The US medical mess

Early this month, I did what any responsible human should do once a year: Get checked by a doctor. This is no luxury, it's simply supposed to let me know what's wrong with me. Of course, just what's not working well on the physical side; I'm not talking about the mind, that might take us quite a while. So I get to the office, go through the routine and return the next day for giving some blood. So far so good. When all is said and done and the lab results are in, except for my extra year, not much has changed in me. That's even better. Now I get the bill for all that preventive, routine stuff. It's supposed to be all paid for by my insurance, as agreed, since it's preventive procedure, right? Nope. I get a hefty bill simply because the blood analysis was improperly coded.

In fact, that wasn't not the only element that was messed-up; the nurse first got the wrong weight and wrong height when she checked me out, a few days later, when it was her turn, my wife was found to have twice the (slow) heartbeat she has and not enough oxygen in her blood when she's got plenty. Lousy service, but we're expected pay full price and then we hear some politicians saying that we've got the best healthcare in the world; give me a break!