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 is still waiting in the ER to be admitted. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s about thirty-one…
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 stories in the U.S. about Canadians crossing our…
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 to take care of the kids every day? Does she still…
A Senate committee approved a plan Tuesday to increase fuel efficiency standards to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 in a move closely watched by automakers and environmental groups.
Senate panel votes to boost fuel economy levels. By Ken Thomas, Associated Press
You know what I thought when I first saw this headline?
It’s about time.
You know what I thought after I read the…
“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 PCP.”
“You mean the 10/1, 10/2, 10/3, and 10/5 claims…
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 provider.
See if this sounds…
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 they all deserve to be on the list. Today I…
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, and our pharmacist. Here are the…
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 I’ve long since been beaten into submission by countless lines and waiting.