reminder that it would be cheaper for the US govt to pay for your medical care than it is for them to pay insurance corporations to deny your medical care
@seachanger It's a very weird feeling when your oncologist says to you "We are just waiting for insurance approval" for a treatment. So the insurer dictates standards of care. That is incredibly dangerous imho.
@sullybiker as I’ve noted before, when I went through cancer treatment I spent far more time on the phone fighting the insurance company than I did talking to my doctors about my treatment. I was wrongly charged for my lumpectomy, mastectomy, and chemo and had to fight hard to get coverage for all three
@seachanger Sorry. That's awful.
@seachanger I had to have a tumor identified by a specialist lab. I got no say in any of this, it was done without my knowledge - and I had no problem with them trying to help me. The insurer declined payment as it was 'experimental'.
@seachanger The lab themselves let me off the hook, which was nothing more than kindness on their part.
@seachanger @sullybiker Meanwhile ... private cancer treatment in the UK ... no hassle from the insurance company at all.
The only hint that money was involved was "if you do decide that you don't want this extra drug, it'll be helpful if you could let us know by next Thursday please, 'cos it'll save us £x,xxx if we can cancel the order in time - but no pressure, take as long as you need to decide".
@sullybiker @seachanger This is exactly why I stopped "taking" insurance after three years of struggle.
Because just the *decision* whether to cover a session was anywhere from 3 weeks to 9 months, and I was in-network! I ended up just not getting paid for something like $24,000 USD of sessions over three years, and I refused to chase patients for payments they thought were covered 9 months ago. It was over half my income. Ludicrous.
@seachanger My insurer is also my provider, an arrangement I cannot believe is legal. It's definitely unethical. Not unusual I gather.