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John, welcome to the U.S. » Jonh Kimble

Posted by chemist on August 28, 2004, at 20:36:11

In reply to How to get a pdoc in the US?, posted by Jonh Kimble on August 28, 2004, at 15:37:25

> Hey all. Well arrived in Florida 2 days ago and want to see a specific doc. Can I go to a walk in clinic and just ask to be reffered to a specific doc? WHy do they want 120 bucks for a walk in? Thats crazy. Does this vary? Will insurance cover this if it says $50 sickness and mental coverage per visit times 10? Can I just call the doc and say I was seeing a canadian pdoc and want to see you based on what Ive heard etc... Anything I can avoid and just start to see him would be good. Thanks for the advice.


hello john, chemist here....i would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the united states and, more specifically, to the healthcare system here. the answers to your questions are contained in hard-to-interpret and small-print-laden documents detailing the wonders of your health coverage. as a general rule, the fancier the package, the better the coverage. another rule is that regardless of coverage, mental health care is likely to be bringing up the rear. you will be confronted with acronyms including PPO, POS, PCP, HMO, and GAYM (gimme all your money). you can walk in anywhere, and do expect to pay for it. if you choose a psychiatrist, expect a 1 to 2 hour initial appointment. you will be faced with ``in network'' and ``out of network'' providers, and limits on how many outpatient mental healthcare visits per calendar year you can embark upon: expect numbers in the hockey-score range up to a number not exceeding 26, as a rule. if you have elected the PPO option, you need to go through your PCP for referals for things like seeing the dermatologist. as for mental healthcare, you will find that many if not all of the in-network providers are not accepting new patients and that you can expect to pay half of the bill for a limited number of visits, or a co-pay. or all of it. in the end, it depends. further, strolling into any doctor's office with medical records from another country - or even from the same country - and asking politely that they prescribe anything at all before first subjecting you to procedures that cost time and money are usually not going to work as expected. the good news for you is that you are in florida, home of the doctors with liberal prescribing habits that eventually end up on a federal Drug Enforment Agency desk. welcome to america, and all the best, chemist


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