I spoke with more than 50 insurance experts, patients, lawyers, physicians and consumer advocates about building a tool anyone could use to navigate insurance appeals. Nearly everyone said the same thing: Great idea. But almost impossible to do.
I don’t mind nurses and doctors making enough to live a nice life because it will ensure we have enough nurses and doctors in the future.
What I mind is people who provide no benefit to patients sitting between them and the care providers, taking a cut off the top for doing fuck all.
Every time I see an advertisement for health insurance I wonder who got their coverage denied to pay for it.
ETA: I finished the article and this is the worst part of it:
Dr. Christianne Heck, a neurologist specializing in epilepsy with Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, said her health system has a team of professionals dedicated to appealing denials
So we’ve got a team of highly educated and motivated people whose sole job is to help people appeal denials to health care that medical professionals have advised.
What a tremendous waste of human talent. All of those people could be working to care for people, or building something useful. Instead we waste millions of dollars and entire human lives fighting against an impenetrable system designed to prevent health care from happening.
Hell, the for-profit model is so bad that it’s even causing nurses and doctors to quit because the hospital shareholders (why the hell is that allowed to be a thing) are pushing all the resources past their breaking point to get as many people in and out as possible with 0 care about the quality of care provided.
If you’re in the US, look up the “Direct Primary Care” model. It’s basically subscribing via direct payment to a private doctors practice to haveunlimited access to quality care. Started around the pandemic so there’s still not a whole lot of them out there, but I’m gonna do my damnedest to tell literally everyone of any good alternative to our shitty, shitty system.
I mind, because each and every doctor I’ve seen regarding my chronic pain I’ve been dealing with for over 5 years has refused to diagnose me, and every appointment I’ve been recommended anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, which are not solutions.
From my perspective, most doctors don’t seem to do shit, they just listen and try to sell the trendiest, most profitable drug for Big Pharma. If I could find an actual, legitimate doctor, maybe my opinion would change, but I’ve been left to suffer by the only people that are supposed to be able to help. It’s gotten bad enough to where I went to an emergency room, and they still did nothing, except try to prescribe more drugs.
I see it as a huge scam. A major scheme. It doesn’t seem to just be insurance companies, but even the doctors themselves seem to be full of shit.
While not always true, keep in mind as Doctor will likely lean towards things your insurance will actually pay for.
I’ve been recommended allergy medications and prescribed allergy medications for years. Anything beyond that I’m pretty sure the insurance won’t pay for. I’m pretty sure I paid out of pocket just to get a damn Allergy test.
It could still be the Doctor, don’t get me wrong. But don’t count out the insurance.
If you want to get mad and simultaneously have your mind blown, read Bullshit Jobs. The last chapter in particular has a decent chunk dedicated to why the state refuses to change the way our healthcare system works outside of “because it makes the rich richer”. David Graeber’s work has only become more true in the years succeeding
Aw hell yeah! I found him earlier this year, I’m currently reading The Dawn of Everything. It’s an incredible book. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of his work
I don’t mind nurses and doctors making enough to live a nice life because it will ensure we have enough nurses and doctors in the future.
What I mind is people who provide no benefit to patients sitting between them and the care providers, taking a cut off the top for doing fuck all.
Every time I see an advertisement for health insurance I wonder who got their coverage denied to pay for it.
ETA: I finished the article and this is the worst part of it:
So we’ve got a team of highly educated and motivated people whose sole job is to help people appeal denials to health care that medical professionals have advised.
What a tremendous waste of human talent. All of those people could be working to care for people, or building something useful. Instead we waste millions of dollars and entire human lives fighting against an impenetrable system designed to prevent health care from happening.
What a fucking stupid country.
Hell, the for-profit model is so bad that it’s even causing nurses and doctors to quit because the hospital shareholders (why the hell is that allowed to be a thing) are pushing all the resources past their breaking point to get as many people in and out as possible with 0 care about the quality of care provided.
If you’re in the US, look up the “Direct Primary Care” model. It’s basically subscribing via direct payment to a private doctors practice to haveunlimited access to quality care. Started around the pandemic so there’s still not a whole lot of them out there, but I’m gonna do my damnedest to tell literally everyone of any good alternative to our shitty, shitty system.
I mind, because each and every doctor I’ve seen regarding my chronic pain I’ve been dealing with for over 5 years has refused to diagnose me, and every appointment I’ve been recommended anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, which are not solutions.
From my perspective, most doctors don’t seem to do shit, they just listen and try to sell the trendiest, most profitable drug for Big Pharma. If I could find an actual, legitimate doctor, maybe my opinion would change, but I’ve been left to suffer by the only people that are supposed to be able to help. It’s gotten bad enough to where I went to an emergency room, and they still did nothing, except try to prescribe more drugs.
I see it as a huge scam. A major scheme. It doesn’t seem to just be insurance companies, but even the doctors themselves seem to be full of shit.
While not always true, keep in mind as Doctor will likely lean towards things your insurance will actually pay for.
I’ve been recommended allergy medications and prescribed allergy medications for years. Anything beyond that I’m pretty sure the insurance won’t pay for. I’m pretty sure I paid out of pocket just to get a damn Allergy test.
It could still be the Doctor, don’t get me wrong. But don’t count out the insurance.
If you want to get mad and simultaneously have your mind blown, read Bullshit Jobs. The last chapter in particular has a decent chunk dedicated to why the state refuses to change the way our healthcare system works outside of “because it makes the rich richer”. David Graeber’s work has only become more true in the years succeeding
I’ve read everything Graeber’s written. They’re all fantastic. Glad to see others promoting it!
Aw hell yeah! I found him earlier this year, I’m currently reading The Dawn of Everything. It’s an incredible book. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of his work