00a0We had to wait for the X-rays to come back, and for the doctor to examine him and the X-rays, before they started him on painkillers; ultimately, they sedated him to \u201cre-locate\u201d the elbow, and put a cast on. \u00a0We\u2019ll see the doctor again on Thursday to (hopefully) give us the news that the fracture will heal fine without any further intervention, a much better outcome than the initial statement that we\u2019d be taking him into the city to the children\u2019s hospital to have pins put in.<\/p>\n
Add in the wait time, and the observation time after the sedation wore off, and the test-popsicle and more waiting, and we left the hospital a good 6 hours after we arrived.<\/p>\n
Whew.<\/p>\n
At least he\u2019s in good spirits about the whole thing, though understandably disappointed that summer is, as he phrased it, compromised. \u00a0(I\u2019ll look into protective covers for the cast tomorrow.) \u00a0At least there are four weeks before Scout camp. \u00a0At least my husband, who has been travelling a lot lately, was home, and able to meet us\u00a0at\u00a0the ER. \u00a0At least . . .<\/p>\n
Yeah, a lot of \u201cat leasts\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n
But\u00a0it\u2019s experiences like this that are why I part ways with the \u201cstatus quo ante\u201d crowd when it comes to Obamacare.<\/p>\n
Our family is very fortunate that, even with a high deductible, we will be able to manage the cost of my son\u2019s treatment just fine. \u00a0Heck, I\u2019m now already thinking about whether there are other medical treatments we should have done to take advantage of having me the deductible.<\/p>\n
But for other families, an injury like this can cause serious financial harm.<\/p>\n
And as much as one says, of high deductible plans, that they encourage \u201cconsumer\u201d behavior, when your kid is injured, you can\u2019t comparison shop among hospitals, as to which is the cheapest, much less ask of the doctors, \u201cis there a cheaper way to do this?\u201d or \u201cdo you really need to take quite so many X-rays?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, there\u2019s some cost savings to high-deductible plans; my go-to example is always treating a wart with an over-the-counter remedy rather than going to the dermatologist. \u00a0But that\u2019s the low-hanging fruit. \u00a0Ideally, insurers will also provide the necessary information to enable the patient to choose the most provider for certain routine or standardized kinds of procedures; perhaps one can already comparison shop on a knee-replacement, for instance. \u00a0But (with the reminder\/caveat that I am not a health actuary) that\u2019s a fairly limited range of services; it\u2019s just not possible to comparison shop on a broken arm, and, even if I were told that a further half-hour\u2019s drive would save some cash, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d do it.<\/p>\n
The other thing that this sort of accident reminds you of is that health care is a unique sort of \u201cproduct.\u201d \u00a0Most of the goods and services we buy present opportunities for the poor to economize and the wealthy to splurge: \u00a0do you live in an older, small apartment or a new luxury house? \u00a0Do you get your protein from canned tuna, ground beef, and bone-in chicken, or from filet mignon and lobster? \u00a0Do you cook or dine out? \u00a0Do you buy your clothing at the thrift store or at Lord & Taylor?<\/p>\n
But healthcare? \u00a0In Germany, the basic public coverage includes a ward room, generally, a three-person room. \u00a0But in the U.S., other than accepting narrow networks, or an insurance policy with shoddy customer service, there just aren\u2019t particularly many opportunities to economize.<\/p>\n
(That\u2019s not my son, by the way, but a generic image.)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, it started as a fairly routine summer day around here: \u00a0the oldest left for his summer school (enrichment) class, and I dropped the middle son off at sailing camp and the youngest at his day camp, spent a few minutes blogging, and had just settled into work when I got the call: \u201cMrs. \u2014\u2014\u2013, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n