Occupation:: Student/Employee

I work retail and go to school as well, I found out after being hired that because I was short of being considered full time (5 hours at most), I could not get full time employee benefits which included health care coverage. My job also did not make this apparent to me when they hired me, even with me asking questions regarding this topic. Since then I have had an emergency room visit, (which I have to pay out of pocket) and because of my anger of the situation refuse to pay it. It’s been about 2 years now.

Occupation:: Unemployed

I am recently unemployed after I had medical problems that prevented me from being able to do my job description anymore. I was first diagnosed with herniated disk in my neck that causes severe pain in arm and shoulder. While I was out I had a stroke in my left eye that took my vision, I have gained a little over half of it back thanks god. When I was employed I had insurance which led to about 28 different appointments within a 45 day span, since then I have not been able to even get into my doctors no insurance no money no appointments. I am 51 years old, no job, not eligible for medicaid, disability or any other sources so I have not been able to get treatment, I live in constant pain that at times have made me suicidal, and have no where to turn. Where is there help for someone like me that does not want to live off the system, I just want help to get medical treatment so that I can work again. I am tired of all the doors being shut in my face.

Occupation:: Homemaker

My husband wants a divorce. My health insurance is through his job. Will I lose my health insurance when we divorce or will I be able to continue to be covered under him?

Diagnosed in 1979 at the age of 19 with narcolepsy and what today is known as ADHD, I was treated with Desoxyn and my 2.0 GPA doubled overnight… I went from Secondary Ed major to Communications to Aerospace Engineer… Working for NASA… In 2002, I moved to California and because Desoxyn is Methamphetamine HCI, a physician accused me of “SPEED ABUSE”, as I was to discover 18 months later when my inability to get treatment for narcolepsy/ADHD had forced me to apply for SSDI. Once on Medicare, I was able to find a physician to treat me. I went back to work but my treatment stopped and a sleep attack during a meeting put my job in jeopardy and I was let go.

Recently, I spent six months waiting for a clinic to treat me. But they didn’t. They billed Medicare but never provided treatment or testing. During the course of 6 months, I was incorrectly diagnosed with schizophrenia and the treatment they provided resulted in serious anxiety. Doctors I have never seen send me bills and bill Medicare. This is not the way it used to be.

If we want decent healthcare for the next generations, we need to provide the younger generation with medical and pharmacological training in grades K12 and have individuals citizens take a greater share in their healthcare treatment. We need to revolutionize drug policy, replacing the fear, ignorance, and shame with knowledge discipline, and trust, expanding medicinal use of drugs and reducing the social use, limiting abuse potential. The more medical education that the public has, the more effective providers will become in research and advancing medicine.

Occupation:: Student

I’d had what felt like a slight case of swimmers’ ear. I was hesitant but decided to see my primary doctor after about two months. He told me that there was nothing he could do and that I should visit an ENT doctor. I went to the office he suggested where they had me visit once every two weeks and each time they prescribed me a different, common medicine.

My mother, being a pharmacist, gave up trust in him and told me to visit another ENT doctor after about five visits.

The other ENT doctor said it looked like my eustation tubes were bloated, probably caused by an allergy. He prescribed no medicine.

After several months and doctors visits, I’d gotten back to square one.

I still have the nuisance and it’s been about a year now.

Occupation:: Unemployed

I would like to know why the dental coverage for adults has changed. The only things they cover is cleanings but in order to have a cleaning I have to pay for the xrays that they have to do. If I have bad teeth I will not be able to pay for fillings or extractions because my insurance will no longer cover those cost. So, I feel as those low income people have to suffer and risk heart disease because we cannot receive the proper dental coverage.

Occupation:: Engineer

I recently had an appointment with a sleep specialist. The visit consisted of about one half hour of dialog between the doctor and myself. No physical examination or tests of any kind were performed. My diagnosis was “insomnia-unspecified”. My bill 465 dollars. Paying this amount having been cured would be one thing but I don’t feel I received anything close to my moneys worth. Affordable health care can never be accomplished when clinics are allowed to charge such rates.

Occupation:: Law Student

Absolutely disgusting that I can’t get insurance for cheaper than $320 per month.

About my general Health:

I am a 27 year old female. 5’2″, 105 pounds. I have never smoked in my entire life, never had an alcoholic beverage. I only drink water and lots of it. In short, I am a health nut. I have been to the doctor 3 times in the last 8 years for routine exams.

I haven’t eaten fast food in 10 years. I am a runner and athlete, and have never had a heath problem until last year. I fell from an indoor rock climbing maze when the person holding my rope let it slip. Now I have a small pain in my lower back that showed up every 3 months. After an MRI at the request of my Dr. they found a slightly herniated L4 disc. No biggie. I have been doing exercises and haven’t had pain in a year.

I have been unable to get approved for health insurance that is under $320 per month. I am a full time law student, building law school debts and am struggling to pay for rent, food, utilities, books and tuition.

I find it is absolutely disgusting that someone as healthy as myself is unable to be insured at a reasonable rate because of a small condition that hasn’t caused pain in 3 years.

I am currently uninsured because of this.

Occupation:: Banker’s Assistant

I have stage 4 cancer so have been through quite a few tests in the last few years. Many times I have seen doctors not use recent test from other doctor, order tests that are not effective and “fudge” the billing codes to get insurance companies to pay.

My doctor ordered a PET scan to find out if my cancer had spread. According to my health insurance, PET scans are not effective on my type of cancer so they did not honor the bill. I am paying off a $3000 dollar bill for a test that did NOT show I had recurrent disease but a CT Scan ordered by the same doctor (since the PET Scan results did not satisfy him) did show the new cancer clearly. When I talked to the doctor, he said he would have his medical team “bill it under a different code” so that it would be approved. The billing clerk I talked to seemed very adept at “working the billing codes”.

My other doctor ordered an nuclear test for my kidney. It takes two isotopes and one was not available. He had the test done anyway. It produced no useful results so we are going to repeat the test when the two isotopes are available. So that is two bill for the insurance company due to his authorizing the first test w/out the proper chemcials.

I went to see a eye doctor for a blocked tear duct. He treated me and billed insurance for THREE MONTH, before confessing that he was not qualified to perform tear duct procedures and referred me to a specialist. If he had just been honest about his inability to treat my condition on the 1st or 2nd visit, the insurance company would not have been billed for those ineffective visits.

My point is doctors are frivolous in their use of expensive tests and have no regard for the costs they are incurring.

It is common practice to use creative billing code usage.