Health insurance horror stories.
Is that even the right description?
When I read these stories it feels more like I am dipping into Kafka than into King. They are a tragic theater of the absurd.
Like the woman who was denied breast cancer surgery because she was previously treated for acne…..
Or the woman who not only lost her insurance but also lost her job after a trip to the hairdresser….
Here is an entire blog full of them…
Regardless of what we call them, there are hundreds – perhaps thousands – of similar stories out there.
They all have a similar theme – it goes something like this:
The patient had health insurance.
The patient became sick with a serious life threatening condition.
The insurance company refused to pay for treatment or delayed treatment until it was too late or even canceled the insurance policy – typically for some absurd reason.
The patient or the patient’s family had a huge battle with the insurance company, adding stress to an already stressful situation.
The patient nearly died or will die or actually did die.
Oh – there are certainly variations – but the similarity is remarkable.
(As an aside, did you know that insurance companies actually hire people to find ways to deny coverage to their customers? That’s right – part of your premium goes to pay the salary of people whose job it is to see that the company doesn’t actually pay for your treatment. Now that is Kafkaesque!)
I wonder – where are the pro-insurance testimonials? Certainly they must be out there, right? If Americans really love their health insurance there must be lots of stories that are opposite the ones I cite above.
But where are they?
I did find a post from a guy who was happy with how his insurance company handled his arthritis surgery. I myself have had a couple of minor surgeries and I have been generally satisfied with how the insurance company acted. But these are not the type of story I am looking for. I want to see “health insurance salvation stories” – stories about how the insurance company really stepped up to the plate in a life-threatening situation.
I am looking for something like the following:
The patient had health insurance
The patient became sick with a serious life threatening condition.
The insurance company seemed concerned about the patient’s health and was willing to pay for quality treatment.
The patient or the patient’s family were able to concentrate on the task of recovering and did not have to fight with the insurance company.
The patient’s health outcome was better than what might have been expected without the insurance company. The patient may still have died, but the insurance company was there fighting with the patient all the way.
Are those stories out there? If so, where are they?
I am probably setting myself up here – because if such stories do indeed exist I expect people will post them in the comments section below. If I am deluged with pro-insurance testimonials I will indeed be forced to modify my opinion.
I am waiting to be convinced – go for it.
Tags: health care, Health Care Reform, insurance, left-wing, liberal, National Affairs, political
August 25, 2009 at 9:33 am |
Hey Prof! Great article and thanks for the link. I’m sure there are folks out there who have had decent experiences with their insurance. However, I think in most cases you would find it is because of the actions of an individual (sometimes acting at risk of their own job) more than the corporate policy that is to thank.
There’s a great blog written by a hospice nurse and co-authored by her friend who is an insurance claims processor. It is often an enlightening look behind the curtain of insurance by someone in the trenches. That said, one of my favorite series was when she tried to get her knee fixed and needed an MRI. Although she works for her own insurance company it took her months of paperwork to get the one simple test needed to see if surgery were possible to fix her problem!
Anyway, you might find yesterday’s post at SESW interesting as it debunks the “Death Panel” hyperbole by pointing out that they already exist and how I had to go in front of one to decide if I’d even be here today writing this comment.
Great blog!
August 25, 2009 at 9:40 am |
Thanks Buck – do you have a link to the blog by the hospice nurse?
– hippieprof
September 5, 2009 at 4:26 am |
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March 17, 2010 at 9:59 pm |
I ll be back, for sure.
June 14, 2010 at 4:14 am |
Your site is most definately worthy of a bookmark, thanks