<p>My daughter (an international student) is sophomore in a big university in USA. She is enrolled in the health insurance plan offered by the university. Till now she managed to cope alone with some slight medical problems, but several weeks ago something happened to her arm. At the beginning she did not pay attention as the pain was not strong. Nevertheless, as she had to visit the Student health services in order to get a document for a study abroad program, she arranged an appointment on line and made it clear, that she had also some medical problems. One week later the doctor said, that she had to choose whether to get the document or to have a medical examination, but that she couldnt have both for 15 min. As the due date of the document was close, she made a second appointment. One week later (after measuring her temperature and blood pressure which were perfect) the doctor said that the arm was not broken (which was obvious even to me!), that probably she had tendonit and that she had to meet a sport doctor. So, my daughter made an appointment with the sport doctor, and started a treatment with Ibuprofen and ice, following the advice of the first doctor. Not surprisingly, she had to wait one more week for this appointment (it was for today). But today she received an e-mail, that the appointment was cancelled, because there is a big athletic competition in the university and the doctor will be there. The new appointment is at May 5! In the meantime, in spite of the treatment, the pain became stronger. That is her right arm, she has a lot of typing now at the end of semester, and although in the beginnig we thought that it was good to see a doctor, now it is obvious that she NEEDS a doctor. Still, that is not an emergency case, so my question is what to do. Does she have the right to visit any specialized doctor in the city for free? If so how can she find the right doctor? Or she has to go to the health service of the university and insist to be redirected to another doctor? She is quite busy now, she does not have time to research that problem, and I dont know how to help. So, any advice from parents (and students) is welcomed.</p>
<p>Go to student health and sit there until they see her. Take her homework and do it there.</p>
<p>Why don’t you call the health center and ask if she has the right to see a specialized doctor “for free”? They should know, and perhaps you could tell them everything that you wrote here. Perhaps they will be willing to see her on Monday. Nobody here knows what your daughter’s plan allows for.</p>
<p>My son had a health problem that I wanted to have a second opinion on, and I had him go to the emergency room (it was an acute condition). He is covered under our health insurance, so I knew that the bill would be our deductible of $100 for an emergency room visit. I was happy that he went, but the health center at his school did diagnose him correctly. He did need an additional medication though, that university did not prescribe (a type of pain killer that my son really needed). He was given the correct antibiotic by the unviersity’s health center (it just was not enough to take care of his pain). Oh, and when he went to the ER, he took some books with him, anticipating waiting for a few hours.</p>
<p>This must be very frustrating for you :(… The good thing, I guess, is that the school year is almost over…</p>
<p>Do you have a document describing her health coverage? Could you read it carefully, and see what exactly is covered, and where she can go for treatments? My guess is that even if she can see an outside MD, she has to be referred to him by the school’s health services.</p>
<p>If you bypass any required approvals, the care she gets may prove very expensive - so be careful with that!</p>
<p>I think she needs to call the health center again, and tell them that her condition is worsening, and she can’t wait 2 more weeks for evaluation.</p>