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Moondoggy
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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 Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:15 pm Post subject: Re: Warning about Korean healthcare (horror story) |
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| bdot wrote: |
As title suggest here's a recent experience from a friend of mine.
Ok so my mate's girlfriend comes down sick with severe abdominal pain. In the middle of the night he takes her to a pretty big hospital to get checked up.
They do some preliminary tests and decide that appendicitis is a high possibility. They then tell my friend that he and his girlfriend have to provide a deposit of 1 million won for her to be able to stay in the ED and see a doctor. In this major hospital apparently they didn't have a doctor skilled enough to make an accurate diagnosis of appendicitis so she would have to wait for 6+ hours for him to get there.
Anyway with no access to that sort of money they are left with 2 options... sign a hospital has no responsibility for you dying form and go home, or the chick getting her parents to come to the hospital to pay up or be guarantors (not clear about the parents thing). Problem is the parents live hours away and the mother would basically give the daughter hell/disown her if she knew she had a western boyfriend.
Thankfully my friend knew a friend who had access to the savings... so major disaster diverted however later I found out that you don't get this deposit back and that it is used to pay for any costs at the ED. Worse than this they have to top the deposit up for future treatment. Lord knows how much appendicitis surgery costs.
I thought Korea had a good healthcare system but it turns out its only useful for getting cheap acupuncture and cold pills. When you actually have a serious emergency your insurance is basically worthless. Pretty disgusting really.
Ok, I'm an Australian so I'm assuming that these things happen in America, but I thought in any other developed country (especially one with a good reputation for healthcare)... you could get treatment for life-threatening illnesses and expect to find a doctor in an ED department with the ability to diagnose appendicitis.
Wow. |
someone should contact her parents immediately instead of writing a horror story in dave's esl. oh and korea does have an excellent healthcare system that the entire world would look up to. |
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comm
Joined: 22 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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| CentralCali wrote: |
| In the US, some hospitals have refused emergency treatment. Those hospitals have paid for that refusal because it is illegal. In South Korea, on the other hand, it does not appear to be illegal to refuse treatment until the hospital has a surety of payment. |
Nice work refuting everything Madoka mentioned in one small paragraph. I could run you over with my car, but there would be serious consequences for me. An American hospital could refuse you treatment without upfront payment, but there would be serious consequences for them. On the other hand, it seems to be legal for a Korean hospital to deny services without upfront payment.
But there's no need for international comparison, is there? I hope we can agree that refusing basic lifesaving treatment because the patient is broke is a load of sh*t. |
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bdot
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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Well thanks for bagging me mate... I kind of wanted to let Commonwealth expats here know the possibilities and vent a bit.
Anyway her parents were contacted today (once her waygookin boyfriend was out of the way... ironically he got the job done very well) and she's ok.
Interestingly they gave her full body xrays, a ct scan and various other tests (which according to my brother [intensive care nurse] are unnecessary for diagnosing such a common condition) which seems to indicate that there is a practice of milking people of their money. Seems pretty corrupt, is this the case in other countries?
I know in Australia for example even if you are a tourist without any form of travel insurance you will still get healthcare and be sent a bill when you leave that you basically just don't pay and the hospital won't ever chase you in your home country for the coin. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| comm wrote: |
Nice work refuting everything Madoka mentioned in one small paragraph. |
Maybe you and radcon should look into getting a group discount on reading classes? Looks like you guys really need it. Consider it professional development.  |
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Dave Chance
Joined: 30 May 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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| bdot wrote: |
Well thanks for bagging me mate... I kind of wanted to let Commonwealth expats here know the possibilities and vent a bit.
Anyway her parents were contacted today (once her waygookin boyfriend was out of the way... ironically he got the job done very well) and she's ok.
Interestingly they gave her full body xrays, a ct scan and various other tests (which according to my brother [intensive care nurse] are unnecessary for diagnosing such a common condition) which seems to indicate that there is a practice of milking people of their money. Seems pretty corrupt, is this the case in other countries?
I know in Australia for example even if you are a tourist without any form of travel insurance you will still get healthcare and be sent a bill when you leave that you basically just don't pay and the hospital won't ever chase you in your home country for the coin. |
I'm familiar with a case involving an emergency visit to a hospital in Canada, where they similarly fleeced the patient. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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Why do I have the sneaking suspicion, based off of the late night random hospital visit and the demand for cash up front, that this may have had something to do with a stomach pumping/OD or some sort of whatehaveyou requiring the attention of an OB-GYN?
Also, there in a city larger than about 150,000 there should be more than one hospital you can try.
Are you sure you went to a regular hospital and not one of the fancier hospitals or a specialty clinic?
Not to mention, why does mom even have to know about the son in the case of appendicitis? He can just disappear and she could call mom and have her drop by...However in the case of an abortion or some kind of pregnancy complication...or her stomach getting pumped...
Something is rotten in Denmark in this one. |
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sallymonster
Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Location: Seattle area
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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When I had appendicitis, I didn't have to pay a large deposit upfront in order to get my operation. I did, however, have to have a guarantor. Luckily, my boss was willing to do this.
| Steelrails wrote: |
Why do I have the sneaking suspicion, based off of the late night random hospital visit and the demand for cash up front, that this may have had something to do with a stomach pumping/OD or some sort of whatehaveyou requiring the attention of an OB-GYN?
Also, there in a city larger than about 150,000 there should be more than one hospital you can try.
Are you sure you went to a regular hospital and not one of the fancier hospitals or a specialty clinic?
Not to mention, why does mom even have to know about the son in the case of appendicitis? He can just disappear and she could call mom and have her drop by...However in the case of an abortion or some kind of pregnancy complication...or her stomach getting pumped...
Something is rotten in Denmark in this one. |
Ectopic (tubal) pregnancy has very similar symptoms to appendicitis. . . |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| comm wrote: |
But there's no need for international comparison, is there? I hope we can agree that refusing basic lifesaving treatment because the patient is broke is a load of sh*t. |
Agreed.
But I'm not exactly sure that's what happened here.
As far as has been stated, they won't discharge without payment. She was already being treated there, no?
Like I said before, this post smells all kinds of hinky.
A group of adults that don't have cash or credit cards, are hiding from parents, a Korean that doesn't know how hospitals work here...
Seems off.
Not to mention the "commonwealth rally cry".
I don't know, as a member of the commonwealth, I know better than to travel to other countries expecting free care for all. |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:23 am Post subject: |
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I may have had a guarantor as well, as one of my closest friends came because I was terrified and needed company, and she spoke Korean and did sign some papers. I was such a mess that I didn't ask. I'd trust her with my life.
Still, if they'd have asked for a deposit, I'd have just given them my credit card. |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:53 am Post subject: |
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I cant help but wonder..why the heck was the US brought into this to begin with?
OP is Australian...situation happened in Korea with a Korean hospital, the female in question appears to be Korean based on the info given concerning her parents...so why the need to compare any of this to the US? |
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Dodge7
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:38 am Post subject: |
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| coralreefer_1 wrote: |
I cant help but wonder..why the heck was the US brought into this to begin with?
OP is Australian...situation happened in Korea with a Korean hospital, the female in question appears to be Korean based on the info given concerning her parents...so why the need to compare any of this to the US? |
Because people are obsessed with America. |
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bdot
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:51 am Post subject: |
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"Not to mention, why does mom even have to know about the son in the case of appendicitis? He can just disappear and she could call mom and have her drop by...However in the case of an abortion or some kind of pregnancy complication...or her stomach getting pumped..."
Apparently the doctors were constantly thinking this way too. I guess having a waygookin boyfriend = suspicion of being knocked up both in a hospital and online.
By the way... the son? group of adults? expecting free healthcare abroad?... never mentioned this sort of thing but anyway...
Point is you have to rock up with money before emergency treatment here or as was mentioned have a guarantor with money which is pretty terrible seeing that not everyone can have an appropriate guarantor.
Also it's concerning that a large hospital can't diagnose serious illness and that these people weren't sent to a bigger one or a doctor wasn't called in. |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:29 am Post subject: Re: Warning about Korean healthcare (horror story) |
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| madoka wrote: |
How many times do I have to keep showing you how wrong you are? |
Actually all you are showing is that you are the one with reading comp problems, that you don't understand the nuances of the word "happens", and that you have a stalkerish internet hard-on for me.
OP states " Wow I was shocked that Koreans eat dog. I heard that "happens" in the USA."
Me: Wrong. Americans don't eat dogs.
Madoka: "You are ignorant and stupid. My link demonstrates that dog eating occurs in the USA." Now just substitute eating dog for turned away at emergency rooms.
In Korea hospitals routinely turn away dying people from emergency rooms who can't pay. i have witnessed this. This is not illegal. They also have been known to have goons wait outside the hospital room door and harrass family members to assure payment. Doctors also routinely run up high bills for people slightly hurt in car accidents. These are the norms.
So while ERs turning away seriously injured patients in the USA "has happened" it is not "what happens." Its illegal, deemed immoral and hospitals who do are reemed legally and sometimes even criminal charges are filed.
This is one of the main taking points of the recent Obama-care debates for chrissakes: "If we don't offer insurance to the poor so they can go for preventative care, then we will end up paying much more when they go to the emergency rooms."
All this said, the health care costs and insurance system in the US suck big time. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:44 am Post subject: |
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| madoka wrote: |
| I think the real lesson here is that two broke people should not date each other. |
yes. That and traveler's insurance. Cheap compared to the alternative. Unless they're planning on doing the facebook page donation thing, again. |
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NilesQ
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:38 am Post subject: |
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| goreality wrote: |
| three adults are standing around and not a single one has a credit card or a bank card with 1 million won. The free healthcare system in the country I used to live in is a tax on the healthy. |
By that logic, manditory car insurance could be viewed as a tax on safe drivers. I view universal health care schemes as a mandated insurance policy.
Healthy people get in car crashes, have work related accidents that require medical attention, are exposed to toxic/posionous substances, etc. They use health care services when these things happen. It isn't as simple as a sick vs healthy citizen breakdown. What about children? Should a child be denied the best care available because their parents are unemployed or have a job that comes with limited insurance coverage?
Americans, in general, are some of the kindest and most generous people you'll ever meet. That is why I'm surprised at how opposed to universal health coverage that the USA seems to be. "One nation under God" when it's time to sink billions into bombing the hell out of backward people who live in caves half way around the world. But help a neighbor with a band-aid? Don't infringe on my rights mister! Poor people should pick themselves up by their bootstraps and cure that cancer themselves!
Oh well, if USA did do it, we Canadians would have to loose our self-righteous, holer-than-thou attitude towards the states, and they would probably do it way better than us!
Last edited by NilesQ on Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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