A recent issue of Fred Med Magazine featuring happy quotes from satisfied employees promoting Fred’s University Hospital angered some members of the community. The article focused on the low cost of care and depicted mostly white administrators whose pictures were taken at a black-tie benefit dinner for the new Deluxe Donor Care Wing.
Fred’s University sophomore Brian Smith, whose father is a maintenance worker, decided to do an experiment with some of his classmates to calculate the true cost of healthcare for the average hourly worker at Fred’s University and the results were uncomfortable.
According to Smith’s data, the cost of a routine doctor’s appointment at Fred’s Med Clinic costs a maintenance worker twice what it costs a top administrator even though they have the same health benefit. The poor pay more.
Administrators are on salary and can leave their office at any time to go to a doctor’s appointment. So even though an administrator’s time could be calculated at a much higher dollar value than a janitor on minimum wage, the salaried employee loses no wages by going to the doctor.
While the national average wait time in doctor’s offices is 18.5 minutes, students observed that minimum wage workers usually waited twice that long. Salaried employees were able to get strategically better times for appointments and wait less.
Students also observed that minimum wage workers, especially workers of color, were more likely to be subjected to unnecessary extra paperwork and invasive questioning. Hispanics in the study were asked on multiple occasions to produce proof of citizenship and even tax returns in violation of clinic policy.
Salaried workers were almost always able to pay whatever costs were associated with the appointment upfront, whereas unpredictable copays hit cash-strapped workers much harder. The total credit cost on high-interest cards for a single copay could balloon the cost of a simple doctor’s visit over time.
Smith pointed out that the factors that make medical care too expensive also make hourly workers more likely to delay care, with the result that they often end up with more difficult conditions that are more expensive to treat than those who can immediately see a doctor. According to the Health System Tracker, “Adults who are in worse health are twice as likely than those with better health to delay or go without care due to cost reasons.”
After Smith made his results public on Instagram he was disciplined by the Sociology Department for using their official university logo on a private account, and temporarily suspended from the university. Smith noted on that same Instagram account that, until he is reinstated, he has no health insurance.
**Starred Comments**
Natasha Brinsky
YI the cost of attending benefits falls on administrators. We may be comped on tickets, but we have to pay to buy or rent our black-tie attire. There’s also the babysitters, Uber, manicures, everything else that goes along with a night out. It’s not just a free ride. Also, it isn’t people like us who get to stay in the Deluxe Donor Care Wing. So we don’t have it as easy as you may think.
Jerry G.
To get an appointment we often have to give up a good shift for one that costs us more (in childcare or transportation or whatever). Then when the appointment goes over and we can’t get back to work on time, we are often docked.
NotGivingMyName
As a lifelong administrator, I’m going to tell you a dirty secret which is that maintenance workers were never supposed to be included in Fred’s Med health plan at all. We try to keep them on part-time shifts that are below the benefit threshold. Maintenance was only added because the insurer gave us a better deal for a larger customer pool. The maintenance staff should be grateful they are getting any health care at all.
M from Maintenance
Great job, Brian. But you left out some things. The campus shuttle that admins can take to Fred’s Med doesn’t stop at the maintenance hub. We tend to live far from campus and Fred’s Med, so the cost of transport for us can be high.
Jenny
It bothers me when maintenance workers come straight from the job to Fred’s Med. Sitting next to someone who is covered with dirt (and probably germs) is not hygienic for a medical setting. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Also what is with the prisoners coming through in shackles? Not safe. I’m not saying prisoners can’t go to the doctor, but we should schedule a separate time for prisoners to get care. Or maybe the doctors should go to the prison. Prison jumpsuit? Not a good look for the waiting room.
Bob Jones
I am an hourly worker. I was wrongly charged double for an appointment at Fred’s Med. They eventually refunded the money but not the massive amount of interest I paid on my debt. I could have lost my car because of their mistake. No apology either. The poor pay much more.
Mary P.
The shrimp at the Deluxe Donor Care Wing benefit was bad. The music was too loud. I’m not even really sure they are building that Deluxe Wing. I bet they are pocketing the money for themselves. I was strongarmed into giving that quote for Fred Med Mag and they never asked for photo consent. Not attending another benefit!
Greg
Can anyone tell me how I can get a reimbursement for out-of-network bunion removal?
Also Read: Fred Med Hospital Breaches Patient Confidentiality And Is Dirty