Dr. Patricia A. Kirk, Podiatrist



Monday, January 23, 2012

"I can't afford that!"

Everyone is complaining about "Obama-Care".  I don't have any answers for you on that, but I can tell you that the system that we have today is very broken.  Just today I had a patient that would have had to pay $700 out of pocket for Physical therapy, but I know that if she had the Physical therapy, she would be better by now.  I had another patient that was unable to get an MRI because her deductible is $1500 and she was told that she needed to come up with every bit of it in cash before she could have the procedure done.  Another patient had to pay $800 up front before she could get her vascular studies.  And lastly, I had a patient that has MRSA, you know that awful, antibiotic resistant staph infection that we all hear about.  Two of the antibiotics that would cover this infection, she is allergic to.  One is Tetracycline, which is cheap, but they have pulled it off the market. Another one is not too inexpensive, but she would have to come in for shots everyday for two weeks and may lose her hearing.  The last one her infection is sensitive to and the pharmacist worked with me to get the co-pay down to $200, as the medication is $1500.  So the patient had to tell me "I can't afford it!"  I long for the day when I can provide treatment that is good for the patient that they can afford!  I don't know if I will every see it, but it is a good pipe dream for now!

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