To begin, a little introduction
About six months ago, I went to the dentist to fill a cavity in my lower left molar that had become infected. The dentist severed the nerve under the tooth and filled the cavity (root canal). The dentist wanted me to return to be fitted for a crown on the tooth but I chose not to return for the crown because of two reasons. (1) A crown is not always necessary after a root canal and (2) A crown is expensive. To have a crown fitted, the tooth would have to be sized and a mold created, that would guide the dentist in creating a crown to cover the tooth. The crown is used to protect a tooth with a compromised structural integrity to protect the tooth from further damage. My insurance only covers 50% of the cost of a crown, which runs anywhere from $600 to $1000 depending on how generous the dentist is. I decide to bypass the crown and just continue with the filling.
On Saturday, the same tooth stated giving problems again. I took some of the ibuprofen I had laying around, and withstood about twenty minutes of squirming in pain (thanks for the support babe) before the pain went away. Sunday morning, I awoke to the ache and I took another round of ibuprofen. Everything was fine until lunch at around 1:30pm. About ten minutes of finishing my lunch, the pain returned with a vengeance. Even after taking another set of ibuprofen, the pain refused to subside. I knew that I needed a stronger pain medication, but on a Sunday afternoon, my options were limited. I had to make the decision – Take a monetary hit and make my way to the Emergency Room (ER) in order to get a prescription for stronger pain reliever.
At 2:00pm, I arrived at the local ER, signed in and sat in the waiting room. I had brought a icepack that I was held to the side of my face to relieve the pain. I was in obvious pain here, but the neither the nurses nor the staff at the ER were too concerned. They had probably seen this patients in pain before, perhaps even worse, and they went on with their task unperturbed by the gentlemen with an icepack, grimacing in pain. Fifteen minutes later, I was called in to see a triage nurse who, even after my protests, took my blood pressure, pulse, temperature and asked numerous unnecessary health questions (no nurse lady, I do not take drugs. Yes nurse lady, I have insurance, no lady, I have no history of arrhythmia, I’m 23…blah, blah, blah). I knew I was going to be charged for this triage visit, and I asked the triage nurse how much this consult would cost. She couldn’t tell me because she didn’t know. She was able to tell me that I was a healthy, in-shape twenty three year old, but that was the extent of her magic. I was going to be charged for a series of unnecessary tests and I did not even know the price I would face. So much for market pricing and consumer choice. So much for efficient market hypothesis, Dr. Eugene Fama. I was resent to the waiting room where I briefly sat until a staff came over and collected my insurance information. Another round of waiting and I was later led to a room through the emergency room where a nurse (RN) came and did a quick examination. After looking into my mouth, she determined that I had an infection in the tooth and the exposed nerve was probably irritated (I really did attempt to restrain my “Duh” reflex). She left, and another thirty minutes later, a doctor (MD) came in, did the same examination and gave the same diagnoses as the nurse. He wrote a prescription for Penicillin and Percocet and I was discharged. At this point, it is 3:15pm. Not too bad, an hour and a fifteen trip to the ER is really a gift. I had witnessed longer line in other ERs during my volunteering days, but those were usually at nights during the weekdays. Still I considered myself lucky, and with a prescription in hand, I drove to CVS and fill the prescriptions. I paid the $2 co-pay for each of the prescription, head back home and took one pill of each. Pain over. Dizziness here I come.
Summary
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Total Consult: 3. Triage nurse, emergency room nurse and a medical doctor
Total Cost (By insurance/by consumer): Unknown / $4 so far. ($0 to insurance, $195.80 by me)
Lesson Learned: I wish there was an easier, if not cheaper, alternative to get pain medication on a Sunday than going to the emergency room. The local ER had their rules and procedures that I was unable to bypass which will ultimately add to my total bill. Each time I met a different medical provider, they were unable to tell me just how much it will all cost, but they all said something similar to, “Don’t worry, you have insurance.” It’s impossible for a consumer to price compare, or even refuse or reject certain medical care when the consumer is unaware of the final cost of the procedures. Yet all the procedures today were mandatory (so I was told). It was the only way to achieve the end. Even now, I still do not know how much the ER visit will cost and I’ll just have to wait for the bill. Tomorrow, I’ll call an oral and maxillofacial dentist (a dentist doctor). Forget the crown; I’m taking the cheaper option. I’m pulling the tooth.
Was it worth it: Of course. With the pain medication, I was able to continue with my day. The deadline to submit the Stanford GSB’s application is tomorrow, and because of the Percocet, I’ll was able to finish the application. Plus, I’ll be pain free until I can have the tooth pulled, which hopefully I can have done next weekend.
