Tag: health insurance

Finding a Primary Care Physician in the U.S.

~ cafebedouin

This is a common question. Here are things to consider when selecting a new one.

As a starting point, you can use Healthgrades.com to do an initial search for internists in your area. Under the About Me section for each doctor, you can find the information below.

  • Good medical school? Use a ranking like U.S. News & World Report.
  • Internist? It’s a more specialized form of primary care, aka, the doctor’s doctor. It tends to be a quality marker. Not absolutely necessary, but good to have.
  • Residency at a good hospital? Again, check U.S. News & World Report, but this time on the quality of the training hospital.
  • Board-certified? You can check for certification at the board website or at certificationmatters.org.
  • Fellowship-trained? This is more important for subspecialties, but it can be relevant in primary care if you have a specific health problem or in a patient population that needs a doctor with experience with it, e.g., geriatric, pediatric, diabetes, etc.
  • Good patient ratings? These are fine as a first pass. But, it’s not uncommon for doctors to game them, which I view as a negative sign. How do you tell whether it is a doctor patients love or a doctor that gamed it? You cannot. Also, even if other people like them, they may not be right for you. Most doctors in practice for awhile will have negative reviews.

You want to find the best physician available. Many people choose a physician based on proximity. That’s a mistake. It is better to travel a bit, if it means you are seeing a better quality doctor.

Of course, if you have constraints on who you can see because you have an HMO or other, more-limited insurance, you also need to filter based on who you can see. If you can, try to get insurance where you can go to any physician you select.

Life Lesson: Notice & Exit Interviews

~ cafebedouin

“After 14 years at Microsoft I turned in my resignation with 3.5 weeks of notice. No big deal. I was taught when I was younger it was classy. That it allows for a smooth transition and it’s the last thing people remember. I had some key turnovers I wanted to take care of. Again trying to do the right thing

I’m going to Amazon on Aug 1.

My manager naturally said here is your walking papers and out. I said that there are a few loose ends I should tie up. Nope. Ok. What I didn’t expect is that she changed my exit date without me knowing to two weeks earlier.

Why? Because she is sore. But what it did to me was mess up my healthcare coverage for two lousy weeks.

Can I do cobra. Yes. Is it a pain. Yes. Will I be fine? Yes. But it’s the last thing I remember now about what was a really good run.

Anyway here is a lesson I learned. For a brief moment I forgot that you do not matter to the company. Your achievements do not matter. What you did for your team did not matter and being classy with a handshake and well wishes is dead.

If you get a new job. Do what is right for you. Quit 1 day before your new role because it’s the safest thing for you. Especially today. I wish it wasn’t.”

-maddoc07, “Life lesson: give notice to your current employer at your own peril.” teamblind.com. July 6, 2022.

I think the real life lesson here is to expect to be fired on the day you give notice. For healthcare, you want to make sure that it extends through the month, so you can have your benefits and not have a gap in coverage. Quitting with one day’s notice is a jackass move. Perfectly reasonable to give two weeks notice at the beginning of the month and keep your healthcare coverage.

Also, the exit interview is all about covering your employer from legal liability. There’s no reason for an employee to participate. If they wanted your opinion, they should have asked you before you gave notice.