Lord, I have given my life to Thee,
And every day and hour is Thine,--What Thou appointest let them be;
Thy will is better, Lord, than mine.
A. WARNER
It pains me to say this, because I am a firm believer in preventive medicine. I am exhausted with the joys and tribulations of our healthcare system. I am not interested in who is right and who is wrong, but we the patients are the ones missing out when insurance companies and hospitals clash. When they cannot come to any sort of agreement, we pay the price.
So here I am, in a new place with a new oncologist for almost two years. Had a great checkup, great test results, better than ever in my fifteen years with cancer. What do you think happens? My insurance carrier cannot come to an agreement with my hospital/oncologist.
Here we go again. This has happened for the third time. Each time, I have changed Doctors and even the insurance carrier. Things go well for awhile and then it happens again. . . .the negotiations go awry with each side wanting their way. Once again, I am left with no options, but find another oncologist. It's exhausting and frustrating!
I have come to the decision of waiting it out. I'm just done with all of this uncertainty and jumping around from one doctor to another. I pay good money for my insurance and I expect to be able to use it when needed. They obviously don't care about the likes of me. They have no problem taking my money, but they do have a problem when I want to use it. They put me through all sorts of hoops designed for me to determine whether I am eligible.
Benefit enrollment season has come along and my company has graciously provided new coverage as compensation. That is good news, because I can do all my tests as needed. The problem is that I am not even happy about it for fear of it happening again and again. Insurance companies have so much power and we are dependent on them even though they need our money. Do I sound disgusted? I am and so should everyone else.
I have been very fortunate with my cancer care, but many out there have not been that lucky. I cannot even imagine being faced with huge medical bills when all that I should be concentrating on is getting better and getting rid of this cancer. Yet, people every single day are faced with this issue, because our health care system is not working for us.
Don't get me wrong, I have been doing great. I just wish everyone else did too. Health insurance should be the last thing we worry about when faced with life threatening decisions. Nothing will change until people's hearts change in how they do business and interact with others.
Have a blessed day everyone.
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