This NY Times report misses the obvious elephant standing in the middle of the room: Why Do So Many Men Avoid Doctor’s Visits? – The New York Times
Cost is why.
I have an ACA “insurance policy”. ACA insurance is not at all like what was promised and nothing like most group health insurance plans.
We have a $17,600 deductible, 10x the average US deductible of $1,700 in 2022. Effectively, we pay cash for our healthcare each year, plus premiums for a policy that used to be referred to as “catastrophic coverage” or “junk policies” (that was the official terminology used by staff of the Obama Administration).
Walking into a health care provider is equivalent handing over a blank check made out to the provider. Costs of care run $20 to $50 per minute of access to a care provider. Yes, really. Do the math.
For many of us, this is a poor value, particularly when the diagnosis is a non-diagnosis such as “idiopathic angioedema” – which I had to igure out myself – it was common food allergies. So why bother?
Last year I spent $4,000 out of pocket on a variety of tests to figure out why I had an increase in visual migraines. That cost – the equivalent of a 2-week trip to Europe – found everything was fine – and never found the underlying cause. On my own, I found several items associated as “migraine triggers” – eliminating them reduced the frequency and intensity by 90%.
This story illustrates the distinction between those with healthcare privilege – and those of us who are outcasts in the U.S. health care system. Some people are frequent flyers, who can and do visit health care providers often. But not everyone has that luxury.
Cost remains a big issue.
