She literally called me at the time of the appointment to tell me she can’t see me. She was so apologetic, but was like “I absolutely can treat you, but I’m not allowed by your insurance”. Fuck this country.
Update: I went to urgent care. Before leaving home, I called to be sure they would accept my insurance (Aetna). They said yes… After arriving for my appointment, they told me they do not accept my insurance. I will simply leave without paying.
Final Update: I can understand that that differences in physical biology demand different attention. That’s not what I’m complaining about. It’s the way it’s set up. I was told that at my appointment. Why not just refer me to a specialist? The website could’ve even just referred me to urgent care (yes, my insurance requires a primary care physician’s referral for urgent care, according to the urgent care facility). But, no, their goal is to obfuscate and irritate until the patient gives you and pays out-of-pocket.
I was able to receive care at a cost I could not afford. I won’t discuss what I had to do to “find” the money to pay for care and prescriptions. That being said, the condition I was diagnosed with was more serious than a simple infection, and I’m glad that I saw a doctor. I need further treatment and just hope I can get insurance to cover any of it.
If you’re an American reading this, please consider ways to get involved in organizing in support of Medicare For All in your community. Here is one resource I have found. We don’t need to live like this. We deserve better. Stay safe and healthy, friends.
For non citizens?
No one in A&E checks your passport. I mean I’m not in Russia, but in the UK and the only reason some medical professional might check your ID here is when you’re signing up for GP services - these are territorial in the UK. Otherwise you just go to the clinic or hospital and get a treatment. I’m migrant from an xUSSR country, so healthcare there should be close in structure to Russian I believe. And again - no one checks your IDs, except for when you sign up for GP.
And even when you need a GP, there is usually a framework for non-citizens. Usually when you sign up for GP they check your tax paying status. You pay taxes? Free healthcare for you! And in the UK if you don’t work and don’t pay taxes you can pay NHS contributions separately and then you will get all the treatment you want.
So I believe Russia should be somewhere along these lines as well.
Someone, ie insurance, has to pay for that medical coverage. I’m Czech and when I go to my doctor I give them my insurance card before I get treated. However, medical insurance isn’t “free” (well, government funded) for non citizens here either.
That’s wild. When I go to any NHS services I don’t provide anything unless I want my visit be recorded in my patient card for future references.
Are you british? In the UK, as far as I understand it you get assigned a doctor. Here you get to pick (assuming that doctor still has capacity to take you which they won’t). How else can they know how to bill your insurance company?
If I visit a new doctor (emergency in a different city etc) I fill out a form (with my name etc) and give them my insurance card
I’m not British, but I live in Britain for 8 years now. You choose your GP doctor yourself from available GP practices in your area. Most people don’t use health insurance because UK has NHS and all medical services are just free.
In Britain you need your NIN (National Insurance Number) to sign up for GP, but you don’t need it for other medical services. For example, if you break a leg and call an ambulance to get to A&E, no one will ask you for anything, not ambulance team, not A&E team. They just fix you up for free no questions asked. And if they give you some prescription for painkillers and whatnot, you’ll get your pills from the pharmacy without any documents or insurance cards.
So the question really is how do you get a NIN to be able to get GP services? Well, NIN is linked to your taxes. If you work in the UK legally, then you MUST get a NIN, so that taxes are paid correctly. So, if you work and pay taxes - then you have a NIN. You don’t need to be a citizen for that, only a permit to work.
And if you don’t work and don’t pay taxes, then you can make contributions and get a NIN this way.
Czech system is different. We have semi-state owned insurnace companies, about 6 of them I think. Your doctor needs to know who to bill for your treatment.