Last night, I got a phone call from a new doctor that I'm going to see for my neck issues. They called just to get insurance information. The exact wording, "We need to know what insurance provider you have so we will know what treatments we can provide." Shouldn't the treatments be based on my condition rather than my insurance? Can I see the medical degrees of the people who make up the insurance policies so that I know they can tell me I truly don't need a certain treatment? Since when is it OK that we leave our health up to people who have never met us and have no medical experience?
Even though my neck is a huge issue for me, it's a tiny issue in comparison. A good friend of mine's husband has Crohn's. He's been very sick lately. Doctors were unable to give him the treatment he needed when he needed it because of insurance. Really? A life literally hangs in the balance and doctors can't help because someone sitting behind a desk crunching numbers deems it as unnecessary? How about have this happen to the person making the "rules" and then have them see if it's necessary or not.
Then there's testing. What tests are covered and which one aren't. My mom is going through this now. She is responsible for calling and verifying with her insurance company that a test her doctor highly recommends is covered. If not, what, she just can't get it? This test is to determine if she needs to have her ovaries removed. Um, kind of a big deal, don't you think? Why would this test not be covered? I love when I go to the doctor and there are all sorts of signs that tell you it is your responsibility to find out where your insurance company allows labs to be sent. So, apparently if someone is having tests run, it's not bad enough, but then they have to make sure the insurance company says its OK.
In the past 30 years, insurance has gotten crazy. It has pretty much taken over the medical field. It dictates who can have what done and when. Since being on my own, I've had crappy insurance and good insurance. With our crappy insurance, it covered nothing until we met our $5000 deductible. Literally. First $5000 of expenses were completely out of pocket. Needless to say, we never went to the doctor because we didn't have $5000 to spend. When Monster was born, we were still on that insurance. We were lucky because the only thing it did cover were child vaccinations. Each time we set foot in the doctor's office, it was a minimum of $100, but that's nothing compared to the cost of vaccinations. When Sunshine was born, we had "good" insurance. We had an awesome pediatrician. Took Sunshine in for her vaccinations. Then, we got a bill. Well, there must be some mistake. This is good insurance, vaccinations are covered 100%. Yes, 100% when they are coded correctly. Luckily for us, the Cleveland Clinic codes the vaccinations as a hospital procedure, which, guess what, insurances don't pay. I am thankful that I got someone from the CC that didn't know what he was doing when I called to complain the first time around. Because of who I talked to and how things were phrased, when I went in for round two of vaccinations and accrued a $2000 bill, it was waived because of misleading information on the CC's part. However, after that, I had to go to the Health Dept for vaccinations. Now, tell me, how is it I can get a bill from the doctor for $2000 for vaccinations, yet go to the Health Dept and pay $40? Does that make sense?
France has one of the best health care systems in the world. They also have some of the healthiest people. French doctors are paid based on how healthy they keep their patients. Yes, that's right, how healthy they keep their patients. For this reason, French doctors still make house calls. You can call your doctor for the slightest sniffle. And here's the kicker, the government pays. Yes, the French pay taxes for it, but no one is denied good medical treatment. How is good medical treatment for everyone a bad thing? I can't figure out why it's not like that in the "land of opportunity".