The following health care story was posted today on a conservative, investment oriented website. The comments following Allena's story are remarkable in that they are largely supportive of the single payer option.
Exactly one year ago this morning, I found myself strapped into a rescue helicopter en route to UCLA Medical Center. It had been a little over an hour since a predatory black bear attempted to make a lunch of me, and I was determined to make it to the emergency room before I passed out–maybe for the last time. Both my father and my sister had gone to medical school at UCLA, and I knew that there I would be given top-notch care in a top-notch facility, with the help of the best technology in the history of the planet. But I also knew that should I somehow survive, I was in for years of hassle with the insurance companies that control the medical field– and I wasn’t entirely certain I wanted to face that.... Comment by drumminj
2009-07-22 09:37:10
ahansen (unless someone else on this blog had a battle with a bear as well)…
After reading your linked story about your troubles with insurance companies, I’m curious to ask -are you still fighting with the insurance companies, or are you ending up paying for a lot of this out of pocket? Are you racking up bills with the surgeons? Or are you simply foregoing care at the moment?
Sorry to hear it’s been such a difficult battle. One would hope that surviving the bear attack would be the hardest part. It would appear that’s not the case…
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Comment by ahansen
2009-07-22 10:23:31
Out-of-pocket expenses so far are in the mid-five figures, and I’ve a couple more years to go in my reassembly. My individual Blue Cross policy (which I’ve paid religiously for 30 years,) has a $2500 deductible which resets every January 1. (Do-able, right?) After the deductible has been satisfied, the policy supposedly covers 70% of “reasonable and customary medically necessary expenses” excluding dental, ophthalmic, and cosmetic surgery–all of which I need. There is no coverage for drugs. Such things as X-rays and anesthesia are not deemed “medically necessary.”
Unfortunately, “reasonable and customary” does not mean the same thing to Blue Cross as it does to medical providers. So that $2500 deductible turns out to be more in the order of $7500 out-of-pocket before ANYTHING is covered. Then the 70% Blue Cross DOES cover is conditional upon whether or not THAT is a “covered expense,” “reasonable and customary,” etc. etc. They even tried to charge me $1700 co-pays for each of the five rabies vaccinations I had to have–which the public health hospital got for free from CDC! And on top of that are the monthly premiums....
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