Doctor-dentist article about Maine

[Valley Living]

I agree with you and was just posting what I thought was a funny statement. Sorry you took it the wrong way, I did not mean for it to come out that way. I liked Chicago as well. However; I do know that I would never be able to live there. Just came back from a week at the Palmer House Hilton and the constant rumble and city noise is overwhelming. There is never a moment of peace anywhere in Chicago. Overall I have been in dirtier cities and Chicago has a lot of history.

[northernlights2]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

We don't have dental insurance. My former employer does offer a policy, the monthly fee is over $200, the co-pay is high, and the list of approved procedures is short.

We did have full-coverage provided for us for over 20 years. We found that they only provided for my Dw to have temp fillings. It took us years to discover this and the delay cost us dearly. As each filling she got would fall out a year or two later. They would gladly re-drill each tooth and fill it again and again. When there is no longer enough left of a tooth to re-drill and fill, they say that you now need a root-canal and such is not covered. So then we began paying for root canals out of our pocket. And we researched why this all happened.

If we had refused the company dental in the first place. Gone to local dentists for cleanings and fillings we would have spent far less of our own money.

It has been our experience has been that such employer provided dental coverage plans are truly a health risk; as evidenced by my Dw's missing teeth.

I prefer going in with cash and paying for services provided.

Our medical coverage is similar. We prefer seeing and being treated by doctors who have college degrees and who have attended medical school. A 20 year old kid who attended a 6 week school is not the sane thing as a real doctor.

The best thing that my former employer's medical plan did for me was they taught my how to use sutures, they encouraged me to suture myself whenever possible. I have sutured my children while standing in a hospital ER, but I would have preferred to have been in a facility that had a doctor in it.

oh my G-D....u can't be serious!! That's horrific...tell me that's sarcasm..p-l-e-a-s-e

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by northernlights2

oh my G-D....u can't be serious!! That's horrific...tell me that's sarcasm..p-l-e-a-s-e

Um, no.

Not sarcasm at all.

I carry our own medical records.

I am not sure which part of that would be sarcasm.

We do not have dental insurance at this time.

My Dw did have that exact dental history.

I do prefer going in with cash and paying for services provided.

I once had a peice of brass stuck in my right pupil [the clear part of my eye]. 2 MilMed optomologists tried to yank it out but they were afraid that they would pull the entire pupil out. So they told me to wait until the following week and a bus would take me to different hospital where they had an opthamologist who was capable to replacing the pupil if he yanked it out.

Rather than waiting a week with this brass hanging out of my eye, my Dw drove me into town and we walked into a civilian ophthalmologist's office. He fixed me up in a few minutes and charged me $30.

I do prefer being treated by doctors who have college degrees and who have attended medical school. A 20 year old kid who attended a 6 week school is not the same thing as a real doctor. Ask anybody who is career military.

I did once take our youngest son into a milmed hospital ER in Italy, when he had split his bottom lip [down the center the left hanging loose from the right]. They had some corpsmen and a PA, but none of them were confident that they could stitch it up. They did offer to sedate him and the following day fly him to Germany where a doctor could treat him. But he was in great pain, and I could not see the point in making him wait longer than needed; so I did suture his bottom lips back together.

Could you point out the sarcasm, please? Just saying what has happened during my career; using government provided health care.

Feel free to PM me, or my Dw posts here commonly ask her.

We have both been treated my MilMed for all of our aches, pains and injuries since the late-70's. We do have a lot of stories to tell about corpsmen.

[gcberry]

well what about living in NH? Is the lifestyle all that different from ME? Other than property taxes, it seems like everything else is cheaper, esp. health insurance

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by gcberry

well what about living in NH? Is the lifestyle all that different from ME? Other than property taxes, it seems like everything else is cheaper, esp. health insurance

NH seems like the odd place out for the North East for some reason. They won't even admit their state icon "The Old Man On The Mountain" has fallen off the mountain. It's a good place to buy cheap booze enroute to somewhere else but outside of the White Mountain National Forest and no sales tax it doesn't have a whole lot going for it.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by gcberry

well what about living in NH? Is the lifestyle all that different from ME? Other than property taxes, it seems like everything else is cheaper, esp. health insurance

What is the population density in an average town in NH? Where I live we have 9 people per square mile. There are places where it is less crowded, but many states are far more crowded.

To me so long as there are sufficient doctors to treat everyone, and living here is not crowded, and our taxes are lower; and our COL is lower: then yes the lifestyle is different.

[gcberry]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

What is the population density in an average town in NH? Where I live we have 9 people per square mile.

Where we're building it's 7 people per square mile (on the ME/NH border, ME side). I'm about 30 - 40 min. away from major shopping and services, so it's not really remote-- just peaceful. Of course, every person who builds/settles here wants to be the owner of land that is the last buildable piece of property in the area, and is not so happy about anyone who follows him (a little irony here)