I just read Jon Mendelson’s commentary in the Tracy Press (“County hospital feels the hurt of the uninsured,” Oct. 10), and I have to say that I’m not surprised that San Joaquin General Hospital is having financial problems.
In fact, I find it ironic, because I am fully insured. However, I will never go back there because of the substandard treatment I received.
I chose to have my second child there in 2007 and nearly had my third there in 2008, but I had such a hassle with the obstetric clinic that I vowed never to return. I often had to wait upward of two hours for a scheduled OB/GYN appointment, and I never saw the same doctor twice.
As a patient with gestational diabetes, this was an unacceptable proposition, so I switched to a private provider and had my third child at Doctors Hospital of Manteca instead.
Fortunately, we had a better experience when my youngest child had to spend time in the neonatal intensive-care unit, as well as my delivery and hospitalization in 2007.
The other problem I had was with my health insurance. My family has Federal Employees Health Benefit coverage. At the time, we had coverage through Blue Cross of California and Blue Shield of California — two separate companies that do not share coverage. The hospital was in the Blue Cross network, but the physicians were not in the Blue Shield network — we would have been forced to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket if we had continued to pursue treatment at this hospital.
If the hospital wants to lure private patients, it needs to get its act together. Better patient management in the outpatient clinics. Accept a wider range of insurance plans. That’s just for starters.
I want to support a public hospital, but not if it makes my life so difficult that it’s not worth the effort.
Just thought I’d share my experiences, so you could see another side of the story.
You still think like a socialist, even Sam Matthews travels to Russia to get some ideas. As in this weeks article it was about Canada. Look out.
It was Regan who said tear down this wall
It takes only 10 minutes to drive across Tracy. Not Stockton. French Camp doesn't have bus service. And if transportation is an issue Tracy will have built the Transit Center by the time they build a community hospital. 2018.
You want community? Or more walls and barriers in Tracy?
The location in Stockton or French Camp are perfect for the hospitals. Location, Location, Location. Tracy has too many transportation problems.
I'm getting to feel that those who want the hospital in Tracy, also want schools, colleges, shopping, community events such as the Bean Festival, Wine strolls and so on.
It's as though we are a Socialist country with a lot of commune villages within. Why not build walls between every different development?
Yes it is very complicated. You may either loose that plan or the "cost" will increase several fold.
Jerry McNerney might consider bringing Nancy there and providing a tour of what they're asking people to vote for.
Just one thing I'm not sure of. Do congresswomen and congressmen have different set of rules when it comes to healthcare? Different healtcare plan so they can be provided with better doctors and better healtcare coverage?
Why not make a change in Congress to keep all healthcare coverage equal, until this is completed? Wouldn't that finally get something done in Congress?
Give em the standard HMO Basic/Value package that 90% of the rest of the voters have to pay for?
I can't help but wonder if we'd get more than a phooney meeting then?
With government run healthcare we would have every hospital in the country run like the one you describe.
There are situations like this throughout the countries that already have these systems; Canada, France, England, Japan...
Competition (REAL competition) breeds success in the marketplace.