Occupation:: Freelance Audio Video Tech

I’m a Veteran who served 7 years in the Army. I got of the service in 1997 and went to flight school. Worked hard to gain experience to get into the airlines. Got furloughed from the first one a week after 911, went to the next and the cost of healthcare for my wife and I was nearly half of my $25,000 a year earnings. Got furloughed from airline number 2 when they went bankrupt. The cobra option was almost twice what it had been. How is it that you get $125 a week for unemployment but the premium for healthcare is $400 a month. Fortunately my wife’s job took care of that till I got on with another airline a couple years later after. But the low eventually forced me out of the airlines and my wife lost her job in a mass corporate downsizing. Now we are both freelancers and for the first time in our lives, have no coverage. This is after having paid thousands of dollars a year for years to make the taker even more able to take.

We recently looked into high deductible plans and were quoted with premiums of $350 a month with a $10,000 deductible. That is what I consider to be prohibitively expensive. I got an idea, everyone stop paying them tomorrow. They’ll be begging for business when the recession finally hits them.

If you make $25,000 a year, pay 12($400) = $4800 bucks a year in health insurance, 12($1,000) =$12,000 in rent, Taxes of $2,400 a year in taxes (half of the cost of insurance coverage if you don’t go to the doctor even one time). 12($200) = $2,400 a year for car insurance so you can get to work, (if you are fortunate enough to have a car and a job), you are left with a grand total of $2,800. Now divide that by 52 and you find that there is only $52 a week to eat. There are a lot of other expenses that haven’t even began to be added. These are just the basic requirements to operate within the modern world. If you can’t meet these, you are out on your butt in a hurry.

If you have a co-pay of $20 for a visit to the doctor, are you going to go to the doctor, or are you going to eat? But remember, you have already paid the medical industry nearly over 20% of your money for the year. And now, you are in a position where you must pay nearly 50% of your last money in order to talk to a Doctor for a few minutes. People, we are all going to die. The idea of healthcare has been around for less than 100 years, and in that time, they have lobbied to take every last dime they can prior to taking your temperature. And if you miss one single payment because you get sick, hurt, downsized, or whatever, your right to health is instantly revoked.

My final point, they have a new thing called HSA (Health Savings Account). But to be eligible for one, you must be enrolled in a high deductible health insurance plan. (Remember, I was offered a great deal at only $350 a month.)

Let me get this straight. In order for me to even begin get a tax break from the government for saving up my own money to pay for doctor bills, I must first pay any money that I could possibly allocate to saving to a health insurance company that won’t cover any of my medical expenses until I pay the first $10,000.

My suggestion. We all stop paying them tomorrow morning. Go to your employer and ask what they are paying for your healthcare. Ask them to put 75% of that into a savings account for when you actually need to see a doctor and invest the other 25% back into the business by giving it to you in stock options or some kind of creative win-win situation. Imagine then, what would happen when more than half the doctors in the country suddenly lost their free ride. Any you’re all still worrying about our tax dollars helping poor people. The medical industry costs you far more than taxes do. And write to your congressman asking why you can’t have a health savings account.

Occupation:: Correction Officer

It is quite disheartening that a country like U.S.A., could not provide universal healthcare for her citizens. A country that is acclaimed to be the richest country in the whole universe – rich in human and natural resources- with some individuals richer than some poor countries, yet its citizens are dying for lack of healthcare. A country that spends billions of dollars in aid to other poorer countries, yet its citizens cannot boast of an affordable healthcare – something that is very common in other developed nations. Countries like Canada, Germany, U.K. and even Cuba, have their healthcare problems solved long time ago, but America, which supposed to set the pace, is yet to convince members of the Congress and the selfish health insurance companies that healthcare is a right not a privilege for every American citizen. If only America could stop sending money to countries that train terrorists who in turn attack the U.S., such money could be invested in declaring universal healthcare for all Americans. Charity begins at home. Let’s take care of our own citizens who are beggars and homeless without health insurance before going to abroad to spend billions in aid and on useless wars!

Occupation:: Home Health Aide

im very angry at the company i work for.we have two clients in one house.i work and take care of the clients. there for awhile the providers wouldnt stay. i would take care of both clients.you have one in hospice and the the other has a handicap.when both clients are there i go out of my way for both.when i make lunch for one i make for both..it seems the afternoon providers have a problem with helping. when you fix a plate for one. out of courtesy you can make the other. the provider acts like its a crime to help the other one.or maybe to put ice and water in a cup for the other one. now theyve taken from me 2 and half hours because they say the other provider cant do that unless they get paid. this is not fair and any way.i shouldnt have my hours taken from me. when the other providers quit im there i work hard from morning to nite. what gives this company the right to take my hours when ive been there for 5 moths. ive not seen in our policy where they have the right to do that. your taking away from my family.

Occupation:: Pre-Medical Student

I’ve been very interested to read all the comments on this website, and I can see where doctors are coming from, and where unsatisfied patients are coming from. I think it’s silly and unrealistic to expect everyone to have health insurance – for many of us, it’s unaffordable or not worth the cost. To insure my family of 6, it was $1000 a month! At a rate like that, it’s better to save the money and just pay any medical bills out of pocket – which we did, when my dad had a bicycle accident at 40 mph and ended up with a $10,000 ER bill (notice: still cheaper than a year of medical insurance for the family). I don’t think that patients should be required to carry medical insurance. However, you should expect to pay your medical bills. I realize that sometimes they seem unreasonable, and you should hold your physician accountable – check what they’re charging you for and why they are charging that. However, as a future doctor, I think I can say that while there are some people in the field for the money, most of us want to practice because we feel the work is important, that the people are important. However, it’s also very high-stress, and involves long hours and years of debt accumulation. To you, it may seem like they charge a lot of money, but your bill isn’t just paying the fifteen minutes you spent with the doctor – it’s paying the cost of the facilities you saw them in, the cost of their liability insurance, the cost of their secretary’s salary, and then after that, the cost of the 11+ years they spent in school and training, incurring debts, and the high demands of the workload they now shoulder, which includes constant worry over paperwork and covering themselves in case you get angry and decide to sue them.

It’s sad but unsurprising that the doctor-patient misunderstandings basically come down to money issues. If there were a less expensive way for doctors to practice, maybe the exchange could be less stressful for everyone.

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:: Nurse, Quality, Utilization Review

I came across this web-site while looking into resources for people to prevent or resolve health care problems. I have worked in a variety of healthcare services (home health, hospice, correctional institutions, and hospitals) since 1973. I have also personally experienced healthcare services with my parents and other family members. These experienced gave me a totally new insight to what the patients and families have to deal with physically and emotionally. I believe that the majority of healthcare professionals really care about their patients and families but the system has really gotten bogged down with regulations and paperwork. The majority of lay people inherently trust healthcare professionals, which is OK but people need to take responsibility for their or their families care. Research diagnosis, symptoms, medications, etc. Work with your healthcare team. It is not insulting; nurses and physicians are human and generally appreciate your involvement. Billing is very complicated, read the explanation of benefits and your statements before making payments. Make sure there are no mistakes. It is my hope that a forwarded minded individual or business would start an organization or business that is objective (not part of the insurance or payor nor healthcare team providing care) to assist the general public as a liason or consultant with these areas. I would certainly be interested in working for this type of organization, giving hope to resolving healthcare problems.

I have learned that the most common problem is with communication. The employer doesn’t want you to know what is covered for you and the insurance companies aren’t going to tell you what they don’t want you to know.

Although it is very common for people to not know their health plans it is impossible to know about it even when you ask questions or read the plans. They put things in a way a layman can’t understand.

Recently my husband called an ambulance when I passed out. We were told by my doctor to do so because of a blood clot history. When the EMT’s checked my vitals and I was okay I refused to be transported to the hospital as it turned out not to be necessary.

The ins. refused to pay because I was not transported to the hospital. It states in our health plan booklet on one page it is covered but on the definitions page it states it is not. The State Ins. agency has sided with the ins plan stating it is a contract issue.

Then I complained about violating advertising issues regarding “layman’s terms” etc. The Attorney General, my State Rep and other politicians I have written to regarding how ins. companies are getting away with this, are ignoring my complaints. The reason they give is that it’s not costing millions of dollars. The cost to me was not overwhelming. Only $140.00. This amount of money may not mean millions to them but it is half of my life savings account. And it does mean millions if they are doing it to lots of people which they are. I don’t understand why they make the laws if they are not going to hold the violators accountable no matter what the bottom “money” line is. They are still violating the law.

Also it is asinine to think that me going to the hospital would have been cost effective to either the ins. company or to myself as the patient. They would have just told me to see my doctor in the morning which is what I did anyway. And they wonder why the emergency rooms are so crowded?

I am now very concerned about not just the ins. companies but to the politicians who pockets are lined with their campaign contributions. I am concerned with the state insurance agencies that govern over the ins. companies are “continuously” siding with the ins. companies and “not” the consumers.

If they want to know why other people aren’t complaining, they need to take a look at themselves. It cost me $27.00 to send my complaints by Return Receipt and what did I get for it…NOTHING. Even though they all signed that they received it, the state ins. agency and my immediate State Senator have failed to contact me regarding the issue.

I’ve found many patients will switch to a doctor in the network rather than going to a doctor they had seen before and either their insurance was changed or the doctor dropped out. I’ve found patients will even switch doctors for the same reason for post-op care outside of the global period (that is the period of time, often 90 days, for which follow-up office visits are included in the surgical fee) rather than pay more to see the surgeon who operated on them. There are exceptions, but in my experience in my area, these are exceptions rather the the rule. Each area of the country may be different.

What has happened somewhat, and doctors are equally to blame, is that the insurance companies have somewhat succeeded in some cases to make the patients think all doctors are the same and interchangeable – doctors are now called providers along with all the other providers. A common reason a new patient comes to me is that my name is in their provider list. In the past it was because someone recommended me or they heard good things about me – the ones who thought the opposite of me, did not come. I’ve had patients who were unhappy with me who wanted to come back to me because I was now in their network.