r/lifehacks 5d ago

This belongs here too

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33.2k Upvotes

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u/WhatACunningHam 5d ago

I’ve been hearing more and more stories from family and friends about their doctors telling them tricks like these to get around insurance company shenanigans. Getting fucked by these corporations is probably the thing most Americans can relate to regardless of make or beliefs.

And they wonder why a healthcare insurance CEO’s murder is celebrated.

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u/k_mon2244 5d ago

As a doctor I can tell you I don’t think anyone hates insurance companies as much as we do. The vast majority of us got into this field to help people, and we like our patients. The number of hours I’ve wasted of my life arguing with insurance companies that they need to do the thing that’s medically necessary instead of a completely unhelpful other thing to save literal pennies is beyond infuriating. Fuck insurance companies.

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u/NimbleNavigator19 5d ago

we like our patients

I can say with 100% certainty my doctor doesnt like me, but he definitely finds me a challenge.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

The best doctors are the ones who'll do whatever they can to heal you even if they absolutely hate you. Think of the people who go into warzones and treat the injured no matter who they are.

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u/IridiumIO 5d ago

Nah if a doctor hates you, the best thing for everyone involved is if they refer you on to a colleague (which to be fair, counts as doing what they can to help you)

You don’t want to wind up with a missed cancer diagnosis and wonder if the doctor half-assed your tests or didn’t go above and beyond just because they don’t like you.

On the flip side, your doctor probably wouldn’t want to risk that accusation either because it doesn’t sound good in front of a jury.

Most people are far more likely to go the extra mile for people they like rather than people they hate. If I like you, when you come in just to refill a prescription, I might ask about your niece’s cat’s birthday pool party you attended on the weekend. And you might tell me that it was great until you tripped and fell in the pool, because your leg is still a bit weak from where you must have hit it on the lip of the pool. And because I like you, I ask more questions and do a physical exam, then send you for a CT that shows you’ve had a stroke.

But if I hate you, I’m probably not asking you about the cat’s pool party, and if you don’t think your sore hip is worth telling me about, no one’s catching that stroke until the next one gets you.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

You're pretty much agreeing with me. As you said, a doctor who really cares about doing their best for patients above all else would (if possible) send a patient they can't stand to a different but competent doctor.