
Ask HN: How to leverage my personal wealth to obtain better medical care? - BlindnessSucks
I have a very serious medical condition that is putting me at risk of becoming permanently disabled.  It seems that because our society has normalized the idea of having a disability, my health issue is not being treated as seriously as it should be.  Given that money is no object, what can I do to get better medical care?
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wallflower
Informally, if you want a good doctor, the best way is to ask a doctor who you
know and trust who they think is a good doctor or to refer you to someone who
knows. Not all doctors are the best per the law of normal distribution.

If you have not already, consider getting a referral to a concierge doctor
from someone in your network.

[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/business/economy/high-
end...](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/business/economy/high-end-medical-
care.amp.html)

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uberduber
If you are not already going to a large academic center in a large city, I
would start there. Also depending on your condition and specialty it is fairly
regional. For example, most of the good geneticists are on the east coast.

In large cities with rich people there are cash only and concierge doctors who
will spend the time needed with you because you pay them for it. The going
rate now here in Los Angeles seems to be $1000/hr for an appointment, though
they do spend time outside of that on your case of that which they don't
charge for.

If money is truly no object, there are services that you pay money who will do
research, have connections to top doctors, and ensure the correct diagnosis.
The best known one is Private Health Management. There are some smaller firms
often started by people who used to work there that are more affordable. Years
ago when I talked to some of these my personal case was around $50-100k which
I don't have.

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rajacombinator
I understand the general nature of your situation/question, but it’s hard to
give meaningful advice without more specifics. Either way, if you say money is
no object, what about time? For edge case medical conditions that fall outside
the cookie cutter ddx procedure your local doctor is familiar with, doing the
research yourself is often the only option. I had to do this for a serious but
obscure illness earlier this year. Alternately you can doctor shop and hope to
find one who has the interest level and attention to detail to tackle your
condition. (Recommendations can help.) But these doctors are few and far
between, sadly.

Edit: by the way, I don’t think this is an issue that money can solve
directly, which is frustrating. If money is truly no object but time is, one
option might be to hire a bright college student as a research assistant, as
someone else mentioned here.

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andrei_says_
Consider moving to a country with a healthcare system?

The US has a _healthcare industry_ , its main purpose is to maximize profit.
This leads to a very dangerous distortion of priorities which distortion is
institutionalized. Doctors and everyone else have to work within these
limitations which puts any patient at a serious disadvantage.

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BlindnessSucks
I have a serious problem and I need concrete advice, not broad generalizations
about the politics of healthcare. My health situation is complex, and I have
seen some very good doctors, but they can't justify spending the time and
effort needed to cure just one patient. I need actionable steps that I can
take.

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andrei_says_
I appreciate the reply and your correction. Apologies if my entry sounded
inappropriate.

I was speaking from experience — a friend, EU expat in the US hat to return to
his European country to get adequate treatment. But in his case money was a
major obstacle in the US.

I wish you best outcome and a quick recovery.

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perilunar
If you've already tried the best current treatments, you need to find out who
the top researchers in the field are and what experimental treatments they are
working on. Read the literature. Find out what clinical trials are in progress
and get yourself enrolled in one if possible. e.g. (based on your username):
[https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Blindness](https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Blindness)

Also consider directly funding researchers, research projects, and trials.
Research is money constrained — you can fund work that otherwise would not get
done.

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DanBC
Fly to England for treatment and pay the Overseas Visitor rates which should
be 150% of the tariff rates.

If however you're in England and the issue is in getting hold of something
like Avastin: if money is no object you can go private and get it. Make sure
you read the CQC review of the provider, and check the professional
registrations of the doctors and nurses.

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gshdg
This question is a bit vague. What treatments do you want? Do you have
information indicating that better treatments or cures exist than what’s being
offered to you? What specific obstacles are you encountering in trying to
access those treatments?

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brador
Set a reward for curing your illness equal to your entire wealth stack minus
10%. Use the 10% for marketing the prize and administration costs.

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mars4rp
and what the downsize would be for the doctor? If he could cure him, the
doctor gets a fortune, if the treatment didn't work, he goes disabled or
worse. I don't want to be that patient!

Capitalism doesn't work for everything!

~~~
brador
Use some of the 10% to pay for independent peer review of interesting
solutions.

