Healthcare is expensive

[HouseofWool]

Did he know that T is a doc or was it just a general comment? Because that makes a huge difference too.

[Sheherezade]

I guess what surprises me is that the guy didn't tell you before he repaired it that it would b $300. Shouldn't they give you the estimate before they do the work? My repairmen always do. If you don't want the work because it's 1/3 the cost of the machine or you've decided this is unreliable, you pay the $99 service call and off they go.

I would be surprised too if I was presented with a bill that was vastly out of my personal estimation of what the service would cost. It seems like a kind of aggressive interaction. I'd have thought his response should have been more along the lines of WHY it was expensive - not that "Things just are expensive" variety. "Well, healthcare's expensive." sounds aggressive. Is he saying this rate is what it is because his health insurance rates went up and he had to raise his rates? What the hell does it mean? Sounds like he was surprised that you were surprised and reacted defensively. He should have given you an estimate before he did the work.

[GrayMatterWife]

Did he know that T is a doc or was it just a general comment? Because that makes a huge difference too.

Yes--I had assumed that had come up in conversation or he otherwise knew (Dr. & Mrs. on your check or something). Otherwise…it wouldn't have struck me as rude. Health services ARE expensive (but for a reason…).

[Pollyanna]

If he didn't know that your hubby is a doc he could have just been making a general comment. Maybe he just found out he is being dropped from his employers insurance plan, maybe he is self employed and took a look at healthcare dot gov, maybe he has insurance but got the bill for his kids broken arm? Maybe he is just at the end of his rope and paycheck with the holidays fast approaching and bills piling up and took your comment more personally than it was meant? I don't know, I would have likely laughed and said, "ain't that the truth" I know it's hard because it's personal to all of us but doctor's are next in line to be bashed for their income. Plenty of folks around here have bashed wall street folks and big business bosses for their incomes and they earn their salary just as much as our SO earn theirs. Class warfare is on the rise and doctors are at the front of the line right now. People need a villain, especially with this Obamacare disaster, and right or wrong doctors will be played the villain.

My biggest complaint would be crap products that don't last more than 2 years before they need to be replaced or repaired at huge costs (and $300 is huge IMO). So sorry Kris, it's hard enough to write those checks without awkward interactions with the repairman.

FYI: Sears repair in AZ was awesome. In TN, they SUCK. Would never use them again.

[WolfpackWife]

Yes--I had assumed that had come up in conversation or he otherwise knew (Dr. & Mrs. on your check or something)..

Me too

[ladymoreta]

He should have given you an estimate before he did the work.

I just have to say I'm amused at this because lots of people wish they could get estimates on their healthcare before they have the work done, too. Carry on...

[PrincessFiona]

I think I misrepresented our conversation. He was a young guy hired by Sears through a small company to come out and fix our snow blower. He assessed the blower in the garage while I stood there.

him: "Are your ready for the damage?"
me: "okay, break it to me""
him:"it will cost you 287 dollars to fix" ...
me: "holy buckets. 287 dollars? What about our warranty?
him: carburetor isn't covered under warranty?
me: why not?
him: it isn't the manufacturers' fault that you left gas in the snow blower
me: we didn't. My husband let that thing run itself dry this Spring. I was actually embarrassed by how long it ran outside. I was afraid the neighbors would be annoyed.
him: he should have put Product X in it so that the carburetor wouldn't gum up. They put ethanol in the gasoline and it gets gummy at the low temperatures.
me: He did use product X.
him: well, should I fix it?
me: I guess so.

It wasn't an aggressive exchange even though it sounds like it was unfriendly. It really wasn't.

So after 15 15 minutes, he knocked on my kitchen door. I invited him into the kitchen to complete the transaction.

me: It's such a bummer. We haven't even owned the snow blower for 2 years. We actually lived here for 10 years before buying a snow blower. (insert snow blower small talk). It's so expensive to fix it.
him: healthcare is expensive too.

That's where I got a frog in the hospital feeling. (Basically, when I was working at Shand's at UF, I walked down one of the hallways one day and there was a dead frog lying in the middle of the hallway. It was so out of place that it sort of freaked me out at the time. It brought on a mini panic attack. LOL. Since then, I have referred to these weird moments as frog in the hospital moments). I had not told him Thomas' profession and neither had Thomas. I had no idea that he knew or how. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it just felt so awkward and out-of-place. He was the first one to "break it to me" in a way that told me he knew it was a lot of money. I was not criticizing him. He did not make the carburetor or determine the price of the product.

He did tell me in advance of repairing it and I did agree to pay it. I was just making small talk.

For me, it was just surprising and out-of-place in the conversation and it freaked me out that he knew Thomas' job (or I thought he did).

[OrionGrad]

That would freak me out, too. Is there a diploma on the wall he may have seen? What's your guess for how he knew?

[SoonerTexan]

It's kind of a hot topic for everyone right now. Maybe he didn't know at all? At any other time I would wonder too.

[Ladybug]

My interpretation of his remark about healthcare is related to the fact the he "resuscitated" your dead snowblower…which he kinda did.

Neglecting the snowblower to death is something my DH would do too. It would have driven me bananas to pay that much to repair a snowblower that could have been taken care of to begin with. For someone that does so many complex things during the day the simplest, preventative things seem to slip through the cracks sometimes.

[Vanquisher]

I recommend, if you can find it, ethanol-free gas in the snowblower. We learned a very expensive lesson on using only ethanol free gas in our boat.

pure-gas.org

[Deebs]

Well, after paying $1200/month in premiums, and having my daughter meet her out of pocket maximum, I agree- healthcare is expensive. We've spent $20,000 this YEAR on healthcare/insurance. The cost isn't because of what it takes to become a Dr, and if people whose families are in healthcare can't understand that, then how can anyone not in healthcare? Having a system with insurance has driven up costs to a crazy level. I think what we get frustrated with, as med spouses, is that money isn't coming home to providers. It's going to buildings, executives, insurance co employees, insurance structure, etc, and it sucks. It's not like any other industry. I just ignore people's comments.


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[Rapunzel]

Possibilities:

1) The repairman didn't know T was a physician and was making an acceptable random comment right now in our society (with those 99%ers being so trendy).

2) The repairman didn't know T was a physician and he just had a personal experience trying to pay a medical bill and was venting.

3) The repairman somehow knew T was a physician and was making a very passive aggressive comment to you about your husband's profession.

Of the above options #3 would piss me off. I would give him the benefit of the doubt and assign him #1 or #2 UNLESS you have this nagging feeling in your gut. When the gut speaks - always listen.