Battling the healthcare bureaucracy occupies too many days.
The hours of a futile day end too quickly yet the clock never seems to change through the night as I wait for hourly employee bureaucrats to return to their offices and phones. Weekends drift through dangling conversations as thick as Spanish moss.
“A Harvard-based study … commissioned by the National MS Society … published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis (1/29/2007) found that many reported …
· high levels of stress and difficulties related to affording health care services and medications.
· spending less on food, heat and other necessities to pay for health care needs
· not filling prescriptions or skipped doses of medicine
· worrying “a lot” about losing or not having health insurance and about whether their health coverage might change.
While I guess statistical solidarity is reassuring, I KNOW that because Patti's cognitive symptoms prevent her from fighting for herself, in 2006 I spent over 1000 hours battling the insurance bureaucracy. From September of 2004 through August of 2005 I logged 2000 hours in my day planner (I’ll do the math for you - that’s a full time job). 2007 is shaping up to be another donnybrook.
Additionally, the care facility era is about teamwork and not all players are as experienced and committed.
Whether “private” or “government” the bureaucracy of health care forces you to get into the mud and fight for everything when you live with a chronic progressive illness. … Why? I believe after two decades that the business of medical insurance would prefer Patti to just go away.
In frustration I often wonder how many bars of “Pontius Pilate Hand Soap” are in bathrooms across the U.S.? … Millions of Americans have retirement plans with stock portfolios of insurance, pharmaceutical, andhealthcare companies. Directly or indirectly they “expect” profits. Who is the bigger part of the problem, stock holders or the hourly employee bureaucrats, just doing their jobs?
As long as our US health care system is driven by profiteering it will never serve any master except profit.
Amen brother!! Insurance company issues have always been my soapbox. They care nothing about anything except their own pocketbooks, just as you said. The only way they will ever realize it is if they ever have to deal with the tragedies the people of the 'real world' ever experience, both physical, mental and financially.
ReplyDeleteJackie
I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM DADDY! IT TOOK US 2 YEARS TO GET REESEE ON A WAIVER PROGRAM THROUGH THE GOV. AND IT WAS SUCH A HEADACHE, BUT NOW I'M GLAD WE DID IT. THERE'S NO WAY THAT MOM COULD HAVE AFFORD THE CARE THAT REESEE NEEDS OR THE THINGS SHE NEEDS. I GUESS THEY MAKE IT HARD TO GET BECAUSE OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT TRY TO STEAL FROM THE GOV. WHEN THEY REALLY DON'T NEED IT. NOW WE ARE GETTING ANOTHER CHILD ON MONDAY AND THEY WOULDN'T EVEN LET US START THE PAPER WORK FOR HIS WAIVER UNTIL HE WAS HERE. SO IT WILL BE ANOTHER LONG DRAWED OUT PROCESS AND PAPERWORK.
ReplyDeleteMY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND PATTI.
GOD BLESS,
LIZ IN VA.
http://journals.aol.com/bethjunebug/Bethjunebug
isurance ugh......i know my sis has had lots of problems enjoy your weekend
ReplyDeleteDeb
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGSTOYOU))))))))))))))))))Maybe I am confused about this,but,I can say this,it took me a long time to get health insurance,and I got it through my job,before they hanged the law,its diffrent now,you have to wait longer to get insurance.I work in the union.I am sorry you have to go through all that.Have a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you find time to do this. I spent understand the hours--with my recent bout of illness I logged hours on the phone as well.
ReplyDeleteI spent 20 hours on the phone trying to straighten out 1 bill.
I am sending my nurse practitioneer cookies because she's the only one who returns phone calls promptly.
.........no one could understand why we were slow about moving back to care for my mother.............we kept saying the insurance! We had to purchase independent insurance for ourselves here..............and it is over 3000 each for us as well as a prescription insurance plan and long time care for me because I am the caregiver, and the only one healthy enough to be insured. Is there hope on the horizon with the government talking about health care for seniors? Hope so!
ReplyDeleteYou got that right Patrick!!! Bam
ReplyDelete