> Health Care in Las Vegas certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Anyone
know where to go next time the wife gets a gall stone at 3 AM on a
Saturday night? <<We have had a couple of occasions (clutzy wife) to use Las Vegas
emergency rooms. Summerlin Hospital worked well on both occasions. The
first was a weekday afternoon. She was in and out in about 90 minutes
including x-ray time. The second was a weekend afternoon and it took a
little longer.
I have never been sick enough (or maybe I've been too sick, in another way) to abandon my gambling to get medical care in Las Vegas -- but my parents have -- unfortunately, I can't tell you who they called, but they asked an ER for a referral to an opthalmologist, called his office, and got in that same day for urgent care. They were very satisfied with the way this worked (maybe skipping the emergency room was the secret), although the care was very expensive.
That was at least 10-15 years ago, but bypassing the ER, if you can, is probably still the best way to go. Many hospitals have referral systems, and even if it's not office hours and the doctor directs you to meet them in the ER, having the doctor "lined up" will expedite the ER process.
Unfortunately, some doctors will have you go to the ER and go through that system FIRST, and then tell the ER to call them when they have determined whether his/her presence is necessary.
Nevada had an exodus of emergency medicine doctors about six to eight years ago (I think that's when it was) due to the malpractice insurance crisis (either couldn't get coverage at all, or it was over $100,000). The state legislature quickly passed a bill to "fix" the problem, but I don't know if they've ever recovered their emergency physician population.
I know many people think that doctors make plenty of money and should pay those rates, but remember that most businesses (including those in health care like pharmaceutical companies) pay about 5% of their expenses as liability insurance, or less, while physicians are paying 10% for low-risk specialties up to 50% in some of these malpratice crisis scenarios. Combine that with 30-40% overhead for their office expenses and employees, and they are working 80-hour weeks to keep their employees (a "good" group) going, but also to keep the insurance companies and lawyers in business.
And either the law, in the case of Medicare, or contracts, in the case of insurance companies, prevent them from increasing their fees to patients to pass on those premiums, unlike other businesses which always pass on their expenses.
--BG
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