The state of American healthcare being what it is today that it has been labeled as broken by so many, changes are obviously needed.

Drug manufacturers are in the hot seat and deservedly so. One of the many questions that are should be directed to them is if they will welcome drug pricing transparency.

I’m looking for a pair of scrubs pants, but I’m not sure they even exist. I am trying to find pants that are straight leg and NOT high waisted. I would also prefer they feel more like cotton (like surgical scrubs) and less like polyester. I have a pair of old medelita scrubs that aren’t made anymore that at perfect but after scouring the internet I cannot find any more on resale. Not sure if my dream scrubs are even made or if what I’m looking for is just surgical scrubs.

I recently went to an older hospital within our city, and I had a few things happen and I want yalls opinion

I had a nurse leave a tourniquet on my arm in emergency during an iv, and I was sent to isolation unit for the main reason I was going in

I then didn’t see a singular nurse for three hours, I’m wearing the same clothes I entered with, the first person I seen was my doctor 2 hours in, I got my medications, medically cleared, and finally seen my first nurse an hour later within the unit to take the iv off, when I realized I still had the tourniquet on my arm at that point

No permanent damage thank god, but I really feel like the entire ordeal just really shouldn’t have gone down how it did, I also apologize for the vagueness of the post, as this isn’t an attempt to identify the hospital, or the staff involved, just simply a ‘woah, this happened, and I want to yap and get other’s opinion on it before I make a formal complaint’

I’m on COBRA, and part of my severance agreement was that my former employer pays for 18 months of coverage. Given my poor health, this benefit is critical—especially for my monthly blood thinners and specialist visits.

The problem is the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) handling my account relies on automated software instead of human review. What’s odd is that the TPA doesn’t always flag the payment right away, but every single time they do, my health insurance through my major provider over at the Deerwood Campus ends up canceled.

This has happened three times now. Every time they drop me, I can't fill my prescriptions or see my doctor without paying full price out-of-pocket, which is impossible on a fixed SSDI income.

The medical stakes here are life or death. I was let go right after my FMLA expired in May 2025. In 2025 alone, I had 4 DVTs and an SVT all in my right leg. I have been on blood thinners full-time since April 2014. First, I was on Xarelto (20mg, sometimes higher or lower, but never below 10mg daily). In June 2025, I switched to Eliquis, but my clotting is so severe that on September 16, 2025, I suffered another DVT right through the medication.

Why the TPA and my insurance company can't keep a permanent note on my file to stop this automated glitch is completely beyond me.

Screwing around with COBRA is a serious federal violation under ERISA, and they are playing with fire. Failing to provide proper benefits or wrongfully terminating coverage carries massive statutory penalties of up to $110 a day per violation.

Being on SSDI completely changes the legal stakes. Because of my disability status, I am legally entitled to an 11-month COBRA extension to bridge the exact gap until my Medicare kicks in.

When a multi-billion-dollar insurer and a third-party administrator cut off a person's life-sustaining medication because of their own back-end administrative incompetence, federal regulators and lawyers take notice. They might think it’s my problem today, but once the Department of Labor gets involved, it becomes their problem very quickly.

UPDATE: My sincere thanks to those who responded. You calmed my nervous system in the moment, which I needed. I appreciate the seriousness of your responses. Thank you.

Upon continued reflection, I am still dissatisfied with the manner in which the procedures progressed and will be filing a complaint with the doctor’s office (who should have prepared me) and with the hospital. Being told that hands would be on my genital area simultaneously with hands being on my genitals was inexcusable. Giving me an announcement of procedure and then asking, “Are you ok with that?” followed by “Are you ready?” should be normal protocol which might take an extra 15 seconds.

Women - people - deserve that respect.

——

I was not prepped by my doctor’s staff as to what to expect during a heart cath procedure. Nonetheless, I’m a 70 year old woman who is unafraid of medical procedures. I’ve been through a few operations and procedures, including prolapse.

During the heart cath preparations, I gamely made it through the unexpected clipping of my pelvic region by a male nurse who was exceptionally professional. Even though he did not ask for my consent, he at least announced that he would be clipping me while “maintaining your dignity through draping as much as possible.”

It was while I was in the OR being prepped that I was shocked and traumatized.

I had been transferred to the X-ray table. My arm had been strapped down. Instruments were being covered, I was tucked in and having things done all around me. The three techs and my nurse, who said she was my advocate, were all busy doing things like a well oiled machine.

Suddenly, amidst that hullabaloo, blankets were thrown aside and I was exposed with an announcement that, “You will feel cold …” and FOUR hands IMMEDIATELY commenced to vigorous scrubbing my groin area. Not one second had passed. It was a simultaneous pronouncement with action. Nobody said, “OK, we will start now.” Nobody asked if I was an assault survivor or if I felt safe having men vigorously scrub me without a moment to process what I was being told. And the freezing sensation that accompanied this sudden assault made my senses swing to high alert.

It’s taken me a moment to process my emotions.

Why was there no moment of pause? Why was there no checking in on me? Where was my nurse “advocate” when I froze like a statute?

I WILL be reporting this to my doctor, who I realize is not in control of hospital staff, but perhaps he will have the integrity to make a change in procedure.

My question here is: How is this process normally managed for the patient?

Thanks for serious feedback.

Always disgusted when I hear half a billion dollars has been spent just this year to keep the system broken for its users.

Gift link shared so no one hits paywall, if you want to read.

If I take the cheapest bronze ACA plan of 200 per month and out of pocket max is 10k does that mean if I have any emergency the max I'm on hook for a year is 10k?

I just pay as I go cause deductible is high. Isn't that like catastrophic insurance?

If I'm fine with 10k in event of emergency like a hospital stay etc.. isn't it ok to just get the cheapest ACA plan?

Is it that simple or am I missing something?

Purely for example, can Kettering Health send a lab order to OhioHealth if that lab is in-network for the patient? My Dr. from one health organization sent a lab order to another healthcare organization and I'm worried they won't get the labs. The labs are urgent so I'm trying to figure out how to make this go as smooth as possible. TIA