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Parenting
marrymemylove
member
I miss my geeky American OB, never thought I would...
marrymemylove
member
in Parenting
When I first went to him I thought he was kind of weird. It was so much harder to relate to/communicate with him than Australia Drs and I knew that was totally cultural. I was/am very comfortable with Australian Drs, they might be crazy but its a crazy I get, and my family is full of them.
But when I made my OB appointment and they told me to book the 12 week ultrasound at the radiology company, I thought - gee I miss my geeky American OB.
He was such a geek he had an U/S machine (including 3D) in his office, and he'd do one at 5 weeks, 18-20 weeks and if anything seemed wrong even slightly. Most of the time it wasn't even itemised on the bill and we never paid a copay for it. I think a lot of it was his geeky amusement.
Having t o wait until 12 weeks for an U/S and not having it in the OB's rooms sucks. Bring on the geeks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: I miss my geeky American OB, never thought I would...
lol, ok you have to know him, he gives off this aura of "ooooh goody I get to play with my toy".
Yes I think there are professional advantages but that's not it.
And I don't think its very common, even in the US, to have u/s in the office. Definitely not in Australia, the population's too small to have so many u/s out there used so infrequently.
I find it VERY irritating that my OB practice doesn't have an U/S onsite. Each time I had to have one, I would be sent someplace else in the city-Once over 45 minutes away ( I could have refused that one, but they were the only place that could get me in that month.)
Does Australia have socialized healthcare? I was wondering this the other day.
BoF I have to object to hte term "socialized". So often it refers to American misconceptions that anything other than eat the poor and pay direct means socialism. Australia is wayyyyyy off socialism, too far off imho we could do with more of it. And don't get me started on Obama's weak as water health reform.
Yes we have universal healthcare, called medicare. We pay 1.5% direct into the medicare fund not general revenue, and the rich pay an extra loading.
There is private insurance, which is useful for some things but in no way necessary. Gets you nicer food, newer hospitals, private rooms... doesn't change the Drs you get. In fact if you are seriously ill you're better off in public teaching hospitals where the very best Drs are on 24/7.
I'm going private to give birth with #2 because I think maternity is 1 thing where the food and the double bed and the private room really count. I've gone public for everything else in my life, including 30+ major surgeries.
My OB had ultra-sounds (plural) in her office (2D, 3D, 4D). However, I don't think it's normal to have that many (she owned them and leased them to gender prediction companies).
I got most of my u/s for free as well (not all, but most).
unlike many people I do not find socialized helthcare to be a bad word. I find it to be the most reasonable and humane way to run things...
Nothing burns my biscuits more than some twit who thinks that Universal Healthcare would in some way or another ruin their life.
They'd rather their insurance company dictate their care than the Gov't? I find it silly since both are very corrupt industries...at least with one option everyone has a fair shake. I think everyone is entitled to proper health care.
the end.
BoF you already knew I loved you right?
Totally agree. Every time I hear people up in arms about the government nosing around in their healthcare I want to scream "and you don't mind for-profit profiteering insurance companies doing it! Who do you think has the least conflict of interest? Who do you think is most accountable?"
At least you can kick the govt out if they start meddling with what is/is not funded - that has happened in Australia, meddling with Medicare too much is a serious political bomb no one will touch it now.
You can strip private insurance to the bone, but try cutting the medicare rebate or making a disincentive for Drs to "bulk bill" (ie charge no more than the rebate) and you get literally people in the streets. I've seen it herre in Melbourne.
My private OB in Australia had an ultrasound machine in his office and used it every single time
This thread is making me sad because we are going through an awful insurance debacle right now...*sniff*
I've had two different OB/gyn's in my life and I loved them both. I only changed doctors because we moved. And both had an u/s in the office, I would hate to go offsite.
Oh and I would hate to have the gov't running healthcare! I may be a crazy anarchist but military healthcare is the only example of gov't run healthcare I'm familiar with, and military healthcare is seriously fcked up.
Ali- while I HAVE heard that military healthcare is effed, it is NOT universal healthcare, and considering what regular working individuals pay to ins. companies who dictate what is and what is not covered (and WHO can and can not be covered for that matter)... It isn't much different I assume than typical coverage.
I think that military healthcare is so poor b/c there are fewer checks and balances- the majority of americans are not in the military and the healthcare is made available more as a job perk- not a gauranteed right to any individual.
We each have an 1100 co-pay. On top of the 450 monthly premium. Im livid.
You should SEE the crap insurance we are paying 450 a month for through my husband's employer- it is trash, and b/c of pre existing conditions, we aren't elligible for individual coverage. we were denied coverage by every company I applied to except Kaiser- and through them you have to see their dr.s, and they didn't give maternity coverage, so we bit the bullet. This insurance allows us to also pay out of pocket in full for basically EVERYTHING that is not preventive. it is an effing joke. The new born hearing test that I never assumed was optional? we're paying 265 out of pocket. ( that is the full price.) Any Dr. appt. that isn' t just a physical ( 1 a year, and well child exams) full price out of pocket. I had to have my daughter's hearing tested as well ( not the new born test) it took more than a month and a half to get into the specialist, and then 325 out of pocket. They decided it wasn't necessary. The doctor said it was, Who was right?
Basically we pay a ton for catastrophic coverage and it pisses me the hell off. And we're LUCKY to have it in this country!!!
I promise you that universal healthcare would NOT be like being treated at the DMV- which seems to be the more ignorant sentiment of the anti universal healthcare set.
( our coverage used to be way better, but they cut it b/c of this glorious economy...)
The US military sounds like a trainwreck all round to me, an outsider looking in. I'm sorry about that. But I don't think its a good example for many reasons including BoF's. Also it is a very captive audience, people can't change the system because it is such a small proportion of the population, whereas if EVERYONE was in, trust me the govt would fall if it was that bad.
And to think my Grandma remembers the US army as "overpaid, oversexed and over here" lol. WW2 must have been the golden era for the US soldiers in terms of conditions!