Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Why healthcare needs an infusion of capitalism

Why is it that we pay a ton for health care, both to our insurance companies and directly to the provider but don't treat it like it's a business?

We recently learned that my wife might have a blood disorder called Factor 5. We wanted to get her tested. When she went in, the doctor said they'd just do a "full panel." Never did it occur to us to ask how much this would cost, or even what it meant. Because we were acting like patients, and not like customers.

So, she does not have factor 5. We received a bill for $1200 for the lab work. They didn't have our current insurance info, so we got the bill and now our fingers are crossed as to if they will pay it at all, since we just chose to have it done.

Later we got a call. They "spun" Kelli's blood and then realized they could not then use it for one of the tests. So she had to go back in for another blood draw. Now, in business, usually if someone is offering you services and they completely botch the job, they offer to do the services free or compensate you to make up for the mistake in some way.

We got another bill. Now our total is $1400+. Because, of course, we got billed for the second round of testing. Must be nice to work at a job where you can screw something up and then still bill full price.

We're waiting on insurance and need to make some phone calls. This is just stupid. And to think that some people think that it would be better off with more government control. Take these problems x10 and you'd have socialized medicine. And you, all of my friends and neighbors, would be getting the bill for their mistake.

2 comments:

  1. I feel for you guys. The whole system is a mess and government is not the answer. It is hard for the patient to be assertive and questions procedures because they make you feel like a fool, but it has just got to be done.

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  2. I hate dealing with insurance companies!!! I'm battling a case from December.

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