Private medical services

[Lanick]

Got a question to ask. Do doctors request/suggest treatments just to make more money because you got an amazing cover insurance that you wouldn’t mind as it’s not coming out of your pocket?

 

[Stafford]

Is this a universal question or specific to Argentina? In my experience and from what I've seen from friends and family, private doctors in Buenos Aires are more conservative and less profit driven compared to those in the United States.

 

[Lanick]

Is this a universal question or specific to Argentina? In my experience and from what I've seen from friends and family, private doctors in Buenos Aires are more conservative and less profit driven compared to those in the United States.

Thanks but is it the same for private practices as they’re for profit places vs public?

 

[Stafford]

Thanks but is it the same for private practices as they’re for profit places vs public?

I was referring to private practices, correct. Even there, they are relatively conservative compared to the US. At public hospitals in Argentina, there is much greater hesitancy to prescribe anything unnecessary.

 

[LuckyLuke]

I shared Stafford's view in that in my experience in Neuquen, despite having Swiss Medical and going to private practices, we have not felt rushed into unnecessary prescriptions or medical intervention. I will say though, that it sometimes feels like physician or dental visits are cut short with more follow up requests that sometimes feel like an effort to charge more visit fees to the insurance company.

 

[Lanick]

A family member was asked for an extra usd 1000 cash apart from the bill that the insurance would pay. Then I’m kinda like “what!!” Yesterday my wife were told some conditions about the kids and referred to another practice without any written reports or anything therefore I was kinda suspicious. After all healthy is the soft spot for everyone especially when it’s your kids. I may be totally wrong with my suspicion though.

 

[LuckyLuke]

A family member was asked for an extra usd 1000 cash apart from the bill that the insurance would pay. Then I’m kinda like “what!!” Yesterday my wife were told some conditions about the kids and referred to another practice without any written reports or anything therefore I was kinda suspicious. After all healthy is the soft spot for everyone especially when it’s your kids. I may be totally wrong with my suspicion though.

Wow, I've never seen a negro co-pay at that level. Maybe 20 or 30k, but $1,000 that is something else.

I haven't found it unusual for clinics to just tell you to go to another clinic because they don't have the equipment or specialty to address the condition. Almost never is there a referral form. It's just, take your X-Rays, charts, or whatever with you and set an up appointment. The hierarchy of referrals that exist in the US for access to specialists doesn't seem to exist down here.