It even flows down to the ridiculous. About three months ago, on a Sunday (and two days before we were scheduled to leave for a trip lasting over two months), my wife pulled something in her back. Without any other clear options, I brought her to the local municipal hospital emergency room. Expecting a dive into a clone of "The Pitt", I was impressed by the level of professionalism and lack of chaos which has changed my whole outlook towards, at least the NYC, public hospital system.

Anyway, after injecting and applying all sorts of arcane potions, they prescribed a couple of pills and Lidocaine patches. Our Medicare insurance company approved the pills, but not the patches (leaving me holding the bag on $65 worth of them, and with the ER physician uncontactable to rebut it). Well, the hospital bill was trivial (something like $23) and I can certainly afford the pain-killing pads - which worked well, but the thought of someone who couldn't getting pinged for a drug which worked, but which they couldn't afford, bothers me.

Jeff