1295
[Final Update] My insurance won't cover UTIs for males. Yes, I'm in the US.
(self.mildlyinfuriating)
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
1295 points (97.7% liked)
Mildly Infuriating
35606 readers
1418 users here now
Home to all things "Mildly Infuriating" Not infuriating, not enraging. Mildly Infuriating. All posts should reflect that.
I want my day mildly ruined, not completely ruined. Please remember to refrain from reposting old content. If you post a post from reddit it is good practice to include a link and credit the OP. I'm not about stealing content!
It's just good to get something in this website for casual viewing whilst refreshing original content is added overtime.
Rules:
1. Be Respectful
Refrain from using harmful language pertaining to a protected characteristic: e.g. race, gender, sexuality, disability or religion.
Refrain from being argumentative when responding or commenting to posts/replies. Personal attacks are not welcome here.
...
2. No Illegal Content
Content that violates the law. Any post/comment found to be in breach of common law will be removed and given to the authorities if required.
That means: -No promoting violence/threats against any individuals
-No CSA content or Revenge Porn
-No sharing private/personal information (Doxxing)
...
3. No Spam
Posting the same post, no matter the intent is against the rules.
-If you have posted content, please refrain from re-posting said content within this community.
-Do not spam posts with intent to harass, annoy, bully, advertise, scam or harm this community.
-No posting Scams/Advertisements/Phishing Links/IP Grabbers
-No Bots, Bots will be banned from the community.
...
4. No Porn/Explicit
Content
-Do not post explicit content. Lemmy.World is not the instance for NSFW content.
-Do not post Gore or Shock Content.
...
5. No Enciting Harassment,
Brigading, Doxxing or Witch Hunts
-Do not Brigade other Communities
-No calls to action against other communities/users within Lemmy or outside of Lemmy.
-No Witch Hunts against users/communities.
-No content that harasses members within or outside of the community.
...
6. NSFW should be behind NSFW tags.
-Content that is NSFW should be behind NSFW tags.
-Content that might be distressing should be kept behind NSFW tags.
...
7. Content should match the theme of this community.
-Content should be Mildly infuriating.
-At this time we permit content that is infuriating until an infuriating community is made available.
...
8. Reposting of Reddit content is permitted, try to credit the OC.
-Please consider crediting the OC when reposting content. A name of the user or a link to the original post is sufficient.
...
...
Also check out:
Partnered Communities:
Reach out to LillianVS for inclusion on the sidebar.
All communities included on the sidebar are to be made in compliance with the instance rules.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
This is mildly infuriating, I can give you a little more context though if you're interested. I don't know exactly about contracts between insurance companies and CVS so I can't speak to that definitely. Probably something related to how much insurance is willing to pay minute clinic for such a short visit, and what things are feasible to address in such a short visit (hence CVS only allowing certain complaints).
I think this is something to do with the concept of "uncomplicated" vs "complicated" uti. Complicated utis are when there's an increased danger of serious complications from a uti or increased likelihood of failing a typical antibiotic therapy. Utis in men are much much rarer than women, and are considered to be an automatic "complicated" uti by many. The greater length of the urethra in men helps prevent bacteria from being able to travel up to the bladder, whereas in women the short distance allows for this to happen much more frequently. So when a male has a UTI there is a much greater chance there will be complicating factors like prostate issues, structural problems, kidney stones, kidney infection, catheter use, atypical bacteria, etc. If you look more into their info on utis, they also state if they suspect any of those things, even in women, they won't treat it and will just refer you to someone else, probably the Ed or a real urgent care clinic. Since the odds of that are much greater in men, they probably aren't allowed to have longer appointments in minute clinic based on what insurance will pay for what they're providing, they just decided to not see that at all in minute clinic. Looks like they do see men for sexually transmitted infections though, which are actually the most common cause of utis in young men, so if that's a concern looks like they would be able to see people for that.
But I totally agree with you, fuck insurance companies in general.
That's very interesting, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain this in so much detail. I looked at urgent care near me, but my insurance requires a referral from a primary care physician first. I will continue to explore my options.
I would call the insurance company and ask where to get care. The point of urgent care is to bridge the gap between wait times for PCP and people going to the emergency room. It's a lot more expensive for people to go to the emergency room than to an urgent care, and a big reason people go to emergency rooms is healthcare needs that arise when primary care docs aren't available. So, I'm not sure that your insurance company would require a PCP visit prior to an urgent care visit, but you definitely need to ask them (insurance co) what you need to do since you need care now and don't know where you need to go.
I've never heard of urgent care requiring referral from a pcp, that wouldn't make any sense as the whole point of urgent care is being seen more urgently than your primary physician can accommodate. And seeing people who don't have a primary physician and keeping them out of the ed if not necessary. I would ask your insurance for that policy in writing, that can't be right. And if it is it should be reported to that state insurance commission because that's totally asinine. I mean never underestimate the dumbness of insurance companies but I think something might be being lost in translation here.
Did you read the top 2/3 of that reply? UTIS in MEN are HARDER TO TREAT. Go, please, see a doctor ASAP, even if it's an out of network doctor. You're overthinking this. Do not risk kidney stones because you're mad at CVS or America or whatever. You need a doctor, not a Lemmy lawyer.
This is not scientific but cranberry juice - lots of it. Make sure it's got decent actual cranberry content (Ocean Spray is good and iirc in the US you can get some pretty decent frozen concentrate which is cheaper.) If you have a mild infection it might even make it go away, but as you are seeking treatment it's probably not mild. It may make you feel a bit better though, UTIs are bloody uncomfortable so whilst the system mucks about with your health, you can try to treat yourself as best you can. All the best.
Will that help for the retained bacteria in his prostate?
another home remedy is the herb called uva ursi. it helps to reduce the bacteria in urine and is usually brewed into a tea.
but don't use more than the recommended amount, for the recommended time, no more than a couple times a year, as it can have effects on the liver if overused.
bonus for him that it helps with swelling in case he happens to have enlarged prostate too, lol.
Yea its a complicated uti vs uncomplicated. I'm many cases that should be investigated further than a minute clinic. But it's also the insurance