I put this in an email to a nice blogger friend (you know who you are) but I'm going to say it here too. I'm really scared about healthcare when we go to the US.
I have finally found some that I am eligible for (it is hard when you are a citizen but not a resident) which though basic, has a reasonable reputation and will cover pregnancy (I believe this is a legal requirement). But I know it won't be a research centre specialising in recurrent miscarriage, and I know if I want to have any more fertility investigations I will be paying, and I'm worried about the attitude I seem to detect from other bloggers of US gynaes/REs of "make sure you give the maximum amount of treatment just in case". I'm worried they'll say "oh, you must have a clotting/egg maturation/immune problem, let's give you heparin/FSH/steroids" or "oh, bedrest for the first trimester, natch" when I'll be thinking "No evidence/dangerous/thrombosis!" but being scared to say no Just In Case.
I have navigated the US healthcare system before, but I was young, single, and the worst thing that I ever got was the damn Bartholin cysts. I did have a brief expensive spell on COBRA but having never had much to do with the UK health system, either, I didn't have much to compare it with.
Please talk me down. Thank you.
2 comments:
I wish I had some advice or inner knowledge of the lame insurance situation in the states. Just wanted you to know that I will hoping for you that you find a company that allows you to continue to get the quality of care that you are used to. And do read the fine print as many states do not require insurance companies to provide maternity coverage. Sadly I live in one of those states...ugh.
Best of luck to you!!
Ugh, the health insurance system in the U.S. is one of my favorite things to complain about. I just took a new job mostly for the health insurance.
I can say that you have as many rights as a patient as you would elsewhere. If you, as an informed patient, disagree with the prescription for bedrest in the first trimester, you are entitled to present the contradictory evidence and discuss it with the doc. If they maintain their stance and you continue to disagree, you can seek a new physician (which may or may not be a hassle depending on the structure of your plan -- HMO etc.). More likely, they were just recommending it to cover their ass and because they didn't have any better ideas, and when faced with an informed counter-argument will change their tune.
Good luck with the move and with navigating our horrendous system!
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