Thanks for Caring About My Healthcare

It’s crunch time or the Obama Healthcare plan and concerned politicians and industry groups are running amuck in attempts to make our lives healthier. I’d just like to thank them for that.

Thank you Americans for Prosperity. You warned that If government takes over health care, recommendations that women not have mammograms till age 50 could become the law of the land. Turns out that’s a big lie according to the Truth-O-Meter, but it’s still nice that you care. BTW, I went to your website and have to wonder ‘Who’s prosperity are you actually concerned with?’ Don’t you think I would be a little more prosperous if I didn’t have to pay more than $400 a month for my healthcare insurance? Just a thought.

Thank you AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans). You point out that health insurance companies' costs are only 4 percent of all health care spending and that far larger proportion goes to doctors and hospitals. But, I’m wondering, what exactly do you mean by “insurance companies cost?” Wasn’t it once the case that if you got sick and went to the hospital, your insurance would take care of it and pay everybody? That would be 100% of my cost and that’s the only percentage I care about. Of course, last year when my wife tripped and broke a couple fingers, despite our insurance, we got separate bills from Bayonet Point Hospital, the ER doctor who set her finger improperly, the x-ray technicians, the guys who own the x-ray machine and everyone else we bumped into that day. Next time something like that happens, I’ll bypass the hospital and go straight to one of those emergency care clinics. What a rip! Something’s definitely wrong with the system. How could anyone say it doesn’t need an overhaul?

And, what about the people with no healthcare? Shouldn’t we care about them? I’m not so self-absorbed that I can turn my back on people who can’t afford health insurance, people who are forced to spend long hours in line at clinics or in hospital ER’s when illness strikes. The acrobatics these people are forced to go through are ridiculous. What would be the harm in bringing something resembling a normal package to them?

Yeah, I have health insurance, but I can’t help wondering what’s going to happen in a couple of years. Will my doctors still accept me if I drop my current health insurance? Will a new provider accept me with my “prior condition?” – I’m a diabetic. Will I have to opt out of some kind of treatment because I can’t afford it? I worry about this stuff. That's what being an American means to me.

From Your Friends At Humana-Medicare

I usually manage to tune out or fast forward past TV commercials, but a promo for Humana-Medicare popped up during the Emmy Award broadcast the other night and, since I hadn’t noticed it before, I watched it with interest. I don’t recall the particular content, but suffice it to say they were trying to get people to sign up for their program. A blurb on their website makes this promise: “At age 65, you may qualify for Medicare. Enroll in a Humana Medicare plan with additional benefits and more coverage than Original Medicare.”

Thing is, a friend of mine is in their program - specifically, their Medicare Advantage plan. Recently, he had a heart attack. The ambulance took him to the closest hospital in New Port Richey, Morgan Plant North Bay Hospital. I visited him several times there and, quite frankly, he wasn’t looking to good. That’s why I was surprised when he told me one day that a doctor, not his cardiologist, who had just been in his room had told him he was being sent to a rehab facility.

Well, though he participated in rehab at Orchard Ridge Rehab, also in NPR, his condition continued to decline. He felt miserable. Finally, I said to him, “Bobby, these people don’t give a shit about you. You’ve got to see your own doctor over at the VA. They don’t even know what’s been going on with you.” So, since he had a regular appointment at the VA coming up, I made arrangements to take him there.

Well, on the fateful day, the VA ran some blood work on my buddy and found, among other things, that his potassium was at a dangerously high level. This condition was no doubt exacerbated by the potassium supplements the folks at Orchard Ridge had been feeding him. The people at the VA encouraged him not to return to the rehab site and made arrangements for him to be admitted to the Cardiac Unit at Bayonet Point Hospital.

He was there a few days when the very same doctor who had released him from Morgan Plant to Orchard Ridge Rehab appeared in his room. Having become familiar with the doctors who were tending to him, he asked the doctor what he was doing there. That’s when the doctor informed him “I work for Humana.”

That explains a lot about my friend’s deteriorating condition and the basics of Humana-Medicare. This doctor had only one interest – keeping down charges to Humana. He wasn’t interested at all in my friend’s welfare.

I hope that the next time you see the ad for Humana Medicare, this story comes to mind. We know that insurance companies are sleazy outfits, but some are sleazier than others.