Teen Who Died of Covid-19 Was Denied Treatment Because He Didn't Have Health Insurance

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Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
no one knows the difference between urgent care and freestanding ERs.
I've never heard of a freestanding ER.

Every hospital I know of has an ER. They're all very large buildings.

Have an emergency? Go to the hospital.
 
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Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
Then that should be changed at least in life-threatening situations and his symptoms would strongly suggest that possibility.

So who put up a bill to change that?
Encouraging people with life threatening emergencies to go to the wrong place, seems like a bad idea.

These tiny places do not have surgeons and life-saving equipment. You go there to get a cast or a prescription or a shot.
 
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ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
38,200
18,670
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I've never heard of a freestanding ER.

Every hospital I know of has an ER. They're all very large buildings.

Have an emergency? Go to the hospital.

hey man, i agree. yet, they call themselves urgent care :p

Non-life threatening urgent care doesn't roll off the tongue.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
70,210
28,915
136
We have both free standing ERs (owned by a hospital chain) and urgent care centers. Going to the wrong place and getting sent to the other, based on care needed, isn’t an issue. Being sent away because we have a corrupt, evil private health insurance system is the stuff of revolutions.
 

VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,017
8,545
136
Encouraging people with life threatening emergencies to go to the wrong place, seems like a bad idea.

These tiny places do not have surgeons and life-saving equipment. You go there to get a cast or a prescription or a shot.

If you feel your in dire need of care as soon as possible, life or death situation, and the "urgent care" facility is one mile away and your closest emergency room is five miles away. Wouldn't some peoples first instinct be to go to the close "urgent care" facility, thinking you might get some, er..um..."urgent care" there?
 

Artorias

Platinum Member
Feb 8, 2014
2,147
1,431
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I know some of the employees there have no power in situations like these, but at what point do you say fuck the money/rules and get this man some treatment.

The lack of human decency and compassion in these times is shocking.
 

VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,017
8,545
136
And to top it off. the CDC is waffling and deflecting on how this kid died, even though he and his father tested positive. Troubling events.
 
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CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
no one knows the difference between urgent care and freestanding ERs.
Did you just you say that with a straight face?

"Urgent Care" is a chain of clinics you find at strip malls and business districts.

The ER is the emergency wing of any hospital. You know: Where an ambulance is likely to take you in a real emergency.

If anyone has any trouble telling the difference then I have to ask what planet they came from. Urgent Care doesn't have patient rooms, isolation wards, ventilators, surgeons, or people who intubate. It's seriously just a doctor's office chain that doesn't require a doctor's appointment. When you can't see your GP in time for that doctor's note that excuses you from work, you go to Urgent Care. They aren't a hospital.
 
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CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
hey man, i agree. yet, they call themselves urgent care

Non-life threatening urgent care doesn't roll off the tongue.
The name "Urgent Care" means they are where you go when it is too urgent to make a doctor's appointment days or weeks in advance. You can't wait 3 weeks for your doctor to diagnose flu and administer Tamiflu because you will likely be over it or in the ER/intensive care.

It's actually a very descriptive name.

Also, I think it's technically "UrgentCare+"
 
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ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
38,200
18,670
146
The name "Urgent Care" means they are where you go when it is too urgent to make a doctor's appointment days or weeks in advance. You can't wait 3 weeks for your doctor to diagnose flu and administer Tamiflu because you will likely be over it or in the ER.

It's actually a very descriptive name.

Also, I think it's technically "UrgentCare+"

Yea, I don't disagree in general. I would think that emergency is a synonym to urgent. But, if you've been to an UrgentCare previously...you might get the impression that they're good for cold's, flu's, bumps, bruises, cuts, etc...I know they have an x-ray at the one near me. I don't know if they have any respiratory equipment....but with this virus...maybe the difference is tough to tell.
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
I live in a small town with an urgent care facility five minutes away. Most small towns don't even have that. The hospital is forty miles away. Whenever possible, I go to the urgent care.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Yea, I don't disagree in general. I would think that emergency is a synonym to urgent. But, if you've been to an UrgentCare previously...you might get the impression that they're good for cold's, flu's, bumps, bruises, cuts, etc...I know they have an x-ray at the one near me. I don't if they have any respiratory equipment....but with this virus...maybe the difference is tough to tell.
I look at it as "anything too urgent to wait for a GP doctor's appointment but not urgent enough for hospitalization," so, yeah: A lot of people will go there with flu-like symptoms. While I can see the name might cause some confusion since people will equate emergencies with something "urgent," knowing that it's in a strip mall or whatever should clue people in.

When I first started noticing those places around 20 years ago I thought they were there to service illegal immigrants and other uninsured people. I kept reading in the paper about all these little low-cost cash clinics and dental places everywhere that were always getting caught and shut down for licencing or insurance reasons.
 
Nov 8, 2012
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Looked into this further, lots o' bullshit here designed to pander to folks.

One - The urgent care center while denying the kid, told him to go to a hospital.

Two - An urgent care center doesn't have the testing means - nor the facility means of dealing with COVID-19. That's not even a question.

Three - The death associated with it is still apparently up for debate, as they have locally taken him off the death counter for COVID-19

“However, Los Angeles’ County Department of Public Health later said the teen’s death was taken off a list of deaths associated with Covid-19 in the area. The department said the CDC would complete an investigation into the teen’s death.”
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
Looked into this further, lots o' bullshit here designed to pander to folks.

One - The urgent care center while denying the kid, told him to go to a hospital.

Two - An urgent care center doesn't have the testing means - nor the facility means of dealing with COVID-19. That's not even a question.

Three - The death associated with it is still apparently up for debate, as they have locally taken him off the death counter for COVID-19
Well it's alright then, he died of other causes. I'm sure the urgent care couldn't have possibly done anything about those either because, the important thing here is his death being recorded properly.
/s
 

JD50

Lifer
Sep 4, 2005
11,754
2,344
126
I look at it as "anything too urgent to wait for a GP doctor's appointment but not urgent enough for hospitalization," so, yeah: A lot of people will go there with flu-like symptoms. While I can see the name might cause some confusion since people will equate emergencies with something "urgent," knowing that it's in a strip mall or whatever should clue people in.

When I first started noticing those places around 20 years ago I thought they were there to service illegal immigrants and other uninsured people. I kept reading in the paper about all these little low-cost cash clinics and dental places everywhere that were always getting caught and shut down for licencing or insurance reasons.

The urgent care by my house was in a standalone medical building across the parking lot from a Fire Station. It's not hard to see why someone would equate that with an emergency room.
 
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VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,017
8,545
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Did you just you say that with a straight face?

"Urgent Care" is a chain of clinics you find at strip malls and business districts.

The ER is the emergency wing of any hospital. You know: Where an ambulance is likely to take you in a real emergency.

If anyone has any trouble telling the difference then I have to ask what planet they came from. Urgent Care doesn't have patient rooms, isolation wards, ventilators, surgeons, or people who intubate. It's seriously just a doctor's office chain that doesn't require an appointment.

Believe it or not, there are people, on this planet who probably think they are the same, call them naive, misinformed, stupid.. whatever. They see the big sign that says "Urgent Care" and assume in an emergency life or death situation they might get some urgent care. Maybe under the sign that says urgent care. it should also say "No health insurance No service" in bold letters.

Say, A man and his girlfriend are out to dinner, "the girlfriend doesn't have health insurance". They return to the car, just as you open the doors to get in, you are mugged, robbed and assaulted, tragically, your girlfriend is stabbed in the thigh, She is bleeding out, life and death situation. There is an urgent care facility a mile down the street, and the nearest emergency room five miles away. Many peoples first instinct to save a loved ones life is to go to the much closer urgent care and hope they would have the humanity to stop the bleeding and save this persons life, And then call an emergency room ambulance, before they kick her out for not having health insurance.

The kid in the article seemed to be in dire straits. He died shortly after. The least they could have done is keep him in isolated the parking lot, call an ambulance for him and hold him there under the care of medical professionals.
 

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,320
126
Unfortunately that's not a good idea. Most insurances no longer cover ER bill unless they determine it to be an actual emergency. So if you go to ER to get stitches, you will probably end up paying for it out of your pocket because insurance will refuse to pay.
That is not true! I know that to be a false statement!
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
... Maybe under the sign that says urgent care. it should also say "No health insurance No service" in bold letters.

...

I am pretty sure they all accept cash / credit and the rates are very reasonable compared to a hospital or ER visit.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Believe it or not, there are people, on this planet who probably think they are the same, call them naive, misinformed, stupid.. whatever. They see the big sign that says "Urgent Care" and assume in an emergency life or death situation they might get some urgent care. Maybe under the sign that says urgent care. it should also say "No health insurance No service" in bold letters.

Say, A man and his girlfriend are out to dinner, "the girlfriend doesn't have health insurance". They return to the car, just as you open the doors to get in, you are mugged, robbed and assaulted, tragically, your girlfriend is stabbed in the thigh, She is bleeding out, life and death situation. There is an urgent care facility a mile down the street, and the nearest emergency room five miles away. Many peoples first instinct to save a loved ones life is to go to the much closer urgent care and hope they would have the humanity to stop the bleeding and save this persons life, And then call an emergency room ambulance, before they kick her out for not having health insurance.

The kid in the article seemed to be in dire straits. He died shortly after. The least they could have done is keep him in isolated the parking lot, call an ambulance for him and hold him there under the care of medical professionals.

Yeah, but it's about like running to your GP doctor or vet. If it was that urgent he should've called 911. :(

About 20 years ago I was doing after-hours security at NCR Terradata in Peachtree City when some guy pulled into our lot and buzzed out intercom asking us to call an ambulance. It seems that he was a manager at one of the industrial plants nearby and had gone in on the weekend by himself and got his arm caught in the machinery. He was absolutely mangled and I'm sure he was leaving parts of himself behind. Supposedly they turn all the phones off when the facility is in night mode so he couldn't call out and this is before everyone had cellphones with e911. Ironically, to pull in our lot he had to turn right but the lot on his left was a fire station that had an ambulance parked there and ready to go 24/7.

That said, all of these clinics accept cash. You don't have to have insurance. I'm guessing they thought the COVID kid could get there faster himself since he managed to get that far and wasn't asking for an ambulance.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
The urgent care by my house was in a standalone medical building across the parking lot from a Fire Station. It's not hard to see why someone would equate that with an emergency room.
Is that a joke?

It's one thing to think Urgent Care can do more than they can, but the ER is part of a hospital. How can anyone equate the two?!
 
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CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Heaven forbid we have to do all the paperwork that must be done to bill him properly because we saved his life...
What could Urgent Care do to save his life? They aren't a hospital. They can't treat COVID-19... whether you have insurance and do the paperwork or not.