Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Forgive me...

...another rant.  Feel free to come back tomorrow if you're not in the mood for bile.

I love my job and the people I work with.  I still hate insurance companies. 

I hate that a man in excruciating pain who wants to avoid surgery has a $10,000 deductible and cannot afford to follow the treatment plan that may help him escape the scalpel.  Seriously, what cold-hearted SOB writes a policy with a deductible that size and then charges $500 a month for it?

I hate that someone else who we couldn't help avoid surgery has been crawling around in excruciating pain for TWO MONTHS waiting for her insurance to approve her surgery.

I hate when a patient who has truly good coverage bitches about having to pay a $15 copay ONCE every 12 visits when they've pulled up in the parking lot in a nice car and they come in wearing the latest styles.

I hate that insurance companies will pay for me to take a $35 pill that gives me nasty side effects when I get a migraine but they won't pay for a $35 visit to the chiropractor (that's far more effective and doesn't make me feel sick in new and exciting ways) for me or anyone else who gets a migraine.  (But again, I love that I work for my chiropractor and can be adjusted any time I need it as a benefit.  Thank you, boss!!!)

I hate that when I need to call my company I sit on hold for eons before I get to someone who lies to me.

I hate coming home at the end of a long day of dealing with all the fussy technical ways visits have to be posted and double-checked to meet some asinine insurance regulations so our biller can jump through all the flaming hoops the companies set up (though I love that she does her job so well and gives me the answers I need to do my job in a way that facilitates hers) only to find yet another rejection letter from my own insurance company (take your pick, dental, auto, or medical...I have outstanding claims with all sorts of stupid reasons for denials in each one of those policies) after having gone through the fussy technical dance to get it my claim paid.

It's just a great way to end the day.

No rant tomorrow, I promise. 

16 comments:

Kat said...

Insurance companies are the WORST. The absolute worst. My husband has to deal with them all the time and it is disgusting what they get away with. You wonder (or now you might) why the biggest building in any city is an insurance company? They are such greedy *&!$#. My husband is constantly having to sue insurance companies just to get them to pay for exactly what they were supposed to pay for. They suck.

Sorry you have been having such a tough time with them. Grrr.

Commander Zaius said...

Excuse my cynical attitude but the foundation of all human civilization is nothing but scams where the rich and powerful attempt not only to keep all that they have but take even more.

Dave said...

With our current Christchurch earthquake which you may have heard about recently we are now hearing stories about insurance companies that will do anything to avoid paying out - Dave

Mother Theresa said...

This is one of the reasons I love living in Spain. We pay taxes in order to have an excellent public health care service. it's not perfect, but everyone is covered. When I needed surgery, I never had to worry about insurance, only about getting well. When my children were born, I didn't have to think about whether or not my insurance would cover the entire bill or all the doctors visits. When I go to the doctor for any reason, I don't have to pay a single cent...it's all already paid for out of my taxes. Yes, taxes are relatively high over here, but the peace of mind is so worth it.

Craig said...

It's the continual, ongoing denial of claims that grinds my ass. You buy a policy and pay premiums to try and 'level out' your expenses, and then, like Kat says, you have to beg and plead and prod and cajole them, and spend three hours on the phone, and send them every household record from the past 30 years, just to get them to pay what they said they'd pay. . .

WordVer = 'prodl'; see, that's my point. . .

Bijoux said...

They really ARE the worst. They refuse to pay for my mammogram every year, even though the policy says it covers annual mammograms.

Oh, and they gave me the wrong estimate for middle child's oral surgery, which was in an e-mail and which I printed out. I filed a complaint and didn't even get a 'sorry, we were wrong.'

Anonymous said...

Rant away Sweetheart. I love your rants, they're also mine.

I'm sure there's a special place in hell for insurers of all stripes.

- Jazz

Logophile said...

When I rant the way you just did, recognizing the contribution of others, etc. in an attempt to be somewhat reasonable and measured, my honey tells me that I don't know how to rant properly.

I dunno I like that way of doing it, and you did it rather nicely
:)

Suldog said...

Your bile is equivalent to the rose oil of others.

Well, not really. It's bile. But I like you, so I like your bile.

Mona said...

Its a pity when someone has to go about in pain for want of funds...

S said...

I hate it that we have 100% dental coverage yet every time we go to the dentist we get an enormous bill, then have to fight with the insurance co.
Furthermore, they cannot figure out that Susan Louise Blair and Susie Louise Blair are the same person even tho soc sec number matches.

What part of 100% coverage dont you understand? SHeesh!!

snowelf said...

Lime, you are formally invited to my girl's weekend out next weekend.

--snow

(M)ary said...

I will add to this rant! I hate it when an insurance company uses a 'benefit limit' to get around adhering to a contract they made to give a patient a discount for going to an in network provider. And this means the patients owes $50,000 more than expected! And of course, it is the hourly folks barely making more than minimum wage who have this crap ass policy. The folks who can least afford a 50000 bill...ugh!

(M)ary said...

PS as I have mentioned in an email to u, Michelle, I also blame some health care providers who jack up their prices so high that it affects patients without insurance but also insurance companies. Perhaps if some hospital and labs didn't jack up the prices insurance companies could pay more...

secret agent woman said...

Ya, I know. My insurance completely sucks. It covers virtually nothing.

Unknown said...

It seems to me sometimes that the business model for insurance is:
to serve their clients the least amount possible.

The less they serve, the more they make.

And that just sucks.