Recently, I received two ads for two different hospitals, and of course their emergency departments.
The first hospital’s ad arrived in the mail. It included a map, labeled “You’re only 6 miles from EXPERT ER CARE,” and the actual route I would need marked with a nice bold, blue line. Oh thank goodness, otherwise I might have had no idea how to get to that big hospital building clearly visible just off the freeway.
The second hospital left a card hanging on the door hyping how close they were. It included a refrigerator magnet with “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY,” the address (including which freeway exit to take), a phone number, and even a web address. Because when you are having a medical emergency, you really want to check their website before going to the hospital. Right?
Now here’s the problem: to get to either hospital, I have to drive by a third hospital that is probably within walking distance of my home. Well, maybe not walking distance if I am having a medical emergency. Heck, the kids who hung the magnet on my door probably drove past the third hospital as well. Why on earth would I go to a hospital that is further away if I actually need the services of an emergency department? In a medical emergency, I need help now, not 6 miles from now.
The point is that both hospitals completely wasted money printing and delivering advertising to me. That money didn’t help a single patient. That money didn’t pay for a single doctor, nurse, medical assistant, or even janitor. That money didn’t buy any medical equipment or medications. That money didn’t keep the lights on in an operating room. That money didn’t even line the pockets of a hospital executive… unless his wife owns a printing company.
Cutting worthless ads won’t solve the issue of health care costs, but it’s a painless first step.
In Closing: Coming together online; frugality; and here’s some bonus health and health insurance links.
Recently I stood in the lobby of the local ER for THREE hours, bleeding , waiting for pain killer and wound treatment. (FWIW the did ASK me to quantify my pain when I first got there…. they did nothing to ease my pain then, but they did ask….)
Waited another hour once in the exam room. Another half hour to get a shot of pain juice…
a nurses aid dribbled antiseptic wash over the wound; didn’t scrub it out, just squeezed some out of a saturated gauze and let it run over the wound…
for that I paid over THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Made payments on the last 1K that insurance didn’t cover. Not satisfied with the $200 I was sending to them each month, they threatened to send me to collections if I didn’t pay up or get on a payment plan (uh, hullo? I AM sending payments each month)
Asked how much I should like to pay I said: “well, I’ve been sending you $200 per month…. how about $150?”
They said “Sure!!! Thanks!”
psheesh!
Oh. And I got a bandaid too. Not stitches or surgery. Just a bandaid and was told to keep it clean.