Yesterday I saw on Facebook that a former coworker
name to Sheri was going to a rehab facility in Ankeny. This is a good news/bad
news item. Good news is she's improving and rehab looks promising over the long
term.
The bad news is she can no longer attend the rehab at St. Luke’s Hospital here
in her hometown area. This was due to insurance considerations.
I think I know how they feel. Is bad enough to
lose your health and deal with a medical condition. It’s even worse when you find
out that you are now the enemy of your health insurance company. In my case I
have paid in and been part of medical insurance for 40 years. When I started to
lose my health I found out that the people who were there to help me viewed me
as the enemy. This is no exaggeration. We had United healthcare when I was
first diagnosed and I thought they were bad. When I needed a power wheelchair
they thought it was fine for me to travel 300 miles across the state to stay
within the network. That took months to straighten out and I purchased a used
power chair in the interim. It is pretty bad when you have to buy something
used so that you can wait for the insurance company to do what they are
supposed to.
The absolute worst company was Coventry. They were
literally insulting to me. It was their reactions that made me realize my work
career was coming to an end. They did not want to do anything to help me. All I
heard from them was they existed as a company for profit and that was their
number one concern. Obama care reinforces this attitude. I got into a major
hassle with them over a medication to help me stay awake so I could keep
working.
After being insulted and ignored and proceeding on
my own I decided I was no longer going to try to keep the cost down of my
medical treatment. Because of their attitude I decided to proceed with a new wheelchair
that tilted the seat. I had already purchased one used and knew I needed one
but they did not care that I bought a used one on my own to save them money. I
was just another dumb customer than needed to provide premiums. I’m glad I
pursued the wheelchair because I really did need it and this one fits me so
much better than the used one I purchased.
My hope is that Sheri and Kelly her husband get
treated a little better but this latest move to Ankeny tells me they’re just
beginning this difficult part of the journey. I would have to say that the
worst part about losing my health has been dealing with health insurance.
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