Relocating to a new city can be a real hassle, especially when it
comes to finding new service providers It's one thing to try to sniff
out a decent hair stylist or barber and quite another to do the same
with doctors and dentists. Imagine doing that once a year - more if
you need something other than the standard annual exams and
screenings – and you'll get a sense as to just how complicated
GypsyCare can be.
Our provider options are further limited by our decision to volunteer at national parks and forests. Public lands are typically situated in remote areas where care options for permanent residents, never mind vagabonds like us, range from spotty to non-existent.
We tried the obvious route – asking fellow volunteers and locals for recommendations – but found that problematic for a couple of reasons. First, most of our volunteer colleagues split their time between RV and traditional residence. Their regular docs practice hundreds of miles away, which doesn't help us at all.
Second, providers recommended by the locals aren't
necessarily willing to add new, temporary patients to their already
heavy patient loads.
The answer to our dilemma came via something AARP advises for uninsured/under-insured adults awaiting Medicare eligibility and about which I'd learned while working with the public health system in Kansas - Community Health Centers, or CHC's.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracts with providers for a variety of services, including exams for healthy and sick adults; complete care for pregnant women; and immunizations for children. Patients pay according to a sliding fee scale.
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We discovered a CHC less than 10 miles from our campground. Our
exams, conducted by a nurse practitioner, cost us $45 each, including
blood tests.
I also received a referral for a mammogram, done at a nearby hospital. Out-of-pocket cost for that: $184 ($155 for tech and facility; $29 for radiologist).
Both Leonard and I were really pleased with the quality of care and will undoubtedly seek out a CHC the next time we need GypsyCare.
By the way, we could have paid for my expenses using my health insurance, but (as explained in last week's post) that would have necessitated traveling to South Dakota. You don't need a PhD in economics to understand why coughing up a couple of C-notes made way more sense than either driving or flying to SD just so someone could tell me I'm still capable of fogging up a mirror!
We've made appointments for semi-annual cleanings/exams at a dental practice about 20 miles away.
Coincidentally, the U.S. Forest Service here at Mt. Rogers held a first aid training for volunteers last week. Toss in a pocket knife and a glue gun, and maybe we don't need to see a doctor after all?
Our provider options are further limited by our decision to volunteer at national parks and forests. Public lands are typically situated in remote areas where care options for permanent residents, never mind vagabonds like us, range from spotty to non-existent.
We tried the obvious route – asking fellow volunteers and locals for recommendations – but found that problematic for a couple of reasons. First, most of our volunteer colleagues split their time between RV and traditional residence. Their regular docs practice hundreds of miles away, which doesn't help us at all.
Second, providers recommended by the locals aren't
necessarily willing to add new, temporary patients to their already
heavy patient loads.The answer to our dilemma came via something AARP advises for uninsured/under-insured adults awaiting Medicare eligibility and about which I'd learned while working with the public health system in Kansas - Community Health Centers, or CHC's.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracts with providers for a variety of services, including exams for healthy and sick adults; complete care for pregnant women; and immunizations for children. Patients pay according to a sliding fee scale.
.png)
I also received a referral for a mammogram, done at a nearby hospital. Out-of-pocket cost for that: $184 ($155 for tech and facility; $29 for radiologist).
Both Leonard and I were really pleased with the quality of care and will undoubtedly seek out a CHC the next time we need GypsyCare.
By the way, we could have paid for my expenses using my health insurance, but (as explained in last week's post) that would have necessitated traveling to South Dakota. You don't need a PhD in economics to understand why coughing up a couple of C-notes made way more sense than either driving or flying to SD just so someone could tell me I'm still capable of fogging up a mirror!
We've made appointments for semi-annual cleanings/exams at a dental practice about 20 miles away.
Coincidentally, the U.S. Forest Service here at Mt. Rogers held a first aid training for volunteers last week. Toss in a pocket knife and a glue gun, and maybe we don't need to see a doctor after all?
Thank you so much for taking more time and effort to share on this valuable information with us, i really appreciate it.
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