Welcome to sick season.
According to the CDC, New York City — along with New Jersey and at least 16 other states — is now experiencing “high” to “very high” levels of respiratory-illness activity as measured by the number of weekly visits to health-care providers and emergency rooms by people having symptoms of fever, cough, and sore throat.
The culprits are the usual suspects: this year’s strains of influenza, COVID, and RSV. And though flulike-illness levels have been above baseline nationally for several consecutive weeks, the CDC warns that we still haven’t hit the peak.
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As always, seniors remain the most at-risk demographic for severe outcomes from respiratory illnesses, which is why the low vaccination rates for that group remain troubling.
Beyond vaccination, for everyone, the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like the flu and RSV is regular handwashing; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; and staying home if you get sick. High-filtration face masks still work great, too, and not just for avoiding COVID.
They are actually looking at this reasonably and how it works in real life. The emergency department by law cannot turn a patient away because they can’t pay. Physicians’ offices can. This results in many people going to the ER for something that should go to urgent care or a regular primary care provider. But those locations will turn people away if they don’t have the right insurance.
Tell me you have no idea what health insurance is without telling me you have no idea what health insurance is.
A doctor will turn you away for not even attempting to pay your tab.
As long as you are making just good faith payments. 10-15 bucks a month, they will keep your tab open.
When you try to defraud the service provider (try and get clever and try and not pay for your service at all), yes. They will drop you.
That has nothing to do with insurance and has everything to do with you feeling entitled to free Healthcare.
Your argument is the equivelent to “I can’t afford food, so I shoplift from the most expensive luxury grocer in my area instead of finding my local food bank.”
It is just SO assinine.
You should be the one telling me how you don’t know how healthcare works in the US. They ask what insurance you have before they provide services.
Yes… and if you don’t have insurance, the answer is “cash”…
High end providers will decline. Most providers will open a tab…
You do need to put in a little effort. Find the provider for you. Know how to engage in the conversations…
You might be the most cluelessly classist person I’ve met on Lemmy yet.
I’m not on lemmy.
I live in reality.
I am personally fancy myself an Anarchist/Socialist. I want the world to be more like what you feel entitled to, but you are fucking it for the rest of us and should be ashamed of yourself.
Oh, that’s a shame. I’m also a kbin user. Most of them are so much more reasonable and kind than you are.
You do not live in reality and lack empathy and should be ashamed of yourself.
Keep telling people to loot ER doctors and nurses, and acting like you’re Robin Hood or some shit.
Shit’s just wrong.
Please quote a single instance where anyone here is encouraging people to receive care at the ER without paying for it, rather than simply stating the true fact that it is a thing that happens.
I’ll wait.
I am 100% for changing the system and moving to single payer.
We have not done that.
I am against criminal theft that leads the continued skyrocketing of Healthcare cost under the system we have that also harms people who actually need ER facilities.
If I should be ashamed of not endorsing criminal theft, then consider me super ashamed.
Utilizing healthcare is not criminal. And you’re a bad person.