A trip to the doctor’s office comes with a bit of preparation for most, maybe even an internal pep talk to prepare for being told to get more exercise or calm a simmering fear of needles.
But dressing well in hopes of warding off unfair treatment – or even bracing for being insulted?
A newly released poll by KFF, a health policy research group, found many patients of color — including 3 in 5 Black respondents — take such steps at least some of the time when seeing a doctor.
The poll found that 55% of Black respondents said they feel like they must be very careful about their appearance to be treated fairly at medical visits. That’s similar to the rate for Hispanic and Alaska Native patients – and nearly double the rate for white patients.
Over 20 years ago, I worked for a health insurance company (not proud of it). I remember someone in the claims department telling me how they often rejected claims over a certain dollar amount without even looking at them, just to force the patient into re-submitting the claim. It was one reason I decided to quit and find another job. It’s gotten even worse since then. Private insurance is a complete scam in the USA.