Health Care in Rural America

Daughter has 4 doctors, currently based in 3 different cities. The close ones are 22 miles away, one of her specialists is 100 miles away. We have tried to find doctors closer to home, but there are challenges. Daughter is not an easy patient. As Therapist pointed out to me, she’s even abnormal in her abnormalities.

With the severe low blood sugars Daughter has been experiencing and the lack of help her endocrinologist has provided, I am seeking a new endocrinologist for Daughter. The first challenge in finding a specialist where we live is distance. There are two possibilities about 25 miles from here. For various reasons, neither of these two are good choices. The one who is thought of more highly doesn’t have good interpersonal skills, so we’d prefer not to go there if we can avoid it.

There are three more options if I’m willing to go 50 miles. I’m willing to go 50 miles. This brings us to the second challenge: insurance. Two of the three possibilities are out of state, making it less likely that they will accept Daughter’s Medicaid. Medicaid is her secondary insurance; my Blue Cross/Blue Shield is primary. Dr. K (family doctor) has had good luck referring people to the one who is in state and 50 miles from here. I called, and he will take Medicaid. Dr. K has made the referral. We’ll see him on October 29th.

I hope this endocrinologist will be more responsive to Daughter’s needs. It would be nice if I could center all her medical care in one city. I have tried to do that, but distance and insurance pose major challenges. We’d have to go at least 50 miles to do that, and I don’t want to go 50 miles for her family doctor. The other issue is simply that there is a shortage of many specialists in rural America. Finding a good psychiatrist for her has been especially challenging.

There are many advantages to life in Tiny Village, but access to health care is not one of them. I am fortunate that I can rearrange my schedule to carve out half a day (or longer) to take her to an appointment. I hope and pray that this new endocrinologist will be a good match for Daughter and her needs. If I have to, I will take her 100 miles to see the right doctor. My hope is that this time, the right one will just be 50 miles away.