I Wonder

If the health CARE reform was properly rechristened health INSURANCE reform, would people be less afraid of it?

I personally am tired of my wonderful family practice doc telling me she'd like to try x-medication for me, but my insurance doesn't cover it.

Or how about the time my elbow hurt and above mentioned FPD said I needed to see an ortho doc for a cortisone shot, but my insurance wouldn't pay for it until I had: done physical therapy and worn a brace for x-amount of time.

So instead of one charge for a specialist visit and one charge for a shot, my insurance company (and I) paid for:

A primary doctor's visit.
Ten trips to a physical therapist.
A visit to the brace maker for a fitting.
A brace.
A visit back to the primary doc for a referral to the specialist.
A visit to the specialist.
A cortisone shot.

Multiply scenarios like that times every insured person in America and see how much money we are wasting because the insurance companies are calling the shots. (pun intended)

Not to mention I was in pain the whole four months of "trying shit" time and the inflammation in my elbow began impinging on a nerve and the whole problem could have moved to the surgery level quite easily. But no, let's jump through the insurance company hoops.

We need to take medical decision making out of the insurance company's hands and place it back in the hands of doctors and patients.

Thor sez: You humans sure like to complicate things, don't you?