Fighting with Health Insurance Companies: Health care crisis is hurting everyone!

The healthcare situation in the United States is dire. Healthcare is necessary for all US citizens, including but not limited to our seniors, the disabled, veterans, adults and children. Our seniors and the Disabled that qualify after 2 years must pay additional money for health care coverage and for some prescriptions that are not covered by their health care plans. Many of the seniors cannot afford to pay into the Cobra or Cobra equivalent health care programs offered by companies they are preparing to retire from or have retired from in the last 20 years. If the cost of health care is more than their pension and Social Security Insurance payments, then how do we expect them to pay into these health care insurance plans, which are supplemental to Medicare? How do we expect them to pay for prescriptions, pay for groceries, pay for natural gas, electricity, pay their property taxes, a mortgage or rent each month, pay for unexpected expenses related to vehicle costs and other unaccounted costs that simply arise in this current economy? Our seniors have costs that many people do not want to talk about or discuss. Many of them must rely on assistance from their children and grand-children to purchase prescriptions, pay utility bills, pay for transportation costs because gas costs are too high for them to afford, buy groceries, or pay other living expenses. They cannot afford to live in a society that they worked for and paid taxes into.

Likewise, the Disabled in many cases do not qualify for Medicare and supplemental insurance for 2 years after they qualify for SSI - Disability payments. In the mean time, they are forced to pay out-of-pocket expenses unless they can prove that they have no assets or qualifying assets, in order to qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid is one form of insurance that is limited by the control of each state. As a result, a person with Medicaid insurance who travels outside the state for a family emergency, an event or a visit and become ill, they will be identified as an uninsured person and billed for the costs of visiting emergency care facilities. This provides an additional financial burden for an unexpected illness to this particular person or their family. This has driven many people into debt and quantified the already existing financial issues that they may be incurring. In addition, for those who qualify for Medicaid, they must find primary care doctors, specialty doctors and medical suppliers willing to accept their form of insurance. Many will not accept the state form of Medicaid because attempting to receive payment gets refuses. Many doctors attempting to receive payment in a timely fashion encounter repeated disputes that the already insured Medicaid recipient is not qualified, not insured through their program or does not qualify. The truth in many cases is that these recipients do qualify, but the doctor offices, medical suppliers and billing agencies from medical agencies find themselves arguing and providing proof several times and for several weeks or months before they may be approved for payment. Many of these doctors, medical suppliers and specialty doctors have grown weary from this resistance, tired from fighting, arguing, and resubmitting claims to receive payment for their services. They are tired of waiting several months to receive payment and arguing daily, weekly or monthly with the Medicaid personnel regarding payment for services rendered for eligible people. This process has made it difficult for people who need immediate care and supplies with illnesses and diseases such as diabetes, surgery patients, seniors with special needs, the disabled and those with deteriorating health. It is discouraging that people must go through such trials and tribulations to receive basic assistance. They would prefer to be healthy and not afflicted by the many debilitating changes that afflict their bodies as a result, of these chronic, reoccurring, short-term or long-term conditions. It is distressing for them and disheartening for their families, that on the in between or in many cases they must pay themselves, to ensure that on-going treatment and care continues for those who face these conditions. Can you imagine having to take your parent, child, spouse, grandparent or self to a neurologist at the initial cost of $400.00 due to being among the uninsured? Can you imagine taking your parent, child, spouse, grandparent or self to an urologist regarding an infection of the kidney or kidney stones for an initial visit with the cost of $300.00? I cannot afford that. Can you imagine having to pay this cost? This is the struggle of many US citizens, especially our seniors, our Disabled, working adults, and the parents or caregivers of children or their families. People just want fair and humane treatment, understanding, access, and reasonable and timely payment to all doctors, medical supply agencies and other medical facilities that provide medical care.

In comparison, our veterans come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, after serving in war zones, and, they could not and cannot get the proper medical attention because if you do not serve long enough in the military, than they do not qualify for medical treatment from the VA hospitals. As well, many of them have to fight for proper and adequate medical treatment and disability payments for emotional, mental and physical injuries that have left them in a much different state than before they served this country. How can any institution or organization justify that our soldiers and veterans do not receive medical treatment and disability qualification or assistance related to their service? I surely think that we owe them medical care and the dignity of getting them the disability payments as a result of the numerous injuries that soldiers face, when they fight in combat and return home. I would hope we as a country get a clear understanding and proper oversight, investigation and evaluation of the failures of the system that has left many soldiers without the medical care they need. On this particular issue, we all should favor the unified idea that all military soldiers should receive the proper care that they required because of their service.

As well, we have over 40 million adults and children without health insurance in a country that was defined as the democratic example for the global world. Yet, the number of people living without health insurance is on the rise with the increase of decreasing benefits in permanent jobs, including cuts in health care benefits in many companies, the loss of jobs, which is at the highest that we have seen in decades, an increase of temporary work without benefits, the independent contractors such as truck drivers, small business owners and care-givers, and the costs of independent health insurance that costs more than people can afford and excludes those with pre-existing conditions. Cancer, major surgeries, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, liver or kidney diseases, and many more forms of illnesses and diseases disqualify many American citizens from purchasing and qualifying for independent insurances offered by many different companies. They are very few people without some type of health condition that will not face exclusion, which qualifies them from independent, affordable health insurance. If these people have conditions that occurred while already insured and they attempt to switch insurance companies, they may learn quickly that pre-existing conditions that may have future affects or long-term affects that require more visits and costs more to treat can be a definitive alert to many companies to deny people qualification for health insurance. Disqualification due to pre-existing conditions comes with the high costs of paying into an independent insurance per month and being able to afford to pay the initial deductible, which can be $500, $1,000, $2,000 or more.

This is an extraordinary crisis that no one that is uninsured, under-insured, uninsurable and among those with limited insurance wanted to face, but we are facing it as a nation. Health insurance is important and vital to every person in this country. We all need and hope that one day there will be the ability for all US citizens to get the preventative care, diagnosis and treatment needed. American people strive to be independent and do not want to rely on any person or entity willingly. However, in these economic times, increasing job loss, rising homelessness, mounting health conditions as a result of increased stresses, higher debt and feelings of insecurity, increased health care costs, and increases in assisting adult children or elderly or disabled parents, many people are in need of some form of assistance that can improve their ability to have a healthier life, a stable access to affordable foods, vitamins and minerals that can improve health, and economic stability by being health enough to work and earn a living for one’s self or one’s family. This will allow them to enjoy the same independence once felt and achieved. We strive for this goal in a country that people still regard as the best one to live in, yesterday, today and tomorrow.