My shoulder has been giving me pain for the last three weeks or so; and after surfing with it amongst the rough and tumble of the Californian swell I finally gave in and had it check out. This is an x-ray of it.
As an aside this will be my second interface with the US medical system and to be truthful it makes me nervous. I far prefer the Australian system where I know I will be taken care of. In the US I am more dependent on the insurance my employer has, rather than a collective health pool or my own insurance. It is fine if you don't have much wrong with you, but I am aging, and this is where I would not be in the least bit concerned if the US adopted an Australian or West European system (like France's) as health care. I don't see it happening though.
I dealt with the US health system in detail when I first came to America and inconveniently broke my leg playing Aussie Rules for the New York Magpies in Cincinnati. My insurance at that time was through an Australian insurer. I did not transition to US health care until later. I recall it was a fight to get the insurance company to pay - but ultimately they did.
For my shoulder the X-Ray was covered, but the MRI is optional and has to be approved by the insurance company, in this Aetna. I suspect I am going to be out of pocket one way or another before the shoulder is fixed and back to fully functioning status.
Update: I damaged the shoulder doing incline presses at gym.
Update II: 1/4 x-post
