Coverage caps

There’s a law in Florida called the Baker Act; a law which gives law enforcement and medical professionals the authority to hold people with mental illness – specifically those who show signs of being a danger to others or themselves.
There are few (if any) public facilities to provide this emergency care, so patients are cared [...]

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Back in the ER again

I’ve had a vested interest in the health care system this year, as some of you may know. Yesterday I got to live out the hospital admissions nightmare that some of you may have read about in the media. We went to the ER yesterday morning around 8 a.m. As of this writing, my mother [...]

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Our health

If you’ve been paying attention to the news in the U.S. you know health care is on people’s minds. Talk has been spreading almost as fast as the ranks of the uninsured/underinsured.
Michael Moore has fanned the flames of debate, spawning talk about the universal coverage offered by our fellow industrialized nations. We hear lots of [...]

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Must… stop… scratching

Foreword: I generally like my doctors.
Sometimes I wonder if my doctor has a string in his back and someone gives it a pull every time he’s supposed to speak…
“Good morning doctor.”
“You’re looking good today.”
“Yeah, but I can’t shake these fevers.”
“Your blood cultures have been negative.”
“Well this rash is killing me.”
“You’re on a lot of medication.”
“Is [...]

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Scared sick

The other night we had a family get-together. Over dinner we discussed the good fortunes of a niece/cousin who won $250K from the lottery. “She’s so lucky, I’ll bet her life is a lot easier now…” one person said. Always the Devil’s advocate, I disagreed. “Does she still have to work? Does she still have [...]

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And the band played on

“Hello, Mr. Kauffman? This is (censored) from (my HMO). I just wanted to give you a call to let you know that we’ve resolved the issue with your daughter’s PCP (primary care physician). The claim submitted in October 2004 will be resolved, and you will not be responsible for any charges previously billed by the [...]

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Another epic struggle against the forces of evil

Health insurance, billing departments, complaint resolution offices, and the automated phone answering system… horsemen of the apocalypse or God’s warning shot across the bow of today’s later day ark of bureaucracy and civilization?
All I know is that I don’t want to pay $800 for services that were supposed to be covered by my health insurance [...]

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Running a business more like a government, revisited

Here’s my list of the world’s largest bureaucracies, listed in order from biggest to smallest: the U.N., the U.S. health care industry (lumping providers and insurers together), the old Soviet Union, and the Federal Government. Feel free to quibble with my order – I’m not married to it – but you’ve got to admit that [...]

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Government v. Business, revisited

When conservatives say that government should be run more like a business, I hope to God they’re not referring to the insurance business.
Let me start by saying, the facts of the case I’m about to explain are mostly undisputed. The involved parties are: me, my wife, my daughter’s doctor, my daughter’s specialist, our insurance company, [...]

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Frustration, insurance style.

What is your favorite part about seeing doctors. Some would say that they don’t like to be poked and prodded. I suppose I don’t like it anymore than the next guy, but I’ll survive. Some people are aggravated by the long waits in the lobby. I guess I’m more patient than average; either that or [...]

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