Here's another story about the prohibitive costs of insurance WHEN folks can actually get it. This was submitted by Anonymous-- sad we have to use that name for stories, but Big Brother is watching.
Hi Spike. While my story may not be that of an emergency situation, I feel it just as important since I have health insurance and pay out the ying/yang for it! Did I mention that I am a retired public school employee? We were paid so well we should be able to afford it. (yeah right)?
Every month goes by and I get a dreaded statement and somehow I've managed to find the money to pay this bill. Upon my retirement, I opted for the $710.00 a month plan with a $1000.00 deductible. For me; well, that's a house payment! After paying this for a few years I opted for the 2nd choice which was $510.00 with a $3000.00 deductible, $35.00 office visit deductible, and a $25.00/$75.00/$125.00 prescription deductible to boot! With my husband 60 and I 55, we are caught in a catch 22. Can't live with it....Can't live without it.
These are some of my observations:
1. The first thing any medical facility asks me upon entering is "do you have your insurance card"? Not hello.... hope your feeling better today....Nice seeing you....
2. I have to make sure our ailments are covered expenses and coded appropriately by the doctor office. If not, well... there goes another $200.00 we pay out of pocket.
3. To make up for the high deductible of our prescriptions, I request higher milligrams and then cut the pill in half. Should I really be forced to do this? I'm a good person, aren't I?
4. I always, always ask if they have any samples that the drug representatives left with them. Keep in mind 1 Boniva pill is $41.00 and although I have a friend that pays $200.00 per pill because she does not have Prescription Coverage, that is still lots of money out of my pocket that I simply don't have.
5. I'm finding that more and more of the doctors I wish to see don't take insurance anymore or have simply chosen not to participate in many insurance plans.
6. Some doctors simply don't need to be in the profession. They see $$$ signs instead of a person. I've had several doctors speak to me while their hand was on the doorknob ready to leap to the next patient. I guess they have a daily quota to meet? I've had a doctor on his cell phone during my visit in the room with him while diagnosing my ailment. Obviously, I don't go to him anymore! And you won't believe this one.. I've had a doctor's nurse tell me and I quote exactly: "If you call the doctor a lot because you are having trouble with the medicine he gave you, we won't be able to see you anymore because we just don't have the time." I don't go to him anymore either!
7. I also notice that many doctors are not willingly offering information and facts about the ailment we are visiting for. In other words, if I ask the correct question, I am rewarded with an answer. I can only guess that their feelings are if they offer too much information then they could have more reason to get sued? Sometimes I find it is like pulling teeth though.
8. Why can't our medical doctors and hospitals get over the entitlement syndrome they have? Why are we forced to wait 3 months to see a professional of choice? We're sick now.. not 3 months from now. My mother just recently ran into this problem with a dermatologist who, by the way, was not accepting insurance anymore. These days, you pay up front and the then submit your claim to the Insurance company to get paid back! She choose not to see that doctor because she simply could not afford to wait. Why is it all about the $ sign instead of patient care? I just saw a TV special about medical care in Great Britain and the care is all about preventative. Doctors actually get rewarded for getting a person to loose weight or quite smoking. Novel idea!
9. My husband and I both went to the same back doctor on different occasions but all within a few short months of each other. He was hurt on the job and of course it was considered a Workman's Comp claim by his employer. On our individual visits, we both had the same kind of regular xray and saw the doctor the same amount of 10 minutes. The only difference was my statement from our private insurance company showed they were billed approximately $600.00 less than he was billed. Does our system really work?
Finally, one last observation. If we are slightly sick or need preventative care, we do our best to treat it ourselves and just don't go for preventative care. If we have an emergency, we are forced to play the game and hope we still don't have a $2000.00 bill along with our monthly insurance premium. I've resorted to growing my own vegetables, setting up a hen house for fresh eggs and meat and am even considering letting a cow graze in the pastures. How's that for keeping our family healthier so we can pay this dreaded monthly insurance premium for the "just in case" emergency! Instead of the "Green" I don't have going out of my pocketbook, I've chosen to Go Green at home!
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