FML - Broken finger healthcare story
 

I broke my finger. Car vs. finger. Car wins everytime.

Went to the ER. Open fracture. They peeled the nail open like a set of doors and then sutured under it, then tucked the one piece of the nail under the other and anchored it down with sutures (although it will likely fall out and have to regrow).

Two more FML parts of this.

1) Apparently because it happened when I slammed it in a car door, according to the orthopedic specialists office, I had to file a car insurance claim, otherwise Tufts (my insurer) would deny it. That's pretty fucked up and complicated things a bit.

2) I have Tufts. My old PCP was "captured" (if you will) by Harvard Vanguard. So they won't refer me to a non Harvard Vanguard specialist. So this morning I had to cancel the appointment with the specialist that the ER guy setup for me (which was for today) because he wasn't a Harvard Vanguard guy (why would I think he needed to be...I have Tufts). So I just spent all morning trying to get them to work something out so that I could keep the appointment. Well I couldn't.

So I just spent another hour or so calling around to try to switch PCP's and get someone who could see me today to verify that my finger is broken so that I can get a goddamn referral to the fucking specialist of my choice.

Wasted an entire fucking morning on this. Productivity down the fucking toilet.

And people say the healthcare system isn't fucked up? WTF!!!

It might be easier to just go to Canada and claim asylum or something.

I'm so terrified and bewildered as to how to navigate that stuff, so I'm just willing myself to never get injured or sick, which obviously, is a great plan that couldn't possibly go wrong. I have so little experience in procuring health care, it would be incredibly overwhelming.

Edit: It's just preposterous that so much time/effort/money has to go into navigating the process. Doing it with a broken finger has to be an incredible pain in the ass, and imagine what it'd be like if a tumor exploded in your stomach or something.

That sucks, DT. Hope it all works out in the end.

And to be fair, I don't think anyone thinks the current health system is fine. The two sides just disagree on what the right solution is.

Spoiler that image- ugh :(

SI

INDEED... I ALMOST HEAVED!

And then there's this:

Insurance Company Celebrates 50 Billionth Fucking Over Of Customer | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

SI

Can you spoiler tag an attached image?

And I just finished finding a new primary care doc who can see me today at 4:15 to literally confirm I have a broken finger so that they can approve the referral. I have no idea how good this guy is or anything, but at least he can see me today, so for the moment he's my doctor. They already gave me the go-ahead to book the appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon, so I have that at 9:00am tomorrow.

What a fucking joke of a healthcare system.

Finger doesn't actually hurt that bad - it's just a minor break at the end, and it was Thursday night, so all the swelling has gone down. Didn't even need to take any of my percocets.

Best of luck during the healing process, DT.

Oh, and uh, screw you for posting that picture.

Wimps. Got rid of the pic for you since I had uploaded it not linked it and I don't think you can spoiler attached images.

Sell those babies and you'll start appreciating the healthcare system. CHA-CHING!!!

The guy running for Prez that your state put on the map, but won't vote for, has a plan.

I still find it so odd you have to file a car insurance claim

In our defense, the alternatives (Jane Swift, Shannon O'Brien) were worse. Yay politics.

I always knew that guy was a Cylon.

Still? Cuz so much has happened since this morning? :lol:

I PM'd Lathum about this on Friday being like "Hey...car insurance guy...is this weird? What's up?"

And then got distracted because I had friends in town for the weekend.

Ah ha! Okay, well, then, joke at Lathum's expense is hereby revoked. ;)

My company is switching to Cigna next year (open enrollment starting soon). We get the same coverage we have now (nearly all physicians and specialists take Cigna) with no price increase (company or employee) plus I think we get an expanded out-of-network coverage (not sure what that means yet). Knowing how much medical issues my family and I deal with every year, I'm thankful for such great healthcare.

Hope you get better, DT.

Doesn't getting old suck :D

That and my teenage son having to go to the @%#$! EmergiCare clinic a couple of times a year.

Make sure you see a hand specialist. Otherwise, you're going to be even more f'd down the road. Trust me...

/tk

Do you have the PPO option? Makes life a lot easier. I would never choose the referral system unless I had to.

Yep. Already saw the hand specialist and have another follow up in a couple weeks.

I thought I chose PPO, but I have HMO apparently. I'll be changing that at the next open enrollment period you can bet your life.

Good, should've not chosen HMO in the first place. Best of luck.

Yeah...well that's a life lesson of youth that I've now learned. I hadn't had real-life experience of what the difference between the two would actually be. ;)

Well...the stitched-on cracked-up nail is about to fall off. The two pieces that were tucked one under the other have separated, so the larger piece is making like a gull-wing door and flying-up. The stitches securing those 2 pieces to the nailbed seem to be intact, so I think I'm actually going to put some tape over it for a few days so it doesn't snag on something and rip off.

Doesn't look like the new nail has really started growing in at all yet from what I can see through the crack.

Good luck with that, DT.

I have never had a fingernail issue like this, but the big toe nail on my right foot has had issues, and it continues to be an ugly sumbitch to this day as a result. Hope yours goes better.

Should be fine - this is what the doc said to expect. I'm frankly surprised it's taken so long - they're dissolvable stitches and I shower 2x a day and workout (and sweat down to my fingertips) 6 days a week, and the stitches have held for 2 months now. Hell...I think the last time I was there at the docs last month they even snipped a couple of them (I thought?) in order to help this process along, but the ones on the nailbed still seem to be holding.

I should probably not have it covered, but I really don't want to catch it on something and rip it off...that would be painful.